COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE

Cape of good fortune

Captain Oscar Nickerson, it seems, had had enough of sailing the Atlantic. In 1895, he traded in his oceangoing schooner and bought a lumberyard in Chatham, Ma., re-christening it with his family name.

The outfit stayed in the Nickerson tribe for well over one hundred years, until, in 2012, local businessman Jeff Plank became the first non-Nickerson to helm the operation since its inception 117 years earlier. But he was not your nose-to-the grindstone, 24/7 hands-on man. His focus was more on the financials than on planks. And on the chance to grow the operation.

Meanwhile, Jack Stevenson, living in Atlanta and manning a framing operation, had grown up with peoplepleasing in his DNA. As a kid, he’d worked in his dad’s lumberyard back in the northerly stretches of Wisconsin, which convinced young Jack that he was no fan of frostbite. But what about Massachusetts?

Jack made sure that the cape, where Mid-Cape (now its name) was located, didn’t qualify as Arctic after a friend of his scored an interview for the yard’s newly-vacant top position. Jack decided, “If he doesn’t take the job, I will!”

And he did. In 2014 he assumed the role of Mid-Cape’s president, declaring that he felt at home with the “good, strong nucleus of people working there. They invigorate the company,” he noted, following a time when speaking up was not always the norm.

A staff of over 250 employees now populates Mid-Cape’s five shipping locations, scattered along the shoreline of Cape Cod Bay, and the Kitchen & Window showroom on Martha’s Vineyard. Launched seven years ago. “They’ve become empowered, especially with the addition of a few more key people of more aggressive style,” who embody Jack’s vision of “building the company where it counts—like, concentrating on selling framing packages, not just screen repair.”

In hiring, Jack values experience— of course—but even more important, he feels, “is, putting people first: how they treat folks. Not ‘Me, me, me!’ That,” he emphasizes, “is not the key to success.”

A smile is nice, but it had better be backed with expertise. Rather than

TO HONOR Mid-Cape’s 125th anniversary, late last year Jack Stevenson and Jeff Plank were presented an engraved sawblade by vendor SBC Cedar.

flitting from, say, selling paint one hour to custom millwork the next (Mid-Cap added that niche five years ago when the company acquired “a key hire, who drives that business for us”), all staffers are assigned a specific department, where they can build up knowledge. And respect.

“Our people drive our business: You just can’t do it without them. If you listen to your people, empower them, and work with them, you’ll be closer to your customers. Showing your staff how much you value them is the very foundation of our success—reps who take the time to get to know our customers and make them feel welcome. You’ll hear customers talk about when their dad or granddad shopped here.”

Why do they keep on coming back? Jack has the answer: “It’s our people!

“They seem to like to work here”—where turnover is low—“because the operation is not just about us [managers]. We’re real people, very much hands-on. It’s very much a team concept, with a very strong service ethic. It’s in their DNA,” Jack chuckles. “Our managers need to be people who mesh with other people—that’s the key to success.” Plus, a strong customer-forward outlook: “Think of the customer first: You’ve got to be much more externally focused and able to find solutions.” Mid-Cape has instituted a training department, specifically tasked with recruiting and retaining such employees.

Mid-Cape’s customers (primarily the seasoned pros who erect the cape’s storied seaside residences) remain loyal, Jack believes, “because of the core values that drive us— which we constantly reinforce. ‘Do the right thing’ may sound hokey, but we do it. Yet,” he adds—“remember ‘The customer is always right’? That’s been under some revision in the past ten years. We’re doing a lot more custom orders than standard, and we go to great lengths to make sure those orders are written exactly as the customer specifies. So if they end up not liking it, it’s not our fault. We’ve got to protect ourselves, too.”

To grow that customer base, Jack and his managers are “very active” in the local homebuilders’ association. Builders are frequent guests at golfing and fishing outings as well as vendor-fired Lunch & Learn sessions. “Plus,” Jack notes, “our managers have a very aggressive nature, from a leadership standpoint. But,” he adds, “you can’t be ego-driven. “ You’d better be community-driven, however, to play on this team. Payback is a big part of Mid-Cape’s mission.

These days, social media is an active ally, especially marketing via Instagram. Mid-Cape employs a full-time social media guru, effective in reaching new and younger customers. And it’s been successful: “They tag and re-tag us,” Jack reports. The website also boasts a livechat function and the invitation to be added to the outfit’s mailing list.

Mid-Cape’s locations have been built from scratch, although the most recent addition represents an acquisition of century-old Wood Lumber Co. in Falmouth, Ma. They’re all six far from identical, and that’s by design. “They all share deliveries, but are distinctly different from each other—no two alike,” Jack instructs. “Wellfleet, for instance, is a quaint hardware store. Falmouth is our most charming. South Dennis acts as our hub” in serving the famously well-heeled residents of these storied coastal towns. (Can a whiff of the Kennedys be caught on the breeze?)

Are more additions in the game plan? “We’re always looking,” Jack confirms.

The new Kitchen and Window Showroom in Falmouth, added to better serve the area’s growing cache of builders, already is contributing to the region’s growth of new residential construction. And, of course, that Mid-Cape millwork plant also builds market share, never mind the current lumber shortage. Mid-Cape isn’t worried. “A lot of industry money is tied up in that right now, and it does create more challenges,” Jack allows. “But we’re on top of it—especially with our specialty, white cedar shingles.”

It’s no surprise to hear Jack declare his reason for getting up in the morning: “I love what I’m doing! I love leading this team, the chemistry of it. And I love the prospect of new opportunities: Our staff is fair and honest, and I like to see them prosper. Plus, I love to serve the community—six different towns with projects to support.”

Jack Stevenson

Carla Waldemar

cwaldemar@comcast.net