LEADERSHIP, EFFICIENCY, & GROWTH

LESSON #24

by: Michael O’Malley, Ph.D.

The hexagonal shape of the bee’s honeycomb is truly the best shape to divide a surface. The honeybee, nature’s little designer, has created an architectural masterpiece.

But how does this apply to the business world? A common belief among practitioners of organizational design is that form follows function. The idea is to organize physical structures according to the purposes of the space rather than based on whim, convention, or convenience.

Form should follow function, but the form should also help us to feel more alive and connected to our work.

More Pollen

Bees have inspired and fueled our imaginations and shown us that place matters. Different physical environments elicit different responses. Companies have the opportunity to communicate what they value by constructing distinctive workspaces.

Mistakes Happen – Make sure you make the right one.

If a honeybee is going to make a mistake, the natural preference is to overbuild when the nectar is flowing in and under build when nectar is sparse. The variable criterion regarding the availability of space biases decisions in these directions. A lowered space criterion, when nectar is readily available, will result in a greater likelihood of building. A raised criterion, when nectar is not available, will depress building. Nevertheless, having too much space when times are good and too little when times are bad are not poor positions to be in. It is possible to avoid these sorts of dilemmas in business, but we can take the bees’ general principal to heart in any event and work toward solutions that accommodate it.

The same goes with companies. It takes everyone doing their part to make sure the company flourishes strategically with little hiccups.

The past few years have been a major growth phase for Hugh M. Cunningham Companies. We have always been a growth company and will continue to be that! We have had to adapt, make changes, move people around, etc. to meet our common goal. We are a sales company, so our number one goal is to sell product. With that said, we want to do that with class. We want our customers to not only feel special, but know they are. They are our friends. People we break bread with. People we grow with. People we build long lasting relationships with even outside of business. We must provide them with accurate information and in a timely manner. This includes specifying the right product for the right application, working to make sure pricing is accurate and fair, following up on lead times, and delivering products. It takes a village to do this!

April 2, 1972

We have first class vendors. Some are new and some we have been working with for decades. They are our partners and friends. We rely on each other to make sure the customers have the best possible customer experience.

We have heavily invested, over the last couple years, to accommodate and make sure that Hugh M. Cunningham continues to live up to the expectation of providing great service. We have hired eighteen new additional outside account managers, two specification managers, and have promoted individuals to management to relieve some of the day-to-day duties. We are constantly looking for great people inside and out. Inside Sales and Distribution Group are the heart of the company. Without them, it would be impossible to get accomplished what we do. They are constantly looking for great people, and moving people around, to make sure their strengths are maximized. Operations, and our new SAP system, has put us light years ahead with what we can accomplish. Human Resources continually backs us in all areas. Onboarding has been a big task they have taken on and they are crushing it. Our buy/sell group is consistently digging deep, making sure we have the right product mix, looking at lead times, and adjusting when needed.

As you can see, there are so many arms of this company, and it takes all of us to succeed at the elevated level we hold ourselves to. We should all hold our heads high and be extremely proud of what we have accomplished and are accomplishing.

It really does take a village to make things run as smooth as possible. I am very proud of this company and everyone that has ever worked here and is working here now. We have many blessing to be thankful for!

The journey of life is not always a straight shot to the finish line. The majority of the people I know, personally and professionally, have taken a few detours in the game of life. I personally did not even know our industry existed and just happened to take a position that lead me to where I am now. The same holds true for organizations, or at least some WWdivisions or groups of companies.

We are just passing a fork in the road with FireWaterGroup at HMC. With the continued addition of people and lines, the time has come to redefine the path and purpose of a division that covers a broad range of markets.

Our FireWaterGroup, established in 2000, was a diversified market focus between fire protection and water accounts. The fire protection portion of the group consisted of the wholesale distribution base, fire contractors, and engineers/AHJ/fire marshals. The water accounts, which included the irrigation market, pool, agriculture/hydroponics, water well and pumping related products, has grown into a focused group dedicated to green industries and outdoor life quality.

The creation of GreenSalesGroup, in 2022, has allowed us to focus solely on the water side of our original concept of FWG. This has allowed us to revise our fire efforts by adding people and evaluating what we do to support this market. HMC looked for areas we could improve in and ways to refresh our marketing message to our customers and vendors more effectively. The exercise of launching the new GreenSalesGroup made us evaluate what we were doing in our existing FireWaterGroup and it was apparent that we were due to refresh the company logo.

They say time flies when your having fun and that’s how you end up with a logo that was twenty years old. The result is the newest logo in the company and it is just a starting point for the new road of the FWG division of Hugh M. Cunningham Companies. This milestone would not be possible without our friends, coworkers, and customers. We owe you a huge dose of gratitude for your support over the last two decades.