Page 45 – Tugboat Institute

Leadership for All

June 4, 2018Article,People FirstBiohabitats,Evergreen Journal

My applied-ecology firm works throughout the world in ecological restoration, conservation planning, and regenerative design. It takes a lot of effort and teamwork to make sure our planet’s vast ecosystems, including forests, prairies, and wetlands, are healthy. And in the 35 years since I’ve founded Biohabitats, I’ve learned that Evergreen companies need just as much care, nurturing, and collaboration to be sustainable.

One person — or even a small group of people at the top — should never be fully responsible for the decisions that will affect everyone in the company. This is why seven years ago I launched a Leadership Council. It’s our community garden where we cultivate leaders and grow a culture of empowerment and equity.

by TugboatAdmin

Giving Joyfully

May 28, 2018Article,Evergreen CEOTugboat Institute,Purpose,CEO,Joyful,Evergreen Journal

When you become a millionaire at an early age — in my case, at 30 — it’s easy to let it go to your head. That’s exactly what I had done. By 1984, I was living the dream … until, in 1984, the homebuilding market went bust and I lost it all. I promised myself that if I were given a second chance, I wouldn’t screw it up.

It wasn’t that I wanted more fancy houses or cars, though. I wanted my success to truly mean something. I wanted a second chance so I could make a significant difference by giving back to the world. Years earlier, I had seen author Stanley Tam (“God Owns My Business”) give a rousing speech on offering 50 percent of one’s earnings to charity. His words lodged in my mind as I began to envision an Evergreen company.

by TugboatAdmin

My First Buck

May 21, 2018Video,Evergreen leadersTugboat Institute,Summit,Evergreen Journal

We all remember how we made our first buck — and for many Evergreen leaders it was something quite entrepreneurial, or an entry-level job that unveiled their passion for serving customers. In this Tugboat Institute Summit video, our members look back on their first-buck moments.

Featuring: Will Snook, Don MacAskill, Dan Kenary and Wynne Odell.

by TugboatAdmin

Embrace Innovation By Hiring Millennials

May 14, 2018Article,Evergreen CEOpragmatic innovation,Evergreen company,Metalcraft inc.,RFID,Radio,Evergreen Journal

Our Evergreen company is 67 years old. If we didn’t continually embrace innovation, it would mean the end.

Maybe this sounds a little dramatic, but the strength of our company, Metalcraft Inc., rests on our ability to move forward with ideas, especially around technology. And we’ve found that the best way to find these new ideas is to hire the next generation. This is why six years ago, we took a young staff member’s suggestion to create an Innovation Team.

by TugboatAdmin

The Inadvertent Multigenerational Family Business: Secrets of Longevity

May 7, 2018Video,Evergreen companyEvergreen 9Ps,familyFamily Business,Evergreen Journal

Multigenerational family businesses are a testament to the Evergreen 7Ps, particularly their importance through decades, if not a century, of technological advances, economic cycles, interpersonal family dynamics and competition both domestically and abroad.

Tugboat Institute Summit guest speaker Spencer Burke is an expert in guiding families and their businesses through these inevitable challenges in his work at The St. Louis Trust Company and Washington University in St. Louis. His deep understanding of their history and practices has allowed him to synthesize and share specific strategies that enable multigenerational businesses to thrive for the long haul. As Burke states in his talk, “It’s not a straight line. … Sometimes you need to reinvent yourself and keep moving forward.”

by TugboatAdmin

Pursuing Purpose in Chile

April 30, 2018Article,PerseverancePurpose,Upscape,Brian Pearson,Maine,Chile,travel,Evergreen Journal

I had a midlife crisis at age 32. Working 80 hours a week as a healthcare consultant in a messy industry left me miserable and completely burned out. Every day, I’d watch a co-worker, Ted, gallop into the office with such enthusiasm about his job, it made me feel even worse about my own ennui and dissatisfaction. It struck me that I needed to do something in my life that made me feel like Ted. I needed a Purpose.

So I quit my job. In 2003, I uprooted my wife and myself from Maine and moved to Chile, where I launched a thriving adventure travel company.

by TugboatAdmin

Update from Rebecca Rusch

April 23, 2018Video,Evergreen leaderEvergreen company,Tugboat Institute,Rebecca Rusch,Private Idaho,Evergreen Journal

As a seven-time ultra-endurance mountain bike world champion, Rebecca Rusch exemplifies Perseverance. In 2017, Rebecca set out on a deeply personal odyssey in search of her father’s Vietnam War crash site and final resting place along the 1,200-mile Ho Chi Minh Trail — a journey documented in the film “Blood Road.” At our most recent Tugboat Institute Summit, Rebecca gave us a preview of her enormous project and the inspiration that led to the most important ride of her life.

by TugboatAdmin

Maintaining Sanity in the Family Business

April 16, 2018Article,Evergreen CEOEvergreen company,family business,Perseverance,Evergreen Journal

Running a family business is not for the weak.

Our company is Evergreen to its core. It started with a businessman with a visionary idea who wanted to create something he could hand down to his children. Through Perseverance the company has flourished, and we children are now at the helm. But our most consistent struggle over nearly 25 years has been balancing our very different skill sets, leadership abilities and temperaments. I guess we can say we succeeded because we still want to spend time with each other outside of the office.

by TugboatAdmin

First Starting Out

April 9, 2018Video,Stephane FitchAmy Simmons,Jay Wilkinson,Steven Jacob,Courtney Kingston and Jairemy Drooger.,Evergreen Journal

Some leaders know from day one that they want to build an Evergreen company — lasting, purpose-driven and private. For others, it takes a mentor, a life-changing event or a new idea to realize the kind of legacy they want to leave. At last year’s Tugboat Institute Summit, our members shared the watershed moment that brought them on the Evergreen path.

Featuring: Amy Simmons, Stephane Fitch, Steven Jacob, Jay Wilkinson, Courtney Kingston and Jairemy Drooger.