Making It Happen. Kyle Mackenzie

means that managers who come through our company have high expectations placed on them, which is probably why Hyler has led the field in recreational boating on the West Coast for the last 25 years. The company now has sales approaching $40 million, and in addition to aluminum boats (which are a decreasing portion of our business), we make several models of windsurfers, sailboats, boat trailers, dinghies, and sails. Our last big product line expansion was into personal floatation devices. That was the brainchild of the former vice-president of Marketing, and it did so well that she is now president of one of Mantec’s huge box companies in Texas.

      So what Stu was saying about this new product was bound to make a guy like Ralph Borsellino happy.

      The New Product

      Stu continued to give me details. “The really exciting thing is that this new product looks like it will overcome the windsurfing Resistance Factor.”

      The famed Resistance Factor. This was news, indeed! RF, as we called it, was Hyler’s term for people’s reluctance to take up windsurfing (at least their resistance to get into it enough so that they would actually purchase their own windsurfer, ideally from us).

      My first project as head of Information Systems had been to oversee a consumer survey about a variety of recreational activities. The survey produced some interesting information about how people choose to recreate, and about windsurfing in particular. Although everyone has seen the pros on TV skimming across the waves and doing spectacular acrobatics, windsurfing is not an easy sport for the average beginner. Anyone who has tried it knows it can even be a little frustrating. Unfortunately, frustrated beginners rarely become windsurfer owners, hence the RF. Ever since that survey, we’ve been looking for ways to overcome that problem. To get comparative data, we surveyed several sports, not just windsurfing. Downhill skiing scored very high for the beginner. Even the first time out, novices can get their skis pointed downhill and can, in a manner of speaking, ski. With windsurfing, many of the people surveyed reported that they couldn’t even pull the sail up the first time that they went out. And somehow, windsurfing just isn’t all that much fun without the sail.

      Interested now, I said, “So don’t keep me waiting, Stu, tell me about it. Have you got a new windsurfer design or what?”

      “In fact,” Stu said, “the Europeans have a new design. WaterTrends out of Germany introduced a new product late this summer. I’ve seen it, and I think it can be very successful over here.”

      “So what does it look like?” I asked, “And how does it overcome the RF?”

      Stu reached into his desk and pulled out a sketch. “It’s essentially a cross between a small sailboat and a regular windsurfer,” he said as he put the drawing on the desk in front of me.

      The sketch showed a board that looked like a regular windsurfer, but it appeared broader, and had a seat with a back set into its surface. A women was sitting in the seat, her legs extended, her feet resting against a horizontal bar close to the front. The mast sat forward of the foot rest, rose about four feet, and had a boom that extended back and stopped a couple feet from her chest. The sail was a bit on the small side compared to a windsurfer.

      “You see,” Stu was saying, “the feet control the rudder with that horizontal bar there, and you have a sheet in each hand to control the sail.” Being a non-sailor, I always have to remember that sheets are ropes attached to the boom used to control sails.

      “I don’t get it,” I said. “How is this better than a windsurfer?”

      “I was hoping you’d ask me that,” Stu said gleefully. “It combines the best features of both sailboat and windsurfer, and that’s how it overcomes the RF.”

      I was not impressed. “It looks like a water slug to me.”

      Stu rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Why am I cursed with vision-less peasants?” Turning back to me he said, “Look, people like windsurfers for some very simple reasons: They’re very portable – you can put them on your car top, they’re flexible in the water – you can go fast in very little wind, jump waves, and, if you’re very good, do really fancy things like complete loops. They’re a lot cheaper than sailboats. But beginners have a hard time with windsurfers.

      “On the other hand, a little sailboat is easy for a beginner. It doesn’t go too fast, it’s easy to steer the thing, and no feats of strength are required. However, a beginner doesn’t want to rush out and spend four or five thousand bucks for a sailboat, and then have to tow it around on a trailer, especially if they only use it a few times a year.

      “Enter the WindSailor. It’s lightweight and portable like the windsurfer, it costs the same or less, and yet it has all the user-friendly features of a small sailboat. There is no heavy sail to lift, they don’t go too fast – see how small that sail is – and they’re almost impossible to tip. A dagger board drops down between your legs for stability. And if you do tip, an eight year old can get it right side up again. And guess what? After using the WindSailor for a year or two, the consumer wants to move up, either to a proper windsurfer, or to a sailboat. And who do you think will be right there to supply them with that product?” Stu sat back looking very pleased.

      “You’d almost think this whole thing was your idea,” I said.

      “It was,” he said, “at least the push to buy the manufacturing license for North America. I saw this baby at a trade show in Europe four months ago.”

      “Why not just steal the idea and design our own?”

      “Will,” he said with mock dismay, “How could you think such a thing? Anyway, we don’t have time. Our marketing guys say if we’re not first into the market with this, we’ll lose our edge and it will be doubtful we would ever recover the development cost. Besides, it could take more than a year to get it right. If we buy the rights on this one, we have a known quantity on our hands.”

      “Yeah,” I said, “we know all about it except whether it will sell.” I paused, “This is a big risk for you personally. What did Ralph say about it?”

      Stu sighed. “Look, kid, I’ve been at this plant for 15 years, and I’ve been stalled in this job for the last seven. Ralph is going to be moving on soon. I want that top job. I’m sick of seeing hot shots come in here for a year or two and run this place like they want a promotion. I want control for a few years to make Hyler the kind of place where I want to work. This WindSailor is my ticket.”

      This was the first Stu had told me about his personal ambition. Not only was Stu the best boss I had ever had, a lot of others felt the same way. Although Hyler was certainly not in any trouble, it could have been a much better place to work. The constant shuffle at the top levels tended to make many of the longer term employees unhappy. Stu had never been tapped for the top job, mostly it seemed, because he was not on his way up within the bigger organization of Mantec.

      “Anyway,” Stu continued, “you know Ralph. If it looks good, he’s 100 percent behind you until it looks bad, at which point it was your idea. If this does go, he’ll be promoted and I’ll have a shot at his job. If it’s a flop, well, I need a change anyway.”

      My predecessor was one of those people whom Ralph supported 100 percent until things started looking bad. She had developed a great idea about using the IS department as a clearing house for employee feedback. Of course not all of it was positive, and Ralph had started getting nervous about someone other than him knowing the dirty secrets about employee attitudes. She was fired for “poor performance”, but everyone knew the real reason.

      Stu sighed. “Besides, regardless of promotions or office politics, I happen to think this is what the company should be doing.” He stuck his chin out heroically.

      Whenever people start to get noble, I get nervous. Doing the “right” thing is nice up until you haven’t got a job anymore.

      “Well, you know me, Stu,” I told him. “I’ll support you however I can. I’d love to see you get Ralph’s job. What can I do?”

      Stu looked at me, and suddenly I felt like a lamb being mentally barbecued by a wolf. He smiled. “I want you to be the Project Manager.”

      I