CEO Blog

So, for all you sports fans, I hope you can draw the correlation between sports teams and business teams. During the NFL playoffs, a famous TV sports announcer and former quarterback, talked about winning attitudes and what makes champions. Excuse me, all my fellow Cleveland Browns fans, but I am talking about Terry Bradshaw and the Steelers. Terry talked about the winning attitude of the Steelers.

Terry talked about the attributes of their team when they won 4 Super Bowls in 6 years (not a bad performance!!!). Terry talked about the calmness of the team in the face of adversity and the quiet confidence they had. He also talked about how legendary coach Chuck Noll was cool as a cucumber and never became riled when there were surprises from the competition. They were winners because they stayed focused on the fundamentals of the game. They were confident. They knew they had the depth a team needs to overcome injuries and keep the players on the field “fresh”. Yes, they had egos, but they were in check, because they stayed cool, did not react to individual extravagancies. The team did not react to press reports attempting to stir up the team. The whole team remained focused on the job at hand, the current play. 

Our OrthoHelix team made great strides in 2011.  It was another year of outperforming the competition, adding depth to the product line, and building our team with talent (throughout the organization; sales, marketing, R&D, operations, quality and regulatory).  This “quiet confidence” is driving outstanding individual performances. Our people stay focused on the mission. We don’t get riled by changes in the industry, we adjust our game plan. We work on fundamentals every day. As a result we have greater depth in our product line. The continuous flow of new products into the market gives our distribution partners the confidence to stay on plan and persevere.

So what does all this lead to? It strengthens our culture. It proves that building a culture of accountability strengthens an organization. The culture becomes embedded in our employees. The culture gives our product designers the confidence to pursue new and innovative products. The culture gives our sales and marketing people the confidence to stay on course and to not get discouraged when the environment changes.  

Are we successful? This question is answered best by looking at the recognition our company receives.  In 2011 OrthoHelix received multiple awards. And now that the year is past, and we are well on our way into 2012, we will close the books on 2011 and move forward. We do this with confidence knowing that our actions are noticed by customers, peers and the community. The awards received in 2011 are;

1.)    A second Ohio Third Frontier grant to expand product innovation and create jobs.

2.)    Finalist recognition from Ernst and Young, as part of their Entrepreneur of the Year program.

3.)    Quality Magazine’s announcement that OrthoHelix quality system ranked in the top 100 of all companies in the USA

4.)    Crain’s Cleveland CFO of the year award for mid-size companies in Northeast Ohio

5.)    Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead 100, ranking as the 2nd highest growth company.

We give credit to our employees and thank them for their sacrifices and also recognize them for their depth and confidence.