{"id":30788,"date":"2018-09-06T13:48:46","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T20:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=30788"},"modified":"2018-09-06T13:48:46","modified_gmt":"2018-09-06T20:48:46","slug":"following-the-process-and-cultivating-relationships-enable-gfc-difference-maker-tom-flesch-to-continue-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/editors-blog\/2018\/09\/following-the-process-and-cultivating-relationships-enable-gfc-difference-maker-tom-flesch-to-continue-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Following the Process and Cultivating Relationships Enable GFC Difference Maker Tom Flesch to Continue Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Tom Flesch,
President and CEO
Gordon Flesch Co.<\/p><\/div>\n

Smart business practices are a lot like Novocain. Give them a little time\u2026despite some initial pain, they\u2019ll always work.<\/p>\n

The Gordon Flesch Co. (GFC) was founded in 1956, and many of the founding principles of the firm and its business practices have enabled it to thrive still more than 60 years later. Gordon Flesch himself was an astute businessman, and he knew that the best thing he could do for reaping continued growth was to hire the best people and let them perform the duties he\u2019d set for them.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it was the hands-off approach that set the stage for Gordon Flesch Co.\u2019s future leadership. His son, Tom, had worked for the company in a limited capacity since the age of eight, performing menial tasks initially, tackling janitorial duties in high school, and then driving delivery trucks when he secured his license. Even in college, the younger Flesch handled installations. But upon graduating college, Flesch took a job in commercial insurance sales for Liberty Mutual.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy future wife got a teaching job in Milwaukee, so I moved there after I graduated,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThere were a lot of similarities between our industry and insurance. At the time, cold calling was the best way to get the bulk of your business in commercial insurance and the copier business. I didn\u2019t realize it at the time, but it was a great training ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

When a sales rep left GFC to start his own business, creating an opening, Tom Flesch and his brother, John, split the territory and began selling audio\/visual equipment. Forty years later, Flesch\u2014a 2018 ENX Magazine<\/em> Difference Maker\u2014continues to build upon the legacy of his father while taking the company into the 21st<\/sup> century with new technology tools but the same old-fashioned employee cultivation methods that are timeless in nature yet equally effective throughout the generations.<\/p>\n

People Behind Success<\/strong><\/p>\n

Flesch shies from taking credit for the dealership\u2019s continued evolution. In fact, he believes senior management teams\u2014like a head coach in sports\u2014are often overemphasized. A crackerjack\u001b management unit is only as good as the people driving activity to the street\u2014the sales, service and admin teams that make success happen on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cOur people here have always been extremely dedicated, professional and hard-working,\u201d Flesch observed. \u201cIt\u2019s the best part of the business, what makes a company go. We\u2019ve been extremely fortunate to have really experienced people who have been with us 30, 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gordon Flesch\u2019s aforementioned practice of hiring people and staying out of their way has long provided a gateway for the company\u2019s success, and the practice goes a long way toward procuring impressive tenure. \u201cGiving people the opportunity to grow in their roles and move up to positions of more responsibility\u2014that\u2019s how you keep people,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Honesty and integrity have been the twin values Flesch adopted from his father. It has garnered GFC a reputation within the industry, and the trust developed with manufacturers and fellow dealers has helped foster corporate growth.<\/p>\n

Cooking Up Wins<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aside from his father, Flesch also garnered wisdom from GFC\u2019s Ted Williams, his former boss and former vice president of sales. One of Williams\u2019 famous mottos was \u201cyou have to break some eggs to make an omelet.\u201d It\u2019s a nod to the difficult decisions that need to be made in business, whether it\u2019s deciding to promote someone or sever ties with an individual. However, incorrect decisions are a part of business, and the measure of a good company is being able to recognize them and move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always had the philosophy that one bad decision isn\u2019t going to bring the company down,\u201d Flesch noted. \u201cIf it\u2019s the wrong decision, we\u2019ll recover and move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

GFC has focused, among other things, on three vital areas for growth in the past year: cultivating new, larger accounts; building its managed print services business and making more money with managed IT. Flesch hopes to see that success continue into 2019, while also garnering more work in the production print and wide-format printing arenas. Acquisition may also play a role in GFC\u2019s growth as it looks to build strategically while sticking to its core of Great Lakes region business.<\/p>\n

Tom and Jeannie Flesch have been married for 42 years and have two sons, Patrick and Mark, who are vice presidents of the western and eastern regions for GFC, respectively. Tom Flesch enjoys spending time with their six grandchildren and finds comfort in escaping to the family cabin in northern Wisconsin. He loves to golf and go skiing but admits his golf game leaves a bit to be desired.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a rough year; I\u2019ve been a bogey golfer,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s something I can do with my boys, which makes it a great sport.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smart business practices are a lot like Novocain. Give them a little time\u2026despite some initial pain, they\u2019ll always work. The Gordon Flesch Co. (GFC) was founded in 1956, and many of the founding principles of the firm and its business practices have enabled it to thrive still more than 60 years later. Gordon Flesch himself was an astute businessman, and he knew that the best thing he could do for reaping continued growth was to hire the best people and let them perform the duties he\u2019d set for them. Perhaps it was the hands-off approach that set the stage for Gordon Flesch Co.\u2019s future leadership. His son, Tom, had worked for the company in a limited capacity since the age of eight, performing menial tasks initially, tackling janitorial duties in high school, and then driving delivery trucks when he secured his license. Even in college, the younger Flesch handled installations. But upon graduating college, Flesch took a job in commercial insurance sales for Liberty Mutual. \u201cMy future wife got a teaching job in Milwaukee, so I moved there after I graduated,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThere were a lot of similarities between our industry and insurance. At the time, cold calling was the best way to get the bulk of your business in commercial insurance and the copier business. I didn\u2019t realize it at the time, but it was a great training ground.\u201d When a sales rep left GFC to start his own business, creating an opening, Tom Flesch and his brother, John, split the territory and began selling audio\/visual equipment. Forty years later, Flesch\u2014a 2018 ENX Magazine Difference Maker\u2014continues to build upon the legacy of his father while taking the company into the 21st century with new technology tools but the same old-fashioned employee cultivation methods that are timeless in nature yet equally effective throughout the generations. People Behind Success Flesch shies from taking credit for the dealership\u2019s continued evolution. In fact, he believes senior management teams\u2014like a head coach in sports\u2014are often overemphasized. A crackerjack\u001b management unit is only as good as the people driving activity to the street\u2014the sales, service and admin teams that make success happen on a daily basis. \u201cOur people here have always been extremely dedicated, professional and hard-working,\u201d Flesch observed. \u201cIt\u2019s the best part of the business, what makes a company go. We\u2019ve been extremely fortunate to have really experienced people who have been with us 30, 40 years.\u201d Gordon Flesch\u2019s aforementioned practice of hiring people and staying out of their way has long provided a gateway for the company\u2019s success, and the practice goes a long way toward procuring impressive tenure. \u201cGiving people the opportunity to grow in their roles and move up to positions of more responsibility\u2014that\u2019s how you keep people,\u201d he added. Honesty and integrity have been the twin values Flesch adopted from his father. It has garnered GFC a reputation within the industry, and the trust developed with manufacturers and fellow dealers has helped foster corporate growth. Cooking Up Wins Aside from his father, Flesch also garnered wisdom from GFC\u2019s Ted Williams, his former boss and former vice president of sales. One of Williams\u2019 famous mottos was \u201cyou have to break some eggs to make an omelet.\u201d It\u2019s a nod to the difficult decisions that need to be made in business, whether it\u2019s deciding to promote someone or sever ties with an individual. However, incorrect decisions are a part of business, and the measure of a good company is being able to recognize them and move forward. \u201cWe\u2019ve always had the philosophy that one bad decision isn\u2019t going to bring the company down,\u201d Flesch noted. \u201cIf it\u2019s the wrong decision, we\u2019ll recover and move on.\u201d GFC has focused, among other things, on three vital areas for growth in the past year: cultivating new, larger accounts; building its managed print services business and making more money with managed IT. Flesch hopes to see that success continue into 2019, while also garnering more work in the production print and wide-format printing arenas. Acquisition may also play a role in GFC\u2019s growth as it looks to build strategically while sticking to its core of Great Lakes region business. Tom and Jeannie Flesch have been married for 42 years and have two sons, Patrick and Mark, who are vice presidents of the western and eastern regions for GFC, respectively. Tom Flesch enjoys spending time with their six grandchildren and finds comfort in escaping to the family cabin in northern Wisconsin. He loves to golf and go skiing but admits his golf game leaves a bit to be desired. \u201cIt\u2019s been a rough year; I\u2019ve been a bogey golfer,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s something I can do with my boys, which makes it a great sport.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":29077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[80,1650,82,1638],"tags":[3336,3481],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30788"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30788"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30798,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30788\/revisions\/30798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}