Business View Magazine - July 2016 21
INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS
Execs spill the beans on their ‘secret sauce’
By Lorie Steiner
Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese,
pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun…
McDonald’s ode to the Big Mac is a classic example of
marketing through mystery. Referencing the ‘secret’ in-
gredient that makes your particular offering special. Col-
onel Harland Sanders engaged the ploy decades ear-
lier with his finger lickin’ good Kentucky Fried Chicken.
KFC’s Original Recipe of 11 herbs and spices became
one of the most famous trade secrets in the catering in-
dustry.
Not that these formulas are a magical concoction of
obscure wonder foods – all the ingredients are read-
ily available on grocery store shelves – it’s the concept
of secrecy that has the allure. Curiosity about what we
don’t know… that’s what spearheads innovation and ul-
timately feeds success.
In today’s business lingo, the buzz phrase “secret sauce”
has nothing to do with fast food, and everything to do
with what sets your company apart from the rest. Forget
the mystery, it turns out execs these days are more than
willing to share their secrets – proud, in fact, of the stellar
results they’re achieving across a variety of industries.
Here’s a taste of what they’re saying:
People first
“It’s the team of people that make this place run; ev-
eryone from editorial to creative to IT to production. We
have developed an amazing culture here, and every day
I get to come to the office and be with these people is
a good day.”
Marcus VandenBrink, President Business
View Publishing
“For success? I would say, it’s the amazing attention
to detail that our staff puts into all areas affecting our
readers and featured companies. From the extensive
research done while vetting companies to be profiled in
Business View publications, to insuring that all content is
effectively delivered to our subscribed readership, and
globally, through the SEO skills and proficiency of our
IT team.”
Andre Barefield, VP Publishing Business View
Caribbean
Lead by example
“Our mantra at Danby is “we do the right thing”. This
greatly simplifies decisions. How do we treat each oth-
er? How do we treat suppliers? How do we treat custom-
ers? Do we pay $10,000 to do something we can do for
$2,000? Do we spend 40 hours doing something that
can be done in 20 hours? Do we work hard to reduce our
packaging waste?...
This is partly why I sponsored 50 Syrian refugee fami-
lies, it is simply “do the right thing”. I would not be a very
good leader if I didn’t practice what I preach. People
are inspired to work for a company that thinks like this.
I will say, it is not perfect. As you know, there are some
challenges that are not black and white
.” Jim Estill, CEO
Danby Appliances, author of
Zero to $2Billion: The Mar-
keting and Branding Story Behind the Growth
Invest in the future
“New Haven is really moving forward. We led the state
out of the Recession, and we have, what I would consid-
er, the ‘secret sauce’ to help our region grow; a compre-
hensive $1.7 billion building and rehabilitation program
for all of our schools.
We’re really very proud of these facilities and the new
infrastructure they represent. It’s been transformative
in terms of jobs, as well as an inspiration to the young
people who attend our bright, new schools.”
Mayor Toni
Harp, New Haven, Connecticut
Put yourself out there
“Marketing is a big deal, especially in our business. With
a product like steel, you need a good website to draw
people and build sales. If your name is out there and
they know you’re a substantial company, they tend to
give you a chance to bid their work. The days of door-to-
door sales are long gone.”
Sharon Suggs, President &
CEO Allstate Steel Company Inc., Jacksonville Florida
Humor in the workplace
“Our secret sauce is not taking ourselves too seriously.
We joke a lot, no matter what we’re working on – wheth-
er our business or our books. When it comes to being
co-authors, we count on the ability to make each oth-
er laugh. When one of us writes a line or a scene that
makes the other one spit hot latte or snort like a feral
pig, we know we’ve written something good.”
– Michael
Voss, former Communications Director; co-author with
Jennifer Rock of fictional corporate tell-all,
B. S. Incor-
porated
.
