4 min read

Nothing Works Unless We Do

Oct 14, 2014 6:30:00 AM

To honor the passing of William "Bill" Kennedy, we're re-running this blog post from March 2013.

Bill_Kennedy2A Lot Of Effort And Hard Work

Is work ethic becoming passé? It seems much of today’s “leading” business thinking focuses only on working smarter not harder.

Well, one person determined to keep “work ethic” alive is William “Bill” Kennedy. He’s the owner and leader, of Hartson-Kennedy Cabinet Top Company, in Marion, Indiana.

At the age of 90, Kennedy was still very involved with the day-to-day operations of the company he co-founded with his father-in-law in 1948. Sure he’s slowed down a bit in recent years, “only” coming into work from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., but I bet he could tell you, down to the dollar, what his payables and receivables are for the week.

When I asked about how he’s survived and prospered all these years, Kennedy said so many companies make things way too complicated. “I’ve kept it simple”, he said. “You got your account receivables and you got your payables. What’s left is what you have to work with. You have to watch it every day!”

Bill’s son Chris, Vice President at Hartson-Kennedy, commented, “Dad has always had such amazing business and people instincts.” Bill chuckled and agreed, “I’m not an educated guy, but I’ve hired a lot of those folks to work for me over the years.”

He was quick to add, “I guess the other thing is that you have to put out a lot of effort and hard work – that’s 90% of it. And you need a certain amount of luck. But you can’t expect to go far without working hard!” In other words, nothing really works – no matter how great a strategy or plan you have – without putting in the hard work required to implement and execute it.

It Runs In The Family

In case you’re wondering, Bill isn’t the first Kennedy to be known for having a great work ethic. And he’s doing his best to ensure he won’t be the last. His own father KJ retired from Texaco at age 75. He quickly became restless and phoned Bill to tell him he was picking up a small retail job to have something to do. Bill convinced KJ to work for him at Hartson-Kennedy as a purchasing agent. He stayed on until he was 88 years old.

Bill wanted his Dad to take it easy at Hartson-Kennedy: “For goodness sake, he was 75 when he came here.” KJ wouldn’t hear of it, “Are you kidding me? I have to work even harder because I’m a Kennedy!”

“I’m really proud of passing this [trait] on to my sons“, said Bill. “Even though they beat me into work nowadays!” And it’s not just his sons. Granddaughters Kristen and Kaitlyn have worked summers at the family business in Marion since they were teenagers. In fact, Kristen still maintains the company website.

Bill has looked for employees over the years that shared with him a passion for their work. “Well, there was a young fella who worked at the filling station named Harold. He was kind of whiz-bang go-getter. One day I said to him, ‘If you want to come work for me, you got a job.’ Well he did and stayed with us for 40 years. He was our quality inspector for a long, long time.”

And why did Bill have a hunch he’d make such a good employee? “He might have been in a uniform, but he sure took care of himself. Always had a neat and clean look about him,” said Bill. Chris added, “Dad watched Harold at the gas station, always hustling for him, and with meticulous attention to the details. He knew Harold would do the same for him at the plant.”

What’s The Risk?

Bill’s story is inspiring to me. I can’t say for sure what I’ll be doing at age 90, but I hope I have his mental sharpness and zest for life. If you ask most people, I bet they would answer by saying one thing they know they won’t be doing is working! The thing is, I’m pretty sure for Bill it’s not work.

The point is not that we all need – or will be able – to work until we’re 90. It’s about the fact that every job has a busy season. Every career has stressful moments. Every company has difficult customers or tough bosses. You have to be passionate about what you’re doing or you won’t be able to give it your best effort. And without the effort and hard work, you won’t reach your goals, no matter how good of a plan you have. Nothing works unless we do. But how do you keep that dedication and commitment over the years?

The answer lies in doing something you love. And sometimes I believe you have to live in the moment and love what you’re doing. What’s the risk if you don’t? Well, in some ways, everything is at stake. While admittedly Bill didn’t grow up dreaming of making plastic laminate counter tops, he realized there was a need for a better surface than linoleum. He passionately believed he could do it better than the “other guys“.

He kept it simple and ensured Hartson-Kennedy didn’t spend everything it made. He found employees that shared his focus on quality. He went from working out of a two car garage to having his product carried in national retailers like Lowe’s and Home Depot. And he worked hard. Except, deep down inside, it wasn’t really work at all.

Topics: Executive
Tim Leman

Written by Tim Leman

Tim is Chairman and CEO at Gibson. He joined Gibson in 2005 as the Director of the Employee Benefits Practice and became a principal in 2007. He was named President in 2009, CEO in 2011, and elected Chairman of the Board in 2014.

With Tim’s leadership, Gibson has been selected as a Best Places to Work in Indiana, named to Principal’s 10 Best list for employee financial security, maintained its status as a Reagan & Associates Best Practices Agency, recognized as one of 20 Indiana Companies To Watch, and named to the Inc. 5000 list. Read Tim's Full Bio