into a large business, we’ve become an orchestra with many sections — our regions, our internal departments, our dealers. It’s so easy to be out of sync, so easy to avoid dealing with a section or two — leaving them out of the loop. Think how much richer our lives and business would be if we were in harmony. “Performers — we have some good performers, but I haven’t led them to play as a team — they’re soloing instead of playing in harmony. We have a number of great performers who have to be pushed; inspired by me — I’ve left them alone. I have other performers who need encouragement. I have great- performing dealers whom I treat too much like the ones who don’t perform. “As for the conductor, I am the conductor for my company, but it just dawned on me that my dealers are all conductors of their own orchestras — I have to treat them that way. And I have a confession. Too often I forget I’m the conductor. My focus should be on the orchestra, inspiring them to perform at their best. I don’t make umbrellas, our manufacturing division does. I don’t sell umbrellas, my dealers do. I don’t play a single note — but I can lead the best umbrella orchestra in the world! I just had an argument with my favorite dealer on who should lead the charge in an area he is best suited to lead — he really should play that role.” Boy, I hope Bill will forgive me for that. “Our attributes are many — and seldom do we use them to our advantage. We have a large dealer network, incredible marketing talent, a great brand, a loyal customer base, wonderful products and a great engineering team. Think what we could do if they were used to our advantage. “I need to conduct our business so we’re playing off the same sheet of music — in sync — in harmony. I also have to realize it is complicated and there’s plenty of potential for error. That’s why we need to play as one unit, in concert.” 16