Fred Ode takes a laid-back approach tobusiness, and in the summer, he andthe 62 employees of Brunswick-based Foundation Software Inc. can often beseen sporting shorts, sandals and T-shirts.
“I have no problem bringing suits andCPAs into this place, where everybody’swalking around with their cut-off shortsand T-shirts,” says the company’s founderand CEO. “What people see is a vibrant,alive, intense workplace where people get along and like each other.”
After starting his career as a secondary school math and business teacher,Ode established his constructionaccounting software firm in 1985.Revenue increased from $4.5 millionin 2004 to $6.5 million last year.
Smart Business spoke with Odeabout why daydreaming is good forCEOs but complacency is not, andwhy worrying everything to death isnot necessarily a bad thing.
Q: How can other CEOs grow theircompanies the way you’ve grownyours?
Andy Grove, of Intel, wrote thisbook, ‘Only the Paranoid Survive,’and the one thing I’ve seen withbusinesses — including mine — isthat you have to be paranoid andworried. You can’t become self-satisfied when things are going well.
It’s not like you’re saying, ‘What’s going to go wrong?’ Instead, you’re asking, ‘What can we do better? What can we do to continue growing? What is going to happen in the market? What are our competitors doing?’
You have to have a certain intensity. I’vebeen like that since I was 3 years old. I’m abit of a worrier — it’s an understatement.
Business is so complex and convolutedthat if you look at it as, ‘Start a business, sellyour product and service it,’ you’re doomed.You have to worry it to death, and I don’tmean that in a negative way. You have tofocus on everything: your people, the market,the competition, your product, your service.
Q: How do you avoid getting overwhelmed?
Bring in people that have a skill set you don’t have. If you worry everything todeath, one of the things you think about isyourself. I’m very confident — and I certainly can be accused of being cocky —but, by the same token, I’m extremely self-critical.
You also can educate yourself. I’ve readhundreds of business books over theyears — on sales, marketing, management, leadership, biographies and histories of business. Relative to perfect knowledge, you’re always stupid; there’s alwaysan infinite amount of knowledge outthere.
There’s no perfect businessman. I’m verygood at running a $6.5 million company,and I know I’m not good at running a $20million company. We’re going to get theresomeday — and go beyond that — so Ihave to prepare for it. The way I run mybusiness today cannot be the way I run ittomorrow.
I haven’t always been like that. For thefirst 10 years, I was sort of like a bulldog. Ijust plowed my way through everythingthrough sheer hard work, effort and intensity.
Q: What happened to make you changeyour approach?
I was ready to walk. I hated my companyand my job, and I was absolutely miserable.I had probably 10 employees and a couplehundred clients, and that’s it. I very seriously considered selling and getting out.
If you’re tough, you keep talking to people, asking questions and looking into yourself, and there’s an answer there. I ultimately brought a person in to help merun operations. That took a big burdenoff my shoulders, and I was then ableto reflect a little more and realized I hadto grow as a businessperson. That wasa big turning point for me.
Q: How do you define your company’scontinuous improvement philosophy:‘When better is possible, good is notenough’?
Better is always possible. Last year, wedidn’t have a good year; we had a greatyear. So, rather than get complacent, weasked, ‘What can we do? Can we createnew products for other entry points inthe market? Can we improve our research and development to get productout the door more quickly? Can we builda new consulting division?’
I’ve seen many competitors go down thedrain over the last 20 years. These companies were substantially bigger, more successful and more prestigious than us. Theywere good, but they didn’t worry aboutbeing better.
Q: On a personal level, how do you handlethe growth of your business?
My biggest role now is change: What’scoming down the pike, and what will thenext one to five years bring? I read a lot ofbooks and newspapers, network withother people in the industry and go to conferences and trade shows.
I daydream a lot about it; you can’t underestimate that. It’s something you need to dosometimes. Just sit there — whether it’s ona beach or with a beer in your backyard, itdoesn’t matter — you daydream, you fantasize, and you think.
HOW TO REACH: Foundation Software Inc., (800) 246-0800 orwww.foundationsoft.com