When he interviewed for his first job at Park Farms in 1977, Ted Hawk told the owners he would give them his all in exchange for his wages for two years.
After that, if both sides were satisfied, he declared, he would ask for equity, too.
“I don’t like working for a wage,” says Hawk during an early morning interview from his office. “I’d rather take part of the risk and get part of the reward. … I started here driving trucks. I didn’t know what I was making until I got my first paycheck.”
Pretty bold for a 26-year-old fresh out of the Navy. But 23 years later, Hawk is chief executive officer at one of Ohio’s three biggest poultry processors and is midway through a 6-year plan that will transfer company ownership to him and other Park Farms managers.
“I don’t know anybody who was not happy,” Hawk says of the proposal to cut him in on the family-owned Park Farms of Canton.
Jim and Tony Pastores, who owned and operated the business, were skeptical at first, Hawk says. But he never saw them disagree in public.
It was a valuable lesson: Airing ownership or management disputes before employees only increases employees’ anxiety.
“Behind closed doors, things can be very, very intense,” Hawk says. “But if you have turmoil and chaos and disagreement in your ranks, (the competition) will eat your lunch.”
Ted Hawk grew up the 11th of 12 children on a farm in Canton, not far from the company in which he will soon share ownership. His father owned a custom machine shop.
“I grew up with a good work ethic. I think Dad thought kids were just a cheap form of labor,” he jokes. Turning serious, he recalls, “When you grow up as number 11 out of 12 kids, you learn to work as part of a group. You learn to work with very different personalities, from very timid to very aggressive.”
Hawk joined the Navy and trained as an instructor at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., before a two-and-a-half year stint aboard a nuclear submarine. Park Farms was his first stop after that. Founded in 1946, sons Tony and Jim Pastores assumed control of the business in 1969.
Park Farms employs approximately 476 people, with about $90 million in annual sales. The plant processes 1.2 million pounds — 300,000 to 325,000 chickens –each week for markets in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and Cincinnati.
“At this time … the chances of me being successful in this business are greater than that of the [Pastores’] children,” Hawk says, adding, “I will not be the sole owner — it’s still a team sport.”
The goals of family business founders, Hawk believes, are little different from those of other owners — they want their works to continue to grow and develop successfully; they want the business to keep earning income for their offspring; and they want those offspring to succeed in their own right.
Hawk’s proposition provided the Pastores an opportunity to place their children in the best positions to reach their own potentials.
Hawk says he earned the trust of both his employees and Park Farms owners by learning and implementing some trust-building policies.
Success depends on everyone working together. Virtually every business, large or small, constitutes a chain of events, a failure in any of which could spell disaster for the chain as a whole, Hawk says.
“While you can have a few outstanding personalities, unless the entire organization is dedicated to the job and doing it well, what happens is that one single thing causes so many problem and chaos, you cannot do the job properly,” he says.
Canton suffered a heat wave in 1995, and a large portion of Park Farms living stock died. Balmy weather made loading and properly disposing of the rotting carcasses a paramount challenge.
Hawk called for volunteers, and workers and managers from all departments and levels of the company responded.
“When you start a team effort, typically what you have is an undesirable job, and it’s difficult to get volunteers,” he says.
An all-together-now principle inspires everyone to work harder and smarter.
“People want to work for someone they can respect,” he says. “No one starts a new job and says, ‘I want to do a terrible job.'”
Don’t force square pegs into round holes.
“You don’t want someone working for you who gets up in the morning and says, ‘I really don’t want to go to work there,'” Hawk says.
Before he disciplines an errant employee, he demonstrates how the error hurt the organization. Then he asks how management can help avoid future problems. Most employees respond well, he notes.
Training is the best answer for employees who cannot seem to do the job right, Hawk says. Relocation (inside the company, he emphasizes; termination is a last resort) may work for people no longer content with their assignments.
“Try to fit employees to what their natural interests are,” Hawk advises.
Don’t fail to communicate.
“The day you forget that every employee can teach you something about your organization, you’re in trouble,” Hawk says. “Don’t be afraid to listen to somebody’s idea, and if it’s a good one, use it, because there’s normally more than one way to do a job.”
Be ready to prove someone right.
Don’t argue about business based on emotion or prejudice, or the “way it’s always been done,” Hawk suggests.
Marshall your facts and test them against your problem, or against colleagues who believe in another way. Even if you don’t solve the problem, he says, the company benefits.
“If you tell someone you’re trying to show they’re right, you’re buying ownership of their problems.”
Be ready to explain.
Any Park Farms employee dissatisfied with a manager’s answer can schedule an appointment with Hawk on 48 hours’ notice, the CEO says. Managers are encouraged to solve employees’ problems, with the knowledge that if they don’t, Hawk will.
“You have to set up a culture in your company that listens,” he says. “All most people want is an understanding of why. … Very few people are unreasonable.”
“You can be wrong, but you should never lie,” Hawk says.
Managers should be open to honest disagreements in private with other managers, he says. The goal is to develop a consensus for a more effective solution.
When presenting the decision to employees, he stresses, “There should be one voice, one goal. … You should sell (the consensus decision) like it was your own decision, your own goal.” How to reach: Park Farms (330) 455-0241
