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How CFB Dealt with Transition
October 20, 2007 By: Mark Arzoumanian Official Board MarketsIn 1987 Thomas Ramsey, ceo of Central Florida Box Corp. (CFB), a point-of-purchase display company headquartered in Lake Mary, Fla., had two dramatic events occur in his life: a heart attack and a divorce. He survived both and today is happily remarried. He still is very close to his ex-wife. But the heart attack was a wake-up call for him and his family-run business.
At that time he knew that if he didn’t start planning for the company’s future after he passed away, it would die with him or be swallowed up by another box maker.
Ramsey told his story as part of an industry panel on leadership held during the Association of Independent Corrugated Converters’ Annual Meeting, which occurred earlier this month in Minneapolis. The panel session was moderated by leadership and team building expert Dick Heller, president, Full Extension LLC, Newton, Mass. Other participants included Ramsey’s daughter, Angela, vice president, sales and marketing, CFB; Sam and John Abbott, Abbott-Action Corp., Canton, Mass.; and Mario Fidanzi of Stetson University, Family Enterprise Center.
Ramsey started the company in 1979 (with a partner) as a small sheet plant. His son and daughters helped him out, doing whatever it took to fill the box orders. Ten years ago his partner had health problems and, thanks to a buy/sell agreement, Ramsey bought him out. Today his son, Jeff, is president.
The Ramsey family now owned 100 percent of CFB. Thomas Ramsey continued working full-time from 1998 to 2001. But as family members started taking on more and more responsibility, he started to gently bow out. Today he is out completely and enjoys traveling the country with his wife in their RV. When his children call and ask him to help them make a business decision, he makes it very clear that it is now their decision to make, not his.
“I don’t care if they make a profit as long as they send me a check,” he says with a smile.
Smooth as Possible—
Angela Ramsey says her father was very helpful in making the management transition as smooth as possible.
“It was dad’s decision not to make a decision,” she says. “And I was able to learn how to learn.”
She adds that when her father had the heart attack (heart disease runs in the family), the family had to ask itself some tough questions and determine what needed to occur for a smooth business transition. First they had to establish new buy/sell agreements. Then they had to make certain all the company documents were accurate. Ramsey’s offspring had to also discuss who would step up and take over running CFB if he should die.
“The stumbling stones were in documentation,” Thomas Ramsey says. “You have to have a clear-cut idea of what you do and do not want to do. Action is the key word.”
John Abbott, president, Abbott-Action, agrees that putting the company’s future in writing can be daunting.
“Taking it from knowing what I want to putting it in writing can be a challenge,” he says.
He started his sheet plant in 1964. Over the past 40-plus years, he has merged (with Action Container) and made a number of acquisitions. Today Abbott-Action operates three facilities in New England with a combined 300,000 sq ft.
Talk to Me—
All of these family issues boil down to the importance of constantly communicating with each other, Heller says, who in his talk preceding the panel session discussed the value of clear expectations and honest feedback.
“Leaders need to talk, to be explicit,” he states. “The role of the leader is to foster the right conversations in the workplace and to stop the wrong conversations.
Leaders also have to recognize that some of their people won’t be able to carry the same amount of weight as others. What to do then?
Heller told the story of Sergeant Terry Blogg, a professional soldier and elite army ranger, who is also a professional ballet dancer with Columbia City Ballet in South Carolina. He fought in Iraq in 2005. His ballet skills came in handy when patrolling the streets of Baghdad. Specifically, he had to establish a vision for each of his men in terms of what they could and could not accomplish, a skill he acquired while working with his fellow ballet dancers. This same skill can be applied in the business world, Heller says.
He also stresses the importance of finding your voice by examining your values, defining moments, and desires.
“You have to ask, what must I keep doing, stop doing, and start doing,” Heller says. “What leadership legacy are you leaving?”OBM
Callout: “I don’t care if they make a profit as long as they send me a check.”—T. Ramsey, Central Florida Box Corp.
