Hire Today, Gone Tomorrow?

Support Your Ambassadors

Sue Thompson hasn't established a formal, Bain-style alumni program at In Focus. But she subscribes to a similar philosophy. In Focus is a leader in the booming market for LCD projectors. The company generated revenues of $315 million in 1997, and according to an internal study, its revenues-per-employee ($600,000) dwarf those of its competitors. Last year, Oregon Business magazine ranked In Focus as the fourth-best place to work in the state.

None of which means that great people stay at In Focus forever. In 1997, the company lost more than 10% of its people. One big reason: The company's training programs make its employees irresistible to poachers. Of course Thompson would like to reduce turnover. But she's just as eager to work creatively with people who have left. Why? Because they tend to wind up in places where they can act as ambassadors for In Focus and as advocates for its products.

Ron Merryman, 39, is a case in point. He started working at In Focus in January 1989, when it had about 40 employees and less than $10 million in revenues. He did stints as corporate controller, director of business development, and general manager of Genigraphics, a division of In Focus that, among other things, produces slide presentations for clients.

He was, in short, a critical employee. But by 1997, Merryman was looking for a new challenge: He wanted to help build a small, entrepreneurial company of the sort that In Focus used to be. So he took a job as executive vice president and general manager of Data Projections Inc. That company, based in Houston, sells, rents, and services LCD projectors, videoconferencing gear, and digital whiteboards. It employs about 70 people and expects to book $32 million in sales this year.

Data Projections also happens to be one of the country's biggest distributors of In Focus products. And with Merryman's help, the company is getting even bigger. Since he arrived at Data Projections, business between the two companies has been up by more than 70%. In the first quarter of 1998, Data Projections sold more than twice as many In Focus projectors as it did in the first quarter of last year.

"Those numbers aren't a result of playing favorites," Merryman argues. "In Focus is winning market share not because I'm an alum but because I'm communicating about how it can improve its business proposition."

For example, Merryman persuaded Tim McGarry, director of North American sales for In Focus, to travel to Texas to train Merryman's sales team personally. Merryman also worked with In Focus to increase the amount of regional co-op advertising that the two companies do together. And Merryman sought his former company's input on strategic issues such as where Data Projections should open new offices.

"We went to In Focus and said, 'We need to start breaking out of Texas. Where do you need help?'" That dialogue led to new outposts in St. Louis and Indianapolis.

Merryman exemplifies the concept of turning former employees into future ambassadors. His ties to In Focus are deep and long-standing. ("Part of me wishes I were still there," he says.) But his commitment to building his new company is equally deep.

And those two commitments work well together. "My allegiance is to Data Projections," he says. "But I'm also a good conduit back to In Focus. I understand that company's strategy, and I can be an advocate for our strategy. We spend a lot of time working on goals that we share."

Steve Brady, 40, another In Focus alum, has become an unofficial advocate for the company's products. As the data-warehouse program manager at Intel's operation in Portland, Oregon, he spends much of his time traveling to other cities and delivering presentations on the merits of data warehousing and data mining. And he always uses In Focus projectors in his presentations. In fact, the company lent him two projectors to use on a recent eight-city tour that he undertook for Intel.

"I would compare leaving In Focus to moving away from home," says Brady, who began at In Focus as a senior financial analyst and rose to become its head of management reporting, before leaving in 1996. "You know you have to leave, but it's sad just the same. The company has awesome products, and it has created a very family-oriented environment.

"I probably have more credibility as a spokesman for In Focus today than I did when I was working there," Brady explains. "I'll be in a meeting, and when I pull out a tiny projector from my computer bag, people start gushing about how small it is, how bright it is, how light it is. I'm not out selling In Focus products anymore. I'm just trying to use them effectively. But I think that has a stronger, more subtle effect than actively trying to sell them."

Don't Drop Your Boomerangs