“Best in the business.” That’s what Ken Fishel used to say. That was his goal, along with “beatin’ the ears off the competition.” Today, we are looking to be “The Best Choice” for our Customers, Teammates and Suppliers, which requires us to meet both of Ken Fishel’s goals. This is our mantra or mission. In addition, we have a set of values that we all need to live up to every day:

1. Celebrate the Customer
2. Pursue Operational Excellence
3. Be Accident Free
4. Promote Team Fishel
5. Fund the Cash Profit Sharing Plan
6. Remain Union Free
7. Provide Great Opportunities for our Teammates
8. Promote Winners and Discard Losers

With our decentralized organizational structure of 22 offices in 11 states, we have to create standard operating procedures and processes that insure that we remain “The Best Choice.” This requires all of our Teammates working towards the same goals and living up to the same set of values that this company was founded on over 70 years ago. One of our initiatives we started 18 months ago was “Do Work Profitably” (DWP). The focus of this initiative is to complete projects on time and on budget so that we satisfy our Customers’ requirements as well as our own requirements of earning a profit on our work.

As a company, we have been working hard to implement that DWP process. Thank you for all your hard work to date.We still have a long way to go before this initiative is complete and part of our standard operating procedure. Once complete, we will have a much better system for tracking the status of our work and providing meaningful updates to Customers and our management team. It will also help us meet our goal of Operational Excellence, which leads to increased profits and larger profit sharing checks. The payoff is there for everyone.

Over the next few months, we will be reviewing our strategic plan and setting a course for the future. One thing for sure is that we cannot do it without trained and skilled Teammates. They are our future, and those with the hustle and fire in the belly can accomplish great things.

Our job as Managers is to provide profitable growth opportunities where these Teammates can excel and learn new skills. We have to provide a learning environment where Teammates can be challenged and enjoy coming to work. We have to create a career path for all our Teammates and a training development plan so that we can make the most of the Team Fishel experience. That is what Fishelosophy is all about ... learning from others and sharing that common bond which we call teamwork.

Ken would be truly amazed at the size and scale of Team Fishel, not to mention the diverse set of Customers and the many skills our Teammates have; but he would still agree that being “The Best Choice” for our Customers, Teammates, and Suppliers is our most important goal and focus at Team Fishel. It’s been there for 70 years and it will continue into the future.