Words of Wisdom from Lou Gentine

Yesterday, I had the good fortune to interview Lou Gentine, Sargento Foods CEO. I had learned of him through a mutual consulting friend. who had heard Lou speak at Concordia University at a meeting I was unable to attend. The subject matter of corporate values woven into a family owned business supported by a strong faith in God, had intrigued me, since those are an important part of my business . When Mike suggested I call Lou for an interview , I did so and Lou's assistant, Deb was most helpful in setting it up.

First of all, Sargento is, and has been, an innovative and very successful company. It was started in the late '40's by Lou's father, Leonard, who had high standards and was driven to take special care of his employees. When Lou took over running the organization 26 years ago, he formalized much of what his father believed. They were proud of being family owned and treating everyone uniquely. As Lou says, God became part of their mission statement.

What is my point? First of all, it is refreshing to see leadership humble and yet driven. Secondly, having many years of experience working with family-owned businesses, it is impressive to see family members held accountable, coached, and agreeing to a "Family Participation Agreement" which outlines what is expected. Certainly, family members are special, as they should be. As Lou says, it is understood that family members win ties. At the same time, employees realize that they will be promoted and given more responsibility if their performance warrants. Everyone wins.

The final observation, in the vernacular, is "How cool is it" that in this day and age of shaky corporate ethics and secular values, Sargento puts God in their mission statement? Like the family owned values, employees are aware of the importance of faith in the workplace at Sargento, and all faiths are welcome. Lou is proud that they've never had a complaint about their approach, even though a diverse group of non-Christians have worked, and are working there.

This leaves me with the thought that "good guys" can win and not be reticent about pleasing our Maker. In this case, cheese heads rule!