You may be wondering, why in the world would you call Ken
Landers the Widowmaker? I guess I’ll
have to fall back on my standard answer, beats the shit out of me. I really can’t remember why, but I started
calling Ken the Widowmaker years ago. I
really can’t believe this day is here, I can’t believe Ken is leaving, and I
kept thinking that somehow he’d change his mind, but, I’m starting to think, he
really is retiring. As a preamble to
some well-deserved comments (and humor) about Ken, I think it makes sense to
start with some history of where we were and what it took to get where we are.
I joined WIKA 10 years ago as the Chief Financial Officer
for WIKA Instrument. I still remember
that first day. Within 10 minutes of getting
there, my Controller, Ruth Berger, had resigned. It was something she had been working on for
a while, so it had nothing to do with me (at least she said!), but that was a
tough way to start a new job. We had a
staff meeting with all of the accounting and controlling people later that day,
and I remember looking around the room and thinking, what have I done? I’m not quite sure what it was, but I just
had the sense, something was amiss.
As time went on, I found out more and more, but the
personnel in accounting and controlling had been through some very difficult
times with a tyrant for a boss, and then several interim bosses. I also found out later, that they had a pool
started of when I would leave. I think
I’ve beaten the pool at this point. Suffice
it to say, the job was very challenging, and I’ll admit at times, I confided in
my wife Laurel, I’m not sure if I can turn this around, it was such a
mess. I remember Nancy Cox-Lupori (my
Accounting Manager, who had started a few months before me) and I discussing financials, and it seemed
every month we’d turn over a rock, and more worms would crawl out, it was so
disheartening.
Eventually, Nancy and her team were able to clean up the
accounting side, they were able to get the financials in really good shape, and
there were very little worries on that side of the house. But then there was the controlling side. As noted, Ruth resigned, and I brought in a
temp for the interim to try to keep things together. Eventually, I hired a new Controller, and I
thought we were back in business. Now,
I’m not sure about other people, but once in a while, you make a mistake, and
you really make a bad hiring decision.
Unfortunately, that was the case here.
I quickly figured out, somehow, I had really screwed up in who I hired,
and I had to make a change. One of the
difficulties was, my boss at the time, Michael Gerster, was really beginning to
question my judgment. I had been there about
six months, and I had made a major error in hiring. I couldn’t afford another one like that.
I started out searching for a new Controller, and as noted,
I was really stressed about making the right decision, or if I put it
negatively, not making the wrong decision again. I also had to find an Assistant Controller
because in the midst of evaluating the controlling staff, that was one of the
issues we had. After a great deal of
interviews, painfully reviewing and talking to many people, I brought in a
Controller, Jim Campbell, and an Assistant Controller, Ken Landers.
Now to say that Jim and Ken were old school would be an
understatement. They were very much out
of the traditional school of controlling, they were both seasoned and had seen
a great deal in their manufacturing careers.
Quickly they meshed, and they became a well-oiled machine, complementing
the excellent accounting team we had with great financial analysis. The other thing that I really appreciated out
of them was that they were both so easy to work with. If I needed something, I could quickly go to
either of them, and say, “we need this analysis, please get it done”. No fuss, no bother, they would quickly and
efficiently comply.
Sadly, we lost Jim way too soon. Jim had a stroke about eight years ago, and
shortly afterward, he died. While it was
devastating to all of us, it was incredible how the accounting and controlling
teams all pulled together to keep everything running without a glitch. Ken had to bear a great deal of the burden,
he was the one in charge for the time-being, and he shouldered that load the
way he does everything, without any fuss, without any complaints, he just does
it.
When I think of Ken, what always comes to my mind is the
term we often use in business, “Steady Eddie”.
To be honest, I hate that term because too often we use that for
average, but steady performers. By no
means is Ken average, he really knows his stuff, especially inventory, he has a
great grasp on inventory and what is happening on the cost side of the
business. There have been several times
lately where I’ve been discussing inventory issues with Ken, and I keep
reminding him, “have you trained anyone on this?” He just chuckles and says he will.
While, as I’ve noted, Ken is really sharp and knows his job
well, I really don’t believe people realized that at first. You see, Ken talks Alabaman. Not Southern, but Alabaman. One of the greatest joys I’ve experienced
here is when our colleagues from Germany come over, and they try to understand
Ken. Granted, it’s difficult enough for
them to understand us, they speak German, and English is not their native
language. But to watch them stare
intently at Ken when he talks, and watch them strain so hard to understand what
he is saying, is priceless.
Two of my other fondest memories of Ken had to do with when
we had an intern in the department that didn’t quite work out. Ken had the pleasure of supervising the
intern, and it even pushed Ken’s buttons, which isn’t easy to do, Ken has a
very pleasant demeanor. I remember the
one time, I was sitting in my office working, and all of a sudden, through the
wall, I heard Ken yelling, “Matthew if I see you on video games one more time,
I’m going to take that computer away from you!”. I almost jumped out of my chair, I had never
heard Ken raise his voice before, but he had been pushed over his limit.
The second incident was when I was in California at one of
our other sites, and I woke up in the morning, three hours behind, and I see an
e-mail from our intern Matthew saying, “Ken’s in the hospital, if you need
anything, I’m in charge.” I instantly
panicked, and called the office, and Ken was there. I asked him what the hell was going on, and
he just sighed and said, “I was at the doctor, not the hospital, it was just an
appointment.” Crisis averted.
I can’t believe the Widowmaker is leaving us. While I keep joking with one of Ken's younger colleagues, Angela Miller, that she's going to become Young Widowmaker or Widowmaker, Jr., I think it's only right that the Widowmaker name retires with Ken.
You know, too often we take for granted those
“Steady Eddie’s”, the ones who just quietly, efficiently get the job done. I’m really going to miss that laugh of his,
seeing him head to the parking lot with his apple every day, that long,
Alabaman accent. But I’m so happy for
him that he is able to say goodbye and move on to his retirement. I wish him well, he deserves it.
