Everyone is familiar with the Golden Rule, but not everyone uses it to their advantage. That’s not the case for Fred Calero, co-founder, president and COO of EnovateIT, a health care technologies company. Everything Calero does adheres to the Golden Rule, and he and his company are better off because of it.
Calero’s story goes back to the late 1990s when hospitals began to look at making the transition to paperless processes. Calero knew this was inevitable and in 2003, started Enovate with an emphasis on customizing products to meet the needs of individual practitioners and moved to being a manufacturer of carts, wall stations and wall arms. Making that shift was the biggest risk of his life. It was in 2009 when the company decided to shift to manufacturing its own products and it faced a difficult decision. Humanscale, Enovate’s primary vendor at the time, comprised more than 90 percent of its business. Does it tell Humanscale that it is going to compete or spring it on the vendor as it releases new products?
Calero decided to tell Humanscale months in advance that Enovate would become a competitor. Humanscale threatened to cut its product supply but eventually came to an agreement with Calero. He knew it would have been easier to just roll out the new products, but if the tables were turned, he wouldn’t want to be treated that way.
Calero also applies the Golden Rule to employees. Any employee who wants to explore different areas of the company will get a chance to do so. In fact, many of his office employees started on the assembly lines. When you treat people right, it fosters employees who love what they do and look out for the company’s best interests.
HOW TO REACH: EnovateIT, (248) 655-0548 or www.enovateusa.com
