Talent without working hard is nothing..

Thanksgiving week is the time of the year we all step back and remember just how blessed we are to be living and working in this country.  Once again, our country has gone through a long and trying election process with a new administration taking over in January.  Regardless of anyone’s political stance, our system works.

I often think about how fortunate I have been to have spent my entire professional career in the beer industry and rest assured; I will be thinking just that this Thursday as I take my family to visit a start-up brewery Thanksgiving weekend!  A couple of weeks ago, during the World Series games, I was with former colleges who reminded me of our good fortune.

Living in the DFW area, where many key wholesalers and retailers are located, ensures many industry professionals passing through the area, thus creating opportunities for us to meet and catch up.  During the sixth game of the series, two of my former key directors at Warsteiner were in town and we met at a pub, joined by a third former director.

While enjoying a beer and watching the baseball game, we reminisced about the old times at Warsteiner. We talked about the great year we had in 2008 when the company achieved record volume sales and profit.  We all agreed that we had momentum and a solid plan.  Based on our success and our team, we were looking at double digit growth for the coming years.  All the key components were in place, but the most important component was the professionalism of the team and the culture of the company.

Soon, however, our conversation took a downward turn when we began to discuss the brewery’s decision to raise the price points by four levels, and decrease the head count and the marketing budget.  That killed all the momentum and the company lost almost 40% of their business; business which has not returned almost 10 years later.

What struck me as ironic is that all three of these highly qualified key managers are no longer in the beer industry, they are, however, in the wine business and all are quite successful.  Their track record speaks volumes and yet they sell wine.  Does anyone really want to know why beer sales lag behind in growth verses wine or spirit sales?  Could it not be more obvious?

Any beer company, whether a startup or one that is established, should understand that it is not only talent, but talent that will and can work hard to achieve their company goals.  It is not simply the fact of knowing what to do, as much as it is knowing what not to do that really matters.  We are not seeing that in all segments of beer today.  Thus the negative numbers.

There comes a point in everyone’s life when you are able to recognize when you are in a good place professionally verses when you are not in a good place.  It always changes. But when it is good, it is great, and that stays with you throughout your career.  To Mike, Paul, and Ron, it was great to catch up and thanks, I will be thinking about our time together and our friendship.  To all out there, have a blessed Thanksgiving and I will be toasting you on Thursday.

Talent without working hard is nothing…