That simple, yet, powerful concept is the mantra of Joe McGhee, Chairman and CEO of American Biosurgical, a leading medical cable provider solely dedicated to custom surgical, patient monitoring, and diagnostics imaging medical cable assemblies.
Recently on Bold Ventures Radio , McGhee told listeners that you don’t have to create a start-up to be a successful business owner. McGhee, for example, tapped into his inner entrepreneurial spirit and, rather than starting a company from the ground up, he convinced his vast network of former colleagues, mentors, investors and private equity firms to invest in HIM, so he could invest in a company. After working for major corporations like Siemens, IBM, and recently as head of Korean operations for Cisco Systems, McGhee left the corporate world and bought American Biosurgical.
How does someone decide to leave a $400 million operation for a major company to buy a mid-size firm in Atlanta? McGhee believed that he could. “I always create a best-case and worst-case scenario when facing any problem or solution. I NEVER consider ‘can I or can’t I’ but rather ask, ‘what do I do next to make it work?’”
McGhee has used that same decision-making approach to deal with rising healthcare costs that are crippling his customers and their customers. (According to Kaiser, expenditures in the United States on health care surpassed $2.2 trillion in 2007.) Looking to reduce costs for his customers, McGhee decided to open manufacturing facilities in China. This tactical move added a new layer to the American Biosurgical value proposition.
McGhee’s not the only entrepreneur outsourcing business needs to other countries. According to a BusinessWeek article, “outsourcing a business service can sometimes cut costs in half, and successfully outsourcing manufacturing can save even more.” In fact, according to the same article, “many venture capitalists won’t look at you unless you have a plan to outsource.”
The "ability to do" belief permeates the culture at American Biosurgical, making it a collaboartive environment, another critical success factor of the company. McGhee admits to not having all the answers, and partners with colleagues to discover a solution. When addressing problems, he asks advice from his partners and his employees. You never know who has the right answer. When dealing with other cultures, particularly the Chinese, he takes time to understand and appreciate the culture. Doing so allows him to find solutions to international business problems as well as avoiding cultural and personal clashes with international employees.
Now, WHY did he do it, leave the $400 million operation? He wanted to instill that sense of faith in others by teaching and developing young executives. McGhee expresses his genuine care for others; he asks, “if it were me, what would I want;” and he employs the motto, “you don’t work for me. I work for you.”
This guiding faith in the ability to do has created not only a rich, pro-employee cuslture, but has been the underlying foundation allowing his employees to learn constantly and the business to achive 30 to 40% growth levels.
For more information and advice about outsourcing for small businesses, visit startupnation.com.
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