Roads To Success 1.3

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The Manthei Family

Bring up the topic of a family business and you better be prepared for raised eyebrows, perhaps even blatant guffaws.  Sure, the Mars family has done nicely making candy (and many other products) for the world since the 1920s.  They held the title of the richest family in America until the Walton family of Wal-Mart fame displaced them.  But in spite of all that financial success the family has experienced more than its share of internal conflict including an estranged father and son, and a battle for control of the family business empire (the company has 70 divisions).

There are certainly many family-run companies that survive and thrive with all relations concerned working together harmoniously.  More prevalent are the stories of family member greed, petty struggles for power and even internal thievery committed by the brother-in-law a wife insisted would be a true asset to the company.  Yes, almost every business experiences at least one of these situations at one time or another, but imagine going through it with your son, cousin, brother, or even your mom.  Just imagine the nightmare.

The family I interviewed for a first season episode of Secrets Of Success in October 1999 falls into the “working together harmoniously” category.  Well, all of them admit that every once in a while there is a modicum of discord but most of the time they work together with productive results.  They are brothers Tom, Dan, and Tim Manthei, and their cousins – brothers Ben, Mark, and Jim Manthei.

The Mantheis are something of an unusual family - unusual because in spite of dramatically different personalities and individual perspectives, they’ve discovered the key to working together.  And they’ve worked together to effectively bring growth to their substantial company.  It’s a company built on a foundation of principles handed down by their parents.

The Manthei Corporation is headquartered in Petosky, Michigan, a resort community located in the upper mid-western region of the United States.  Most of the town’s commerce is seasonal depending on tourists attracted to the area’s lakes during the summer months, and snow mobile and skiing enthusiasts in the winter.  The Manthei Corporation, however, operates year round and includes a veneer mill, a construction company with three Ready Mix plants and gravel crushing facility, three resort parks, and a land development business.  Since their original interviews the Mantheis added two companies manufacturing concrete blocks with decorative faces, one for construction and one for the landscaping industry.

I remember the initial interviews being rather daunting.  Up to that point each of the Secrets Of Success shows had focused on a single business leader.  With the Manthei show I had six key executives to speak with, each with a unique perspective on their company.  It wasn’t easy keeping it all straight, but with all that input no detail was left from the story.

© 2012 Philip Kassel

Roads To Success 10.2

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Epilogue:  Jerry Caven

Regrettably, Jerry Caven was not available for the “follow-up” interview that would bring his story up to date for this series.  There is really no mystery in his lack of availability, though.  He is just a really, really busy guy.

Jerry still actively serves as Chairman of the Board for the Royal Fork Restaurant Corporation and is President of States Realty.  He is also President of First Consultants, Inc., a company he established in 1978 supplying wholesale restaurant equipment to the industry he knows well.

Jerry is, of course, actively involved in growing his latest restaurant venture, Mongo’s Grill.  A bit of internet detective work revealed that these restaurants are receiving predominately glowing reviews with their “healthy” menu selection, excellent service, and cleanliness being just a few of the attributes singled out in numerous posts.

One thing is for certain, a follow-up interview is not required to know that Jerry Caven still fervently pursues his faith daily.  He lives his personal life and life as a business executive according to biblical principles, and he serves God regularly with his time, money and resources.  He does all this actively and deliberately with great purpose.

Thank you, Jerry, for permission to use your story.  It is truly a great example of how to journey through life.

© 2012 Philip Kassel

Roads To Success 9.2

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The Man In Charge

Jerry Caven credits his employees with making possible something that he and Muriel consider a priority in their lives - ministry work.

“I don’t have to worry that they will lose their motivation or that they need to be challenged to do their jobs every day.  They have done it for ten, fifteen, thirty or forty years,” Jerry explained.  “That gives me a great deal of confidence then that I can leave to do ministry work.”

Jerry and Muriel have dedicated their time and resources to ministry work in Central America, India, Pakistan, Africa, Bangladesh, and of course, the United States.

“I explain to our people, when my wife and I go to do ministry work, each time before we leave, that they are as important to the ministry as we are.  We are the ones who go, but they are the ones who make it possible for us to go,” Jerry told the Secrets Of Success camera.

Jerry and Muriel’s ministry work is not confined to just writing checks.  Shortly before production began on their Secrets Of Success television episode Jerry and Muriel had spent six months in India.  They were “hands on” in distributing food to the hungry, meeting with local church pastors and educating anyone interested in learning about the Christian faith.

Faith obviously plays a key role in the Caven’s interest in ministry, and as already mentioned it holds a primary position in Jerry’s varied businesses.  Jerry may own the company but he will be the first to tell you that God runs it.

The Royal Fork Restaurant Corporation Chief Financial Officer, Jim Chambers, illustrated it this way, “Jerry basically does everything with prayer.  He prays about whatever it is he is about to do, and the first person he asks about anything is God.”

“The way we do business, in terms the way people are treated, in terms of the expectations of what goes on in any of our businesses, it’s obvious that faith makes up a huge part of it,” Merlyn Knight added.  “And then we’re challenged to do more than just make money.  How do we change people?  How do we make a difference in people’s lives?

Before Jerry Caven decided he wanted to spend less time at work, his combined businesses were producing annual revenues in excess of $100 million dollars.  Even now, with Jerry focusing more time on ministry work, and his 5 children and 14 grandchildren, his businesses produce in the ballpark of $75 million annually.  These are impressive numbers attached to a man whose early ambitions were downright mundane.

“I’ve only had one conscious asset goal,” Jerry recalled.  “When I was fourteen or fifteen years old I determined that someday I would have a home with a fireplace.  That is the only financial or material goal I can ever remember having.  I have just worked hard and it just seemed like you should do your best.  I believe that a person who is in business just for the money, and then does not give back either some of his money or his life in the process, he is missing out on a huge blessing.”

“Jerry’s been so successful because he thinks through what he’s going to do,” Muriel said of her husband.  “He just seems to have a knack of picking the right businesses and the right people.  Honesty and integrity and his reliance on what he feels like God would have him do; it plays a big role in his decisions.”

And what is Jerry Caven’s opinion on his success?  “For some reason our success in business is that the Lord intended it; this is what He wants and desires and why that would be I don’t understand,” he told our camera.

Make no mistake; Jerry isn’t advocating that anyone relax while God takes care of business.  “From a human standpoint you can’t just sit and want to be in business and say that the Lord will bring success to us but not do our part,” Jerry expounded.  “From a human standpoint we have been consistent in the principles of business that we believe in.  We have represented the values and integrity [of the Bible].  I think that if a person was starting a business and wanted to be successful in that business, one thing I would tell him is to go to the Bible and to read and understand the concepts that are put forth there.  It tells us how to treat people and if you do that [practice the concepts of the Bible] you will be successful.”

© 2012 Philip Kassel

Roads To Success 8.2

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Beyond Family

Jerry Caven’s heartfelt concern for family extends well beyond his own family.  “As in any business, really the key to it is the people you employ,” he stated.  “In our other businesses and ranching we’ve been very fortunate to have good people.”

Juan Guitterez first met Jerry Caven on the Pitch Fork, a ranch Jerry owned prior to purchasing the Half Moon Ranch.  Jerry happened to be working on a fence that needed repair when Juan, in need of a job, approached him.  At the time the Pitch Fork didn’t need any additional staff, but when Jerry understood just how badly Juan needed a job he didn’t have the heart to turn him away.

“He cares about you, he cares about your family,” Juan told the Secrets Of Success camera.  “He’s making sure that when I get old I won’t just be sitting in a chair without any money.”

Juan Guitterez worked so hard that he eventually became the foreman of the Pitch Fork Ranch.  In a display of appreciation for his foreman’s hard work, Jerry requested that Juan sign a contract that would give him a percentage of the proceeds should the ranch ever be sold.  Juan signed and Jerry eventually did sell the Pitch Fork.

“When Jerry sold the ranch that percentage resulted in a six-figure profit,” Juan gratefully related.  “I put it in my savings account.”

Jerry has also joyfully paid for Juan’s children’s college expenses.  And many more of Jerry Caven’s twelve-hundred employees have benefited in a variety of ways from his faith-fueled generosity and compassion.

“Hopefully they are happy and paid well,” Jerry commented.  “But when life’s circumstances come up it is my job to be there for these people.”

Many business owners might be tempted to view Jerry’s extra mile approach to employees as unnecessary.  But no one can dispute that it has a long-term practical affect.

“It didn’t take me long to understand when I started in business that constant turnover was costing me a lot of time and a lot of money,” Jerry related.  “The best way was to find a good person that was willing to learn his job, and enjoy his job, and then to remunerate and challenge that person to stay long-term.”

Jerry consistently reminds his employees that they are a big part of the success of the company.  “That might not affect all of them but there are some that really take it to heart,” Jerry said.  “Our people know that I’m not concerned just that they do a good job, but that they know I’m concerned for them individually.”

Merlyn Knight, President of the Royal Fork Restaurant Corporation has been with the company for over forty years, Jim Chambers, Chief Financial Officer, eighteen years.  Diane, Jerry’s assistant, has been with him for thirty-five years.  Business experts might be tempted to question the approach, but there is no debating the results.  The proof here is in the people.

© 2012 Philip Kassel