Mike Tyson famously said: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” For most of the world, 2020 was a sharp left hook. At the start of 2020, no one could have imagined how the year would have played out. In January, Starkey hosted 3,600 hearing health care professionals from around the world at the Hearing Innovation Expo in Las Vegas. I said then that the greatest decade in the hearing industry [...]

Kindness is good for business. It sounds like a simple point because it is. Kindness makes people better, which, in turn, makes business better. And when people are your bottom line, kindness is an investment you have to make. Despite its simplicity, actually promoting kindness in your company isn’t always top of mind. Here are three steps to make it happen. 1. Treat Employees Like Family As a leader, taking care of your employees should [...]

I’ve always believed that it’s important in business to not only have mentors, but to be one. It’s the responsibility of those who have benefitted from a mentorship relationship to also guide others down the path. But there’s also an unspoken reciprocity that comes from sharing guidance with those just beginning their career or starting a business. I have learned over the years that no matter how much experience or wisdom you have to offer [...]

Most have heard me say “get comfortable being uncomfortable.” It’s great advice whether you’re changing the way you run your business, learning to use and appreciate new technology or trying to understand someone else’s point of view. But sometimes things happen, and the discomfort is overwhelming. Sometimes you’re looking for answers that are not readily available. These are the times that it helps to find comfort in the counsel of a friend. Friendships form for [...]