Helen Keller once famously said, “Blindness cuts us off from things, but deafness cuts us off from people.” Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic I have heard, read, and been asked the question, “Are hearing aids essential?” When posed this question, I suggest taking out the word “aid” and asking it again. “Is hearing essential?” For people [...]
As a leader, your number one job is to get out of the way. This doesn’t mean you can’t, or shouldn’t, be involved in the process. It means the process does not revolve around you. Some leaders learn this lesson the hard way, but it’s what separates a boss from a leader. Assemble the Right [...]
Hosting 3,400 hearing professionals from 64 countries for a four-day expo to talk about everything from revolutionary new technology to the future of hearing healthcare is no small task. We, at Starkey, started planning for the 2020 Starkey Expo as soon as we wrapped up our previous expo in 2018. While each one is yet [...]
Growing up in a small town in Southern Illinois, I learned the importance of three holidays: Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Veterans Day. The town had many veterans from World War II and Vietnam. These holidays weren’t about being out of school, fireworks or simply putting up an American flag. They were about [...]
Four years ago, I did something that many people would consider a risky endeavor: I climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Had I ever done anything even remotely like this? No. Was the eight-day climb a challenge? Absolutely. But that’s exactly why I did it. Saying "yes" to this didn’t come out [...]
When I started at Starkey nearly 25 years ago, the hearing industry looked very different than it does today. Dozens of hearing manufacturers have dwindled down to just five around the globe, with Starkey being the only one based in the U.S. Starkey looked different too. Bill Austin’s vision has helped grow this company to more [...]
I was 19 years old when I first walked into Starkey’s All Make Repair and Earmold Lab. My job was to clean up old hearing aids and make them look as new as possible after repair. I also polished earmold pieces. In 1994, as a teenager still trying to figure out my direction in life, [...]
As the President of Starkey, I’m often asked the question, “How do you define leadership?” From time to time, I remind my own executive team to always be willing to lead from the front. What does that mean? Isn’t someone who is leading a division, a group or even a company automatically a leader? The [...]
“Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.” - Simon Sinek When you have a company with more than 6,000 employees around the world, keeping culture at the forefront can be difficult. But I have always believed it is our people who make Starkey great. We refer to it as our [...]
My grandfather, Mick Sawalich, was in the Navy serving on the Liberty Ship USS Crater AK-70 in the South Pacific during World War II. A replica of his ship sits on the shelf in my office. I have always been fascinated by our history, and his ship serves as a reminder of the sacrifice of [...]