I saw a clip on ESPN of a high school section championship baseball game in New York state that unintentionally taught a pretty tough lesson. After a strikeout and thinking their team just notched a win, the catcher heads to the mound to celebrate. But in a lesser-known rule of baseball, if the catcher drops [...]
You can’t cling to the past if you want to create the future. We are entering a new beginning at Starkey – one more dedicated to the patient than ever, but one also committed to pushing the edge of what’s possible; what’s possible with technology, what’s possible with people and what’s possible when the best [...]
At the beginning of 2020, I said this would be the hearing industry’s greatest decade. As we close the book on 2022, I stand behind that statement now more than ever. Hot Take | Hearing Health Everyone is talking about hearing aids. In 2022, the President of the United States made hearing health a top [...]
At 83%, the hearing aid satisfaction rate is the highest it has ever been. As the president and CEO of a hearing aid manufacturer, I’m not touting that fact to brag. While reaching an important milestone like this is something to note for our industry, we still have work left to do. In the Drawer [...]
“America is a nation with a mission - and that mission comes from our most basic beliefs. We have no desire to dominate, no ambitions of empire. Our aim is a democratic peace - a peace founded upon the dignity and rights of every man and woman.” - President George W. Bush I love American [...]
I’ve been a Cubs fan for as long as I can remember. Growing up in a small coal mining town in Southern Illinois, it’s something you were born into – you cheered for the Cubs or the Cardinals. Rooting for the Cubs for over 40 years, I learned a lot about disappointment, but I also [...]
Before entering the hearing healthcare industry 61 years ago, Bill Austin dreamt of becoming a doctor. He admired medical professionals and their work to save lives. He wanted to make the same impact. But with no money for medical school, Bill took a job making earpieces for hearing aids instead. One day, a man came [...]
I recently did an interview with a national news organization, about the stigma that persists around hearing aid technology. It’s this stigma that continues to be a major barrier around hearing aid adoption. The conversation was informative, and the reporter was surprised to hear that, on average, people wait seven years between noticing they have [...]
In August 2018, Starkey unveiled a new generation of hearing technology. We focused on three core principles: better hearing, Healthable™ technology and the intelligent assistant. With Livio AI, Starkey redefined the role of the hearing aid into a want-to-have device. In August 2021, we raised the bar again. Evolv AI is the second generation of [...]
I have been around the hearing industry since I was seven years old. I remember traveling to service centers as a kid and talking to people in my parents’ office, Professional Hearing Services, who were there to buy a hearing aid. As a child, I only understood a hearing aid to be a device that [...]
May is not only Better Hearing and Speech Month, but it’s also Mental Health Awareness Month. While it’s no surprise with so many worthy causes that there would be some overlap, this one in particular feels like more than just a coincidence. Better Hearing Month raises awareness about hearing health and communication disorders. It’s about [...]
They say timing is everything. At Starkey’s Hearing Innovation Expo in January 2020, I announced we just hired the hearing industry’s first and only Chief Health Officer. Two months later, a global health crisis was gripping our nation. While we had no idea a pandemic was on our doorstep, what was already an important position [...]
“Business starts with how you treat people.” I was recently asked what was one of the best pieces of business advice I’ve ever received, and that was my answer. In my role at Starkey, I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of great leaders: presidents, accomplished entrepreneurs, thought leaders and trailblazers. Whenever I [...]
In life and business, we have a desire for coaches, counselors and mentors. Since 1992, I have been fortunate enough to have a front row seat to my mentor, Starkey Owner and Chairman Bill Austin. Having this steady mentor throughout my life and career has not only shaped who I am as a leader, but [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
I believe in looking for the opportunity in every situation, no matter how difficult. You can’t sit around and let the future define you; you have to define it. This is easier said than done -- especially when that difficult situation you’re faced with is a global pandemic. COVID-19 has changed everything. In January, I [...]
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 [...]
Dear friends, Thank you for taking the time to look at my website and a glimpse at what keeps my world ticking. Today I am thrilled to announce the launch of our new healthable hearing technology, Livio AI. Innovation is the cornerstone of what we’ve achieved at Starkey over the past five decades. The Starkey [...]