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Why The Fisherman's Foundation?

Who We Are

The Fisherman’s Foundation was founded by Jamie Gerdsen to serve as a leadership development and innovation resource for one of the most underserved but important segments of the U.S. economy--traditional businesses. Since its founding, Jamie has been joined by like-minded entrepreneurs who believe traditional businesses are the accelerator for economic growth at the local, state, and national levels.

What We Do

Every traditional business is different. Very different. And the innovation and leadership needs of each business differ, too. So the Fisherman’s Foundation has no set approach. We organize our efforts to best serve the needs of the particular business. To accomplish this, we use a three-step model: Assess, Agree, Implement.

Assessment: | This is the discovery phase of our process. It’s your opportunity to share with us your goals, your problems, as well as, how you see the Fisherman’s Foundation assisting you. Assessments range from on-line evaluations to consulting meetings on site. From the assessment data, the Fisherman’s Foundation will make a prioritized list of recommended actions for your review.

Agreement: | Once you’ve had a chance to review our recommendations, we’ll work together on shaping them into a leadership/growth plan. Only when you are in complete agreement will we move forward. Our goal in this phase is for you to ‘own’ the plan so completely that you feel confident in its implementation and success.

Implementation: | This is your leadership/growth plan to put into action. In the implementation phase, we’ll be a behind-the-scenes recourse supporting you with strategy and advice for keeping all parts of the plan moving productively.

About Our Founder, Jamie Gerdsen

Jamie isn’t a sliver-spoon kind of guy. He isn’t an ivory tower kind of guy, either. What he is—is a man with a plan. Jamie bought Apollo Heating, Cooling And Plumbing from his father, Jim, and put in place what he called ‘sound thinking’ on the way a traditional business should be run.

That ‘sound thinking,’ as opposed to the ‘conventional thinking’ with which most traditional businesses are run, allowed Jamie to change the culture at Apollo from ‘push’ to ‘pull’. Under Jamie’s leadership, Apollo has grown dramatically in customers served, employees hired, and gross and net revenue.

Jamie’s first leadership book, Squirrels, Boats, And Thoroughbreds, detailing his experiences was published in 2012.

What's A Traditional Business?

You know these companies. It’s the local heating and cooling company that’s been in business since 1910. The plumbing business that now has second-generation ownership. The manufacturing concern that has had steady employment of 55 employees for three decades.

Traditional business have stood the test of time, been mainstays of the community, and are—in most cases—doing business in the same way they always have.

In one way, a traditional business’s ability to do business the same way year after year is a blessing. In another way, it’s a curse. Because doing the things you’ve always done in the way you’ve always done them produces the same results. It doesn’t produce growth. And if you’re not growing, your business is in danger of plateauing, or worse, dying.

Our goal is to assist traditional business with leadership training and innovation to help them thrive.

Positively Impacting Traditional Businesses

Push To Pull

Most traditional business owners feel they need to ‘push’ their employees for better results. That’s very doable if the business is five people. You can push five people. What about when the business grows to twenty people? Can you ‘push’ all of those? How hard do you have to ‘push’ yourself to do it? And what if the business grows to sixty people?

The answer is to shift the culture of the organization from you ‘pushing’ to the employees ‘pulling’ the organization forward. The Fisherman’s Foundation has experience in guiding you through this transition. Best of all, we know that when you reach the other side, you have a solid foundation for years of exceptional growth.

Evaluating Talent

Finding the right talent for your organization is crucial. To help you evaluate talent, the Fisherman’s Foundation uses a categorizing system: Cap Ts, Little ts, Cap Ts In Training, Little ts In Cap T Disguise. Understanding these categories can help you avoid bad hires and help you find future stars.

Squirrel and Thoroughbreds

One of our exercises asks you to imagine your business staffed by animals rather than people. Sounds crazy, but it’s a great way to understand how different personality types relate to a traditional business. Squirrels would do one job well, thoroughbreds another, and dogs yet another. You might be surprised how this little exercise changes how you view staffing.

R+or-V=$

Gone are the days when you could advertise and get more customers. Today, it’s all about relationships or R. And the big question is are you adding a plus to that relationship or a minus? The result is income that you can plus-up or minus-down by the way you manage relationships.

Time, Talent, and Treasure

None of us are Superman or Superwoman. We all have limited amounts of the three Ts—time, talent, and treasure. As part of developing leadership skills and shifting the business culture from ‘push’ to ‘pull’, the Fisherman’s Foundation will guide you on making the most of your time, talent, and treasure.

Leadership Development

Four-Dimensional Leadership

If you look at leadership holistically, business leadership is just one dimension of four—the others being: personal, family, and community.

Personal leadership is about personal responsibility. It’s doing the right things for the right reasons. All the time—not just when it’s convenient.
Family leadership is about being a good steward. It’s creating the right environment for your family to flourish and encourage and support each family member in the achievement of his or her goals.
Business leadership is about treating everyone equally and making each person feel important. It’s not about you doing. It’s about you showing others how to have an impact in the organization.
Community leadership is about giving back to your community. In fact, it was giving back to the traditional business community that motivated Jamie to start the Fisherman’s Foundation.

Four-dimensional leadership makes complete leaders. While it’s difficult to master, the more you work at it, the more mentorship you receive, the more purposeful your life will become.

In Jamie Gerdsen’s inspiring new book, Squirrels, Boats, and Thoroughbreds, he shares his experiences, insights, and thinking in grappling with the staffing, growth, and profitability issues facing a traditional business. Told in easy-to-absorb story-telling form, this is practical advice for anyone running a traditional business who seems stuck in second gear. With humor and insight, Jamie gives you a recipe for success. It’s part humorous personal experiences, part savvy thinking, and part lessons on innovation and leadership. Reading Squirrels, Boats, and Thoroughbreds is a jumpstart for you and your traditional business.

Learn more about the book at www.jamiegerdsen.com