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| Black Mountain Equipment holds |
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| Photo Credit: Kolin
Polwick and Garrett Kemper in Yosemite, Black Diamond Equipment |
Technical
climbers depend on their equipment! This one, sleeping on the side of a
mountain, would be a very bad dream for most of us! |
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Salt Lake City: In this episode of the
show we visit with mountain climbers that have turned their passion into their
work. Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. manufactures mountain climbing
equipment. Recognized by the Small Business Administration as the Small
Business Person of the Year from the State of Utah in 1995 and Ernst and Young
Entrereneur of the Year in 2002, Peter Metcalf talks about how important it is
to build a team, then empower that team to build quality products.
 It was a mountain, not an MBA, that taught Peter
Metcalf how to take a business to the top. He grew up in New York, where as a
boy, he was first introduced to mountain climbing. Metcalf heads up Black
Diamond, the world's leading maker of high-end climbing equipment and Black
Diamond's original group of 50 employees has grown to over 200 with sales over
$50 million.
When you empower people, good things generally
happen. Peter Metcalf empowered climbers and hikers. Then he empowered his
employees. He was willing to risk, work hard, and understand the deep details
of technical climbing. People's lifes would be hanging in the promised
durability of his products. They make carabiners, climber-protection and belay
devices, and ice equipment. They also distribute equipment for back-country
skiing, including telemark boots, bindings, and skis.
Peter believes the way you run a company is the
way you climb a mountain.
- CONTACT:
Black Diamond Equipment
Ltd
2084 East 3900 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84124
Tel:
801.278.5533
Email:bdmo@bdel.com
URL:
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/
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| WATCH
TELEVISION THAT TEACHES |
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| Key Ideas of
this episode |
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""We got started and then
fortuitously -- serendipitously -- climbing just exploded. We never thought it
would. We thought it was
always going to be a very small business, so we were being at the right
place at the right time. That's luck."
"But the other things: I think
the structure of the business, the fact that this is a heavily
employee ownership,
employees have a heavy stake in the business; the flat management structure;
the fact that we hire like-minded individuals, people who believe in the
vision, believe in the mission, love climbing and skiing all contribute to our
ability to grow." – Peter Metcalf |
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- TRANSCRIPT / CASE STUDY: Reading the
entire transcript of
this episode of the show causes one to reflect on key ideas in critical ways.
You will find that you can easily bounce from the transcript to the
case study guide from
within that dialogue. Initially th case study guides were prepared for the
special broadcast by PBS into the schools and universities throughout the USA.
Since that time, Prenctice Hall and Thomson Learning have included these case
studies in their best-selling business textbooks.
- How do I start a business? : Every week we get email
from people asking us, "How do I start a business? And, what business should I
start?"
There is a
special suspension of reality that is necessary to start a business. It is
about deep seated beliefs on one hand. Passion on another. It is about feeling,
"If I don't do this my life will be incomplete."
- JOIN, JOIN, JOIN: Your professional associations in your industry
are your key to continuing education, market research, collaborations,
strategic partnerships, capital and so much more ... often you'll find that you
enjoy like-minded people and many will become friends for life.
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- SUPPORT
PUBLIC TELEVISION:
Become a member of your local station. If you
are already, great. If not and your business is doing well, consider joining
the Producers' Club ($1000).
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They conquer who
believe they can. He has not learned
the first lesson of life who does not
every day surmount a fear.
- Ralph Waldo
Emerson
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