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What do business trips to Europe and potato salad have in common? Mark Sandridge can explain it. Each year, the CEO of Medina-based Sandridge Food Corp. travels to Europe with members of his team to to look for ways to implement more efficient processes, adopt new techniques and purchase food preparation equipment that isn't available in the United States. Back home, Sandridge creates a corporate culture at the refrigerated food manufacturer by putting his company's core values on paper for all 350 employees to understand. The company posted between $45 million and $65 million in 2005 revenue, and is projecting 12 percent growth for its core business in 2006. Smart Business spoke with Sandridge about how he fosters new ideas and shares his company's second-generation values with employees.
Encourage participation. I find the best people in (each) department and let them be the authorities on the subject matter, and I take most of my advice from them. Every time I've gone to Europe for the last 10 or 11 years, I take four or five people with me because it just makes things a lot simpler for me. (We are) probably the best students in our industry, and our management team has pushed to become more educated on the subjects in our field.
(Traveling to Europe is) a great training ground for our staff. Germany doesn't allow preservatives in their foods. Why wouldn't we want to go there and learn more about it? We bring those concepts back here and implement them.
Stick to your...