McCormick Place, Chicago IL March 20-23, 2023
ROSELLE, IL, ISSUED June 6, 2023…Cherry's Industrial Equipment, an engineering and manufacturing company dedicated to solving workflow and safety issues in the workplace, announced that their Finance Manager, Susan Foster of Plainfield, IL recently represented the company at the 2023 Small Giants Community Summit held in Detroit.
Her participation in the Summit is in conjunction with the ongoing Leadership Academy program that Ms. Foster began in January, and will graduate from in September. Business leaders from around the world come to the Leadership Academy and the Small Giants Community Summit to train and develop future leaders in their organizations, connect with like-hearted peers, and learn how to run a values-driven business. The program attracts everyone from budding leaders who want to grow to a founder/CEO looking for new business colleagues.
A Small Giants Community Summit objective is to have every attendee walk away with new friends, practical tools to take back to their organization, and a reenergized sense of purpose. Part of the Summit’s agenda included having participants examine themselves as leaders, as well as discussion of the importance and value of employees.
The Small Business Community Summit grew out of a book written in 2005. Then, editor/author Bo Burlingham wroteSmall Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big. The book led business leaders around the world to recognize that they weren’t the only ones who believed in a different way of doing business: prioritizing their people and making a great impact above all else. One of those leaders was Paul Spiegelman, the Small Giants co-founder. The message of the book resonated with Paul so deeply that he approached Bo about establishing a community of like-minded purpose-driven leaders — and the Small Giants Community was born.
Today, the Small Giants Community is comprised of thousands of leaders who are passionate and purposeful: they are committed to growing not just for growth’s sake, but to enhance the lives of the people that work for them.
In her Leadership Academy program, Ms. Foster is part of a group of three cohorts (a group of people with a shared objective) of a dozen each who meet monthly and participate in guided discussions which cover many diverse topics. “Each of us in the cohort meets monthly, but we are also assigned a ‘buddy,’ where we have an additional half hour call each month,” she said.
She continued, “I am very grateful to Cherry’s for having me participate in this wonderful program. I’m learning a great deal, and it is rewarding to meet with so many other people who come from employee-driven companies like ours and who are all so successful.” Cherry’s Industrial Equipment CEO John Costello also went through the program several years ago.
She said, “My discussions with people from these successful companies showed that the truly successful companies are the ones who hired true to their core values. You can teach and train an employee to perform job-related tasks but you can’t teach a core value.”
Ms. Foster serves as Cherry’s Finance Manager, and previously as operations manager, and works with employees teaching them how to forecast financial information.
She notes, “Our focus on employees is huge here. We all love to make sales and take care of our customers, which is absolutely what we do as a company, but we want to make sure that while we do all of this that we take care of our employees. That includes authentic check-ins with people on the team, asking how they are doing.”
The Summit also provided opportunities for attendees to hear the success stories of other businesses, with much discussion centered on creating “a culture of mattering.” We discussed the importance of asking employees about the details of their lives, and making people feel that they truly matter.”
“This was all about carrying these ideas forward – going to the Summit, learning, and bringing it back and sharing with the team here.”
Ms. Foster has been with Cherry’s for nine years. In her spare time, she enjoys sewing, crocheting, gardening and spending time with her family.
About Cherry’s Industrial Equipment
Cherry's Industrial Equipment Corp is an engineering company that solves workflow problems and safety issues, and creates ergonomic solutions across a wide range of industries Founded in 1982, the company initially focused on marketing the pallet inverter, a new piece of material-handling equipment developed to turn entire pallet loads over to safely recover and replace broken bags of fertilizer, sugar, and other dry products. Soon thereafter, this "niche" product became a must-have for all material handlers. As a result, the Cherry's-brand inverters now touch hundreds of products daily, from Campbell's soup to lottery tickets, from ATMs to cosmetics. The company’s product lineup, all #madeinamerica , has expanded to include Pallet inverters, Plastic pallets, 90° tippers, Roller skids, Pallet dispensers, Lifting tables, and Pallet washers. Industries served include automotive, food, agriculture, defense, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, printing, distribution, beverage, and more. Headquartered in Roselle, IL, Cherry’s Industrial Equipment serves the need of businesses throughout the United States and beyond. John Costello serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer.
Contact
Michelle Clewer
Director of Marketing
Director of Marketing
847-354-6140.
Submitted by Cherry's Industrial Equipment Corp..
Booth(s): S872