Emery Kertesz III. June 10, 1956-January 29, 2021
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This is the fourth part in a series about my late partner, Emery Kertesz. He was a remarkable person, partner, leader and friend. Although he had no formal training in management, he could have run any Fortune 500 company or advisory firm and achieved the same remarkable results he earned for our audio companies over a 20-year span.
In this series of articles, I’ve summarized his management principles. They have broad applicability.
Humility
Emery never forgot his hardscrabble roots. Long after he could afford more, he drove a beat-up pick-up truck.
He eschewed the trappings of wealth and power. Our offices were modest. He continued to watch every item of expense, telling me, “It’s not the big expenses that will do you in. It’s the aggregation of small ones.”
As our sales increased from hundreds to thousands to millions, his vigilance never wavered. At the end of his life, he could still tell me how much pencils cost.
Our success didn’t impact his approach to business. He slugged it out every day with meticulous attention to detail. He took nothing for granted.
He could conduct himself in this disciplined, unwavering way because he was humble. He had no need for power or prestige. When he traveled to trade conferences and met with competitors and vendors, he would often say nothing in meetings.
He didn’t solicit praise or recognition. He just listened...and learned. When he returned to the office, he sorted out the ideas bandied about and implemented the good ones.
He made no effort to be the most interesting person in the room.
He was the most interested.
The benefit of introversion
Emery and I didn’t have a lot in common. What caused us to bond was the fact that we are both introverts.
We like to be alone and “think and reflect.” We need very little interaction with others. We both disliked small talk, crowds of people, and even conference calls. Emery viewed them as distractions and an invitation to posture.
We are both contrarians. The fact that something has “always been done this way” has no impact on us, other than to motivate us to find a better way.
We used FaceTime to communicate. He never felt the need to include anyone else on our calls.
Debt avoidance
Our banks love us. We run a lot of money through them, which has generated meaningful fees over the years. When one of our landlords called our bank to get a reference prior to leasing to us, the bank president told him, “You will never regret doing business with Emery Kertesz.”
Maybe we could have grown our business more rapidly if we borrowed money. We could have used those funds to develop new products more quickly. We would have had funds to engage an expensive branding agency. We could have run ads in major trade publications. We could have attracted venture capital and even contemplated a public offering.
Emery would have none of it. He eschewed debt. He was content to grow slowly, organically, with ample cash reserves to weather the inevitable storm he knew was coming. He liked “flying under the radar.” He wasn’t greedy. Untold wealth, with its attendant risks, didn’t tempt him.
Our companies were his baby. He was fiercely protective of them. He refused to put us in a position where debt could contribute to our demise or court venture capital that could swoop in and “bankrupt us in six months.”
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If he was running an advisory firm, these principles wouldn’t change. He wouldn’t sell to a private equity fund, which doesn’t mean doing so might not be appropriate for you. He wouldn’t risk our capital by buying other firms. He would stay focused on growing organically, taking one step at a time, and making every day one in which he inched towards a clearly defined goal.
He would keep the focus away from himself and on the product or service.
He wouldn’t seek glory or credit. His satisfaction was derived in seeing the numbers on his computer screen move in the right direction.
Minute by minute.
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Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.