The Best in Town

It is gratifying to report that among the recriminations and denials of all responsibility were a few efforts to offer consolation—usually by suggesting: “Maybe no one will notice.” Not likely, I answered. Thirty-eight thousand people receive this magazine every month, and approximately 84,000 read it. I was pretty sure a few would notice.

“Well,” someone suggested, “Maybe they’ll just think it’s a word they don’t know.” That had possibilities.

“E-Bezzled,” I said, practicing on anyone who would listen. “It’s embezzling on the Internet, usually using e-mail.” I tried sounding sympathetic. “You didn’t know that? Hey, don’t let it bother you. It’s hard to stay current with the vernacular of new technology.”

It wouldn’t have worked. Too many people saw our pre-2008 Web site.

A better way to stay humble is to take note of the accomplishments of others. Last August, we reported on 10 Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year for the region encompassing Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. In November, two of the regional winners became national finalists, which means that they were judged to be among the top four in their categories.

Stephen Flagg, the founder and CEO of Quality Bicycle Products, was a finalist in the Retail and Consumer Products category. When Flagg started his company in 1981, he and his wife, Mary, took orders for bicycle parts from local shops and packed and shipped products themselves. After 27 consecutive years of growth in sales and profit, the Bloomington company now has $150 million in annual revenue, three bicycle brands, and 400 employees serving 5,000 dealers.

Arthur Huge, the CEO of the Menasha Corporation, a packaging, logistics, and marketing-services company in Neenah, Wisconsin, that was founded in 1849, doubled its shareholder value within three years by restructuring the company into four operating units and refocusing its use of capital.