Standing apart from the crowd takes creative thinking and courage, but it’s worth the effort. As Stan Doobin, president and majority owner of Harvard Maintenance, Inc., says, “Being an entrepreneur has been the best part of my business career.”

Doobin, a past president of BSCAI and a CPA, holds a Bachelor of Science from Washington and Lee University, as well as an MBA from Emory University. He was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2004, and continues to innovate today. Doobin believes in going against the grain, as seen in his company’s approach to field employee interaction, his opposition to the status quo and the career advice he cites as the best he ever received.

1. The company for which you’re president, Harvard Maintenance, utilizes a unique approach for interacting with field employees called the Inverted Pyramid^®. What makes this effective?  Would you recommend others implement its employee-focused principles in their own companies?
   
   The Inverted Pyramid^® concept was conceived in 1993 as an alternative approach to interacting with field employees in a union environment. We were a small company in New York City, the largest and most competitive market in our industry. We needed a unique concept to stand out in the market and allow us to grow.
   
   Our competitors were treating their employees as employee ID numbers, not as human beings. In our industry in the New York City market, it was long believed that the only way to have  workers perform their job satisfactorily was to threaten and discipline them, as firing employees in a strong union market was difficult. Harvard’s approach was to treat employees as they wanted and expected to be treated, and in turn employees would enjoy their job more and perform at a higher level. Basically, we flipped the corporate hierarchy upside down (inverting the corporate hierarchy). We made our field workers the most important people in our organization. Under the Inverted Pyramid® concept, management and supervisors’ primary function is to better serve the workers out on the job. Not only did we get better work quality than our competition, but our employees also became goodwill ambassadors for Harvard. Since embracing that concept 24 years ago, we have grown our business nearly 90 fold.
    
2. You were named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2004 by Ernst & Young. What advice can you offer hopeful entrepreneurs in the BSC field? Are you still continuing to innovate 13 years later?
   
   Being an entrepreneur has been the best part of my business career. Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur; it entails a lot hard work, long hours and taking numerous risks. A true entrepreneur is willing to fail and has probably failed many times. I have failed at several ventures, licked my wounds, learned from my mistakes and moved on. At Harvard we continually innovate. We have recently embarked on our fifth major reinvention of Harvard since I won the EY award. You need to adapt to the competition, to the environment around you, to the ever-changing needs of your clients, and to the evolving needs and wants of your employees. In a nutshell, if you are content with the status quo, you are headed for extinction.
    
3. What is the best piece of career advice you’ve received?
   
   My best career advice was from my father. He always said, “God put erasers on pencils for a reason.” Basically, my father meant that it is OK to make mistakes. In fact, to grow, you need to take risks. Sometimes a risk turns out wrong. When that risk fails, learn from your mistake and continue to grow. As Albert Einstein said, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”