FEATURE
Ken biking at
Squaw Peak in
Provo, Utah
Here and at right: Ken
competing in an Ironman
in Lake Placid, New York
SOLVE PROBLEMS &
TELL THE TRUTH
“My performance in the job doubled or
tripled, because… I was happy.”
All of this change was more than life
changing, but also career changing. “My job
performance doubled or tripled, because…
I was happy,” he says. “It’s amazing how
that can change your professional life.”
Thankfully, his boss Dan was still flexible
and accommodating, giving Ken his blessing
to move and work from across the country,
and trusting him to become an even better
fragrance salesman. “He had to take the
initial risk, but it’s paying off now.” Ken had
already cultivated some accounts in Utah,
which became strong accounts for Intarome,
and has expanded some other business in
the West. As it turns out, his life change was
good for business, too.
In his nearly 12 years with the company
and more than 40 years in the chemical
12 | FRAGRANCENOTES.ORG | Issue 2, 2019
industry, Ken has learned a lot about the
business but also what it takes to be a
successful leader and performer. He prides
himself on his penchant for problem solving.
“After five years of engineering school,
you’re really good at looking at problems
and figuring out how to solve them,” he says.
“That skill is applicable to every aspect of life.
I think that’s one of the things that I took into
my career that really has helped me. Some of
the best advice I’ve ever received is that you
can always sell somebody something. But, if
you solve a problem for somebody, they’ll
remember you forever.”
“A lot of times when I go into customers,
I’ll tell them, ‘Look, I can sell you
fragrances like every other fragrance sales
person, but if you have some problems, let
me know,” he says. Inevitably, he’ll get a
phone call few days or weeks later, saying
“‘We’ve got this base turning colors, and
every fragrance changes it, and doesn’t hold
up in it. You think there’s anything you can
do?’ And I’m like, “Great. Let me work on
that.”
The other meaningful advice he’s
gleaned is to always tell the truth, even if it
hurts. Because, “we all have problems and
production issues,” he says. “We all have
things like that. Talk to the customer, tell
them the truth. Let the chips fall, and then
figure out how to deal with them, rather than
try to hide it, paint over it, or things like
that.”
He credits his success to the support of
his team and company leadership. “I can’t do
what I do without a great team of perfumers,
lab techs, customer service, production, and
quality control, regulatory professionals. All
those pieces, combined with support from
the top, give me the freedom to experiment
and try to do things a little differently
than others may do.” In his view, a good
entrepreneur and a good manager hires to
his or her weaknesses and understands what
drives each person on the team—someone