how i did it
data and “doing cool stuff with it.” He spoke with people in Ireland, Egypt, Finland,
and around the United States.
“My rule in life is serve, serve, serve, create value,” Kaas said. “What I want this to
be about is the ideas, the positive impact that business can have. I don’t know where
this ends up, but I think small business can be a major force for good, for community
good. We think about the benefits to society, not just the bottom line, not just the
next quarter.”
When it comes to what’s ahead, Kaas said he likes to think about the “who,” not the
“what.” Success comes from relationships.
“If we’re staying true to our mission, how does it grow my colleagues, how does it
grow me, how does it grow our ability to contribute viability to society.”
connections and value
Perhaps Kaas was able to pivot earlier than almost anyone else because he wasn’t
starting from scratch. He had built a wide network of relationships over the years.
Representatives of Providence had toured his facility for years as part of his efficiency
and waste-reduction classes.
“It wasn’t like a furniture company pivoted,” he said. “It was a relationship founded
in service to one another that had a different use all of a sudden. That’s the story.”
“The learning opportunities
have been insane. From a
learning perspective, this
will be the chapter of my life
where we learn the most.”
His relationships with customers, clients and even competitors took a unique turn when the pandemic turned things upside down.
He brainstormed with his team about who they knew who could become a partner in this new project. Longtime customers such as
Nordstrom became suppliers for his effort to create masks.
“None of this would be possible without a competitor trusting us enough to keep his factories alive in Texas, California,” Kaas said.
“Build those relationships. You never know when it’s a rainy day.”
consulting and creating value
Kaas, who was around 30 years old when he took over his family company in 1997, has long worked to improve the efficiency of his firm
and reduce waste. He began taking trips to Japan in 1997 to study the Japanese concept called Kaizen, a process of continuous process
improvement.
He started offering “waste tours” of the Kaas Tailored facility to show how to reduce the “seven wastes.” A few years ago he started a company
called Truth Bit Pull Consulting to share what they’ve learned.
44 association of washington business