"Redding
Firm Sets New Standards."
By
ALICIA MAXEY
Staff Reporter of THE DANBURY NEWS-TIMES
A West Redding firm is out to turn corporate America inside out and upside down.
"It's been extremely successful. Companies want to break out of old patterns and old habits and often recognize that they need consulting to do so,'' said Judy Glaser, president of Benchmark Communications, Inc. "The old hierarchical system of management breeds arrogance. People don't learn when they're in an arrogant state, they try to protect what they have and defend it."
By providing research, consulting, education and training programs, Benchmark helps companies establish priorities, draft organizational structures, and develop product objectives. Benchmark uses a technique from which it takes its name. In benchmarking, a comparison or gap analysis is made between companies to see what the more successful business is doing well.
"Who's the best company practicing the thing you want to learn. You don't just mimic or copy what other companies are doing. The real goal is to exceed the company--leapfrog," Glaser explained. "The tools like benchmarking and cooperative management create a humility and a desire to learn that is self-rewarding and continuous," Glaser added.
With annual revenues close to $1 million, Benchmark's client list includes small entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies such as IBM and GTE. Benchmark projects cost anywhere from $2,500 to $250,000.
It was in 1983 that the then-Judy Glaser & Associates, Inc. was hired by Random House to write a dictionary of 3,500 business expressions-The Random House Handbook of Business Terms. During the job, Glaser came across the term "benchmarking," which means setting standards of excellence by which you measure yourself. Glaser liked the term so much that she changed the name of her company to Benchmark Communication, Inc. in 1984. The Picketts Ridge Road company was incorporated in 1986.
David Middleton, vice president of Excel Partnership, Inc., which provides international management and training services, said benchmarking is increasingly popular. American industry, he said, traditionally held to the theory, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." "That way of thinking is changing and now it's, 'If it ain't broke, let's make it better,' " he said. Benchmarking is the corporate learning method of the future, Glaser maintains.
Praxair, Inc., the former industrial gases division of Union Carbide Corp., uses the firm's services now. "They are very creative and innovative. The thing I value about Judy is her capability of being on the leading edge of change and her ability to bring real creative flair to finding innovative solutions," said Richard Rardin, manager of management and organization development for Praxair.
"They're a very customer-focused organization. They take the time to find out what the customer needs and they're willing to go beyond the contractual relationship," Rardin added. Benchmark Communications created a course in what is called team dynamics or team learning for Praxair employees. It has also helped the company change its decision-making process and the way in which employees communicate.
Glaser works with her husband, Richard, who serves as vice president. The Benchmark staff includes an assistant, five outside consultants and other consulting firms that act as strategic partners when needed. The Glasers offer lengthy resumes.
Richard Glaser was vice president and chief operating officer for Exovir, Inc., a publicly owned biotechnology company, and was vice president of biomedical development for AMF Inc., a specialty materials group. He holds a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Kansas.
Judy Glaser earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Temple University. She was awarded a research fellowship at Drexel University in human behavior and development. She completed her first master's degree at Harvard University's Bales School of Social Relations and Organizational Studies. She earned a second master's degree, this time in corporate and political communications, from Fairfield University in 1980. Glaser has written for newspapers, corporations and just recently with Thomas P. Mullen for Oxford University Press titled "Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence: Fostering Organization Learning Through Cooperative Management."
Though the Glasers have backgrounds in industry, they use different approaches: Richard comes from a management, research and development standpoint; Judy from a human development perspective. "I think we create a synergy our clients appreciate," he said. Richard Glaser said "companies must now learn to adapt to diversity. And in the end," Richard adds, "As Duke Ellington once said, 'It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.' And swing is profitability."
One way Benchmark tries to accomplish breakthroughs in business is through a workshop titled "Mindscapes...Landscapes." The workshop is designed to promote innovative thinking in the workplace. The workshop was presented before the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) in New Orleans last June. ASTD is the world's largest national society for educational and training in corporate America, Glaser noted.
The Glasers have two children in college and stay busy with their individual companies. In addition to being vice president at Benchmark, Richard Glaser runs a biotechnology consulting firm. Though company travel keeps her busy, Judy Glaser also speaks regularly at Wharton's School of Business in Pennsylvania.
