When Jim D'Alessio, president of James P. D'Alessio, Inc., in Brentwood, N.H., lost his battle with esophageal cancer earlier this year, his employees were heartbroken. They felt sorrow for the loss of a wonderful person and a top business owner, and a profound sadness for his family.
They didn't, however, feel at a loss in regard to the business. That's because Jim prepared his team for such a crisis, and the success of his forward-thinking is evident today.
His wife, Sheri Cameron D'Alessio, is vice president of this high-end design/build company. She attributes the employees' sense of security and lack of panic to Jim's openness in communicating with them. “He was very up front about his illness,” she says. “He shared it with the entire company at a meeting and made it a point to answer any questions, let people know what was happening, and what they could expect from day one.”
Sheri says that Jim confiding in his staff strengthened the bond that they already shared with him and the company.
Mark Randlett, now president of the company, says that Jim's long-term efforts to build a better company were also instrumental in building a company that could withstand such a disaster. “Before he knew he was ill, he'd begun working on making the company less dependent on him,” Randlett says, “He focused first on getting the right people in place.” With a long-term vision in mind, Jim let go of several people who didn't share the positive attitude that the company's culture demanded. “I don't know if we could have gotten through this if we had the old team,” Randlett says.
Established systems were the second key component that carried the company through the crisis. “As Jim became more ill and could spend less time working, others were able to pick up Jim's tasks and handle them effectively,” Randlett says. “They trusted the systems.”
Today, the company has retained every employee who was there at the beginning of this difficult journey. Everyone is working hard to maintain the reputation of the successful business that Jim built. As both Sheri and Randlett say, “We're only here today because of the strong culture and atmosphere of learning that was created by Jim.” —Victoria Downing is president of Remodelers Advantage, Laurel, Md. 301.490.5620. wwwremodelersadvantage.com