Arthur Hilsinger
In The Hilco Story: Discovering a Diamond in Our Own Backyard, author Art Hilsinger offers a candid, clear-eyed look at the process of building a successful business. The business began in 1956 as a contract manufacturer for eyewear companies. It grew over the years, in spite of several detours, which, when viewed with 20-20 hindsight, turned out to be in unfortunate strategic directions. Ultimately, the company would realize that it had a “diamond” in its own backyard – a core business that had been in the picture all along. Focusing on that core, the Hilsinger team grew the company into a strong, sustainable business that would find a new owner, continuing to operate very successfully to the present time. Hilsinger admits that the company spent its first 30 years “wandering,” but he shares the valuable lessons learned along the way that eventually led them to the right path, resulting in steady, profitable growth. Business leaders will appreciate Hilsinger’s candor and wry observations about how strategic decision-making works (or doesn’t) and will find value in his observations about the factors – large and small – that go into making a successful business. He stresses the importance of learning from mistakes, and having the courage to make even drastic course changes. Although the company may have “wandered” during its first 30 years, in the last 11 years that Hilsinger was at the helm, it evolved and managed to prove the truth of J.R.R. Tolkien’s quote, “Not all who wander are lost.”
