Editors Notes:
This past Monday, David Kohler was appointed the new head of the Kohler Company by its board of directors, putting into his hands the global business that his father, Herb, had built from his own grandfather’s plumbing manufacturing venture.
Since his passing on September 3rd, many have said much about Herbert V. Kohler’s achievements and the legacy he leaves. But the person behind those achievements was fully known and understood only by his family, and by those persons who worked closely with him. Three of those persons, Mark Vogel, Alice Edland, and Ed Allman, were gracious in talking about their experiences working as right-hand-persons with Kohler, and their stories paint a fond picture of a colorful, imaginative, lively and focused personality. All three conveyed a deep admiration, respect – and gratitude – for Herb Kohler and his influence on their lives and careers.
As I approached this, I was intending to write one story based upon the three interviews, but their words need no editing. Each had a unique perspective on Herbert Kohler, and today you’ll find the first of those below. The other two will be published on Thursday and Friday.
– Kevin Zimmermann –
Portrait of Herb Kohler from Ed Allmann – How Legends Appear
Ed Allmann worked for Kohler Company for 10 years, 1990-2000, some of the highest growth years of the company’s hospitality ventures. His first project was to oversee public relations for the expansion of Blackwolf Run and its realignment into the Rivers and Meadows Valleys Courses. He then coordinated marketing communications when Kohler hosted the televised Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf, the PGA of America Club Professional Championship (now the Professional National Championship), and then was the company’s marketing liaison for what became a record-setting 1998 US Women’s Open, the first major championship that Kohler hosted. That event also immediately preceded the launch of Whistling Straits, and for that Allmann oversaw advertising and P.R. for the debut of the Straits Course, and later the Irish Course. He left Kohler Company just after the dates had been secured for hosting the first PGA Championship and now lives in Virginia. Our conversation is below.
KZ: Herb was known for being inspired at odd hours, and calling you in to explore an idea in the wee hours of the morning. Can you talk about that?
EA: Herb was…for those of us who had the privilege of working with Herb Kohler one-to-one we’ll never forget the experience. He was a remarkable person, he was a visionary, a genius, driven, and in that way he was inspirational to the company and to its people. He was always very focused on the brand. That was one the biggest lessons that he taught me. But, yes, working for Herb was an adventure. He had great imagination, it was creatively stimulating to be around him, to work with him, always educational, motivational…occasionally exhausting…but it was a busy time.
KZ: That growth from a plumbing company to the golf, and the hospitality, what was that like following each new idea, and him probably asking you: “So, can we do this?”…or did he even bother asking?
EA: Oh, no…no, he asked. He asked. You know…much like Pete Dye, who I worked with also when we were debuting those courses, Pete would see a barren piece of land, and in it he could envision the contours of the championship golf layout that was to come. And, Herb Kohler also saw beyond the raw, the impractical, the seemingly impossible. He would see past the problem into potential, and then amazing things resulted from that. And that’s how, as you know, legends appear. The American Club came to be, and of course, the golf courses that in many ways, changed the shape of the golf industry in Wisconsin. And, of course he had influence on the golf industry nationally and internationally, stretching all the way over to Scotland and the U.K. But, yes, Herb, he was a visionary. Sometimes people, I think, confuse or conflate people who are visionary as being eccentric. But, in my experience, Herb was a pragmatic visionary. His choices were grounded – sometimes on instinct – but other times on very complex research and data that he absorbed and was able to analyze, and then interpret, and then from there devise the next direction. And that was how some of these amazing things and the changes in the company came about.
KZ: In reading the Company’s tribute I, and most anyone else who read that, got a real education about the accomplishments that he had academically, that he worked on the farms and in most of the divisions of the factory; it sounds like he wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.
EA: That’s true. I haven’t read that piece, but I’d certainly say that was the case. He was also the most confident person I’ve ever known. There’s some truth to the phrase that “confidence is contagious”…and because of that he could compel and propel you to try things, to do things you never were fully sure were within your abilities. He was tough, too. He was demanding, exacting, sometimes to an extraordinary level of detail that boggled your mind. I mean, like, “How could he know so much about so many diverse things?” That sort of came with the territory of leading an internationally prominent company.
KZ: About that concept of “You can do it if you have the resources”…I recall the arts-industry program and how Ruth Kohler really promoted it coming to the Arts Center and at the Factory, but I didn’t realize Herb’s involvement in that, and that he really did make that possible to happen. Is that the sort of “spreading the ambition”, or ideas, that he’d like to see?
EA: Yes, I mean, he found stimulation and creative excitement all over the place. I was the liaison for the arts-industry program while I was there as well, so I got to work with Ruth, and the artists that were coming in. It was remarkable, and is, a remarkable program. You look at that, and it ties very well into the sort of innovative ideas that are foundational to the Kohler brand.
KZ: There’s a stereotype of a business tycoon out there that doesn’t seem to fit Herb, such as being all about the numbers, cold-hearted, autocratic; Did Herb have variations from that?
EA: Oh, yeah. He was very much focused on the individual. I remember – it’s kind of a long story, but I’ll tell it to you…it’s kind of foundational also. Herb was tireless. And because of that, at that time he had to stay very focused, and we would…you’d have to accept that when inspiration came, that might mean that that’s when you had to respond to being available to Herb. So sometimes we’d wait all day for meetings to fit into his schedule and start at night, and continue until the agenda was satisfied, and sometimes that would stretch into the early hours.
I remember back when we were doing that re-launch of Blackwolf Run after it’d been reconfigured into The River and Meadow Valleys courses, and we had scheduled a press event to debut the reconfigured, expanded layout of Blackwolf Run. And I had written the press kit and the description of all 36 golf holes, among other things. And I was waiting for Herb’s review and blessing before the news conference. But he called me at 10:30 at night the day before the news conference, and he asked me to come to his office. So I drove to the office and went to his office in Kohler Tower. And we sat in the vestibule, and he read every word I had written, quizzing me on things to make sure that I had done my research and that he could support what I came up with, and then to understand how we were positioning the golf courses. And then several hours later…I guess about it must’ve been like one in the morning, I think…I had the edits and headed back to my office to re-do the press releases and print the press kit for the morning news event, which Herb, of course, attended. He – looking fully refreshed, energized, he was ready to tackle the world, and I was surviving on lots of coffee. But, what was kind of funny was, early in the morning, there was one more edit that came over from Herb. And, it’s like, “OK, I’ll put this in, I’ll just re-do that press release.” But he had attached a sticky-note to it, and he wrote by hand: “I warned you, Ed…more changes”, and then he put a smiley-face on it, and his signature, and I thought: “Well, that’s Herb.” I mean, he knows he’s pushing you to the limit, and he knows he’s asking a lot, but he recognizes what he’s asking and he appreciates it.
KZ: Final thoughts?
EA: Folks that I worked with there, and I still keep in touch with, we often say that we all learned a lot just working with Herb. He was always very focused on the brand…the Kohler brand. And that’s, again, one of the biggest lessons that I learned from him, and one that I employed throughout my career after leaving Kohler. Know your brand; heed its mission; make wise, forward-thinking decisions from that foundation; take risks-but within reason. A lot of things that have carried through. And it was – he was – an impressive leader.
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