"Leadership is all about vision," says Don Harkey. And Harkey is all about leadership.
He left a successful engineering career with 3M in 2007 to start his own company, Galt Consulting.
"People have such great potential for greatness, and with a clear vision, they can realize that greatness," says Harkey, who has a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and also works part time as a project manager for ESC Consulting Engineers in Springfield.
During his tenure at 3M, Harkey managed capital projects in Springfield and St. Paul, Minn. He led cross-function teams with representatives from engineering, production, maintenance, safety and construction. Utilizing the skills from each area, the teams consistently achieved budget, schedule and technical objectives.
This same type of decision-making model has served Harkey well in both his consulting and his volunteer leadership at Messiah Lutheran Church, where he's served as congregational president the past two years. The church launched a $2.7 million expansion project during his tenure and laid the groundwork for a new preschool endeavor in partnership with Lighthouse Ministry.
The program will serve 32 preschoolers, with about half of those participating for free, and families in the program must engage in family and career counseling and community service - all with the goal of improving their lives.
"Participants in the pilot program in north Springfield increased their net income in the first year by an average of $5,000 per year and paid off an average of $8,000 in debt," Harkey says. "I am very proud of our church for entering into this $200,000-per-year ministry that will present many challenges and opportunities."
In his consulting business, Harkey aims to help others discover solutions rather than following his tendency as an engineer to dig in, figure out the problems and provide answers for them. Harkey says the difference often leads to a larger impact, empowering employees to come up with solutions.
For example, Harkey once worked with a manufacturing client whose company was struggling with excess production waste.
"I worked with the operator in charge of a key process that was producing the waste and showed him the impact of it," Harkey explains. "Within two weeks, the operator had cut the waste in half, and within six months, he eliminated it all together. It saved the company $50,000 per year."
