Not Just in Time: The Story of Kronos Incorporated, from Concept to Global Entity (Meliora Press, 33)

How a tiny start-up slayed an industry giant before redefining the way workers are managed around the globe. This book recounts a success story rooted in one individual's desire to embrace his entrepreneurial spirit and forge his own company. Mark Ain led Kronos Incorporated from concept to the basements and garages of its early core team to a soot-filled ironworks foundry, and from there to its eventual role as a multi-billion-dollar global leader in an industry it refined, then redefined, and ultimately led. The story of Mark Ain and Kronos holds inspiration and insight for any aspiring entrepreneur. The tale starts not in a boardroom, but with Mark's early upbringing, where his adventurous spirit and fearless nature readied him to be both a risk-taking business pioneer and a leader who recognized the need to take a nontraditional approach to team building, prioritizing fit over resumes and potential over past accomplishments. The result was a company that could and would truly stand the test of time. His guiding philosophy of "If it isn't broke, fix it anyway!" applied in equal measure to the products and solutions Kronos provided to its ever-expanding customer base and to the way the company was structured and operated to consistently reinvest in its employees. Kronos, today known as the Ultimate Kronos Group, is now a multi-billion-dollar global organization of almost 13,000 employees. And Mark, the epitome of a triumphant business creator, has decided the time is right to share his own experiences to inspire a next generation of like-minded visionaries. This book recounts a success story rooted in one individual's desire to embrace his entrepreneurial spirit and forge his own company. Mark Ain led Kronos Incorporated from concept to the basements and garages of its early core team to a soot-filled ironworks foundry, and from there to its eventual role as a multi-billion-dollar global leader in an industry it refined, then redefined, and ultimately led. The story of Mark Ain and Kronos holds inspiration and insight for any aspiring entrepreneur.
The tale starts not in a boardroom, but with Mark's early upbringing, where his adventurous spirit and fearless nature readied him to be both a risk-taking business pioneer and a leader who recognized the need to take a nontraditional approach to team building, prioritizing fit over resumes and potential over past accomplishments. The result was a company that could and would truly stand the test of time.
His guiding philosophy of "If it isn't broke, fix it anyway!" applied in equal measure to the products and solutions Kronos provided to its ever-expanding customer base and to the way the company was structured and operated to consistently reinvest in its employees.
Kronos, today known as the Ultimate Kronos Group, is now a multi-billion-dollar global organization of almost 13,000 employees. And Mark, the epitome of a triumphant business creator, has decided the time is right to share his own experiences to inspire a next generation of like-minded visionaries. Front Cover 1 Contents 8 Foreword 12 Preface 14 Acknowledgments 18 Special Acknowledgments 19 Introduction 20 Growing Up Ain 25 An Educational Odyssey 32 Working Up to an Idea 41 Taking the Reins/Saddling Up 49 The Company You Keep 54 When the Time Was Right 59 Teaming Up for the Long Haul 65 Wind in the Sales 71 The Giant Paid Them No Heed . . . 79 Solving a Big Problem . . . 84 Images 90 Another Tall Order 106 Espousing the Virtues 113 Fired Up 121 The “Plastics” of the 1980s 129 Growth Was in the Cards 136 Go Ask Alice! 143 Sweet Melody 150 The Disruptor 158 Accentuate the Positive 165 Back to the Present 169 What Would You Do? 176 Words from the Heart 184 The Foundation 191 Epilogue 198 "This engaging book relays how Mark Ain followed his grandmother's advice and forsook a plodding, mulish existence in the corporate world for the riskier and ultimately much more rewarding life of an entrepreneurial thoroughbred. Mark's role in the creation and growth of Kronos, a human capital management firm that now generates over $3 billion in annual revenue and, as the Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG), has over 12,000 employees, provides many valuable lessons. For those seeking to either follow in Mark's entrepreneurial footsteps or foster an entrepreneurial culture within more established organizations, the principles behind his success are instructive"-- Provided by publisher