2. Overcome Complacency

Despite its history, Radio Flyer was going nowhere in the late '90s. "We had this great brand that everybody had been raised with and that was still well known, but the company wasn't growing and we had no product-development capabilities," Pasin says. Competitors with plastic wagons were cutting into the company's bottom line, and Radio Flyer had a significant amount of debt. Many employees had been with the wagon manufacturer for decades, and many were wedded to the old ways of operating. Through early retirements and layoffs, Pasin eventually reduced head count by 65. He shut down Radio Flyer's in-house factory in 2004 to instead focus on design and development. He made it mandatory for employees to set goals that mesh with the company's mission. (One asked if there was any additional pay for setting these goals. That person no longer works at Radio Flyer.) "The culture was too far gone" when he became CEO, says Pasin. "We were able to change the culture by changing some of the people."