Breakfast with Herb & Mike

Every business has a balance sheet. But in this journey of Breakfast with Herb and Mike, a different kind of ledger comes into view — one that tallies hard lessons, second chances, shared values, and the quiet decisions that shape a life. Here, business insights intertwine with deeply personal reflections, creating an unexpected meditation on responsibility, resilience, and the quiet power of choosing — again and again — to do things the right way.

Mike: Tell me about what you’ve learned during your business career.

Herb: I’ve learned that business is a learning process. It isn’t enough to understand your business of today, you need to look ahead and envision where the business is going and what you need to do to arrive there successfully. How would you sum up what you’ve learned?

Mike: As I have progressed from being an employee to being the president of the company, I’ve learned that character is what counts — not the resume. You can teach people the skills to do a job, but teaching character — like honesty, integrity, loyalty — is much harder, if not impossible.

Herb: Is that what you look for when you hire?

Mike: I look for a work ethic that meets the company’s needs, but I am also looking for a person who will fit into our team structure — someone who will support and empathize with the people s/he works with. What do you believe a client looks for when they consider us as a service provider?

Herb: That we know our craft and that our word matters. That if we make a mistake, we will not look for someone to blame, but we will step up, take responsibility and make the situation right.

Mike: Accepting responsibility applies not just to business, but to our personal lives as well. When I was drinking, I had an excuse for everything that went wrong in my life. Nothing was ever my fault. When I was finally sober, I was able to accept responsibility for my life and my actions.

Herb: I have such admiration for how you have changed your life, how you have grown into your role in the company, the diversity of the staff you’ve assembled, and how you make it all work.

Mike: The world is made up of all kinds of people. I don’t believe we should surround ourselves with people who are just like us. We pride ourselves in being a second chance employer. We are willing to give people a chance who may have had a troubled work life. We go the extra mile to bring them into the company and support them.

Herb: Life is complicated and more complicated for some than for others. A little kindness goes a long way.

Mike: One of the things I admire most about you is the effort you put into working with your students when you were teaching in the Business School at SUNY. Your classes were always oversubscribed and you used to have a line of students out the door of your office looking to you for advice and support.

Herb: Teaching ethics for 12 years was a highlight of my professional career. It gave me an opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a much younger generation and share my views of what it takes to be a good human being and an ethical businessperson.

Mike: Let’s talk for a few minutes about family. We’re a blended family — kids from our side and kids from Mary’s side — all with different backgrounds. When you and Mary got together, I doubt any of us thought much about what was ahead. It took a while, but we all agree now we’ve done an amazing job. You taught us that the quality of a person is not how they handle the good times in life, but how they handle the hard times. As a family we’ve faced hard times — health issues, death and divorces as well as happy times – weddings, births, graduations, new jobs, travel, special pets, and more.

Herb: The relationships you kids have forged are a source of pleasure and comfort for Mary and me. There is nothing quite like our long conversations around the dining room table.

Mike: Someone told me once, the secret to a happy life is to marry your best friend. You and I are lucky. We’ve done that.

Herb: We have. Mary is my love, my life and my rock. For more than 40 years she has been my partner in everything I’ve done.

Mike: Lizzie is the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. I share everything with her. The biggest lesson of all is that life is a journey, that every day is a day to be better, do better and continue to learn and grow. Here is to hoping we always remain teachable.