A father and two sons demonstrate athletic business ability in a cut-throat, fast-moving corrugated industry.

Bill Mazzocco, president, and Mike and Mark Mazzocco, respective vice presidents of operations and sales for Packaging Innovators Corp. (PIC) in Livermore, California, are athletes. They're not professional or even semi-pro athletes, for in their roles as key full-time executives of a 114,000-sq.-ft. box plant, their hectic schedules couldn't possibly accommodate the intensive road game travel. And even though two of the three wrestled their ways-literally, not figuratively-through college at California Polytechnic State University, the definition of athlete in this circumstance has nothing to do with having a college sports background.

Although athletic prowess in the sports and business arenas have different requirements-perhaps most noticeably in the area of height, speed and weight-they are without a doubt related. They both clearly require stamina, strength and agility, and-as most Michael Jordan fans will attest-the ability to find a way to accomplish seemingly unattainable feats. In industry, however, athleticism has a much more extensive translation than being capable of hitting homers, scoring touchdowns or skillfully bludgeoning one's opponent with a hockey stick. To be successful, business athletes need to channel their natural athletic vigor, aggressiveness and competitiveness into a positive and clearly focused business philosophy.

PIC's philosophy of innovation manifests itself not only in the name of the company, but as the tool most frequently applied in its operations, both internal and external. "Where we are going to be in the next four or five years needs to be determined today. And where we go beyond that in eight or nine years, we really don't know-so we have to do all we can to find ourselves new areas of innovation," said Bill, father of both Mike and Mark.

Newness practically oozes from the box plant's walls. From a physical standpoint, it was constructed just three years ago and houses machinery that dates back only as much as 11 years-a phenomenon unheard of in some box plants that have diecutters older than the workers that operate them. And in practice, the company, its managers and its employees exert every effort to stay on top, whether it be by way of learning new processes, designing new box shapes or challenging in-house production records-anything to get and keep an edge over the competition.

staying in the game PIC seems to have already proved its stamina and strength simply by virtue of its continued presence in the Bay Area since the company's inception in October of 1975. And the three Mazzoccos are certainly agile as managers-they like to move fast. This became quite apparent at one point during the interview when, in the blink of an eye, one sprinted up the stairs, one darted into the next room and one disappeared into nothingness to put out fires and squeeze in a few urgent phone calls. However, more importantly, the Mazzoccos and their company are mentally agile, as evidenced by their propensity to implement positive change and remain constantly poised in anticipation of the next hot development in the corrugated industry.

Maintaining business agility doesn't require calisthenics or stretching your muscles. It does require giving the mind a workout through constant evaluation and investigation of one's plant, the market, customers and technology, and it requires flexibility. "If you were to call and say you need 5,000 boxes this afternoon, and we knew we couldn't do that, we would tell you what we could do," said Bill. "Maybe 500 today and the remainder tomorrow. I think that's what differentiates us-we rarely say 'No'. We also work hard to find something that's extraordinary and then strive toward it." Even though the company doesn't identify itself with a specific niche, PIC-according to Mike-concentrates most of its efforts on making what is already good even better. "Anyone that works here knows that we are always trying to get better," said Mike. "Constantly doing new things, evaluating and learning from our mistakes means we are continually growing."

"Kaizen," explained Bill. "As we understand it, it's Japanese for never being where you want to be but always striving for improvement, growth and efficiency. We talk about that a lot."

Whether it be receiving ISO 9000 certification-which it did on September 17 of this year-implementing an in-house ink kitchen or investing in new capital machinery, the company pushes itself to see just how far it can go creating new limits and goals with each thrust. This involves a lot of trial and error. "For a while we tried printing boxes with a machine that we didn't know couldn't do it, and we were using substrates that weren't suited to that particular printing process," explained Bill. But they eventually learned how to do it right by consulting specialists. And now, as proof of its continued willingness to experiment with new things, PIC has purchased two machines, both relative newcomers to the market-the Tanabe folder-gluer and an Automatan NewPaks(TM) laminator.

"The Tanabe fits us well because it's a machine in which innovation is inherent," said Bill. "In fact, when we were looking at the machine we were told, 'We can't tell you what this machine will do because we don't even know what we are going to do structurally with this machine.' That is what innovation is all about. And that is precisely why we like the idea." In selling its products, the company plans to emphasize this newly acquired technology until, said Bill, "everyone else starts buying them. But we'll be years ahead of them by then."

According to Mark, the addition of other equipment such as the new laminator helps give his sales team the added confidence of being able to provide customers with multiple choices. "What we do as salespeople is offer options to our customers and educate them on those options," he said. "With all of our capabilities we are able to offer multiple solutions to problems our customers do not even know they have."

New equipment also provides new challenges for the company's sales, plant and design staffs. "Our new folder-gluer gives our designers a lot more ability to create something new," said Mike. "The machine's sell sheet explained six new box styles. I think we can make 50. Now it's up to our designers to come up with the other 44." And in turn, it is up to the plant personnel to put the new designs to use and the sales staff to go out there and sell them. "They all sort of go together," said Mike.

On future investments in equipment and processes, the Mazzoccos always have their eyes and minds open for improvements. For example, they recently purchased a foam packing company to add value for their customers, and they are contemplating a change from their traditional anilox roll to a reportedly lighter and harder carbon roll to reduce deflection. By surveying their customers and examining options offered by their suppliers, they attempt to reach a good balance between creating new demands and satisfying them.

put me in, coach Being successful often requires working as a team, and every team requires a certain degree of coaching. Much like a substitution in a Jazz vs. Pacers game, the changing of the guard is a crucial transition in any company's development during which timing and making the right choices are essential to success. Rearing a new crop of upper management is both challenging and risky. And for some, overcoming the silver-spoon stigma often attached to second-generation family owners is no easy task in itself. Employees' perceptions of the baton being passed is often a sensitive and delicate issue.

Though it's possible that the Mazzoccos would have preferred this article concentrate more on their box plant than on their family's working relationship, it's a difficult subject to avoid. Sitting at a table with three family members at once, especially three managers of the same company, one cannot help but to be struck by their dynamics. And also, by the question of how a business owner and father overcomes the challenge of fairly and adequately allocating responsibility to two able managers, also identical 34-year-old twins. However, it soon became evident that each Mazzocco brother exuded specific strengths as they developed in the company, thus making that decision easier and the eventual transition to second-generation leadership much more gradual.

"We spent every second and fourth Tuesday of each month for two years with a family advisor, who helped us set up a governance for the company," explained Bill. "And although it is in written form, we practice it also." The advisor helped the Mazzocco managers delineate their roles with the company and helped outline their unique responsibilities. It also further solidified 32-year-old Monica Mazzocco's role in the company, Bill's daughter and a member of the company's sales department. According to Mike, their roles all intertwine. "Mark is dependent on me and I on him, and [Bill] is dependent on us. We all have our own responsibilities and yet they are all tied together.

"I think that we can all sort of guess which direction the other would go, and we all have the same general focus," Mike continued. "How we get there is a little different, but we learned a lot from our dad, so we are a lot alike."

"I can tell you right off that Mike and I each have our father's general management style," added Mark. "Working with him and for him for so many years, he has sort of rubbed off on us. But there are definitely some differences, especially between Mike and me."

Pause. "Like what?" challenged Mike of his brother Mark, in a sarcastic, brotherly sort of way. Throughout the interview, which was filled with father and sons practically finishing each other's sentences, it was clear that the three are loaded with competition-with each other, as Mark said, and with everything else. Though likely a boon to business, this also presents problem when it comes to communication. Working with family is different than non-family, despite the claims made by some owners of family businesses. However, working with family can be either easier or more difficult, depending on what you make of it. This became increasingly clear as the interview progressed. In assessing PIC and the Mazzocco family, it seems evident that working with family in this particular situation is actually more difficult. However, in light of that unavoidable additional challenge, the three have adjusted and melded in such a way that working with family works to their advantage.

The family advisor also helped to split up the family's roles to harbor more constructive competition. "The counseling was a big deal," said Mike. "I would recommend it to any family business because it really put things in place."

"He addressed issues that we wouldn't normally have addressed," added Mark, "especially all the things we were all afraid to talk about."

"The counselor would ask something particularly sensitive," said Mike, "and we would all practically fall out of our chairs thinking, 'Damn, I can't believe you asked that one!' And I soon dreaded Tuesdays. Actually I dreaded Sundays because they were that much closer to Tuesdays. But I would really recommend the counseling-it brought us closer together."

Though the three have taken an aggressive approach to making their working relationship with one another a smoother one, keeping the two-family and business-separate is complicated. "Relating to one another and not taking the other for granted introduces another level of concern into business," said Bill. "It's easy when you are so close-I think with Mark and Mike especially-to remember some childhood situations and to react to today's situations not as a child, but in a style that you have relating as siblings toward one another." And it's easy to let the two separate lives overlap. "When your whole family is so heavily involved in something, that's what you talk about at the dinner table," said Mike. "So we discuss golf, flying planes and boxes, although not necessarily in that order. In essence, we have strategy meetings all the time."

Outside of the family relationship lie other challenges. PIC employs 75 people, of which four are Mazzoccos. "In a business such as this, there are concerns about what percentage of advancement is based on merit and what percentage is based on the fact that you have 'Mazzocco' as a last name," said Bill. "I think it is more difficult to recruit when you are a closely held family organization of this size. That is a liability, but the plus side is incredible."

"People are the hardest thing to find," said Mark. "And I know that I always have two who I can rely upon and I think that my brother and father feel the same."

He's right, they do. "That is why I am so bullish for the future," added Mike. "I compare us to the company that has one person running it. We have one, two, three. We can hit harder."

Relying on its people is perhaps the only PIC practice that goes without change. However, even though it might seem too good to be true, the company suffers from everyday ailments-such as turnover-that affect all companies and like them, they cope with them day to day. "Customer service is one," said Bill. "We are still trying to figure out why people leave that department. Except for a few people, it seems to be turning over much more than we would like it to." And although the company recognizes that excessive turnover can be a liability, it welcomes change and can find some good in the bad-and tries to learn from that bad. "Turnover is good sometimes," continued Bill, "and oftentimes it's good because if a change is made naturally, you can improve that position. We are smarter now in our recruiting and hiring."

arm in arm (in arm) Though proud of all that the company has accomplished, the Mazzoccos agree that PIC has a lot more to learn. "There are things we are going to be learning and practicing, and we don't even know what they are yet," said Bill. And as for continuing to discover the things that work for PIC, the company looks forward to the future. "The habits that we haven't formed, we are going to form now with our ISO certification. And technically, the industry is moving forward," said Bill. "The brown box industry is changing. Anybody that is doing today what they did four years ago, and planning to do the same thing in the future, is going to lose the game."

"I think we need more technology," added Mike. "Let everyone else wait and see while we get out there and make the decisions to go ahead with new technology so that we can keep advancing." By staying still, added Mike, the competition has time to catch up and all of a sudden, boxes become a commodity again.

The Mazzoccos, though unique as persons, are a team-which is ultimately the reason why the changes they make and the risks they take don't seem as drastic as they might to other box plants. By putting their heads together, they have built a certain confidence that might otherwise be unmatchable. In the event that the PIC team should purchase another plant in Southern California-a strong possibility at this point-it might mean losing one of its players, and upsetting the team's dynamic. "That is our only resistance. I am hoping that we will be able to expand without breaking this family up," said Bill. However, despite their commitment to camaraderie, the three are never completely opposed to change. "I'd welcome it," said Mike. "And I think Mark would, too. It would be an opportunity to take everything we've learned and put it into a new place."

Mark added, "If one of us does go there, there would always be the possibility that we would eventually swap places. And the other brother would work on the new location from up here at PIC, too." Above all, the three are confident that they will always have a teammate-a brother, father or son-as well as a strong, reliable staff to fall back on. Their goals are the same. Change. Improvement. Innovation. Teamwork. Athleticism. And with that collective approach to business, PIC and its management team are poised and ready for whatever pitch the competition is getting ready to throw. The company, much like any athlete in sports or business, is playing to win.