Current News

Recent SWOT (Strength/Weakness/Opportunity/Threat) analysis at Willmar Electric told the leaders several things.  Most notably, communication is essential. Not really a news flash.  If you didn’t already know the importance of communication, you likely are part of a...

Merit Shop is one of our core values.  It would be impossible to call ourselves a Merit Shop if we didn’t do individual evaluations. At Willmar Electric, evaluations are a two-part process.  Part one is the performance evaluation.  February is performance evaluation...

A few days ago, while getting ready for work, I noticed something my family members call the "license plate" sunrise. Let me explain. In 2004 our family moved to Nebraska.  It meant getting Nebraska license plates for our cars.  Our children didn't complain at all...

A lot of people like to make cheap jokes about 2020.  A trend is to refer to it as the “year that shall not be mentioned.” Clearly, 2020 was a lousy year globally and personally for many people, but should we be pretending like it never happened? (To save time, I will...

I heard a podcast this week with the author of “This is Marketing,” Seth Godin.  One of the topics he discussed was the price.  He pointed out if people buy your product because it is the cheapest you spend, the rest of that product’s life justifies why it is what it...

On November 9, 2020, the Lord called to Heaven Jay Tornquist.  Jay is likely the best friend I ever had. I considered him to be an older brother. We worked side by side at Willmar Electric for 24 years.  But beyond work, we were close friends. When I heard Jay had...

It is Halloween time, and it reminds me of one of the great stories in my family.  It provided us with an excellent life lesson. It was in October 2016.  My youngest daughter, Sara, was a senior in High School.  It was a Saturday, and the two of us were looking for...

I have been told I should be careful how often I check my retirement savings. It is a long-term investment, and patience is key to keeping your sanity. I recently checked my 401k and was reassured when I saw the balance. I was reassured for two reasons. First, because...

At Willmar Electric Lean Equals Being Organized