Smart Business Detroit

Ahead of the Curve

If you're in aerospace, you have to see what automotive companies are doing in terms of production methods that could take your company up a bar.

Smart Leaders: Alan Kalter

As Alan Kalter met with his employees on a Sunday night in August 1996, his advertising agency's building burned behind them. No one was hurt, but everyone's hard work at W.B. Doner & Co. was going up in flames.

Fast Lane: Dave Morse

"Whenever you start, 'Do as I say, not as I do,' then, in turn, you can lose respect real quick from your team," says Morse, who leads more than 200 employees at the company, which posted 2007 revenue of more than $15 million. Once you get to that point - especially in a family business where you have to make some tough decisions that sometimes affect family - when you are doing that, if you are doing them fairly, then the rest of the team realizes that, and it keeps your company strong as y...