Outside-In® Talent Seminar: The Happy Harry’s Story

Last Thursday, we partnered with Alan Levin, the former CEO of Happy Harry’s (and the son of Harry himself), to present The Happy Harry’s Story at our Outside-In® Talent Seminar. Business professionals and knowledge-seeking individuals joined us at University of Delaware’s Goodstay for some networking, a hot breakfast, and to learn valuable business lessons from a successful and distinguished Delaware leader. Alan led the talk on the beginnings of Happy Harry’s and credited several variables to the success of the business.

Alan stated the importance of having customers and frontline employees at the top of the organization. “People in Delaware are extremely loyal,” said Levin. “Our fortune is credited to being located in Delaware. It’s important to give back to people. If you have the right people and the right customers, you will do well.”

The discussion then turned to Levin’s 11 Rules for Business Success, a comprehensive list that includes empowering your employees to make decisions, giving back to the community you serve, and having fun. He reinforced, “Life is a people business and how you treat people makes all the difference in the world.”

Overall, our guests enjoyed Levin’s heartfelt talk, and appreciated his humor throughout the presentation. “There were several take-aways, with probably the biggest being the emphasis on people,” said guest Frank DeSantis, “The common themes were respect, empowerment, setting examples all resulting in the development of a relationship with both customers and your employees.”

Alan concluded the talk with the sentiment, “Do what you enjoy and you’ll have a much better life and not have to get out of bed every morning to do something you don’t enjoy. I never had a bad night of sleep because I had people that I trusted and people who trusted me.”

Interested in attending our Outside-In® Talent Seminars? We have several guest speakers lined up, continuing Thursday, December 11th with Talent Strategy: Engaging a Multicultural Dispersed Workforce. Our feature presenter John Tooher, currently Managing Director at HeadRoom LLC, will share his experiences as President and General Manager at YellAdworks. Join us for a breakfast, networking, and a valuable discussion! Get your tickets here.