Gulam Khan, CEO, US Endoscopy
Gulam Khan, CEO, US Endoscopy
In what ways is your company an innovator in its industry, and how does your organization employ innovation to be on the leading edge?
US Endoscopy is an innovator in the medical device industry by leveraging our unique abilities to understand the challenges faced by endoscopists and surgeons, and to develop problem-solving solutions.
How does your organization make a significant impact on the community and regional economy, either through charitable contributions, volunteerism or setting an example for other organizations and leaders to follow?
US Endoscopy is proud to manufacture millions of medical devices each year, all on-site at our headquarters in Mentor, Ohio. We try to source services and products locally whenever possible and choose not to outsource to low-cost countries — staying true to our goal to provide cost-effective products that are designed and manufactured in Northeast Ohio.
Each year, US Endoscopy donates products to MedWish International, which distributes these donations to countries in need. In addition, we support our employees getting involved in the community: employees join together to prepare meals for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House, run in the Race for the Cure, and joined the “Party in the Pink” Zumbathon — raising money for breast cancer awareness. We ran in “The Race for the Place” benefiting “The Gathering Place” and our team rode in “Pedal to the Point,” raising over $7,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Toys, clothes, etc., are donated to Salvation Army each year for local families.
Give us an example of a business challenge your organization faced during its growth, as well as how you overcame it.
One challenge that we faced was to maintain our ability to be flexible while also adding structure to support our larger organization. We were able to overcome this issue by coaching our teams to identify entrepreneurial opportunities within projects or initiatives. There are many “micro” risks that can be taken throughout the life of a project that can result in substantial innovation. We need our people to understand and take acceptable risks, but to also know when the downside is not acceptable. An important part of taking acceptable risks is that you support the individuals or teams when a smart risk is taken, that has disappointing results.
What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned as a business leader, an entrepreneur, or as an organization, and how have you applied this lesson toward fostering growth?
With the right team of people, anything is possible.
