ACE
What began as a small chain of stores established by a group of Chicago-area
retailers in 1924 has evolved into one of the nation's leading "helpful hardware"
dealer-owned cooperatives.
2004 marked a milestone year for Ace Hardware - their 80th anniversary. Throughout
the years, many things have changed. From a few Chicago-area hardware stores, ACE
has grown to include more than 4,800 stores in 50 states and 72 countries. Yet
one thing has remained unchanged - ACE's commitment to deliver quality, friendly
and helpful hardware service to consumers.
LeadFirst has worked strategically with ACE for the past nine years to develop a
progressive, leadership culture. ACE has employed LeadFirst's Round 3,
Achieving A Performance-Driven Culture process to
first map its current state culture and then, using LeadFirst's Round 1 and
Round 2 leader development programs, deliberately migrating that culture to
higher performance.
To date, 482 ACE managers have experienced LeadFirst's leader development process.
Following is a sampling of participant feedback:
"LeadFirst is an exciting program conducted by a knowledgeable and perceptive
professional staff. It is one of the most useful and relevant approaches
because the content is focused to one's needs and understanding. Many of
the concepts can be identified with well-known leaders as well as with work
colleagues, thereby making it immediately applicable."
