REIMAGINING A COMPANY CULTURE
Grind-All has been a high-performing company with a strong culture and excellence-driven core values for over 50 years. However, a recent change in leadership has led the company to reimagine some of those values. Founder Henry Matousek Senior recently took on the role of chairman of the board, while his son, Henry Junior, assumed the role of president and operational leader of the company. The change occurred just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and coincided with the rise of a new generation of workers.
50 YEARS OF ENDURING VALUES
Henry Jr. says the company’s enduring values center on one thing. “We’re a service company, so the quality of what we deliver means everything. And that reflects our brand and reputation, the training and expertise of our employees, and the work we do for our customers.”
He decided to reexamine some of Grind-All’s values and noticed opportunities for improvement. “We often say the customer is always right, for example, but it’s also important to understand the needs of their customers to ensure total satisfaction.”

GIVING WORKERS THE FREEDOM TO FAIL
He also takes a different approach to certain employee policies, like the freedom to fail. “The old school view was that a failure is going to be fired,” he says. “But if you don’t make mistakes, you’re not learning anything. It should not be about beating up workers; it’s about allowing them to learn from their mistakes so they can grow.”
The company must be doing something right in terms of employee satisfaction because of the 40 people it employs, one has been there for 44 years, and over half has worked for Grind-All for 25 to 30 years. Even so, Henry Jr. says increasing numbers of workers seek a better work/life balance, and this trend is growing. “We used to work 65 hours a week. Today, it’s more like 50 hours, so we’re adapting to that new balance.”
NEW CULTURAL GOALS
He explains one of the cultural goals this way, “We used to have a very controlling atmosphere, and that worked in the past, but it doesn’t work so well today. Instead, we want a family feel. We want employees to come and talk to us if there’s something they need from us. It should be a two-way street. We want to be there for the employees and want them to be there for us so we can collaboratively grow and achieve success together.”