The adage “Choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” has been variously attributed to many sages, led by Confucius, and modified by countless others. Its origin matters not; clearly, it’s wise advice that transcends time.
It may be said that Sally Brause retired not long after joining GreatAmerica Financial Services more than 20 years ago, and her “toiling” days have long since passed. As the director of human resources consulting and the dean of GreatAmerica’s PathShare HR Services offering, Brause has found her professional Xanadu, an unbridled happy place where she loves, not likes, her work. PathShare truly ignited her passion for helping customers.
“As hokey as it may sound, for me it’s really about helping leaders run successful businesses,” said Brause, a 2022 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. “When people go to work in an environment they love, doing what they love to do, they’re more productive. And when that happens, everybody wins—the employee, the business, and their clients. And it makes you happy when you go home at night.
“I help dealers look at it from an organizational perspective, to consider what they want to achieve and show them the right path to take through people, processes and systems. I get to be a part of showing them the way.”
HR Impact
Brause worked with organizations including Rockwell Collins, The Ertl Company and Glaxo before finding her forever work home at GreatAmerica in 2001. The Coe College and St. Ambrose University graduate began as an HR director for GreatAmerica before going into sales, training and development. That provided her exposure to the dealer community. But when the dealer principals discovered Brause’s background, the conversations invariably turned from financing to HR.
It wasn’t long before Brause communicated her desire to focus on HR and organization development services for the dealer community. Her boss was intrigued by the idea, as it aligned with GreatAmerica’s mission to help drive dealers’ success, so Brause was asked to put together a business plan and present it to senior leadership.
During the course of the last 15 years, this focus on helping dealers address their HR and organization development challenges has proven to be Brause’s calling. “I care immensely about the people and the organizations with whom I get to work, plus I have a fairly decent business mind,” she said.
Brause has benefitted from the wisdom of many industry professionals at GreatAmerica, including Jennie Fisher, the senior vice president and general manager of the office equipment group. “Jennie is a role model from an overall leadership perspective,” Brause said. “She understands the industry and what’s important to our customers.”
She also cited veteran consultant Mike Riordan, who employs a client approach that she feels worthy of emulating. “He’s able to build a level of trust with his dealers,” Brause noted. “He has great insight into how to build a business plan and build a model to help customers.”
Personal Touch
One of the benefits of the near-normal resumption of business activity is the opportunity to be working in a more face-to-face fashion, which Brause believes is a key to establishing stronger connections with her team and clients alike. Having to touch base with partners through remote conferencing was a necessary evil, but it’s not as impactful as being in the same room.
In-person presentations, she says, are more effective at gauging how content is being received. Being on the laptop end of a meeting just doesn’t provide that instant feedback.
“I need to be in the room, I’ve got to read the body language,” Brause said. “It allows me to pick up on the energy. It’s not the same when you have to do a video.”
As 2022 turns to 2023, Brause will be focusing on ways to help dealers find their better business selves, and one of the key initiatives toward that end is implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) within the dealer community. “I’ve been able to see the impact that the system has had on a number of dealers with whom we work,” Brause noted. “Being able to help dealers in that regard is going to be a strong focus moving forward.”
Continuous education is the key building block for Brause’s personal future growth. She ascribes to the belief that unless you are moving forward, you’re essentially falling behind.
“We must continue to have our foot on the gas pedal and be moving forward, making things better,” she said. “The challenge for us is how do we keep moving forward, and it comes back to researching, growing and innovating.”
On the personal side, Brause and her husband, Bill, have been married for 33 years and have two grown daughters, Amanda and Amy. They own a lake home in northern Minnesota, where she loves to enjoy the great outdoors and unwind. Brause also enjoys spending time with her two dogs and catching up with family and friends.
