Although Brian Kimball isn’t really much of a sports enthusiast, outside of enjoying a game of golf, he certainly can appreciate the glamor, tradition and the significance of the Stanley Cup. The oldest trophy in North American sports, annually bestowed upon the champion of the National Hockey League, is also one of the most revered and respected of awards.
Kimball has never hoisted the Cup, but he certainly knows how it feels. As a key member of Conway Office Products, which would eventually become part of Xerox’s Global Imaging Systems (GIS), he was once presented with the Conway Cup Award. As in the case with Lord Stanley’s silver chalice, winners of the Conway Cup have their names engraved in the trophy. And just like the Stanley Cup, the winner gets to possess the trophy for one year, until the next recipient is celebrated.
In another life, Kimball would make for the ideal hockey player. He is a tireless and relentless worker, and someone who genuinely embraces the team concept. Every single NHL champion has those qualities baked into its DNA.
“The accolade meant the most to me because it was not easy to achieve,” said Kimball, a 2024 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. “Your name is engraved on the trophy along with other achievers in past years. I always knew I made a difference, but this meant everyone could see it.”
Being able to fix and build was woven into Kimball’s fabric at an early age. From working on his pedal bike or dirt bike, he loved to take things apart and rebuild them. His father was a mechanic, and they spent countless hours working on cars together. He’d planned to attend Universal Technical Institute in Arizona and become a specialty mechanic, but soon discovered that wasn’t what he wanted to do. He worked for a dry cleaner, fixing the machines by trial and error (pre-Google days), and spent six years doing repairs, not to mention electrical and plumbing. The training was “learning by doing. It wasn’t anything I could handle.”
In 1997, a buddy of Kimball’s told him about the place where he worked, Conway Office Products, and that it was in need of good technicians. While the company wasn’t hiring at the time, the friend sold Conway’s service manager on the idea of hiring Kimball. In the early days, he worked on analog Konica machines. He became a color specialist when those models were introduced, then went on to manage a service team in greater Boston, followed by director of service.
Shining Example
Along the way, he’s copped multiple Technician of the Year awards and multiple Gold and Silver Seal technical awards from Konica Minolta. Xerox acquired Global Imaging Systems, which included Conway, in 2007. He continues to set the standard for helping other techs become proficient in servicing Xerox hardware as the regional service development manager for Xerox’s U.S. Dealer Program.
“You need to have a never-give-up approach to anything that you do,” Kimball said. “My motto is, ‘I didn’t ask you if it was your job. I asked you if you could help.’ If you know the answer, just help. Whether it’s the end customer, internal or external, let’s just get it done. See the big picture; that’s what’s most important. If you can do that, it’s easy to effect change.”
During his time in the industry, he’s benefitted most from the wisdom of GIS/Xerox service leaders Michael McKenna and Frank Ferreira. Combined, the trio shared many qualities and followed the mantra of “Keep it simple and remember it’s not life or death.” It’s important to take a moment, process and then act. That is particularly important on the service side, where dealing with irate people calls for a measured response.
“If you answer the phone and someone is demanding something, you get trapped into saying ‘yes’ to them, right?” Kimball related. “Keep it simple. Process it and tell the person you’ll return their call in 15 minutes. Then you devise a plan, call back and present it. That’s a lot easier than getting backpedaled.”
Has Kimball ever encountered a break that couldn’t be fixed? “If there’s no water damage and the frame hasn’t been bent, it’s fixable,” he said. “I’ve never been beaten by a machine, and I have references.”
Building Blocks
One of the reasons Kimball was installed as a regional service development manager was to bring about positive change for Xerox’s dealer partners. This entailed developing service programs and traveling around the country to train them. One of the more challenging tasks, which his team embarked upon in 2023, was to plug the void in the company’s post-sales analyst support. It was available for direct customers but not the dealer channel. Laying the foundation was no small task, but Kimball was able to bring in a regional service development manager to help instruct dealers on how to service Xerox machines. By year’s end, the support function was in place.
“This wasn’t easy and it certainly took a team effort,” Kimball noted. “It’s something I’m very proud of.”
He relishes the leader role that comes with his responsibilities. Kimball can help move the needle by making a quantifiable difference in how his team performs, building a positive team culture and ensuring that all members are on the same page. The idea is to produce a quality, homogeneous experience for partners.
“That Big Mac needs to be the same on the East Coast as it is on the West Coast,” he added.
Kimball believes the path to self-improvement is best accomplished by focusing on the team approach. Having spent so many years operating in the context of an office dealer, he’s been able to share that perspective from the point of view of an independent dealer and a direct operation. The idea is to make the team as a whole stronger through increased internal communications, team meetings and best practices.
As mechanically inclined individual, it’s not surprising that Kimball’s off-hour’s passions are decidedly hands-on activities. From working out to riding his Harley-Davidson Road Glide, snowmobiling and golfing, he embraces a robust and adventurous lifestyle. He has a daughter, Makenna, who is 23. Kimball hopes to tap into his professional arsenal in imparting values to her that stress positivity, self-improvement and accountability.
“Always be the bigger person,” Kimball added. “It takes more energy to be negative.”
