Father of the Mobility Movement – Ralph Braun

1. Put the Customer First

The story goes that one Friday afternoon Ralph Braun wheeled down to the assembly line and picked one of the newly built vans to test drive over the weekend. He asked a foreman for the keys, and the startled employee stuttered, “Well, Mr. Braun…I guess I didn’t know you’d be taking this van.”

Ralph turned to the man and said, “Would you have built it any differently if you had?”

It was a teachable moment for the foreman and, as the story was told again and again, for the generations of employees to follow. “Build every van like you’re building it for me, or your own mother, or for your son – because someday you may have to,” he’d say.

2. No Excuses

Ralph had every opportunity in the world to make excuses for himself – why he couldn’t go to school or get a job or even get out of bed in the morning. But he never made excuses for himself. Instead, he built an entire industry and made automotive accessibility a reality in American society.

When you report to a man like that, you don’t make excuses. As one of his earliest employees and close friends say, “Rarely were excuses necessary. Ralph was a master at motivating people. He was gifted with a character that made people want to do great things.”

Over the past 40 years, we’ve learned a little something about setting expectations for our company, our products, our life – and exceeding them. We have every intention of making the impossible possible in mobility – just like Ralph did. No excuses.

3. Surround Yourself with Good People

“So what’s the secret to your success?”

It was common for Ralph to be asked this question, and you could expect the same reply: “I surround myself with good people – and then I get out of the way.”

As part of the team he built, we heard these words often. Ralph was used to relying on people. He couldn’t do everything for the company or even for himself. Ralph relied on his team of caregivers and family and employees to help him through a day – and a life. Those people had to be skilled and qualified – but most importantly they had to share his values and a vision of a customer-focused culture.

4. Never Stop Improving

Here’s a story that was only shared after Ralph passed away. In his late 50s, long after his company was leading the mobility industry, Ralph decided he wasn’t a strong public speaker. It bothered him, and he knew as CEO of a growing company, he would be called upon to speak again and again.

He decided to go back to college and take a course in public speaking. Two nights a week for a full semester, he drove himself an hour away from his home to a local college. Imagine the contrast: a room full of 19-year-old college students and one older man in a motorized scooter.

He loved that class, and he learned. In fact, he was voted by his class as one of two contenders for their end-of-year speech competition. Ralph beamed with pride over the honor and asked his family to come to watch him that evening.

Whatever he could do to make his company or himself better as a leader – he did it, and he reminded us that success in life can breed complacency. In Ralph’s mind, there was no greater sin than believing improvement had a finish line.

5. Believe in Your God-Given Ability

Ralph faced enormous obstacles in his life, but he believed in the ability God gave him. He didn’t set out to blaze a trail as a mobility pioneer. He set out to show his doctors he didn’t need to be institutionalized. He set out to show a school system that students with physical disabilities deserve to be educated. He set out to prove the banks wrong who would not loan money to a man in a wheelchair.

As he fought and won again and again and again, he did what incredible leaders do. He made us ask, “Why not me?”

Why not? That God-given ability is different for each of us, but it’s there. We can use it to fight the battles, to blaze the trails, to be the difference between the status quo and a better way of life. Just like Ralph did.