Summit President Bobblized

April 1, 2011 - For Immediate Release

In what at first appeared to be a horrific catastrophe, Summit President and CEO Norm Belliveau recently fell into the hopper of a vertical rotary plastic injection machine, and emerged from the other end as an eight inch plastic bobble-head doll. “The pressure inside the machine compressed him down to about eight inches tall, and the high-quality ‘Good Plastic’ pellets already in the cavity encased him in a nearly indestructible plastic shell,” said Summit Production Manager Lou Mokodean. Attempts to communicate with the diminutive CEO were initially unsuccessful, until it was noticed that the process had left his head somewhat loose, and thus capable of answering yes or no questions. “He nods or shakes his head every time you touch him,” said Mokedean.

According to Vice President Chuck Snyder the event turned out to be a blessing in disguise. “Everyone was really concerned at first - I mean, is Norm going to be able to continue running the company like this? But we pretty soon realized that as the top decision maker in the organization, Norm’s most critical job duty consists of saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on our big issues, and with the nodding and shaking thing he’s better at that than ever. He used to hem and haw a bit, it’s much quicker to get a decision now,” said Synder.

But the benefits did not stop there. “For years we felt like the demands on Norm’s time where just too much,” said General Manager Jim Pfeiffer. “He was pulled in a million directions, folks all over our facilities constantly needed decisions that only he could make. Norm always said he wished he could be in two places at once.” But at the time bi-location seemed to be physically impossible. Norm’s bobblization lead to a eureka moment for Pfeiffer, though. “I figured if we already made one bobbled Norm, why not make another?” A mold was soon cast from the first doll, and shortly afterwards “Bobble-Norm Two” rolled of the production line. “Now Norm really can be in two places at once, laws of physics be damned,” said Pfeiffer. That meant twice as much access to the CEO, with decisions coming in twice as fast.

But why stop there? Given the huge success of bobble based bi-location, Summit decided to use their mass production facilities to take things even further. Another thirty Bobble-Norms were subsequently produced and distributed around the company. “We’ve got thirty little CEO’s simultaneously overseeing operations, you can’t beat that,” said Production Planner Roy Haverkamp. “Maybe we’ll eventually have a Norm for every employee in the organization.”

Staff is thrilled with the new arrangement. “The Norm bobble head is kind of like a magic eight ball for corporate decisions. It’s super quick, and if you learn how to flick from the top down you can pretty much get instant approval for any idea you suggest. Don’t print that.” said Robert Gumpf, VP Sales.

Summit also plans to distribute bobble head Norm dolls to all customers, thus ensuring unparalleled customer service straight from the CEO. “Norm’s a great guy, we’ve always loved him, and he’s always been big on personal attention, but this is going to be – wow. And I suddenly have a kind of optimistic feeling about our future price negotiations with him,” said one customer who refused to be identified.

Summit is even pursuing a new revenue stream by offering “Bobbleize your CEO” services to other corporations that wish to realize the same benefits as Summit has achieved. “Norm started out as a pretty big guy, so we're pretty sure we could fit most anybody into that rotary injection machine. Multiplying your CEO through Summit’s Bobbleization program is a tremendous way to make those premium CEO salaries go a heck of a lot further. It’s a small thing to ask of your CEO. Get it – small?” said VP of Finance George Collins. (So far there are not any takers.)

President Belliveau’s wife Deborah Belliveau serves as Summit’s Director of Marketing and Communications. Mrs. Belliveau confirmed that her husband is more agreeable now as a bobble head doll, both at home and work, and that there are other benefits as well. “Sometime I miss our old conversations, but it’s nice that the snoring has stopped.” She did indicate that she believes he would probably prefer to be called an “action figure” instead of a doll. When asked whether she likes the new Norm better than the old she did not comment, though she did bobble her head subtly in what appeared to be an up and down motion.