Don’t you wish you could hire people like this?

Ken Akerley rose through the ranks through hard work, determination and a caring heart

Have you ever wondered how some people get to relatively high levels in large corporations without ever going to college? I know a number of people who have done this, and I recently attended a funeral that reminded me of the practical genius of an old friend.

Ken Akerley was born in Charlestown near Boston. He became an entrepreneur at a very early age, about 10 years old. He memorized a poem about the Battle of Bunker Hill and would go to the monument to recite it for tourists who gave him tips. He learned quickly that making their visits more enjoyable could be profitable.

He also built himself a shoebox for his supplies with a step on top for customers to put their feet as he shined their shoes. This was more work than his animated recital of the poem, and it taught him something about diversification.

In both cases, he learned an incredibly valuable lesson that sadly many people never learn: The better you treat your customers, the more money you will make.

As soon as he was old enough, he joined the Marine Corps. There’s an old saying about the Marines: “They either make you or break you.” Well, Ken didn’t break, I can tell you that.

While he was in the service, he bought a raffle ticket and won a brand new car. He got some leave and drove it back to Charlestown, sold it and gave the money to his family.

After serving his country, he worked as a locksmith for a while then got a job at Polaroid and eventually became a quality manager. This was before computers did a lot of the work. Calculating the standard deviation by hand is something many people can’t do today, yet Ken must have had the math skills required.

Unfortunately, many quality managers are eager to shut a line down when they find something wrong. Knowing Ken and his amiable and helpful demeanor, I’ll bet he was one of the enlightened few who paid attention and detected potential problems early, so they could be fixed to avoid shutting the line down.

He moved to Salem, New Hampshire, and bought a house. He said he felt like a land baron, because he then had a driveway and a yard. There weren’t many of those in Charlestown.

There, he and his wife, Peg, raised their five children. Yet, Ken still found time to volunteer and help others. He was active in the American Legion and the Knights of Columbus. When he eventually retired from Polaroid, he found he had even more time to help others.

As a Knight of the Salem Council, he ran their blood drives for many years. He worked two nights a week at their bingo games to help raise the money the council gives away. In fact, Ken was involved in just about everything the council did. He even served as Grand Knight running the whole show.

In 2019, he was awarded the Ganley Award in recognition of his many years of service on so many levels. This award is given on St. Patrick’s Day at an incredibly well-attended luncheon at the Salem Boys & Girls Club. In his acceptance speech, he said the most wonderful blessing he ever received was his loving wife, Peg. He never really recovered from her passing a few years before he died.

By any measure, Ken was the kind of employee every manager would want to have around. He lived the American Dream. He found that helping others made up for any formal education he might be missing. “What goes around comes around,” and all he did for others came back to him in one form or another.

And yet, the secrets to his success, personal, business and spiritual, are not the kind of advice many of us would get from career counselors. Too many people think the secret to success and getting ahead is climbing over others. Yes, you can make money that way, but real happiness and satisfaction remain elusive, and hardly anyone is willing to help you. When you help as many people as Ken did, people are eager to help you whenever you need it.

May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

Ronald J. Bourque, a consultant and speaker from Salem, has had engagements throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He can be reached at 603-898-1871 or ronbourque3@gmail.com.