In one of the more memorable executive offices we’ve visited, Paul Jewison, general manager of Textile Care Services (TCS), Rochester, MN, has mounted on a wall a large wooden aircraft propeller that he earned as recognition for excellence in plant management from the Healthcare Laundry Services Group (HLSG), TCS’s corporate parent, based in St. Charles, IL.

The image that this award conjured for us speaks well of Jewison. Few who know him would question that for 28 years he has served as the “propeller” that drives TCS—both in terms of leadership and innovation. Those qualities played a key role in ...