THE INTERVIEW
Karen Norheim, president and CEO of American Crane & Equipment Corporation.
us successful in the past will continue to guide us into the future. This focus on culture has strengthened our workforce, resulting in low turnover and a strong, committed team.
in the business, I developed a passion for the industry and saw opportunities for innovation and cultural transformation. What started as a reluctant step into the family business soon evolved into a deep passion for both the company and the manufacturing industry. Over time, I took on more leadership responsibilities, working closely with my father to ensure a seamless succession plan. When he passed in 2021, I stepped fully
into the CEO role, carrying forward his vision while steering the company into the future. The groundwork he helped us lay ensured that American Crane remained strong. It has now been over 21 years since I made one of the best decisions in my life and got to watch the success of my father’s American dream come to reality.
OCH: Tell us about your success stories. KN: At American Crane, we define success by the long-term relationships we build with our customers and the unique solutions we create to solve challenging problems. One of our biggest strengths has been our ability to take on complex, high-stakes projects that others shy away from. Our commitment to perseverance, heart and integrity has allowed us to celebrate over 50 years in business, with many of our customers
36 Spring 2025 |
ochmagazine.com remaining with us for decades.
Another success has been the formalisation of our company culture. By implementing GRIT Matters, we ensure that the values that made
Five tips for success
1. Embrace authenticity: Be true to who you are and lead with integrity, ensuring your actions consistently reflect your values.
2. Stay resilient: View every challenge as an opportunity to learn. Resilience helps you navigate obstacles and grow stronger from each experience.
3. Balance confidence with curiosity: Maintain unwavering self-belief while staying open to new ideas. This balance keeps you innovative and adaptable.
4. Empower your team: Recognise that people are the heart of the business. Foster a culture of trust and collaboration and invest in developing your team.
5. Be adaptable: Our industry is ever- changing, and success depends on your ability to pivot and embrace new opportunities as they arise.
OCH: Tell us about your failures and how you overcame any challenges. KN: I make mistakes all the time. I am a work in progress. Thankfully, failure is an inevitable part of growth, and I view it as an opportunity to learn, adapt and improve. One of my biggest challenges was navigating the transition to leadership after my father's passing. While we had worked on succession planning, there were still unforeseen challenges – both emotional and operational – that required me to quickly adapt. I had to establish my leadership style while honouring the foundation my father had built. During this time, I leaned heavily on my leadership team, focused on clear communication and remained committed to our core values to ensure stability during the transition. Another major challenge was learning to balance vision with execution. Early in my leadership, I had many ideas for modernisation, technology integration and process improvements. However, I quickly realised that pushing too much change too fast can create resistance. One example was when we introduced new technology and systems to improve efficiency – some employees struggled with the transition and instead of immediate buy-in, we faced frustration and setbacks. This experience reinforced the importance of meeting people where they are, providing support and implementing change in a way that brings people along for the journey rather than overwhelming them. A lesson I have also learned is that not every battle needs to be fought head-on – sometimes, stepping back and taking a strategic approach leads to better results. By being both a gardener and a Viking – we can balance the need to nurture and develop people with the readiness to take decisive action when needed. A clear example of this came when we faced a workforce shortage and needed to hire quickly to meet demand. Instead of pushing for rapid hiring at any cost, we took a step back, analysed our recruiting data and focused on the most effective hiring strategies. This approach ensured that we brought in the right talent while maintaining the integrity of our company culture.
Finally, one of the hardest lessons has been
recognising that failure is not always immediate or obvious – it can sometimes be the slow realisation that something isn’t working as intended. A past mistake was not addressing process inefficiencies early enough, assuming that minor delays or workarounds would resolve themselves. Over time, these inefficiencies compounded, leading to larger operational bottlenecks. When we finally tackled the problem head-on, it took more effort to unwind years of accumulated issues. Now, I focus on early intervention, ensuring that
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