Olaf Theodore Harken, 80, passed away October 21, 2019. Born May 6, 1939
in Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia, Olaf died where he lived most of his
adult life, in Pewaukee Wisconsin.
Olaf and his older brother, Peter, created the hugely successful marine
hardware business that bears their name, by working hard, delivering
excellence, and having fun every day.
Harken Inc. makes marine hardware, hydraulics and winch systems for
racing and cruising sailboats of all types and sizes. Industrial
hardware applications include the commercial marine, architectural, and
rescue industries.
The brothers took many chances over the years – and they still encourage their employees to do the same.
When Olaf was inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2014
along with Peter, he explained the brothers’ business philosophy: “When
trying new stuff our rule is to ask, ‘if it all goes bad, can we
survive?’ Then we go to the bar and forget what we just said and do it
anyway!”
Olaf and Peter quickly learned that the real fuel behind their company’s success was its people.
“Peter and I were not very smart,” Olaf said in his 2015 memoir Fun
Times in Boats, Blocks & Business, “but we did know that success is
linked directly to trust and treating people with dignity, and maybe a
little sprinkling of humor.”
The Harken story has been full of twists, turns, successes, and
reinventions, but through it all the goal of challenging the status quo
and commitment to being at the front remains.
Today at Harken, Peter Harken told an assembly of Harken members, “my
brother did all the hard work, so I could have all the fun. During the
days when the company was just getting going, Olaf was in charge of the
money. He kept us in business. If I had been in charge of that, we would
have been in big trouble. His legacy is in this culture. So, let’s just
keep doing what we do. Just keep getting better. You are a great
family. Thanks a lot. He’ll be watching you, so no sloughing off!”
Olaf was born of Dutch and Swedish parents in Indonesia at the beginning
of World War II. In 1941, the Japanese attacked Indonesia. During the
fighting and nightly bombings, Peter, Olaf, and their Swedish mother
managed to escape to Borneo. Their Dutch father, Joe, joined the very
small Dutch army and helped fight the Japanese until his capture.
Joe was imprisoned for five years and was not liberated until the end of
the war. Meanwhile, Peter, Olaf, and mother Ulla lived first in Borneo,
were then troop-shipped to New Zealand for a year, to Australia for
another year, and finally shipped to San Francisco in 1944. While in San
Francisco, they were miraculously reunited with their father in 1946
after the war was over.
After studying at Georgia Tech, Olaf took an engineering job in New York
City, but in 1967, he returned to Wisconsin to help Peter build boats
for the college market. “Why I made that decision then I’ll never know,”
said Olaf.
Inside the office were a couple of doors on saw horses used as desktops,
an old typewriter, a telephone, and a file cabinet. A plastic sheet
separated the offices from the fiberglass and assembly area. Marketing
consisted of all-night drives with Peter at the wheel and Olaf typing
brochures in the back seat of an old Chevy wagon. That first year they
made $3,800 together (not a typo- in total!).
The Harkens aren’t sure exactly when the turnabout happened, but Olaf
the engineer ended up running the business side of Harken Inc., with
Peter the economist handling design and production.
“Peter designed the blocks, and knew more about manufacturing than me,” Olaf said.
“Olaf was more patient, better at the business than me,” Peter said.
“Each of us was better at the other guys’ education. We kept it quiet,
figuring people wouldn’t want blocks designed by an economist.”
Today, Bill Goggins, current CEO of Harken, read this passage from Olaf’s autobiography in remembrance:
“Peter and I have long believed there is a word that should apply to
almost every action and decision. That word is honesty. I got my first
lesson in honesty shortly after we started the business— back when we
were building those first six boats for Ohio State University.
“Like almost every boat builder, we were behind by quite a few weeks.
When our customers called and wanted to know when we were going to
deliver, I lied. I said they would be ready in about a week. Peter
overheard me and was furious. He made me call them back and tell them I
was wrong, that we were further behind and would not be able to deliver
for a few more weeks.”
“This was very embarrassing, but it taught me a good lesson. For one
thing, I didn’t have to keep on lying each week. Taking the beating once
is a lot easier than building one lie on top of another. It’s not easy
to do and the customer is going to be angry or disappointed, but that’s
the end of it.”
Goggins also said:
“You couldn’t have scripted a nicer weekend for Olaf than the one just
past. Pewaukee Yacht Club honored Olaf on Saturday night with a Lifetime
Achievement Award to a full-house standing ovation. He rose, walked to
the front and accepted the award with his usual grace and dignity.”
“The evening was highlighted by Olaf and his wife Ruth on the dance
floor. Sunday was a simple Packer game with his family and then, a
remarkable chance 30-minute walk with his brother in the sunshine.”
“He died peacefully in his sleep with his loved ones nearby. The company
mourns his loss. However, the company celebrates his life by doing what
we do… working hard every day… headed into a bright future.”
Olaf is survived by his wife of 47 years Ruth, 3 daughters, 4 granddaughters, and 1 grandson.
Preliminary plans include a visitation and service Saturday morning,
October 26 at Galilee Lutheran Church in Pewaukee, followed immediately
by a celebration at Harken corporate headquarters. For overseas friends,
another celebration of Olaf’s life will be held during the annual METS
show in Amsterdam in November.
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