Our special guest on this week’s episode of the Lessons from the Boardroom Podcast is Ben Tarrier, Vice President of The Tarrier Steel Company in Columbus, Ohio. He is a fourth-generation leader of the structural steel fabrication company after his great-grandfather founded the business 100 years ago. He's a husband, a father of three, and a veteran army officer. Ben came up the old fashioned way, starting on the shop floor as a general laborer and eventually working his way through the ranks toward leading the company.

Ben says, “When you fail at something, when you get to step back, you sit there and you analyze it. I think you learn from failure, even if it's not a huge failure, if it's just something that didn't go the way you want it to, you learn from it. I think that helps you be stronger and it helps you make better decisions.”

We chat about how the company has stayed strong for a century, as well as:

• The family legacy of Tarrier Steel

• Transitioning leadership in the future

• Shifting company culture to encourage innovation

• The freedom to make mistakes and the surprising results that often follow

• And more

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Mentioned in this episode:

• The Tarrier Steel website: https://www.tarrier.com

• Ben’s email address: btarrier@tarrier.com

This week, on the Lessons from the Boardroom Podcast, we speak with Andrew Loff, the Co-Founder of Composite Advantage, an infrastructure company specializing in large structural fiberglass components. They’ve engineered longer-lasting materials for vehicle bridges, rails platforms, and various other heavy infrastructure type products. Based out of Dayton, Ohio, they’ve grown from a start-up to a successful multimillion-dollar infrastructure company manufacturing new product lines. 

We chat with Andy about beginning a company with the support of a non-profit, as well as:

• The humbling early days of ownership of Composite Advantage

• Avoiding costly mistakes by listening to mentors

• Bootstrap financing

• Encouraging people to grow into their roles by providing opportunities

• And more

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Mentioned in this episode:

• www.compositeadvantage.com
  

On this week’s episode of the Lessons from the Boardroom Podcast, we speak with Edward Niles, CEO and Owner of Network Controls, a leading full service provider of structured cabling, outside plant, wireless access and controls, surveillance systems, communications, and technology infrastructure. 

Ed says, “Building a culture that is very family orientated takes time and it takes effort; you have to focus on it, you have to try to make it. A culture just doesn't happen, you have to work on it. Whatever culture you may want within your business, it's an everyday thing you have to work on.”

Ed shares how he applied his tenacious spirit, as well as:

• Communications in the military

• Treating every employee like family and listening to their needs

• Offering an open door policy

• Implementing open communication within the company culture

• Being unwaveringly decisive to keep moving forward

• And more

Listen now...

Mentioned in this episode:

• eniles@networkcontrols.com

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-niles-8606878a 

Our special guest on this week’s episode of the Lessons from the Boardroom Podcast is Vince DeLeonardis, President of Auch Construction since 2006, a privately held construction management firm based in Pontiac, Michigan, founded in 1908. They enjoy over 95% repeat business, a rare statistic for a construction management firm.

Vince says, “Our greatest success has been seeing the transformation of our next generation as they're taking care of problems, and in keeping with our core values, taking care of the client results in that repeat business.”

We chat about the road to his leadership role at Auch Construction, as well as:

• Dynamic skills learned from a mine in Colorado, and a nuclear power plant in Michigan
• Moving from running big highrise and historical preservation projects to a smaller firm
• Aiming for a seamless transition of leadership
• Developing a proactive culture of safety and values
• And more...

Listen now...

Mentioned in this episode:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincent-deleonardis-12414615/
• https://www.auchconstruction.com/

On this week’s episode of Lessons From the Boardroom, we speak with Zoltan Kovacs, President of Perram Electric and Lampion Companies since 2009. They are heavy highway electrical contractors specializing in traffic signals, highway lighting, outdoor lighting, and airport lighting all over Ohio and western Pennsylvania and have been in operation since 1986.

Zoltan says, “We do what we say we're going to do, and then we go out and we do it well. Follow through on your commitments and produce not just a great product but a great balance sheet too. It all leads to not compromising on your quality and your commitments, and then not compromising on your prices.”

We chat about being decisive, as well as:

• Buying a business in the midst of the 2009 recession
• How running lean operations during the recession was good preparation for the challenges of COVID
• Paradigm shifts by analyzing sales and raising prices
• Finding new hires that align with company core values
• And more

Listen now...

Mentioned in this episode:

• Zoltan on LinkedIn

On this week’s episode of Lessons from the Boardroom, we speak with Steve Bitzer. He started his career straight out of high school as a welder, a steel fabricator, and an erector and progressed to become the President of Deerfield Construction company in 1988, where he presides over the company today. 

Steve says, “If you're not striving to be better, all the time, then it's going to get stagnant at some point, and you're going to lose employees, you're going to lose customers, it's going to be a step backwards. So I believe anybody who can identify the good, and make it better, and anybody that can identify the not so good and make it better is going to be successful.”

We chat about business strategy, as well as:

• The impact of COVID on this essential business

• The use of remote tools to update project processes

• Takeaways from pandemic operations that will carry on into the future

• Seeking to offer outstanding customer service in the industry

• And more

Mentioned in this episode:

• Deerfield Construction's Site
  

• Email Steve
  

• Call Steve at 513-984-4096

This week, on Lessons from the Boardroom, we speak with Ryan Yeoman, President of ADW, an OEM automotive distribution company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. ADW warehouses sells OEM parts and accessories from General Motors and parts from Ford Motor Company. Ryan was formerly the COO of Capterra, a technology and online media company he co-founded in 2000. 

Ryan says, “The more deliberate you are, the clearer you are on what your culture is, what you stand for, the better chance you have of making sure the people that are part of it, are living it, are empowered by it, and are able to do their best work. And I think that ultimately leads to success.”

We chat about the big shift of company culture occurring in ADW now, as well as:

• Transitioning out of change-averse, stagnation mode
  
  

• Establishing a really strong foundation
  
  

• Making every company employee feel valued and heard
  
  

• Encouraging and Inviting feedback
  
  

• Creating an environment in which people can empower themselves
  
  

• And more

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

• Turning the Flywheel: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great by Jim Collins

• Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by L. David Marquet

• ADW's Site

On this week’s episode of Lessons From the Boardroom, we speak with Murrel Karsh, the President and Co-Founder of Windy City Fieldhouse and WCF Events in Chicago, Illinois. The Fieldhouse itself is a 55,000 square foot sports and entertainment complex, which represents just a portion of their business model. They are also the largest team building and corporate entertainment company in the midwest, with additional events being performed all over the country. 

Murrel says, “The unique thing about the events we started planning was that they were very different from anything else that was being offered; virtually everything that was offered was offered by people who had never spent a day in the corporate world. So, the perspectives of consultants and type A's and what they find engaging was not particularly reflected in the events that were available. That's really who we struck a chord with. We defined programs that we, as those employees, would have enjoyed and it exploded from there.”

We chat about making the jump into owning a major event company, as well as:

• Designing engaging corporate events
• His biggest challenges and successes as an entrepreneur to date and how they have helped him and his business grow
• Reinvention during COVID and the importance of perseverance
• And more

Listen now...

Mentioned in this episode:

• Email Murrel
  

• Murrel's Site

On this week’s episode of  Lessons from the Boardroom, we speak to Arjun Dhake, Vice President of Business Development at Dhake Industries. The company has been supplying paint and coatings for vehicle interiors as well as hubcaps to suppliers all over the world for over 41 years. 

Arjun has been immersed in Dhake Industries since his childhood and has embodied every role in each department in order to effectively execute decisions for the whole of the company.

We chat about the pivotal moments that have shaped the family-owned business and kept them competitive in the global market, as well as:

• Growing into a family-owned business

• Navigating exports to China during the COVID crisis 

• The future of the global automobile market

• The importance of understanding every role within a company

• Seizing the opportunity for global expansion
  
  

• And more

Listen now...

Mentioned in this episode:

• Arjun's LinkedIn
  

• Arjun's Facebook
  

• Arjun's Website
  

On this week’s episode, we speak with Chris Eifert, a mechanical engineer who always knew his true path would be one that led him to customer service. Chris was able to make his dreams come true when he became an owner of TriComB2B, an award winning business to business marketing agency with a focus on supporting technical industries. He talks about the ups and downs of the marketing world running a marketing agency that’s number one in its field.

“A mentor of mine taught me that constructive tension is a good thing in a business. You need people with different points of view and eccentric personalities to really make a business like ours work”, says Chris

We chat about the challenges Chris faced on the path to becoming a CEO, as well as: 

• Being emotionally vulnerable and admitting when you’ve made a mistake
  
  

• Creating a positive business environment
  
  

• The importance of constructive tension to your business
  
  

• Knowing and accepting your limitations
  
  

• And more

Mentioned in this episode:

• TricomB2B's Site
  

• Chris's LinkedIn