Aggressive, empowered employees are driving growth at Sprint Waste Services

The Swinbank File:

NAME: Will Swinbank
TITLE: President
COMPANY: Sprint Waste Services
Born: Houston
Education: A bachelor’s degree in accounting from Texas A&M University and completed the university’s professional program in accounting.
How would you characterize your leadership style? I think I’m pretty hands off and try to hire the right people and let them make decisions. There’s not a lot of micromanaging because I don’t know all the answers. I try to lead by example as far as hard work is concerned.
I don’t want anyone acting like they know everything. A good answer is, ‘I don’t know,’ nothing wrong with saying that. We can figure out an answer or someone else around here knows.
What hobby do you wish you had more time to indulge? I like working, to be honest. I’m a big sports guy, a big Aggie fan. I like to hunt. I have a 2-year-old boy and a 1-year-old boy, so I’d like to spend more time with my wife and my family.
What is the best business advice you ever received? Work hard and tell the truth.
Had you not gotten into the family business, what career would you likely have pursued? I would have liked to go into the investment banking field. It just seemed intense and (a good way) to make money. I get bored real easy, so I need chaos. I like that environment.
Three things the Astros need to be a contender in 2015? We’ve got a long way to go. We need our starting pitching to be a little better. We need (Jon) Singleton and some of the other young guys to step up a little bit. And hopefully with the bullpen signings we have, the back end will be better. But I think we have a lot of number three and four starters, and not a lot of aces in the hole.