Todd Ebert always wanted to
be a winner.
As a 16-year-old growing up
in Salt Lake City, he read in a
newspaper a ‘Thought for the
Day’ that has stuck with him
since: “No one has ever won a
race with the ambition of finishing second.”
That told Ebert that if he set
his goals at being second-best, that’s where he would
land, but if he worked toward
being the best, one day he
would achieve it.
Today, Ebert is president and
CEO of Amerinet Inc., a $110 million national group purchasing
organization for health care
providers. That newspaper
quote still motivates him, and
he wants his company to be the
best in the industry.
Aiming high is a simple concept, but Ebert constantly —
and sincerely — reinforces it
with his 365 employees. His
monthly strategic update
includes staff success stories,
and employees often receive e-mails from Ebert, thanking
them for a job well done.
Smart Business spoke with
Ebert on how he plays to win
and why it’s up to you to make
the tough decisions.
Plan for success. Be positive, be
passionate about what you do,
and at the same time, share
your success stories. I’m a big
believer that optimism breeds
optimism and that success
breeds success.
I share this with the people
from our leadership team as
well as the company: If you are
going to set a goal, set it to be
the best. It does not have to be
the biggest. It does not have to
be the most profitable. But it
has to be the best of what you
do in your space in the industry.
All companies look at the
balance sheet. There is success in profitability and in revenue, but I look at a number of
things. I’m on the road quite a
bit and meet with customers
on a routine basis, and I
always ask these questions:
‘How are we doing? Are we
taking care of your needs? Are
we providing you the cost-reduction solutions that you
need and what we promised
that we would do?’
Pay attention. Always ask the
ones that matter the most —
that is your customers and
your employees. If you take
care of your customers and
your employees, that should be
reflected in your balance sheet.
I ask the questions, and when
I do share information with
them, it is in a very safe and
nonhostile environment. If people are offering you candid,
honest feedback, they are opening up to you. The last thing you
want is the reputation that
employees tell you what you
need to do, and you get upset at
them. Listen, and then address
the issue. Sometimes, there are
issues where not much can be
done, but many times, you can
come up with solutions or
processes that are better.
Listening is tough for some
people. I’m not always right,
and I’m very willing to get
some input to debate the
issues and then, as an organization, come up with the best
solution going forward.
By listening to my employees, I make smarter decisions.
I get better input and better
feedback, and at the same
time, there is an inclusiveness
relative to how we go forward. There are a lot of benefits, not only from a morale
standpoint and better decisions, but also, your employees are asked to provide some
input —which is ownership
— into the organization.
Become a decision-maker. I see
myself as very collaborative. I rely very heavily on input from
my leadership team, as they
should rely heavily on their
management teams, as well.
But there has to be somewhere where the buck stops,
and I’m willing to make a call
and make a decision.
You get paid to make the
hard decisions sometimes. I’ve
been in situations where the
discussion can go on forever
and ever, and no one wants to
make a decision. Get the best
information you can, make
sure you really understand the
issues and then make the decision. It’s part of leadership;
you’ve got to make the decision when the time is appropriate.
We always look at what’s
most appropriate for our customers, and then the decisions are usually pretty straightforward. There are two benefits:
No. 1, we’re always focused on
what’s important for the customers, and No. 2, we want to
make sure that we move out
with strategies, solutions or
customer services that are on
the leading edge.