Rocco Di Lillo leans forward in a booth at a bustling east-side
eatery, regaling his lunch party with the story of the Spartans’
stand at the Greek pass of Thermopylae. The narrative wasn’t
prompted intentionally. The seasoned businessman was originally asked a question about company culture. But Di Lillo —
who has successfully founded or led seven companies in the
past 30 years, several of which exceeded $100 million in revenue — says that while you may forget exact words, you’ll
always remember a good story.
“There’s only one way to get into Greece if you’re an army, and
that’s through this pass called the Thermopylae,” he says while
drawing an invisible pass on the white table cloth with his finger.
“The Greeks knew that, and they kept stationed there a troop of
300 Spartans — their best soldiers.
“They wake up one morning, and there are 10,000 Persians at
the gate of Thermopylae. When the Greeks saw them there,
they did two things. One, they sent a guy back for reinforcements. The second is, they made a pact that they would hold
the pass until the reinforcements came.
“At the end of four days, all 300 Spartans died, but in the
process, 3,000 Persians were killed,” he says, tapping the table
with his hand for emphasis.
“The king of Persia stands in the pass, now able to get into
Greece, and an adviser tells him, ‘There are 8,000 Spartans in
the country of Greece,’ so the king turns, and he leaves.”
Di Lillo pauses and leans back with a satisfied smile and
wide, bespectacled gaze. He’s been telling this story to employees for nearly 30 years, and he’s learned not to divulge its correlating moral without letting the details sink in first.
“My definition of a great company culture is when everyone
is looking for ways to serve the customer better using their creativity, competency and skills, and accepting ownership for the
success of the endeavor,” he continues. “When you do that,
then 300 can beat 500, 1,000 or 10,000.”
Since he founded his first company, City Visitor Inc., in 1980,
Di Lillo has sought out the best employees — Spartans, as he
often calls them — to take on the corporate armies in whichever industry he finds himself. Before taking the company public
and selling it, he led his team to impressive market share in the
travel industry at Corporate Lodgings Inc., which provides
fully furnished apartments and town houses for traveling or
relocated executives. Years later, he helped turn PCX Holdings
LLC into the largest manufacturer of electrical mechanical
gear for the new construction industry as chairman. Most
recently, he’s made a claim in the alternative energy industry
with Advanced Hydro Solutions LLC, a developer of hydro-electric facilities.
As varied as these endeavors are, Di Lillo says the one constant
has always been his people.
“There’s nothing more magical than a team where people are having fun, making a contribution, making a difference and succeeding
at being the best,” he says. “And yet, there are some people who
own businesses who don’t recognize the magic of that.”
Di Lillo says too many leaders skimp on the hiring process. If
you want team members who will take a stand and give their all
for a common goal, then you’ve got to give your all to find them.