Leading the charge

Q. How does establishing
that culture translate to the
business?

Set the image of whatever it
is you are trying to do. Entrepreneurs have to come up
with a philosophy of how they
want to be recognized and
then operate in that mode.

Some may want to be the
most creative engineers.
Some may want to be the
lowest cost supplier. However
they want their company to
be perceived, they have to
live that, not just say it.

It’s how you make your
decisions. We have a sense of
fair play in how we conduct
our businesses.

I have to make sure employees feel engaged and that
there is no job that is more
important than another one. I
can show how any job we
have will impact others if
someone stops working it.

Make sure everybody understands that their contribution
is important to the organization as a whole and how their
contribution fits into the
organization.

Q. How do you ensure that
employees understand that?

I was a teacher at the
University of Pennsylvania.
My students had to be on
their toes because they knew
I was going to turn to somebody and ask a question. If
they tuned out, they would be
embarrassed. They all know it
if they are in one of these
meetings.

Let’s say we were talking
about the financial crisis. I’ll
turn to a guy and say, ‘Why
don’t you give your experience about the 1980s?’

When any meeting I have is
over, I will go around the
table and, one at a time, … ask
for their opinions and ask if
there is anything else to add.
Make sure everybody has
their say and that everybody
stays awake.

If you get people focused
on the right direction and
they really care about what
the company is doing, they
can generate an enormous
amount of positive energy
to the success of the business.

HOW TO REACH: American Electric Technologies Inc., (713) 644-8182 or www.aeti.com