Dive into a riveting tale with William Roche, CEO of S. Clyde Weaver, as he unfolds the challenges and triumphs of steering a 104-year-old family business through modernization. Discover how defining core values, fostering innovation, and crafting a culture of ownership transformed internal dynamics and customer relations. This episode is a must-listen for leaders wrestling with change and tradition!

Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Better People Podcast:

• First non-family CEO in 104 years.
• Opened books for transparent trust-building.
• Created actionable core values.
• Performance reviews aligned with core values.
• Emphasis on hiring for cultural fit.

Resources:

• S. Clyde Weaver
• MidAtlantic Employers’ Association (MEA)

Connect with William Roche:

• LinkedIn

Connect with our hosts:

• Holly DePalma - LinkedIn
• Margaret Uhrich - LinkedIn

Quotables:

• 11:14 - Take ownership. It's not just ownership generally, it's take ownership. You need to act like an owner. You need to honor your commitments. You need to own up to y your failures. You need to act with integrity. So those are just some examples of how we, we took this idea of values, core values and found a way to apply it or to make it actionable.
• 18:02 - That might be the most important thing is avoid hiring the wrong people because it's so much more work and energy if you hire the wrong person. But if you do happen to do, so having a set of core values as a framework to course correct makes it so much easier than saying like, I don't know if we hired the right person. On the other hand, if ahead of time you, you go into, in an interview with somebody and you can, you can identify that they're kind of matching, and meeting all of these kind of core values or most of them you can feel good about making the hire to fit even if they don't have the best skillset you can hire for fit and train to skill.
• 26:06 - We did, we had some turnover over the years with change. And you're going to have that with any organization. There's gonna be those that just don't wanna participate. You've chosen to go different directions. The thing is, once you define the direction you're going, you define who you are, you define those values. If you've got somebody that says, well, I don't agree with it, then the entire team can be, can be accepting of that and say, okay, that's fine. It doesn't mean you're a bad person, but it means that we have to part ways here and we can all be okay with it.
• 27:15 - To really figure out what are your values and two, what it is so important to do. And it's so important that you really put thought into it. And I love that you took the approach of who are we now and who do we wanna be, right? What represents who we are and what's really important that is, is maybe always a part of who we are, but also let's think about who it is we need to become or where we wanna go and create values that address that as well and the impact that those values can really have.
• 31:12 - And I would just go back to kind of what I said at the beginning about communication. It is so important to communicate, build trust, to frequently be seen, and be connected with those that you're working with. Yeah, I mean, without trust, nobody's gonna wanna do anything for you. And the way you do that is being open, being there, connecting, and communicating well.

Dive into a revealing chat with Joseph McLaughlin, the CEO who's been a cornerstone to a financial firm’s 32 years of growth, boasting astounding staff and client retention rates. Explore mentorship, company culture, and the genuine art of becoming indispensable.

Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Better People Podcast:

• Secrets to a 98% Client Retention.
• Key to Thriving in Your Career.
• Philly CEO's Lifelong Company Tenure.
• Mentorship & Growth in Corporate.
• Cultivating an Essential Service.

Resources:

• The Haverford Trust Company
• MidAtlantic Employers’ Association (MEA)

Connect with Joseph McLaughlin :

• LinkedIn

Connect with our hosts:

• Holly DePalma - LinkedIn
• Margaret Uhrich - LinkedIn

Quotables:

• 10:10 - Whenever I'm thinking about assessing our status, I'll always ask myself, are our company's values clear? And are they being, are they achievable? Are they being communicated effectively across all levels of the company? And are team members enjoying a consistent experience across departments? And I think, you know, the average person spends about a third of their lifetime in work. And so to make those days matter, you have to have a cultural positive relationship and a sense of community in your company in order for people to achieve and thrive.
• 16:36 - If you alienate your peers, you won't need any other corporate enemies. And it's so important that people understand how well you get along with others and, you know, work on your leadership skills first with your peers, and then it'll be recognized by people in the top mentorship, you know, within the company. You can make a phone call and have somebody outside your company to be a mentor, but it's more important, important to identify people within the company, to be your mentor and to push you along.
• 15:52 - So I think it's really important that young people have that in mind. You know, the other lessons are never, you know, integrity is at the forefront of everything that you should do, and you should never deviate away from that. Every day you're building your reputation and integrity and telling the truth and being honest is most important. You know, personally, I think that lessons where, and word don't wait for things to happen, you have to make them happen.
• 21:44 - But as I mentioned before, you gotta grow where you're planted and give the job an opportunity and give it your best. But sometimes you're at a roadblock and, or you know, you want a different opportunity and you have to look elsewhere. You know, don't wait for somebody to call, you know, make it happen yourself, reach out to, that's why I think it's really important for people to stay connected to their college or to their, or to their high school, because opportunities will arise through those, through those organizations as well.
• 20:09 - And so for people out there that are starting their careers and are just, you know, just learning, just trying to figure things out, I think seeking a mentor is the best thing they can do. And I also think of them are nervous to do so. So my question really was to say people are gonna be really open to that, and I do think you have to take responsibility for seeking that out yourself unless your organization has a formal mentorship program. But if they don't, seek it out on your own, you know, find a mentor, find somebody that you can go talk to. I do think it's critical for your success.

Dive into an enthralling talk with CEO Tony Horwath, as he shares his unconventional transition from computer engineering to founding Sales Focus. Hear about the evolution of sales and BPO, the internet's early days, and the challenges of creating a successful sales culture in today's fast-paced world.

Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Better People Podcast:

• Transition from tech to sales.
• The birth of sales BPO model.
• Hiring ethos in diverse sales.
• Culture impact on retention.
• Future of office work post-Covid.

Resources:

• Sales Focus
• MidAtlantic Employers’ Association (MEA)

Connect with Tony Horwath:

• LinkedIn

Connect with our hosts:

• Holly DePalma - LinkedIn
• Margaret Uhrich - LinkedIn

Quotables:

• 08:56 - For us it's really about, you know, painting that picture of value to a customer and being able to empathize with someone and really, you know, really provide them with something that's valuable to them. Whether it's, you know, reducing cost or increasing productivity or whatever the case may be. And you don't need to be an extrovert to do that. You just need to be, you know, you need to care about people, you need to be able to communicate well, and you need to be able to think. And if you can do those some really basic things, I think you'll, you can find success in sales. So I think it's a big misnomer that you have to be this big talker and extrovert. You don't need to be
• 05:41 - Once I started really opening up and going into different industries and bringing in other more intelligent people than me, it allowed us to really expand. And that's when we really started developing our culture stronger, developing our relationships, our skill sets, our tool sets. And it allowed us to grow year after year and still to this day, the last I think seven years in a row, even through Covid, we continue to grow and we continue to grow now and expand. So it's been a great ride.
• 13:32 - I think a lot of companies have is, is recruit, right? It's finding good people. It's a challenge across the board. So when it's hard to find people, turnover, attrition becomes even more of a focus, right? Once you get somebody you want to keep them, because there are a lot of companies out there trying to grab them and trying to pull them in when you find someone that's, you know, of quality. So it's a challenge.
• 06:60 - So you're solving business problems. And that was always the part that I enjoyed the most. I'm not the most outgoing person. I'm not an extrovert. I'm not, you know, that typical salesperson who talks to everybody or talks too much, I'm that, you know, thoughtful listening type salesperson who's gonna analyze and then give a response.
• 04:00 - I believe, eighth or sixth-largest company in the world. And they engaged with this tiny little company called Sales Focus. And it was Enron. So most people know the story of Enron, but it was a great six month run until they went bankrupt. But it was a great experience. 'cause what it did, it opened my eyes and said, Hey, we don't have to be an expert in the product. Right? That was the energy sector, but we are the expert in, is we're an expert in sales and marketing. So that kind of developed me to say, all right, let's go outside the, you know, outside our boundaries and outside our comfort zone and start looking at other types of businesses.