my company

"Another tenet of my M&A philosophy—and one that I’ve impressed on my teams—is the importance of removing every trace of vanity from the process. I’ve never done an acquisition, even a small one, merely to boost my company’s image or get coverage in the financial press. I can’t think of anything less appealing than expending capital, taking on cost, and disrupting operations for no compelling advantage to my shareholders and customers."

"As my company’s leader, I have certainly learned to be decisive with an appropriate sense of urgency, but I always prefer to make my decisions after first building consensus among various colleagues, whose unique vantage points give me further confidence to move forward. This process can be lengthy, but so long as the spirit of any decision is consistent with what I’d want, bringing others’ views to the table allows us to move forward with a more fully realized plan supported by those who are responsible for its execution. Our decision-making about whether or not…"

"Learning to manage volunteers—to whom, absent a paycheck, ideas and ideals were the only currency—taught me to view all employees essentially as volunteers. Today, even with compensation as a motivator, I know that anyone who works for my company chooses to do so because of what we stand for. I believe that anyone who is qualified for a job in our company is also qualified for many other jobs at the same pay scale. It’s up to us to provide solid reasons for our employees to want to work for us, over and beyond their compensation."