Global Fastener News

December 7, 2009 FIN – Outgoing Specialty Tools and Fasteners Distributors Association president Hal Look called the “green movement” in business and consumer circles “a growing concept that will affect the future of how we do business and what we sell.”

Look, vice president of ProBuild Specialty Products, said ProBuild “believes that being a sustainable company should be reflected in what they do, how they operate, and what they offer.”
In 2009 ProBuild launched ProEarth, the company’s sustainability strategy comprised of three core tenets: social responsibility, product stewardship, and operational excellence.
Social responsibility involves creating employee programs and supporting charities with sustainable strategies.
Product stewardship is “not just about selling ‘green products,’ but being the knowledge leader for products with sustainability benefits,” Look explained.
In addition to how environmentally responsible ProBuild’s facilities function, operational excellence includes “how we help our customers improve their operations to minimize waste (and) reduce energy consumption,” Look stated.
“Whatever your business sells, or whatever size you happen to be, the ‘green movement’ is here to stay.”
Proper Personnel Key to Success
Successful business leaders know the importance of putting the right people in the right positions within a company, Look told STAFDA.
“One of the greatest mistakes I see small STAFDA-type companies make is not properly aligning the management needs of a growing organization with the talent and skill set of its current management group, or even its ownership group.”
Look said that often the management style that makes a person successful at a two or three branch operation with $20 million in sales doesn’t achieve the same results in a larger setting.
Another problem area for STAFDA distributors involves turning top sales people into managers. Many of the skill sets that make a “high maintenance, Type A personality, thoroughbred sales pro” so effective are some of the very traits that make them “something less than a great sales manager and leader,” Look pointed out.
“I have seen business partners who were really outstanding sales pros become lousy and ineffective sales managers,” Look noted. “I have seen outstanding CFOs of $40 million companies begin to flounder at $100 million.”
Look has witnessed the business needs and requirements of job functions outpace the abilities of the current person holding the position. And the faster and larger a company grows, the more exacerbated personnel problems become, Look noted.
“The bottom line is this: You must get the right pegs in the right holes to maximize shareholder value and ultimately move your business to the next level.”
Look said this applies to owners, partners, friends and family, as well as others in a particular business network.
“We must take a long hard look in the mirror and always put the needs of the organization ahead of family, tenure, loyalty, ownership, or even wild success in unrelated areas of the business.” ©2009/2013 Fastener Industry News.
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