President & Chairman; Budco Group, Inc.
Q. How important is it for a leader to have experienced a season of volunteerism?
A. Extremely important for a variety of reasons. Being a volunteer, you may, from time to time, request funds from another person. Some volunteers would rather dive under the table than ask someone for $10, but the more experienced volunteer who will ask for funds knows that there are only four answers to the question: Yes, I can do that. No, I can’t do that. I can’t do that, but I will do this. Or, I have to think about it. Even if the answer is the last one, that person can be assured that a call will come to ask if he/she has thought about it.
A person new to volunteering must get over the concept that it is embarrassing to ask for funds. A volunteer who is initially coming onto a board and has trepidation about one of the most important things you do — fundraising — has to get over that initial cliffhanging feeling. It is one of the most important things to be able to do if you are a volunteer in an organization such as the nine or 10 art boards in which I am involved.
Q. When you were an upcoming leader, who is someone you observed in a volunteer position or a leadership role?
A. My first board experience was Playhouse in the Park. I was assigned to the development board with Bob Sathe. He promoted such a level of confidence and positiveness, from the straightforward method he used to deal with challenges for the Playhouse funding to the way he interacted with other board members. To this day we still work together, currently on a Carnegie campaign.
Q. The role of leaders in the community is significant. How do you manage your time between working/leading and providing a role model for community work?
A. My workload has been considerably reduced because I have passed responsibilities for the company to our children. This has been very helpful because they are doing a marvelous job and have been in the business for 20-plus years. They will occasionally seek me out for my opinion, for which I am complimented. They sometimes take that opinion and sometimes don’t, but I am honored for that respect.
My work with nonprofits has moved forward throughout the years because I enjoy it and I am challenged by it. It is a never-ending battle to make certain all of the arts continue to have a place in the community, as well as a positive profit and loss statement.
Q. Describe the role you see yourself in in 10 years.
A. In my opinion, there is a time of learning, there is a time for performing and there is a time to take a step back. In 10 years, I will no longer be involved in any of the arts organizations. However, I want to be comfortable knowing that all of them will be solid, will be in the black, and that all of the work I have continued through the last 20 years will not be in vain.
Q. How do you use your leadership talent to encourage and groom others?
A. I think the best thing I can do, rather than taking the lead and saying, “I’ll do it,” is to move toward someone who has not only the opportunity, but the desire. And then say, “Get back to me if you need some help.” You can never be an evolved leader by being so stringent in leadership that you smother people who are awaiting an opportunity.
Q. Leadership roles lose significance unless they are able to impact those who come behind us. How are you making a lasting impact for future generations?
A. The entire issue is the encouragement of people who are so eager to prove themselves, to let that spirit drive. It is also important to recognize that others have value when called upon.
Q. Describe your leadership style.
A. If there is a leadership style at all, it is leading by example and then stepping back to let others follow.
Q. What challenges are you facing?
A. There is always the challenge of continued excellence because we are in a business where zero mistakes is the only standard tolerated by our clients.
While we have realty and leasing holdings, our primary business is loading and unloading containers onto railroad flat cars. We do 5.4 million a year and railroads look to us for zero mistakes. It is understood that one of those containers coming off a train in the middle of a community can be devastating. We can’t afford to be less than perfect in the work we are doing for the railroads. That is something that all of our people know and understand.
Q. What does a great day at work look like for you?
A. A great day is certainly synonymous with a healthy day. Beyond that, a great professional day is being prepared for any contingency that might occur and being very, very happy that none of them have occurred.
Q. What title would you give this chapter in your life?
A. I would call it Reflective. I have been through the Korean conflict, the Cuban missile crisis, and on the cusp of the war in Vietnam.
We have created a business which now employs some 3,000 people and I am satisfied that their well-being has been secured. I am reflective because of the confidence I have in another generation.
Q. What’s the most fulfilling part about what you do?
A. If there is anything fulfilling about my days, it is the recognition that some of my employees who never finished high school are now sending their children to college because of the employment they have with us. That is fulfilling. It is like so many other things — you provide the avenue, but you cannot walk it. You are asking others to walk the avenue, and because so many have done that, it is very fulfilling.