Bruce Williams, CEO of US Tool, learned a tough lesson fairly early in his career as second-generation leader of the family-owned specialty manufacturing firm. In this talk from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, Bruce shares the difficult conversation that served as a catalyst for personal and professional growth and the parallel, positive trajectory of the business over many years that was the result.
Former Whelan Security President and CEO Greg Twardowski had two impactful, early lessons in the transformative power of connecting emotionally with employees. These lessons guided his stewardship of the 70-year-old contract security business and the company's unique culture. In his presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2018, Greg shares the very personal experiences that shaped his time at Whelan Security and the values and strategy that propelled the company to 30 years of unprecedented, ...
As an expert in small-group dynamics and leadership development, Kaley Klemp coaches leaders and organizations in communication and interaction skills to help develop trusting, effective teams. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, Kaley describes the concept of being “above or below the line” in relationships and the three unproductive roles of the “drama triangle,” which can stifle clear communication, creativity, and problem solving.
Chris Ruder, CEO of Spikeball, bought the rights to a childhood game he loved, and through Pragmatic Innovation and a focus on early Profits, relaunched it with an entirely different approach. In this talk from Tugboat Institute Summit, Chris recounts the story of Spikeball, including how he leveraged e-commerce, social media, and existing communities to build a nationwide movement around the product and the opportunity for connection it creates.
Allen Serfas founded and leads Assistance Home Care in St. Louis, Missouri, an Evergreen business he and his wife were inspired to launch after helping to care for his mother-in-law at home over many years. Allen’s personal experience and his unique home care business model reflects an innovative and Purpose-driven approach, informed by a 20-plus year career in a completely different industry.
Dr. Tom Epperson serves as President of InnerWill Leadership Institute, which works with companies to navigate challenge and achieve success through values-based leadership. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, Tom shares the origin story of InnerWill, offering insight into the transformation of the family-owned Luck Companies, and describes the process and impact of integrating and operationalizing values-based leadership.
Tugboat Institute Founder & CEO Dave Whorton continues his conversation with Dr. Gary Kunkle, a leading academic researcher in the area of sustained company growth over time.
Bill Roark, CEO and Co-Founder of Torch Technologies, has built a remarkable Evergreen® company in Huntsville, Alabama, with a deep commitment to service. From very humble origins, Bill has been driven to create opportunity and give back, inspiring his team to do the same. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, Bill shares the path that took him from a tar-paper shack to become Co-Founder and CEO of a now $400 million defense contracting company.
Dr. Gary Kunkle is a leading academic researcher in the area of sustained company growth over time. In this interview with Dave Whorton, Founder and CEO of Tugboat Institute, Gary offers insight into several of the key variables that set sustained growth companies apart and perspective on the role these businesses play in the economy and in communities.
Alissa Leinonen is the award-winning Founder & CEO of Seattle’s largest and longest running woman-owned catering and boxed-lunch company, Gourmondo Co. What began as a small, four-table lunch spot in Pike Place Market over 20 years ago is now a leader in the Pacific Northwest catering industry. There is much about Alissa and her success that is remarkable, but perhaps most inspiring is her commitment to People First—to her family, her employees, and her community. In this presentation from T...
Navigating the wake of the COVID pandemic will continue to present challenges and uncertainty for Evergreen businesses. In this period, it can be helpful to look to leaders who have persevered through difficulty and maintained a focus on their purpose and their people. In this welcome presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, Dave Whorton, Founder and CEO of Tugboat Institute, offers insight into George Washington’s exemplary life and career and shares inspiration from this early Evergree...
Jeff Patterson, CEO of Gaggle, has unique insight into the experience of students’ online lives in today’s remote learning landscape. Gaggle serves school districts around the country through the development and management of a digital student safety net and trained safety experts that schools use to monitor activity on devices and apps, alerting schools to the possibility of students harming themselves or others. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, Jeff encourages parents a...
How would you finance an acquisition? Deplete your cash flow? Take out a bank loan? Ignore the opportunity to avoid risk? In this 5-minute presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2019, Ami Kassar, founder and CEO of MultiFunding LLC, and author of The Growth Dilemma, presents another—less well-known—option for funding growth.
With the privilege of owning and operating a multi-generational family business comes tremendous responsibility to educate children in the family about the business and wealth management. This panel discussion from the Tugboat Institute Summit 2018, moderated by Dave Whorton, highlights “what not to do” and draws on the expertise of leading family office and multi-generational business experts Spencer Burke, Executive Vice President, St. Louis Trust Company; Kim Sheehy, Vice President, Fidelity ...
In a Fireside Chat with Tugboat Institute Founder and CEO Dave Whorton, Robert Pasin, CEO of Radio Flyer, notes his immense gratitude for the opportunity to continue to build the business his grandfather Antonio founded in 1917, led by his values. The commitment to integrity in busienss and magnanimous approach to community that Antonio embodied have guided Robert through difficult periods in his and the company’s trajectory and continue to guide the Evergreen leader today.
Pamela Kan is unique—a female owner-operator in a traditional manufacturing business. Pamela leads Bishop-Wisecarver, the company her father founded in Pittsburg, California. In this episode, Pamela offers insight into the principles and experiences that shaped her leadership journey as CEO of an Evergreen® woman-owned manufacturing business and her commitment to introducing and nurturing other female leaders.
Michael Shearn is a value investor, author on the topic (The Investment Checklist), and student of Warren Buffett’s values and Berkshire Hathaway’s approach to company building. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2019, Michael shares what he believes creates real value in companies and offers tactical takeaways for Evergreen leaders.
Launched by Tugboat Institute in 2019 as Tugboat Talks, this podcast was created by stories of Evergreen companies, offering inspiring insight into the principles that drive these private, purpose-driven businesses and their leaders--exemplars of a movement that we believe represents capitalism at its best. Many of the talks and interviews we share here have been curated from our weekly Evergreen Journal newsletter, through which we share articles and videos each week. Now, to align this podcast...
In this episode of The Evergreen Experience™ 2020, recorded on June 26, 2020, Dave is joined by John Grossman, President, Grossman Company Properties, and Robin Petravic, Owner/Managing Director, Heath Ceramics. John and Robin both lead businesses that were especially hard-hit early by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic—hotels and dinnerware/tile manufacturing, respectively. Having been forced to an almost-complete stop, both Evergreen® leaders are now emerging through uncertain and challenging...
In this episode of The Evergreen Experience™, recorded on June 19, 2020, Dave is joined by John Burns, CEO, John Burns Real Estate Consulting, and Todd Govig, President and CEO, Govig Executive Search. John and Todd share their experiences leading and adapting their Evergreen® consulting and professional services companies through the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, John share his current view on prospects for different real estate industry sectors and Todd shares his insights on executive hirin...
Rebecca Rusch calls herself the most decorated athlete you've never heard of. The endurance competitor says she does her best work in the most stressful and challenging conditions. She's ridden camels in Morocco. She swam the Grand Canyon on a boogie board. She's ridden the entire 2,000 miles of the Ho Chi Minh trail on her bicycle. She could have made a lot more money with her business degree. "But I'm rich in experience," she says. Despite her rugged outdoor career, she says she's not so diffe...
Jim Kimzey, CEO, Tender Rose Dementia Care Specialists, and Samson Liu, CEO, SOHDental lead businesses in the healthcare industry, designated as essential services. Both are navigating significant challenge and, in some cases, surprising opportunities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 5, 2020, Jim and Samson joined Dave Whorton as guests on The Evergreen Experience and spoke to their experiences, including their shared focus on client and staff safety and the steps they have taken to...
Alissa Leinonen, CEO & Founder of catering company Gourmondo Co., and Bryan Papé, Founder, MiiR, a drinkware company with a social and environmental mission lead businesses in Seattle, Washington - hit hard and early by the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 29, 2020, Alissa and Bryan joined Dave Whorton as guests on The Evergreen Experience™ to speak to the impact of COVID-19 on their respective businesses, the critical role of their Purpose, the importance of strategic partnerships and reinvention ...
John Creighton, President & CEO, High Plains Bank, and Eric Wallace, President & Co-Founder, Left Hand Brewing Co. both live and lead businesses in Colorado. On May 22, 2020, John and Eric joined Dave Whorton on The Evergreen Experience™ to share the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on their businesses, the innovations and adaptations that they have tried, their view on the future of their industries and how Evergreen® principles have guided them.
Scott Evans, CEO of Kenmore Envelope Company, and Val Hollingsworth, President & CEO of Hollingsworth & Vose Co.both lead manufacturing companies in two different industries. In this May 15, 2020 recording of The Evergreen Experience™, Scott and Val join Dave Whorton in conversation around the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on their businesses, the innovations and adaptations that they have tried, their view on the future of their industries, and the way in which Evergreen® principles are...
Brian Canlis, President and Co-Owner, Canlis, and Carrie Freeman Parsons, Chair, Freeman, both lead family businesses in industries especially hard-hit by the COVID-19 crisis—restaurants (Canlis) and major event management (Freeman). In this recording of the inaugural, May 8, 2020 episode of The Evergreen Experience™, Brian and Carrie share with Tugboat Institute Founder & CEO Dave Whorton how they have adapted and reimagined their companies in this unprecedented period, displaying inspiring...
Navy SEAL Commander Rorke Denver is not just an American Hero, he is a true American warrior. He figured out at a young age that he was a “sheepdog.” His role in life was to take care of others and to protect them from the bad guys. So it’s not surprising that Rorke ended up being Commander of the U.S. Navy SEALs, leading impossibly tough battles in every major international hot spot. But, Rorke’s contributions went far beyond leadership in gun fights, he also was instrumental in changing how th...
Howard Behar joined Starbucks in 1989 when the company had 28 stores, becoming president of North America and later founding president of Starbucks international. Through his leadership, he established Starbucks’ culture of People First and was instrumental in Starbucks’ growth to over 15,000 stores internationally. In a discussion with Tugboat Institute CEO Dave Whorton, Howard shares his life story and how a single lesson from his dad in their family’s grocery store forged his belief that mean...
In October 2003, General (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal was assigned to JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) to command counter-terrorism operations in Iraq. General McChrystal’s innovative reorganization of the communication processes and practices of the entire command turned the tide of the war and connected people, cultures, and operations. He turned a tribe of tribes to a team of teams. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Gathering of Teams, General McChrystal shares the story of that...
