This episode features John Garrett, CEO of Community Impact Newspaper. According to John, “Print ain't dead, ” and he should know. An experienced newspaper executive, John could see where the industry was headed but he also saw a huge need. Despite living in a digitized world with content just a click away, John saw that people were yearning to know what was happening in their own backyards. So in 2005, John and his wife, Jennifer, launched the first edition of Community Impact Newspaper in thei...
Sep 23, 2021•28 min
What defines an effective workplace? Can productive work only occur in the office? In this podcast from Tugboat Institute ®, Lisa Picard, President and CEO of EQ Office , discusses the challenges that are facing employers and employees in the modern workplace. As the leader of a commercial real estate company with a mission to design spaces to maximize human potential, Lisa shares the 4 vital components necessary to achieve effective work and the current ideas surrounding a return-to-the-office ...
Sep 16, 2021•23 min
Why does this almost 100-year-old company still act like a scrappy startup? It was 2009. The financial crisis was in full swing and consumer spending had dropped off a cliff. Torani, a family-owned syrup company established in 1925, had been growing at 25% per year for over 18+ years. CEO Melanie Dulbecco was now facing growth rate projections of 4% and stiff competition from giant corporations coming into the product category. So this self-professed group process geek committed to a yearlong “L...
Sep 09, 2021•21 min
This episode features Bart Ricketts, CEO of Lease Crutcher Lewis . In this talk from Tugboat Institute Gathering of Teams 2021, Bart shares how this Pacific Northwest construction company established in 1886 continues to innovate through employee led improvement programs, paced growth and an environment that cultivates a diversity of thought and experience. Learn how this Evergreen ® company is building towards its next 100 years in business....
Sep 02, 2021•18 min
This episode features Grant Gregory, the retired chairman of Deloitte & Touche and founder of DoubleClick. In his Tugboat Institute® talk, Grant describes how Don Clifton, his longtime mentor and the creator of StrengthsFinder, taught him the principles of positive psychology and the practice of strengths-based leadership that allowed him to expertly recruit and develop talent across complex organizations. Listen in and learn how to find, engage and cultivate employees that will thrive and e...
Aug 26, 2021•24 min
As a film producer and President of Flashlight Films, Allyn Stewart , has mastered the process of developing compelling stories and translating them into captivating films. In this talk from Tugboat Institute® , Allyn shares her journey through Hollywood and her philosophy that true excellence in storytelling comes from the creator’s unwavering commitment and unshakable belief in the story they want to tell. According to Allyn, story is EVERYTHING–whether it’s a movie, a product or a service....
Aug 19, 2021•23 min
How do I use the wealth that I have created? What should I give my children? What will be my legacy – in business and life? In this Tugboat Institute® talk from 2016, Dennis Jaffe of Wise Counsel Research, answers these questions and more. As part of a special study, Dennis spent years interviewing members of family-owned companies that generate great wealth, while also making a difference the world. Learn the insider wisdom and best practices that have allowed these businesses and families to t...
Aug 12, 2021•25 min
In this episode you will meet Mel Gravely, CEO of TriVersity Construction Company based in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a successful black business leader, Mel admits to sidestepping the topic of race – especially with his white friends and colleagues. However with the civil unrest and waves of protests that occurred in the summer of 2020, Mel could no longer ignore the topic.
Aug 05, 2021•22 min
In her Tugboat Institute Summit 2016 talk, Founder Amy Simmons, shares her passion for creating an empowered culture built on training, transparency, and financial literacy. With a workforce full of teammates ranging in age from 16 - 20 years old, Amy is dedicated to educating the next generation of business leaders and showing them, by example, the powerful impact of an Evergreen company.
Jul 29, 2021•19 min
In this presentation to Tugboat Institute in 2021, Brad offers his insights on customer expectations in today’s world, key ways to improve service interactions and guidance on how to successfully utilize the customer experience to grow your business. We hope you enjoy the practical advice along with the lessons learned by some of the largest companies in the United States.
Jul 22, 2021•22 min
In this podcast, Jack shares his story of creating and playing "The Game" along with with his unwavering belief that, "The best, most efficient, most profitable way to operate a business is to educate everyone on the business, give them a voice in saying how the company is run and provide them a stake in the financial outcome, good or bad." Enjoy.
Jul 16, 2021•39 min
Lester Thornhill, CEO of Life’s Abundance , approached the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic with a commitment to continuous improvement. In this talk from Tugboat Institute Gathering of Teams 2021, Lester shares his story of opportunistic innovation through the pandemic, offering a compelling case for seizing upon moments of challenge to strengthen the team and the company for the long term....
Jul 08, 2021•17 min
In the 1950s, Earl and Carol Holding moved to the Wyoming desert to take over a failing gas station/motel/cafe. That was the first step toward building what Tim Silva calls an "incredible empire" that includes Sun Valley Resort, the home base for Tugboat Summit and Sinclair Oil Corp. Silva, the resort's general manager, says the Holding family used core Evergreen principles to grow their assets.
Jul 01, 2021•21 min
Robyn Sue has spent the last 13 years (since 2007!) conceiving of and developing Smitten Ice Cream. In her ‘prior life’, she was a management consultant in the U.S. and Europe and became known for her ability to invent new ways of solving problems. In her Tugboat Institute Summit 2016 talk, Fisher breaks down what matters most in building her Evergreen business: creating joy for employees and customers, and committing unwaveringly to being the best.
Jun 17, 2021•26 min
In today's episode, you'll meet Carrie Freeman Parsons, Chairman of the Board at Freeman Company . Freeman is a global event management company. Carrie shares with us about her lack of skills when assuming her first managing role within Freeman. This lead to her prioritizing leadership development and specifically training new managers with their needed "tools." Carrie noted that it's essential for leaders who build companies to align with the Evergreen 7Ps® principles....
Jun 10, 2021•24 min
Viesturs has been climbing mountains for almost 40 years. In that time, he has climbed all of the world's 8,000-plus-meter summits — 14 in total — without using oxygen tanks. Viesturs embodies one of the most important elements of an Evergreen entrepreneur: perseverance. It took Viesturs 21 attempts to complete his 14-summit bucket list. For each of those climbs, he vowed not to break the rules that he lives by — no shortcuts, no complacency."Life is a series of climbing mountains," he says. "Yo...
Jun 03, 2021•14 min
In times of rapid change and chaos, there’s often no playbook for leaders faced with solving complex problems. In this talk from Tugboat Institute Gathering of Teams 2021, Everett Harper, CEO of software development company Truss, offers insight into a framework he developed to create a pathway for decision making and engineer structure amidst uncertainty.
May 27, 2021•18 min
Carl Erickson, Founder and Chairman of Atomic Object, had spent 18 years building his Evergreen® company—after a career as an academic—when he realized he had come to a pivotal moment in his life. What he did next significantly impacted his business and his personal well-being.
May 20, 2021•8 min
Michael Horn, Co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, offers a provocative idea in this talk from Tugboat Institute Gathering of Teams 2021: Silicon Valley is touted as the hub of innovation, with almost all its companies referring to themselves as “disruptive.” But Evergreen® companies, operating with an “impatient for profit, patient for growth” mentality and generational planning horizons, are actually poised to be the engine for future “market-creating” dis...
May 13, 2021•25 min
In this talk from Tugboat Institute Gathering of Teams 2021, Natalie Nagele, Co-founder and CEO of software development company Wildbit, shares an innovative idea that has transformed her Evergreen® company: We can actually work a lot less.
May 05, 2021•24 min
Paced growth is an essential principle of successful Evergreen® businesses. While growth can be organic or accomplished through new ventures, some Evergreen companies will choose to grow through acquisition. Tom Rosztoczy, CEO of Stotz Equipment, has guided his Evergreen company to grow from three John Deere dealerships in Arizona to 25 stores in eight Western states over the past 20 years. In his presentation from the Tugboat Institute Summit 2018, Tom shares the key factors of that successful ...
Apr 29, 2021•21 min
Everyone deserves to enjoy delicious, high-quality food in a beautiful setting. At 12 locations in Los Angeles, La Monarca Bakery offers just that—notably in largely Latino neighborhoods often overlooked by investors and business owners. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2019, Ricardo Cervantes describes how he and his partner, Alfredo Livas, have committed to delivering a new customer and employee experience in the communities in which La Monarca Bakery operates and their broad...
Apr 22, 2021•24 min
In this panel discussion, presented at the Fourth Annual Olin Family Business Symposium at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis in October 2018, three Tugboat Institute members describe their Evergreen journey and specific events and experiences that reflect their companies’ commitment to Evergreen principles.
Apr 15, 2021•51 min
An Evergreen business eventually comes with a unique challenge: smoothly transferring control and ownership. At 75, Andrew Kawaja’s father still comes to work each day at IFS Industries, the company he founded in 1972. But the senior Kawaja has already successfully completed the leadership transition to his three sons. In his talk, Kawaja details the three core rules his family has followed for a prosperous and harmonious succession.
Apr 08, 2021•22 min
Chris Mittelstaedt founded The FruitGuys in 1998 as a way to bring healthy, fresh fruit to offices. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020 , Chris shares the unifying theory of doing business that guides the Evergreen® company and keeps the team focused on being in service to others.
Apr 01, 2021•7 min
The story of In-N-Out Burger is, like many Evergreen® businesses, a love story. Esther and Harry Snyder were deeply committed to each other and to their shared Purpose of building In-N-Out Burger. Their journey and the legacy of their shared dream reflects the foundation they built of People First principles and the continual Pragmatic Innovation and Paced Growth that has led to the iconic restaurant’s lasting success. As part of his Tugboat Institute Summit 2018 welcome address, Dave Whorton, C...
Mar 25, 2021•23 min
Kevin Switick, President & CEO of Avian, Inc., spent 20 years as a Navy test pilot before founding his defense contracting firm. As he has grown his Evergreen business and developed as a leader, Kevin has become increasingly aware of the key lessons from both his military career and his entrepreneurial education that have guided him as a leader. In this presentation from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, Kevin shares these insights and takeaways and describes his commitment to paying his knowle...
Mar 18, 2021•23 min
In this panel discussion, presented at the Fourth Annual Olin Family Business Symposium at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis in October 2018, Tugboat Institute members Alaina Macia and Penny Pennington offer insight into their companies’ approaches to ownership and leadership through the Evergreen® lens. Alaina offers the perspective of assuming leadership in and growing her family business, MTM Inc., while Penny, Managing Partner of Edward Jones Financial, shares insigh...
Mar 11, 2021•48 min
In this interview with Tugboat Institute Founder and CEO Dave Whorton, Jack Hand, Chairman of POWER Engineers, shares wisdom from his 19 years as CEO of the global consulting engineering firm. Jack offers valuable insight into current dynamics and long-term trends in power generation, distribution, and consumption.
Mar 03, 2021•36 min
Ingrid Carney, Founder and CEO of Ingrid & Isabel, a maternity essentials company, never considered bravery a defining characteristic of her life or business journey. But now, as she shares in this talk from Tugboat Institute Summit 2020, 20 years after founding her Evergreen® business as a new mother, Ingrid has a different view. As she reflects on the many small and big moments of motherhood and entrepreneurship that have led to success and personal growth, she is able to see the through l...
Feb 25, 2021•10 min
