Bangor-area CEOs say keeping a cool head and 'rolling with it' are key to success
Image / Zoom screen capture
A screenshot of the speakers in Thursday's virtual Mainebiz 2020 Bangor CEO Forum.
Six Bangor area CEOs, speaking at the Mainebiz "60 Ideas in 60 Minutes" forum Thursday, advised managers to keep a cool head and roll with things in order to achieve success.
The panel for the virtual forum comprised Anthony Caruso, director of the Bangor International Airport; Lori Dwyer, president and CEO of Penobscot Community Health Care; Jeff Irving, president of Irving Farms Marketing; Rick Robertson, president and CEO of Dennis Paper & Food Service; Betsy Vickery, vice president of W.S. Emerson; and Tracey Whitten, owner of Orono Hotels — University Inn and Black Bear Inn. The panel was moderated by Deb Neuman, president and CEO of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce.
Each panelist offered a list of top 10 keys to success. Mainebiz held a similar panel for southern Maine CEOs last month.
All of the panelists agreed that, particularly when things are stressful, "rolling with it" and keeping a cool head to find solutions are the only effective way to move forward.
Some highlights from the forum are excerpted below.
Anthony Caruso
Quote: "Support your people, invest in your people, guide your people, mentor your people." He said that goes for the customer and other businesses you deal with, too. "Be nice, it’s not a bad thing.”
Tips: It’s always about the people; recruit talent/look for utility players; always have an out; keep your finger on the pulse of your industry; do the right thing; explain the why; find balance between home and work; leave open/available time in your day; keep adding value; reach out to a mentor.
Favorite tip from another panelist: Vickery's "Have fun each and every day." He said that his crew is "all business" when there's work to be done, but when there's a little downtime, "We have a little bit of fun, and that’s OK."
Most difficult of his own tips to follow: Always have an out. "I drive my staff crazy with 'What's the Plan B? What's Plan C?'" He said it's hard in the immediacy of things to think ahead like that sometimes.
Lori Dwyer
Quote: "Coming back to your heart and your primary motivator and keeping the human element as motivator for what you do. It’s very easy to get caught up in cerebral nature of work, policy and compliance ... Why you do it, what you do for the people [affected by your work], is the most important thing. It keeps you grounded, it keeps you sane, it keeps you connected to the work."
Tips: Create regular and spacious time to read, watch and write regularly; say no; be like Socrates: question, question, question everything, then listen; focus on the “why”; delegate zealously; prioritize strong relationships, radical honesty, and mutual vulnerability; protect the asset (you); hire people who make you uncomfortable; identify, honor and perpetuate ritual and tradition; listen to your own advice and act accordingly.
Favorite tip from another panelist: Irving's "Sometimes it's OK to be the fast follower." Dwyer said, "It’s an important hard lesson to learn because we have a culture that really values and prioritizes innovation, which is important, we need to be innovative. But we also need to be careful and thoughtful. It's often the second company that implements the first company's idea that’s successful at it."
Most difficult of her own tips to follow: "They're all hard to follow," Dwyer said. But, "Protect the asset (you)," is a struggle. "It's just really hard to curate space (for myself)."
Jeff Irving
Quote: "My dad had a mandate for myself, my brother, and my sister, he forced us all to attend the Dale Carnegie course." At the time, Irving was a freshman at Husson. "I just remember waking up on Wednesday mornings, and being terrified all day long." It wasn't just about public speaking, "but they'd make you get up there, take you outside comfort zone." But, Carnegie's book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People," written in 1936, is still relevant today. "It's basically about being kind, being caring, listening. Fundamentals that are more important today than they've ever been."
Tips: Promise big. deliver big; sometimes your best ability will be availability; if it’s a big decision, sleep on it; vertically integrate at every opportunity; never make excuses; nothing we do is for today; your first loss is your best loss; have a 20-year plan; sometimes it’s OK to be a fast follower; never let the left hand know what the right hand is thinking.
Favorite tip from another panelist: Robertson's "Great people need little day to day management." Irving said if you hire wisely, then work side-by-side with a person, "They’re going to develop your style as well. You can’t micromanage, just give them a little freedom, sometimes you have to watch them make a mistake ... it's the best way to manage and help an employee grow."
Most difficult of his own tips to follow: Trying to work a day ahead all the time. Even though it was drilled into him, growing up on a farm. "It's difficult to do, and you're going to get some curveballs. But if your mentality to always work a day ahead, create some space, it reduces stress."
Rick Robertson
Quote: "If someone brings something to me that they’re excited about and if I don’t see it being a fit, I'm going to be excited right with them. It may morph into something different (or it may not work out)." But the fact they brought a unique idea means he'll use them the next time he wants to think outside the box on something. "The fact they have enthusiasm is not a problem."
Tips: Everyone has a personal brand; leadership study is both science and art; be bold; it’s OK to fake it until you make it; life balance and physical and mental balance are all crucial to peak performance and wellbeing; great people are self-motivated and self-managed, what they need is shared vision and shared metrics; aspiring people have a strong desire to be part of a team and be part of something bigger than themselves; don’t waste strife; occasionally, conflict for an organization, especially when with a good customer partner or good employee partner, is an opportunity for progress; do not be too proud to adjust a path of decision or strategy; successful people often have a place in their life where opportunity knocked, or someone championed for them.
Favorite tip from another panelist: Dwyer's "Prioritize strong relationships, radical honesty and mutual vulnerability." Robertson said that one of his firm's four core values is empathy for both the customer's standpoint and coworkers' standpoints. "There can be serious growth from being vulnerable, but we forget that." While it's important to protect self-interest, "You still have to be vulnerable to grow and to help the company grow."
Most difficult of his own tips to follow: "Don’t waste strife." Robertson said that sometimes with customers, and between departments, there can be conflicting priorities, and conflict can happen, both within the business and with customers. It can be used as a resource to learn. "Sometimes we don’t take the time to learn, so it’s taking the time to go back and do that debriefing. That's something I could do better."
Betsy Vickery
Quote: "Early on in my leadership role, myself and a small dedicated team worked very hard on developing our core values, along with our mission and vision statement. Now we couldn’t live without them. They’re so valuable to us. Every day, we live them, see them. Everybody needs to know where we’re going, why we’re doing it."
Tips: Passion for life and business; pride; continuously learn and polish your communication skills and objectives; balance; be patient; have goals in life and business; professionalism; develop trusted partners: always, always try to have fun every day.
Favorite tip from another panelist: Caruso's "Reach out to a mentor." Vickery said it's not only to seek out mentorship, but to be one. "Helping young men and woman, and to mentor and share past learning experience to help them succeed."
Most difficult of her own tips to follow: Continuously learn. "It's easy to get wrapped up in business ... and taking care of what's in front of you," instead.
Tracey Whitten
Quote: "I knew at 18 years old I was going to own hotels, and people would poo poo that idea... But I did it by looking out into the future and seeing what was there, and working toward that. I was always looking up and not being complacent."
Tips: Don’t take no for an answer; the truth/solution/answer lies somewhere in the middle; there is always a silver lining; lead by example; roll with it; don’t be afraid to share the data; practice and demand work/life balance; don’t let the bully bully; always look up with passion.
Favorite tip from another panelist: Robertson's "Everyone has a personal brand." Whitten said, "I didn’t learn that lesson until I was about 47 years old, and when I finally learned that one, it hit me like a ton of bricks. It finally hit me that I wasn’t selling myself as the company brand, and really understanding that I was a powerful lesson."
Most difficult of her own tips to follow: Don’t let the bully bully. "That’s been a really hard one for me, because I’m in hospitality the the knee-jerk mindset is the customer is always right. Well that’s not always the case. Sometimes it takes a lot of energy to do the right thing and set the boundary."
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