ARTICLE
In my almost 20 years here at the Chamber, I've met so many impressive, competent and driven CEOs. Fortunately for me, I've gotten very close with several of them. I've tried to hang on every word to absorb as much as possible. The culmination of knowledge is what could be equal to a master's degree in real-life business experience. These are people who've achieved a lot, managed thousands of employees and were ultimately responsible for their companies and their successes. I'm talking about leaders who have revived companies, completely reinvented cultures, turned losers into winners and generally kept a solid company on track. Certain people can establish a vision and lead people to share that vision and drive hard to the finish line. It can be hugely rewarding when things are going well (and with good CEOs they usually are). It can be equally a lonely, tough place when they are not. You know the old saying "the buck stops here," which interpreted means "it's your idea, you own it, and you take the criticism." There have been many leaders who really influenced my life and I'll pass on what valuable lessons I learned from three of them. The first was Elmer Gates, the hard-driving community leader who along with Dave Lobach and several others started Embassy Bank. Legend goes, as Elmer himself told me, he was the newly selected CEO of a large company that was in need of a cultural change. Some employees were in habit of arriving to work later than the 8:30 a.m. start time. Elmer was quite serious about being punctual and had all the doors locked at 8:30 a.m. sharp one morning, leaving numerous habitually late arrivals "out in the cold." That ended a culture of repeated late arrivals. It also sent a message that Elmer was serious about a culture focused on one goal: succeeding. Somehow, whatever the crisis, Elmer had a strong constitution and he made you feel that we'll tough it out together and this will be fine. Another was Ray Holland, who along with his wife Thelma, started the huge hair styling firm Holiday Hair. I ran a hotel for Ray and he taught me to take calculated risks and give back to your community. I'll never forget the day he called me to request that I manage the hotel. My answer was "I don't know much about hotels" and in a typical Ray "tongue in cheek" humorous reply he said "I don't either and I just bought it." But the biggest thing I learned from Ray was that small details matter. He could spot a dirty salt shaker from a hundred yards. He would notice a burned-out bulb in a grand ballroom in seconds. The little details add up to excellence and a culture of success, which he built from scratch to finish into a hugely successful company. Lastly, I've watched my friend Scott Fainor build a career on the ability to never ever lose sight of the goal. I'm sure Scott has bad days but, you'd never know it. If you were someone fortunate enough to work side-by-side with Scott at the former National Penn Bank or any bank of which he was CEO, you'd know he was giving it his all every single day. Nobody wants a down-in the dumps, hand wringer for a CEO. They want a Scott Fainor who's going to take on every day as positive as possible and not let anything get in the way of the goal. It's not easy to always be a positive thinker, but he makes it happen more days than anyone else I know. One last comment on these three leaders. They all started at the bottom and relentlessly drove to the top. Fainor started in the mailroom and as a teller and rose to president of a huge bank. Elmer, who died in 2015 at 86, was an introvert from a very poor background but nothing could stop him in his pursuit. He was a tough guy with boundless energy and a huge personality. Ray Holland probably grew up the poorest of them all in the Deep South. He came to the Lehigh Valley to get a job. When that was a struggle, he opened his own shop and the rest is history They all made millions, they all did it their way and they all gave back to this Valley. So, I suggest you develop a relentless positive attitude, be extremely detail-oriented, never buckle when times get rough and never forget from where you came. Most of all, do what makes you happy. If you look in the mirror and feel positive and satisfied about where you are in life, that's a pretty good run. Be thankful! Tony Iannelli is president and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. His column appears weekly on the Business Cycle. He can be reached at tonyi@lehighvalleychamber.org. Read the original article here.