The Man Who Proved Me Right with CEO Bob Chapman and the Barry-Wehmiller Team | A Bit of Optimism

1. SSSimon Sinek0:00

   I wish leaders took leadership as personally as you do. They see it as a rank or position. They see it as, as power and authority, but they don't take it as seriously as raising a child, and you take taking care of your people as seriously a- as taking care of your children. You deeply mean it, and you deeply feel it. I know people who turn it on and turn it off, and you can't turn it off. It's, it's core to who you are.

2. BCBob Chapman0:25

   I always say, Simon, you can retire from a job, but you cannot retire from a calling.

3. SSSimon Sinek0:30

   Yeah.

4. BCBob Chapman0:30

   And when I e- look today-

5. SSSimon Sinek0:32

   Yeah

6. BCBob Chapman0:32

   ... as we talk, the issues we face in the world, I see business as a source of destruction, creating economic value but not human value.

7. SSSimon Sinek0:40

   Yeah.

8. BCBob Chapman0:40

   And, and I feel a profound sense of responsibility. Change the way the world sees its, its responsibility to people they have the privilege of leading.

9. SSSimon Sinek0:49

   I imagine a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are, and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do. When most people hear me say this, they think it's just the ramblings of a crazy idealist, and I would actually agree with them, until I met Bob Chapman. When I met Bob, he claimed that he'd actually built a company that embodied what I imagined, and to be honest, I didn't believe him. Again, I'm a crazy idealist, and what I imagine isn't supposed to exist in reality. It's supposed to be a striving, which is why I wanted to go see for myself. Bob has spent 50 years leading a company called Barry-Wehmiller, and what started as a humble Midwestern manufacturing company is now a $3.6 billion global powerhouse with nearly 12,000 team members. And what he's built is more than a successful company. It's a model of what any company could and should look like. His approach is called Truly Human Leadership, and it's a simple idea. Prioritize empathy, trust, and relationships to drive performance. These lessons work in any workplace and any industry, and it proves that how we treat people at work, how we care for people at work, can transform our families, our communities, and indeed, the world around us. I encouraged Bob to write it all down, and he did in his book Everybody Matters, which I am also proudly the publisher. And with a new edition recently released, Bob and I decided to take a trip back to the factory where he first showed me what he built. And we did something a little different in this episode. Yes, I sit down with my dear friend, and yes, there are tears of inspiration. And this time, you will also hear from some of the people whose lives have been touched by Bob's leadership style. They are proof that I can no longer be called a crazy idealist if what I imagine exists in reality. This is A Bit of Optimism. This episode is brought to you by Porsche and their new Macan. And when they reached out to us and asked if I would be comfortable to talk about the new Porsche Macan, well, let's just say I already owned one. That's actually my car. So the simple answer was yes. I am someone who has lived my entire life around big cities, so visiting Phillips, Wisconsin, feels like I'm stepping into some alternative universe, into a place where life feels simpler, where spending time outdoors is better than any video game, and spending time with family and friends is the most valuable commodity there is. And work, at least for those who work at BW Papersystems, is now one of the essential parts of the good life. I remembered the first time I entered the plant. I was struck by the sheer size of the place, the high ceilings. It was like a huge indoor concrete football field lined with dozens of surprisingly clean machines, their movements and their hums giving the place life. This was now my fifth time visiting, and every single time I've come back here, I'm struck by how clean and organized and magical it all feels. There's no chaos. Everything is in its place. Everyone knows their role. It's a sight to behold. And like an orchestra, there's a symphony being played by this group of people with a common cause, but that doesn't mean that there's a lack of fun.

10. AMAmber Meyers4:46

    I'm a mover and a groover. Like, I don't have it blaring right now, but when you, none of you are here, my radio is blaring.

11. SSSimon Sinek4:54

    That's Amber Mayer. She's responsible for the small parts getting to where they need to be all over the factory.

12. AMAmber Meyers5:01

    Sometimes there's parts all over this place, and I have to play, like, you can't find them. Well, guess what?

13. SSSimon Sinek5:08

    Right.

14. AMAmber Meyers5:08

    Here I am, Inspector Gadget, like-

15. SSSimon Sinek5:10

    [laughs]

16. AMAmber Meyers5:11

    ... running around. So I do put a lot of steps in a day. [laughs] I-

17. SSSimon Sinek5:15

    Have you, do you, like, see your count?

18. AMAmber Meyers5:16

    I'm-

19. SSSimon Sinek5:17

    How many, how many have you done? How long did... What time did you, did you get in?

20. AMAmber Meyers5:19

    6:00, so I'm at 9,345.

21. SSSimon Sinek5:21

    You did 9,000 steps in three hours? Amber got a job here three years ago. Her husband decided to join her six months later. What did you do prior?

22. AMAmber Meyers5:33

    I bartended/waitressed almost 20 years at pub and eatery right across the street here. So I actually dealt with a lot of these employees and stuff-

23. SSSimon Sinek5:43

    Right

24. AMAmber Meyers5:43

    ... over there. So a lot of people knew me already before I even came here. So when it came to me applying here, they're like, "We want her. We know what kind of worker she is."

25. SSSimon Sinek5:52

    And what did you know about them just from seeing them come through the bar and the restaurant? How did they talk about work? Because, you know, usually people come to a bar, they o-

26. AMAmber Meyers5:59

    It's a great place to work.

27. SSSimon Sinek6:00

    They order-

28. AMAmber Meyers6:00

    It's not like-

29. SSSimon Sinek6:01

    They order a double, and they-

30. AMAmber Meyers6:02

    [laughs]

Episode duration: 1:12:05