Our region’s future is bright thanks to the strong leaders who are navigating change and cultivating successful teams today. These leaders are not only a catalyst for the change that is happening right now, but they are molding and shaping the leaders of future generations. Throughout the coming months, FIRST & 42 will be shining the spotlight on some of our region’s stars from the 2020 class of Leadership Kalamazoo. We’ll learn about some of their “firsts” in life as well as their answers to some deeper questions about their leadership and vision for our community. To kick off our Leader Spotlight series, we are turning the stage over to Larry West, sales and automation manager at KMC Global Controls and Automation.
First Things First
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
1976 Camaro. Not as good as it sounds. The car was in rough shape, but it was a good first car.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR FIRST WISH IF YOU EVER FOUND A MAGIC LAMP?
Probably money. I would love to think I would be more altruistic. Can I have three wishes?
WHAT IS YOUR FIRST CHOICE FOR GOING OUT TO EAT LOCALLY?
Café Meli on Portage Road. Great food and the owners are very nice people.
The Deep Dive
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN YOUR CURRENT POSITION? WHAT ARE YOUR DAY-TO-DAY RESPONSIBILITIES?
I have been in this role for about two years now. My day-to-day responsibilities are to manage our sales, automation, shop, and facilities teams. As we are a small company, I am the sole sales representative for the company, so I handle all sales-related communications with current and potential customers. I work with our corporate marketing team to create literature, webinars, and organize customer communications.
I do not manage a large group, but I manage the best group. Our shop personnel are amazing. Our team comes in every day ready to do their job and do it well. I am spread very thin at times, and I do not get to spend the time on the shop floor that I would like. But I never have to worry about the shop because they are committed to excellent work and self-reliance. Automation has several responsibilities. Programming and project management give the description but really automation is the arm of our organization that works directly with the customer to ensure that they get the services they need. Almost every one of our customers are repeat customers and that is only possible because of our automation team.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE?
When I am asked this question, I often ask myself how the people I manage would answer this question about me. As leaders, we can become tone deaf so I will answer as to how I “hope” my leadership style is. Once I have established trust with an individual, I place that person in a position to manage themselves. Mistakes are going to happen and when they do, we review and move forward while maintaining trust. Once trust is broken, I work to re-establish trust, and if trust cannot be re-established, I terminate their employment. For me trust is key to success.
WHAT IS YOUR PROUDEST LEADERSHIP MOMENT?
I must give a little pretext. During the interview process, I always let people know that we strive to provide the best work environment possible. I say, “I cannot change the fact that this is work, but I can make this the best place to work.”
During our reviews, I always ask if the individual is happy with their work environment. One of the answers I got back was: “Oh my god, yes. You give me the freedom to do my job, and when I have needed time off suddenly, you asked if I needed any help instead of question why I need the time off.”
In that moment, I felt like I has achieving what I had set out to create. There are ups and downs and times when we miss the mark. Those times seem to fill my mind, but having moments like the one described really gives me balance.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE HISTORICAL LEADER? WHY?
Tom Goudzwaard. I know you were probably looking for someone famous or at least someone with name recognition. Tom was the service manager when I started with PRAB (corporate partner) over 20 years ago. Tom was a Vietnam vet who had been significantly wounded during the war. He came into work every day with a positive spirit and a genuine concern for others over himself. Tom worked tirelessly to make sure he was giving the best possible customer service he could. As a Service Engineer, I would be on the road for days at a time and work 12-16 hours a day for many of those days because the customer needed to have their equipment back up and running. Sometimes I would question why I worked so hard when it seemed that almost everyone else would have knocked off hours ago. No matter how hard I worked or how many hours I put in, Tom had likely worked harder than I did that day. It took a few years, but working for Tom, I realized that I did not work hard and long hours to compare myself to others. I did it because it gave me a sense of purpose and genuine fulfillment. It has come to be what I value in myself.
WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR OUR COMMUNITY IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?
I have lived in and around Kalamazoo County for most of my life and, regrettably, I have not been as active a participant in the community as I should have been. As with many people, I would complain about the things not getting done or evaluate what was done poorly. As I have gotten older, I have realized that much of my criticism was unfounded and questioned what the heck am I doing to change it. My vision for our community for the next five years is to do my part to really market the Kalamazoo experience and the renewed vitality of the area. We need to drive home the facts: Kalamazoo is growing, Kalamazoo and Kalamazoo County are great places to live and work. Great marketing is always the key to any successful vision. Without a clear and constant message, people are left to formulate opinions based on hearsay versus the facts. For my part, I plan to meet criticism of our region with the facts I know. When I encounter someone with a specific issue, I plan to give them guidance to resolve their grievance and follow up to make sure they follow through.
