As president and CEO of All American Containers, Remedios Diaz Oliver has forged the path for women and minorities in business. She was the first woman to receive the presidential “E” award for excellence in export and the only Florida woman to serve on the boards of directors of three Fortune 500 companies simultaneously. Her success is reflected in her company, which posted $151 million in revenue last year. This business pioneer spoke with Smart Business about how she successfully grew her company and developed as a leader.
On key skills:
I’m a disciplined person. I’m demanding. I’m aggressive. I follow up everything I start. I try to make other people be part of what I’m doing. I don’t like to do everything myself but delegate jobs. That way everybody has the opportunity to be proud of what they accomplish. The most important (skill) is to be organized, hard-working. Discipline is important. Every day I write what I have to finish, what I have to do. I try to finish every day my plan. This is one of the skills that people need to be successful.
We have short- and long-term goals. Short-term goals are those that can be achieved daily, weekly or even monthly. Every individual in the company should set daily goals, and this will bring about a sense of achievement.
Become experts within their industry. They have to work very hard to learn their business to be successful. Try to surround themselves with capable people — the best in the industry — and put a lot of effort into what they are doing and have confidence, have enthusiasm and be positive, and they will be successful.
On hiring:
Have an educational background, because if people do not know how to find answers, it’s difficult for them to accomplish a lot of work. The most important quality that any individual should have is self-motivation. I have seen, through my years in business, individuals that display such a great deal of self-motivation that their accomplishments exceeded all expectations. I think that motivation, along with professional ethics, leads to success.
I look at the rsum but frankly, I like to talk to people — what their ideas are, what they want, what they are looking for, what they are able to do. I have seen people come and say, ‘I don’t know about that, but I know I can learn. And I know I can be very successful doing this.’ And I give them an opportunity.
On motivating employees:
The worst trait a manager can instill in a work environment is negativity. That can bring a company down. Enthusiasm can, during the most difficult time, help overcome the most difficult situation. When somebody is negative about something, that will make other people feel the same way. If we’re optimistic, if we work hard, if we don’t come with ideas that this is the end of the world, nothing is going to happen. A company can grow more by having enthusiastic leaders that can make others follow them. The example is very important.
We share profits with our employees on a monthly and an annual basis. Every year at Christmas, we give bonuses to every employee — not only sales but everyone in the company, from the switchboard operator to secretaries to salesmen to accounting to warehouse.
A big percentage of the profits of the company are shared with the employees, and a big bonus is given to them based on the profits. People look at this like their own organization. They feel as part of the company. They’re not employees; in essence, they’re shareholders because if the company does better, they do better.
We try to pay people based on performance, and that stimulates their desire to work harder. Many times I will come on a Saturday morning to the office and I will see them trying to do extra work because they know they will receive an award for what they are doing.
On women and minorities:
We have more women working in the company at the executive level than any other company of our size in our industry. Women are very talented, but also they work harder and they devote more time. They are not only loyal — because men are also loyal — but they don’t change jobs so frequently. This is why we have employees that have worked with our organization for many years. They feel this is their family. The limit is the sky. They have to work and be better than anyone. When I started many years ago, people didn’t like to deal with women, and they didn’t like to work with Hispanics. I didn’t care.
I work hard. I try to be the best in my industry. I try to help customers. I try to always accomplish what I thought that I should accomplish. Years later, they didn’t care if I have a broken accent or if I was a woman. They wanted somebody who could do the job properly, who could satisfy their demands and could bring them some added value.
If you’re good at what you’re doing, they don’t care if you’re a woman or you’re from a minority group. If you’re good at what you’re doing, nobody is going to look at who you are and where you come from. They just want results, and if you bring results, everything will fall into place.
On success:
I feel that success is not only quantified monetarily but rather in the accomplishment set and achieved by an individual. You are successful if you have done what you have planned to do. You are successful if your sales grow, if your profits grow, if you are satisfied with your work, if you are satisfied with your ethics.
There are certain people that can grow their business, but they don’t do anything for the others — they are not part of the community. Devote some time to other people that need you, like working for an organization. We are very strongly involved in community affairs. We work within our community with organizations that need our help. We have to have that balance.
How to reach: All American Containers Inc., www.americancontainers.com
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