Real Estate and Construction
All together now
How to corral your employees together under your vision
By Brooke Bates
Smart Business Cincinnati | January 2009
Page 1 of 2
Scott Teepe Sr. CEO, TP Mechanical Contractors Inc.
As its name would suggest,
TP Mechanical Contractors Inc. started with a Teepe.
But CEO Scott Teepe Sr., son
of founder Bill Teepe, says he
doesn’t want it to end with one.
“My goal is to have an everlasting company,” he says of
the plumbing and mechanical
contracting company. “I don’t
want it to end with a Teepe,
[like] if a Teepe doesn’t run the
company, the company doesn’t
exist.”
So he’s equipping his managers to think like leaders by
prodding them for input and
urging them to set their own
visions. He narrows the focus by
aligning their goals and finding
the common ground that can
benefit the business, which
posted 2007 revenue of $63 million. And Teepe’s leadership is
evidenced in his ability to set a
single vision from the compiled
input of 400 employees.
Smart Business spoke with
Teepe about how to use input
from your employees to guide
your company’s vision.
Push employees for their input. Gather ideas from your executive group or the people that
report to you. You want to get
their thoughts and get them
involved in the decision-making process.
Challenge them beyond their
means. I always want to make
them think a little bit more
outside the box than they’re
used to doing.
Their motions will take charge
a little bit, and you’ll see their
frustration if you push too hard.
It’s things they do, it’s how they
sit up or if they slump down or
they lean back. I have one that I
run my fingers through my hair.
Everybody knows; they make
fun of that. When I do that, that
typically means I’m frustrated or
not getting my point across.
Others will cross their arms.
Others will look down; they
won’t look up. You look for
those signs of disengagement.
