Leadership
Got milk?
How Steve Schmid keeps Smith Dairy Products one step ahead of the herd
By Brian Horn
Smart Business Akron/Canton | May 2009
Page 1 of 4
Steve Schmid started out at Smith Dairy Products Co. sweeping floors when he was a kid.
Now he’s been the company’s president for more than 20 years.
To make sure the 100-year-old family business sees another 100 successful years, Schmid is always looking for ways to stay ahead of industry changes and consumer demands, something just about every CEO is facing these days.
But he offers a word of warning: “Don’t think that you can do it all by yourself,” Schmid says. “You might be a star, but you’re a better star if you’ve got your team working with you.”
For Schmid, it means working with employees to find solutions to problems, it means working to find better ways to serve consumers, and it means working the trade show circuit to make sure the rest of the industry isn’t leaving Smith Dairy and its 400 employees behind.
Only by working every possible angle can Schmid keep his $120 million company at the front of the dairy herd.
Here’s how he does it.
