Owning It To Make BIG Happen with Kerry Siggins
Guest: Kerry Siggins, CEO of StoneAge, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of automated waterblast equipment and tooling for industrial companies and contractors worldwide. Kerry is also the author of the new book “The Ownership Mindset,” a keynote speaker, a member of YPO, a podcast host, and a client of CEO Coaching International.
Overview: Kerry Siggins has been through her share of ups and downs. After pulling herself out of a dead-end lifestyle of substance abuse, she climbed to the top of StoneAge, one of the world’s leading industrial cleaning equipment manufacturers. Kerry’s ownership mindset helped her survive the BIGGEST obstacles of her life and thrive on the other side.
By instilling this same mindset in employees participating in StoneAge’s Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP), Kerry has cultivated a world-class culture that has opened the door to BIG success for the entire company. She shares her methodology in her book “The Ownership Mindset,” with CEO Coaching International Founding Partner and CEO Mark Moses. Catch highlights and the full interview below.
Kerry Siggins On Why Companies Fail at Building Incredible Culture:
“I don’t think they really dig into who they are as a company. Most values you see on the wall of a company could stand for any company. Anybody can have integrity, customer service, honesty, and all of those things. To me, those are a given. I think leaders don’t really go deep into the DNA.
So, first and foremost, you have to understand the DNA of the company to make sure that it’s crystal clear and feels authentic to people. When there’s a disconnect between what management says and what everybody experiences, that’s when people don’t buy into the vision that you’re putting together and the culture you’re trying to build. When that happens, a BIG cultural shift doesn’t happen.”
Kerry Siggins On Her Vision And Goal With The Employee Stock Ownership Plan:
“Our goal is to be $1B company by 2032. Most importantly, though, it’s not just to be $1B company, because lots of people, lots of companies do that. It’s because I want to create a thousand millionaires. Our employee ownership program gives our employees who work hard, stay loyal to us, and embrace this “own it” culture the ability to create meaningful wealth by working for us.
I think that’s the best legacy that I can leave behind. Not only can people hopefully become better human beings because they work for us and embrace this culture of caring, support, and unleashing human potential, but they also get to benefit from the company’s success and build true meaningful wealth for themselves in jobs that you would never think: ‘oh, this person could be a millionaire.'”
Kerry Siggins On What She Hopes People Take From Her Book:
“First, a leader’s number one job is to unleash their employees’ potential. And when you do that, you truly drive results. And I think so many people and leaders just focus on results. And that’s really important. But, sometimes, we need to remember the fact that our success is built on our team, having the right people on our teams, developing them, and growing them. We cannot do this alone. Your number one job is unleashing the talents and the skills and helping people live their dreams.
And the second thing is don’t be afraid to share some of your flaws. I share my flaws in my book. I am not a perfect person. I absolutely have trauma. And that has impacted my life. I have made poor decisions, and I have a strong personality, and I’m okay with that. I spent so many years of my life, from the time I was four years old until I overdosed not being myself. And I said, that’s it. I’m done trying to be somebody other than myself.
If you share your flaws, it helps you connect with people on what makes us human. It creates the most wonderful, amazing relationships. It allows you to be real to your employees. We need real leaders more than we ever have. Not leaders that we hold on a pedestal. Not leaders who hold themselves on a pedestal. Don’t be afraid to admit your flaws. Don’t be afraid to face your flaws. They’re what make you beautiful that will make you human.”
Links:
The Ownership Mindset — Purchase your copy of Kerry’s new book here.
StoneAge — Learn more about Kerry’s company, StoneAge, here.
About CEO Coaching International
CEO Coaching International works with CEOs and their leadership teams to achieve extraordinary results quarter after quarter, year after year. Known globally for its success in coaching growth-focused entrepreneurs to meaningful exits, CEO Coaching International has coached more than 1,000 CEOs and entrepreneurs in more than 60 countries and 45 industries. The coaches at CEO Coaching International are former CEOs, presidents, or executives who have made BIG happen. The firm’s coaches have led double-digit sales and profit growth in businesses ranging in size from startups to over $10 billion, and many are founders that have led their companies through successful eight, nine, and ten-figure exits. Companies working with CEO Coaching International for two years or more have experienced an average revenue CAGR of 31% (2.6X the U.S. average) and an average EBITDA CAGR of 52.3% (more than 5X the U.S. average).
Learn more about executive coaching | Meet our world-class coaches
