Why Did Drury Design Close for Two Days?
We’ve always believed our team is our greatest strength. This belief led us to take a bold step recently, closing our showroom doors for two days so that we could attend the 2023 Global Leadership Summit. Drury Design staffers from every facet of the business were there, soaking up leadership lessons from the likes of Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, success guru James Clear, Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse and many others. The way we see it, our customers benefit when we invest in the professional development of our team.
The Summit offered a remarkable opportunity to be exposed to cutting-edge ideas and philosophies about leadership, business, and personal growth. We are confident the insights gained during these two days will pay dividends in the form of improved teamwork, increased creativity, and enhanced customer service.
The Summit was so good we thought we’d pass along some notable takeaways. Below is a compilation of favorite insights from our staffers.
“Make the impossible seem inevitable.”
– Condaleeza Rice, Stanford Professor, former U.S. Secretary of State and author of No Higher Honor
Context: Rice reflected on the nature of extremely difficult actions and how they can seem impossible in the moment, but inevitable in retrospect.
“People may be impressed by your strengths, but they connect with your weaknesses.”
– Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor of Life Church and author of The Power to Change.
Context: Groeschel advocates being honest about mistakes because we all make them. People respect when others admit to making them.
Emily Tomek, Assistant Designer
“See it. Say it. Fix it.”
– Anita Elberse, Harvard Business School professor and author of Hit-making, Risk-taking and the Big Business of Entertainment
Context: In studying Toto Wolff, legendary team principal and CEO of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team in Formula 1 racing, Elberse observed that Wolff’s winning culture valued the input and solution-oriented focus instilled in every team member from top to bottom. This was facilitated by a collective understanding that no problem, no matter how small, should ever be invisible, shielded or ignored.
Rick Windgassen, Operations Manager
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you want to become.”
– James Clear, author of Atomic Habits
Amanda Duran, Assistant Designer
“Transparency from leaders is an active investment… sharing truth leads to trust.”
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
– Cynt Marshall, Dallas Mavericks CEO and author of You’ve Been Chosen
Kailey Trostle, Assistant Designer
“When communication decreases, uncertainty increases.”
“Yesterday’s performance is the best predictor of what happens next.”
– Henry Cloud, CEO Coach and author of Boundaries
“Leaders can shape a winning culture through their mindset, values, and actions.”
– Elberse
“Conflict brings about a resolution.”
Context: Groeschel says disagreements and tough conversations are necessary to solve problems.
“Genius is given to everyone, but only a few people choose to live it.”
– Erwin Raphael McManus; futurist, filmmaker, fashion designer and author of The Last Arrow: Save Nothing for the Next Life
Context: Raphael McManus’ research suggests that it doesn’t take a genius to think like one.
Keri Rogers, Assistant Designer
“Failure is the tuition of success.”
– Ryan Leak, CEO of leadership development firm The Ryan Leak Group and author of Leveling Up: 12 Questions to Elevate Your Personal and Professional Development
Hamza Shahin, Assistant Designer
“Managers do things right, leaders do the right thing.”
– Marshall
Context: Marshall notes that there are managers and there are managers who are true leaders.
Lauren Feurich, Assistant Designer
“We all need to be hope dealers.”
– Liz Bohannon, founder of Sseko Designs and author of Beginner’s Pluck
Carl Schanstra, CFO
“You’re not crazy, you’re just first!”
– Jamie Kern Lima, founder of IT Cosmetics and author of Believe IT
Context: Kern Lima notes that true leaders are often first to market with ideas that get them labeled as ‘crazy,’ ‘rejects’ and ‘failures.’
Lorann Lombardini, Marketing Associate
“Process guarantees success. A good process will produce good results.”
– Nick Saban, as quoted by Elberse
Context: Elberse’s research on high-performing teams in professional sports found that winning cultures rely on all-encompassing processes fine-tuned for success.
Dolores Wozniak, Purchasing Manager
“Don’t listen to the signal, listen to the noise.”
– Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel, author of The Juggling ACT
Context: These days we’re obsessed with trends to the point of ignoring the outlier data. In reality, contradictions and dissenting voices in the data set are often where innovation can be found.
Joe Coffey, Marketing Director
Shutting Down to Level Up
“Growth is a mindset and as a thriving company, learning is a requirement,” CFO Carl Schanstra says. “Leadership training is for everyone as we all have opportunities to lead someplace in our life.”
“We all have something good or great within us,” Owner and Creative Director Gladys Schanstra adds. “That can involve potential, or already discovered gifts. A leader’s job is to draw that out of others.”