I think I’ve mentioned this here before (after seven years, I’m bound to start repeating myself), but the Executive of the Year feature is one of my favorites. It’s not necessarily the writing portion of the exercise. Rather, it’s the information gathering.
Most of our feature stories are done by phone conversations, chatting up a service center executive or equipment manufacturer to talk about a specific market or product. Some are even done via email, an efficient method but one that’s even less conducive to extracting revelatory information.
The EoY is different. For that, we travel to a company facility and sit down for a lengthy discussion with our recipient about all aspects of metals distribution. For me, there is always much to learn from these one-on-one conversations with the people who have devoted their lives to not just working in the metals business, but those who have successfully navigated their companies to leadership positions in our space.
This year’s winner, Nova Steel’s Scott Jones, is, of course, no exception. I joined him at Nova’s newest facility, the ERW tube mill in Delta, Ohio, for a lengthy conversation in early October.
During that talk, one comment from Scott really grabbed me. When discussing his company’s ventures into new markets, he said the success in identifying markets to pursue often starts with the people. “You hire the right people and they bring the right opportunities,” he told me.
It’s an interesting perspective and one that I couldn’t help but think back to during last month’s SMR Stainless Steel Conference in Nashville.
As noted in our Business Topics column, one panel at the conference discussed the role of women in the stainless business and the steps necessary to develop a more inclusive workforce. The panelists all agreed that beyond whatever societal good that is being done through growing the number of women in the metals supply chain, it’s above all else a business case. As ATI Specialty Rolled Products’ Danielle Cardini pointed out, companies that involve women in all phases of the operation perform better than ones where they remain shut out.
Diversity, or DEI, can be polarizing words in all areas of American life and the metals industry is surely no exception. But they don’t have to be. Instead, they can be the lift your company needs to find a new market, identify inefficiencies in your operations or better develop your workforce.
Diversity of thought should be undeniably welcome in any organization. And perspectives built from varying experiences are surely better than just one or two avenues into the organizations. MBAs are fine. But so too are the experience gained by a woman climbing the ladder in a male-dominated industry or that of a veteran who spent two years in a combat site and has developed skills forged under fire.
There are many “right people” out there. It starts with looking.