Being an effective leader requires having a management style that works with your personality, your team, and your organizational goals. A leader cannot demand that their team members live up to the company’s values if they themselves do not. A leader must follow through on their commitments and demonstrate the values they claim to uphold. The ripple effect of a leader’s example spreads much further throughout an organization than most people realize. Steven L. Blue is a CEO with the pulse of the rust-belt industry, inspiring leaders worldwide. He serves as the president and chief executive officer of Miller Ingenuity, a leading provider of cutting-edge technologies that safeguard property, protect the environment, and save lives. His keynote speeches have taught many c-suite executives how to optimize their company’s Innovational Potential® and double or even quadruple their company’s growth. He is an internationally recognized business transformation specialist. Five of Steve’s books have been published, including a best-seller.
For its clients in the rail sector, Miller Ingenuity designs, produces, and sells a range of products that save lives and lower operating costs. Every single locomotive in the United States as well as the majority of locomotives worldwide are equipped with the company’s goods. It is also the world’s biggest provider of LED traffic lights for highway crossings. Its products are distributed in over 100 countries. It has 240 or more patents. The company commemorated its 75th anniversary last year.
Below are highlights of the interview that emphasize Steven L. Blue’s expertise as an accomplished author, public speaker, and business executive:
Could you briefly share your life before beginning your professional career?
I grew up in a lower-class blue-collar family. My mother was a waitress, and my father was a truck driver. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college, so I joined the Navy at 18. I spent four years in the Navy and started to work on college credits with the United States Armed Forces Institute. After I served in the Navy, I went to night school for years and eventually earned my Bachelors degree from the State University of New York when I was 40 years old. Continuing my night school education, I finally earned my MBA from Regis University when I was 52. I was fortunate in the sense that I was gaining real-world experience at the same time I was pursuing my degrees. Seeing both sides of the academic and business worlds at the same time seasoned me and gave me a unique perspective I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Describe your responsibilities and position at Miller Ingenuity.
As President and CEO, I am responsible for all aspects of the company, including P&L, long-term strategy, product development, marketing, and sales.
What are the primary product offerings provided by Miller Ingenuity?
We develop, manufacture, and sell a variety of products in the rail industry that save lives and reduce operating expenses for our customers. You will find our products on every single locomotive in the United States and most locomotives around the world. We are also the largest supplier of LED highway crossing signals in the world. Our products are distributed in over 100 countries. We hold over 240 patents. Last year, we celebrated our 75th anniversary.
Define your approach to leading a team. What would you say about it?
Pick the best people, give them the direction and resources they need to be successful, then get out of their way and let them do it. The most important element is to create a culture that supports business growth and then to support and nurture that culture.
What obstacles did you face along the way that helped you learn important lessons for your career?
I was fortunate that early in my career I worked for Allen-Bradley (now Rockwell International), a company that had world-class leadership training. That taught me what worked and what didn’t in a leadership role. Over the years, I worked for a few terrific leaders who served as role models. I also worked for really bad leaders who served as models of what not to do. Along the way in my career, I faced many obstacles as a change agent. I once had to hire a security detail to guard my family while I was negotiating a union agreement. I have received death threats, bricks thrown through my living room window, and blackmail attempts. All in the interest of stopping me from affecting change. I learned that internal threats (that is, from inside the organization) are a greater hazard than external threats, such as those you find with competitors. This is true, particularly when you introduce change. People generally don’t like change, and organizations really don’t like change. Most organizations will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid change or even to kill it. That is something a leader must always be alert to. You can count on the organization resisting any change you might introduce. Be prepared to act swiftly to end the resistance.
As per you, which technological advancements will significantly transform the manufacturing industry during the next five to ten years?
The rail industry is very slow to adopt new technologies. That is as it should be as the rail industry’s most important concern is safety. However, the industry is slowly adopting IOT technologies that improve operations and save lives. One example of this is our flagship life safety product, ZoneGuard. ZoneGuard is a highly integrated and high-tech IOT product that saves the lives of rail workers.
In the manufacturing industry, I advise CEOs not to put too much faith in “the factory of the future” or so-called “smart manufacturing.” While IOT technology has a role in the future of manufacturing, why have a “smart” factory if you have “dumb” employees? I do not mean that employees are inherently dumb. They want to be smart. They want to contribute. Many organizations never give them that chance. They treat them like dumb assets to be exploited. Remember this: if you treat people like they are dumb, they will act that way.
Give us some insights about your work as a management expert.
I am a best-selling author of five books that teach executives how to massively increase profit. I am also a professional keynote speaker on the subject. I have delivered keynote addresses at the United Nations, Carnegie Hall, and Harvard Law School, just to name a few. I consult with CEOs all the time on how they can quadruple profit. Notice I did not say I consult on “leadership.” I coach CEOs on how to get results. While leadership plays a role in that, it is not a means to an end in and of itself. The end state is more profit.
What are the most important attributes of successful leaders? What advice would you give to the next generation of leaders?
Hire the best people. Care about them. Treat them with respect. Give them the tools they need to be successful. Develop what I call a “Cirque du Soleil” culture that obsesses over excellence. Don’t tolerate anyone who doesn’t fully support that culture.
In terms of the next generation, I would advise them to build their careers the hard way. Take all the tough assignments. The toxic ones that no one else wants to touch. Go anywhere, anytime, to solve problems. That way you will get known as a problem solver, and eventually that will pay off in pay and in positions. Get all around an organization. In every nook and cranny to discover what makes organizations tick. I did that, starting out as a factory supervisor, and over the course of my career, I got into nearly every department of the company. Most CEOs “grow up” in one silo, such as sales, or engineering. Then that is all they know when they become a CEO.
Most CEO problems stem from many different parts of an organization, so it is quite helpful if you know where to look. Because of my vast breadth of organizational experience, I tell CEOs all the time, “You don’t have a problem I haven’t already seen. In fact, you don’t have a problem I haven’t already solved.”
Which book on management or leadership is your favorite? Why?
Anything and everything Tony Robbins, Harvey Mackay, and Jay Abraham writes. Their advice is timeless.
Tell us how you have affected change at Miller Ingenuity and about your vision for the company.
I am an innovation expert. My latest book, Metamorphosis: From Rust-Belt to High-Tech in a 21st Century World, details exactly how I took Miller Ingenuity from low-tech, low-margin products into the elite world of ultra-high earnings from high-tech, high-margin products. This is a long, multi-year process and is not for CEOs who demand immediate returns. However, it is a long-lasting transformation if you are willing to put in the time, money, and effort. Miller Ingenuity transformed from a place where only a few people were innovating to what it is today – everyone innovates, white-collar and blue-collar.
I am also an expert on organizational culture. Culture is the engine that drives everything in an organization. It dictates how people behave, how they interact, and most importantly, how they think. If you build a “Cirque du Soleil” culture in your organization, everything takes care of itself. You can leave the company on auto-pilot and watch it soar.
With innovation and culture at the foundation, my vision and intent is for Miller Ingenuity to be known for saving more rail workers’ lives than any other company in the industry.
Website: www.milleringenuity.com
