Periodically NSC holds lunches with Collier Company Team Members who send in questions. The following are drawn from those events.
What are the attributes of your ideal employee?
My ideal TM has a burning need to grow, a voracious desire to be a self-taught, life-long learner, to be all they can be, to contribute, enjoys helping people, understands our business model.
If you had one piece of advice for someone looking to start a business, what would it be?
Don’t. I’m kidding but I’m not. Few understand the ALL in commitment required, the 80 hour weeks, the stress, the lousy odds. I’ve frequently read some version of “If I knew what I was getting in to, I’d have never done it.” It’s hard to over prepare. Most businesses fail. And if your business can’t run without you i.e. with professional management, you don’t have a business, you have a job. You’ll also have very little “enterprise value” i.e. equity you can sell. And if this dissuades you, then that is probably for the best; odds are that means you didn’t want it bad enough to make it! Most entrepreneurs are MOTIVATED when they are told they can’t do something, they turn defeat and discouragement into fuel! They are also slightly (?) irrational; Steve Jobs was infamous for his “Reality Distortion Zone” and for his temper, blunt criticism, and impossibly high standards of design and quality.
What is the one thing (if any) that you would change about the company?
Greater engagement, deeper commitment to self-directed learning, personal/professional growth. Willingness (aching desire?) to give up 2 or 3 hours of TV/social media internet time for directed reading, to have weekly lunch time book clubs v. monthly.
What are you most proud about the company?
Team Members. Every time I stand in front of the TM Wall I get emotional, completely overwhelmed by a deep, deep and abiding sense of gratitude and appreciation for the quality of people that have chosen to join with me, the dedication, the commitment, the energy, the enthusiasm.
What do you do when you are outside of the office?
Spend time with my wife and son, play racquetball, read, read, read. Sleep on occasion.
As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier