Business leaders looking for employees with drive and desire to win

People who are willing to work hard, are reliable and have the desire to win are what leaders from Universal Forest Projects in Grand Rapids are looking for in employees, according to three leaders of the company.

William G. Currie, chairman of the board; Matthew J. Missad, chief executive officer; and Peter F. Secchia, retired chairman of the board, shared “Business Lessons Learned” during the Peter F. Secchia Breakfast Lecture, November 19 at the Seidman Center on Grand Valley’s Pew Grand Rapids Campus.

Founded in 1955, Universal Forest Products is the nation’s leading manufacturer and distributor of wood and wood-alternative products. The company has 80 facilities throughout North America and employs about 6,000 people.

Secchia, who retired in 2003 as chairman of board, said he learned how to run a business from the discipline he learned while in the Marine Corps. He said he also learned a lot from his mentors, Rich DeVos and Gerald Ford. “Gerald Ford was all about integrity; integrity at the helm,” said Secchia. “His ideas weren’t always supported by everyone, but he had the respect of both Republicans and Democrats because he had integrity.”

Secchia talked about the early years of the company and how he took classes to figure out parts of the businesses he didn’t know, like accounting and working with balance sheets. He talked about a “no nepotism rule” he implemented at the company. “Many family-owned businesses are successful, especially in our area and there is nothing wrong with that,” said Secchia. “We have children who are talented enough to run the company, but that wasn’t what was best for our company. It wouldn’t have been good for our families or for our longtime employees.”

Currie said when the company was growing, they looked to hire students who were willing to work hard and were willing to win. “We looked for athletes or those who were in a fraternity or sorority,” said Currie. “We wanted students who were highly competitive and understood the team concept.”

Currie said he loves the sales part of the job. “I can sell,” he explained. “I could sell lumber to someone building a manufactured home and I could sell the company to those looking to work for us.”

Missad, who worked his way up from doing maintenance work in the company at age 16 to CEO of the company, told students to find someone they admire and respect and follow them. He called Secchia and Currie terrific mentors. Missad said their goal is to hit $3 billion in sales by the end of 2017.