General Colin L. Powell Energizes Safelite Leaders
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Attendees at the 2010 national Safelite AutoGlass® conference in Orlando, Fla. were treated to a leadership seminar by former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret). Safelite AutoGlass®, the largest vehicle glass repair and replacement company in the United States, welcomed Powell to their annual two-day leadership conference. Powell, the retired four-star U.S. Army general who was the nation's top diplomat during President Bush's first term, discussed how individuals can emulate the leadership skills necessary to remain focused, take responsibility and work toward improving processes within organizations. He covered strategies for practicing true leadership and motivating during times of great change while focusing on essential skills leaders share such as honesty, investing in and trusting the team and maintaining a vision.
"Leadership is one of our key initiatives in delivering extraordinary results to our customers so we wanted a guest speaker who could engage with us in the critical importance of leadership," said Tom Feeney, president and CEO of Safelite AutoGlass®. "We are beyond thrilled that General Powell, one of the most admired leaders in the world, as well as a humanitarian, was able to share his methods of successful leadership."
Speaking to an audience of more than 600, Powell reflected on his transition from Secretary of State to "just another guy." Relating his own success leading as many as 3 million people to Safelite's goals of providing outstanding customer service, Powell revealed that his leadership strategies were ones he first learned in the infantry, including "Leaders don't get it done, it's the followers that get it done."
In addition to being the best-selling author of My American Journey, Powell and his wife, Alma, are active as co-chairs of America's Promise Alliance, an alliance of national organizations dedicated to teaching today's youth. Powell remains busy as a strategic limited partner with a Silicon Valley venture capital firm and as Honorary Chairman of the national fundraising campaign to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Center that will celebrate and educate people about those who have served in all of the nation's wars.
"The essence of all leadership is to build bonds of trust among the followers and leaders so they are functioning in a relationship so you get things done," said General Powell. "It's all about caring for human beings, it's all about believing in human beings. The ones that work for you and the ones that you are serving."
About Safelite AutoGlass
Safelite AutoGlass®, founded in 1947, is the nation's leading provider of vehicle glass repair and replacement services, providing mobile service to more than 95 percent of the U.S. population in all 50 states. The Columbus, Ohio-based company employs 9,000 people across the United States and serves more than 3.7 million customers each year through its company-owned operations.