Smart Business Magazine, Jun 2012

8 Smart Business Houston June 2012 Warren Barhorst was getting into trouble at his previous job His performance reviews werent commendable when it came to his interaction with other employees But as a technical salesperson with a degree in industrial distribution he was able to stick it out for six years hoping for a reasonable outcome I would get a performance review and it would say Warren is intolerant of other peoples inability to get the job done he says That made me realize I probably wasnt going to be successful in the corporate world If I wanted to get where I wanted to go as a human being I was probably going to have to build something myself Barhorst turned in his notice and had an exit interview of sorts with his supervisor I went to my boss who was a great mentor of mine he says I left on very good terms I said Im going to quit this gig and start an insurance agency And the boss started laughing and said You know Warren there is an insurance agency on every corner I laughed and I said Youre right The problem is that none of them are any good At that point Barhorst made a commitment to himself that his belief and passion would help make him an entrepreneur and a successful leader E is for enthusiasm WARREN BARHORST WANTED MANAGERS THAT REALLY ROCK AND ROLL THOSE WHO GET THE IDEA THAT EMPLOYEES REALLY ARE AN ASSET TO A COMPANY AND THAT THROUGH THEM YOU CAN ACTUALLY GROW YOUR BUSINESS HE KNEW THAT IF HE WAS GOING TO VALUE AN EMPLOYEE AS AN ASSET RATHER THAN A LIABILITY HE NEEDED TO PUT EMPLOYEES IN POSITIONS TO UTILIZE THEIR STRENGTHS THROUGH PASSION AND BELIEF BY DENNIS SEEDS dseeds@ sbnonline com Cover Story Iscential