Author: Randy Squibb

Everyone who has ever heard me talk or read one of my articles in Welding & Gases Today  has heard me talk about the importance of building strong relationships. The title of my presentation says it right there in black and white. “Relationship Selling” isn’t a new or revolutionary concept. But there’s a reason why when you go to a Rolling Stones concert they’re always going to play Paint it Black. The classics and the hits don’t become famous by accident. And, like they’ve heard me preach the gospel of relationship selling, everyone has heard me talk about the difference…

By Randy Squibb This year’s GAWDA Annual Convention theme of “Building a Bridge for Future Leaders” couldn’t come at a more opportune time for our association. I want to commend this year’s President Bob Ewing for crafting such an appropriate theme for our Convention. Even though many of our GAWDA members today are third or sometimes even fourth generation family-owned businesses, transitioning a business today is a different beast than it was 30, 40, or even 50 years ago. The industry has changed so much since then that what worked for the last transition won’t work exactly the same when…

I’ve been in the welding and gas business for more than 50 years. I truly thought I had seen it all. But this past year and a half has truly been both the best of times and the worst of times in this industry. And, I promise, when I include the best of times in that sentence, I’m not going crazy! But before I get into how it has been the best of times, I think we can all agree that the past year and a half has been pretty bad. We all went through some tough times. But those…

I have had the opportunity to travel all over the country during my 50 years in the welding supply business. And I consider myself fortunate to have seen just about every kind of leader/boss you could possibly imagine. I have seen some extraordinary leaders, the kind that people want to run through walls for, and I have also seen my fair share of bad leaders, as well. You can usually tell the quality of a leader without even having to meet them. You can tell within minutes of walking through the door. Are the employees courteous, upbeat and generally happy…

I have spent the last year writing articles for Welding & Gases Today talking about my experiences working in the gases and welding industry and specifically working within the dynamics of a family business. In my last article, “Tips for Young People Considering Joining the Family Business,” I spoke at length about the transition process for a family business. As we all know, family businesses make up a huge percentage of GAWDA’s memberships and the transition process can be a difficult thing for both the younger and older generation to go through. As I said in my last article, working…

Those of you who know me or who have read my previous columns know that I spent my entire career working in my family’s bidness (that’s how we say “business” down where I’m from in Texas). That doesn’t make me special among GAWDA members. Lots of our members are family businesses. And those who work in family businesses know that it can be the most rewarding experience in the world, or it can be a disaster that has the potential to not only destroy the business but possibly ruin family relationships. I have been asked by many companies to come…

Before I get started, I have to come clean. Anybody that is reading the title of this article and expecting something that sounds like it came out of the Harvard Business Review or the Wall Street Journal is going to be very disappointed. I went to Texas Tech, not Harvard or Yale. But what I lack in high-powered, fancy advice, I make up for in experience. I’ve spent 50 years in this ‘bidness’ and I’ve found the five things that I think anybody in our industry needs to do to be successful. I’ve worked in the welding industry since I…

Effective leadership starts at the very top of your organization and permeates down through the staff. Attitude reflects leadership. I can walk into a business and know within the first two-to-three minutes what kind of leader that company has. The leader sets the tone for the business and if I walk in the door and am instantly greeted by a smiling associate who says, “Thank you for coming in today, sir. We’ll be right with you!” I know that there must be a pretty effective leader. If you, as the owner or boss, come around the corner and find that…

I’ve been in this business forever. Like every other kid growing up in the family business, I had worked summers at Welders Supply all through high school. I worked in the warehouse and painted cylinders and did everything that the owner’s kid is supposed to do. But I was in college when I started to seriously think about my career at Welders. I approached my dad and said, “Dad, I’m going to quit school.” And he said, “I really wish you would stay but your timing couldn’t be better. We have a job for you.” So, I quit school and…