Startups and Leadership: Kevin Mulleady on How Small Businesses Can Grow and Evolve

When it comes to leadership styles, there are as many out there as there are successful leaders. With so many different perspectives (all of which might seem to have some validity), it would be easy to get confused if you’re trying to track down the correct answer. Kevin Mulleady has founded and co-founded many successful companies by this point, and he’s learned a lot about how startup leaders should (and shouldn’t) be operating. He weighs in on how to develop your style — even if you’re starting from Square One.

Relinquish Your Doubts

The leader has an intense amount of responsibility. While most people see the perks of leadership, like having people answer to you and having control, what they don’t always see are the downsides. Leaders are expected to make endless decisions, and if they make a mistake, their head is often on the proverbial chopping block.

Despite this, there’s no reason why a leader should let this prevent them from trying. Mulleady says that while not everyone wants to be a leader, everyone can be a leader under the right circumstances. 

So even people who begin their companies without any real leadership experience should start with some degree of confidence that they can learn what they don’t know. This doesn’t mean that the leader is always right (in fact, far from it), but it does mean that all successful leaders have to have some faith in their abilities to know which direction to go.

Prepare for Change

Kevin Mulleady has always stressed that leaders need to be ready to evolve when needed. Startups too stuck in their ways will often fall prey to more flexible competitors. If you don’t start with a premise of change, it will be difficult for anyone to pivot if and when the time comes. Leaders set the tone for the organization, even when they don’t realize it.

If the startup leader is sticking with a plan that doesn’t work, it can give people the impression that there’s no room for the company, or by extension, themselves, to grow. If a startup leader instead informs their team that change is inevitable and it’s everyone’s job to manage it as effectively as they can, it gives startups a little more freedom to move around in their market and come out ahead.

Kevin Mulleady on Giving People a Reason

Even before the pandemic, people searched for more meaning in their careers. This didn’t mean that they’d dismissed the importance of salary or benefits packages, but it did mean that they wanted to make a difference if they were going to give up their precious time. Kevin Mulleady works in biotech, among other sectors, so it’s been relatively easy to convince people that they’re doing something worthwhile with all those hours they logged.

However, he says that all leaders can rally their employees and/or customers if they look at the situation correctly. No matter your industry, you’re providing value to your target demographic. So whether you’re offering a new software program or a life-saving therapeutic, there’s something to be gained. Centering around a cause helps people focus on their work, which can lead to much bigger margins in the future.

The art of leadership will ultimately be different for everyone. Mulleady has seen how even the most promising startups can crash and burn and how the pressure and stakes can take down people who start with the best intentions. There is no magic formula (unfortunately), but there are ways to set a few core standards so a leader can strive to live up to them every day. From evolving to rallying to believing, startup leaders must develop a style that they can live with day in and day out. Sometimes, it’s as easy as a slight shift in mindset.

With more than three decades of experience in supporting financial and strategic transactions for both privately and publicly held companies in the life sciences industry, former CFO, David Johnston, is explaining the importance of the role of a chief project officer (CPO) when it comes to project strategy, resourcing, and management for life sciences.

According to David Johnston, about 80 percent of the resources of a variety of organizations and companies were dedicated to operating expenses and only 20 percent to projects, but in today’s world of business, it is done in the reverse. This has created a growing need for what is being referred to as a chief project officer. The role of a CPO is to oversee and help create all of these individual projects and report directly to the CEO of each organization or company. It is also the person’s role as the CPO to create an atmosphere within the organization or company to adopt a project-driven structure and to also facilitate a collaborative style culture throughout the entire organization or company. The person must also develop ways to ensure that employees throughout the company or organization know and understand how to create these projects and see them through until they are complete.

Besides providing direct sponsorship of individual projects, David Johnston said the CPO’s main responsibility is to work with the entire senior executive staff of each company or organization to develop and facilitate the company’s strategies into projects as well as initiatives and programs. The CPO also ensures that the projects are appropriate for each person or group and prioritized and resourced correctly based on the strategic goals of the organization or company in which they work, which includes the field of life sciences. The CPO should also be promoting a less is more kind of attitude to be able to add new strategic projects along the way while freeing up the resources needed as well as the capacity of time for people to complete the projects.

David Johnston also touts establishing accountability and governance as two important characteristics for the people working on individual projects to ensure they are completed correctly and to the best of each person’s ability. He also points out that many organizations launch more projects than they can possibly complete, which can harm employees’ performance levels and their interest in the projects since they will feel overwhelmed due to ineffective resource allocation. Project managers and executive sponsors need to focus on allowing sufficient time for each person to carry out the project successfully and to stop any projects that are not important to the overall business or organization.

David Johnston said that with all of these priorities in place, a chief project officer can help propel a business or organization to much higher levels while providing employees with the satisfaction of creating and completing important projects that make a difference overall.

Blazo Gjorev’s career in transportation illustrates the need for strategic thinking in a tough economy  

Blazo Gjorev’s work shows the value of reassessing when economic times or industry changes require change.

NAPLES, FLORIDA, May 28, 2022 — In an economic downturn, the transportation industry is often hit by multiple challenges in quick succession, and how these challenges are responded to help determines which businesses will survive and which will fall. Industry leader Blazo Gjorev has experienced many unique challenges during his career, and this career illustrates the need for critical, growth-minded thinking when facing complex issues.

Blazo Gjorev’s career and rebuilding

For many companies, tough economic times require a reassessment of an entire enterprise, and Gjorev experienced this first-hand after acquiring a highly respected refrigerated transportation firm in the late 2000s. The business was previously experiencing financial difficulties, and an economic downturn was in progress nationally. Through strategic restructuring and learnings, the company was brought back from the brink of ruin with restored financials and its 50-year reputation intact. After the successful rehabilitation, the company was sold to another refrigerated trucking firm.

Gjorev helped effect this turnaround in an economic time, not unlike the present. Fuel costs were up, consumer prices spiked, and the market was still responding to a massive financial crisis. The keys to successful response have not changed and remain best practices in both market dips and upswings.

Plan ahead

While the U.S. economy is facing unique challenges in 2022 due to a variety of factors and requires immediate action by many companies, successful trucking firms were planning ahead for market changes prior to the problems developing. How? By staying focused on efficiency and identifying areas where the business can maintain profitability in a variety of economic situations.

Blazo Gjorev has always maintained a focus on optimizing logistics. When a company is operating as efficiently as possible heading into a recession or downturn, it is in a better position to survive and potentially thrive. It is also capable of reevaluating positions and options more quickly as basics, such as personnel, supply chain, and routing, are already streamlined.

Diversify

Transportation companies with a diversified income stream are better able to respond and maintain revenue in an economic shift. Diversity can look like expanding into varied regions, acquiring firms already operating in different areas, or exploring new services. Blazo Gjorev’s transition from temporary truck driver to business owner to consulting with other companies illustrates the importance of maximizing opportunities for growth.

Consolidate

While it may seem the opposite of diversifying, consolidation is actually an exercise in maximizing access and prices through combined buying power and shared learnings.

In his consulting role, Blazo Gjorev helps a variety of smaller trucking firms improve buying power, access to technology, and benefit from operational knowledge that helps enterprises scale. Through consolidation or participation in a network, transportation businesses are often able to reduce costs above and beyond what was possible independently. When costs are rising overall, increased savings helps mitigate the impact.

Giving Back: Why Wellman Shew Is A Dedicated Supporter Of Compassion International

Wellman Shew believes in supporting those in need and is proud to support Compassion International. The worldwide charity works to help children in poverty get the spiritual, physical, economic, and social care that they need to help them reach their full potential. 

Compassion International’s Current Work

The organization works with churches to help children in communities in need. Compassion International takes a holistic approach, addressing all facets of a child’s well-being to help them grow and develop in a healthy way. Sometimes, a child’s involvement with CI begins before they’re even born and follows them into young adulthood. 

CI believes in providing for the needs of each child as an individual rather than taking a wide-sweeping approach. This individualized attention means that CI is able to change their approach as each child’s needs change, helping them grow and change over the full course of their development into an adult. Compassion International offers several initiatives designed to support children, including critical needs care, child sponsorship, youth development, and compassion survival.

Critical Needs

The critical needs initiative at CI works to solve immediate issues for children in crisis, according to Wellman Shew. The critical needs initiative addresses many issues faced by children in poverty, including help with pressing medical issues, access to clean drinking water, prenatal and postnatal care, customized career training, care for children living with HIV and/or AIDS, relief during natural disasters, education and parenting classes, and more. 

Child Sponsorship

Most of Compassion International’s aid is driven through child sponsorship. When a donor chooses to sponsor a child, the child receives Christian training, health care, nutritional supplements, recreational activities, and more. Sponsors have the opportunity to connect with their sponsored children through letter writing. 

Youth Development

Compassion International provides children ages 12 and older with vocational training that allows them to thrive in their chosen career paths. Students receive both formal and non-formal education, as well as income generation training to help them learn how to effectively manage their earnings during their careers, according to Wellman Shew.

Compassion Survival

Often, infants born into poverty do not make it through the first year of life. Compassion International works to support both babies and mothers in the early stages of the child’s life. Pregnant mothers receive nutritional support and medical care to help increase the likelihood that their babies will be born full-term and at a healthy weight. Survival centers work to offer mothers a safe place where they can rest and grow while also providing children with the support they need for healthy development. Moms receiving care through the compassion survival initiative are visited in their homes once each month by a specialist who provides Biblical mentoring, prenatal education, and parenting education.

Cory Carnley takes a closer look at cigar humidors and which one is needed based on consumer preferences.

June 6, 2022 — Cory Carnley is a certified tobacconist with an appreciation for a good cigar and the proper care of a collection. When many are first starting with a cigar hobby, a common question that pops up is how to choose a humidor.

With a vast array of options available, Cory Carnley reports the average consumer will want to assess individual smoking habits as well as budget, commitment to the art of collecting, and the overall environment of a smoking room.

Cory Carnley reviews humidor basics

Size

For the cigar lover, a collection is always evolving, but many have a firm idea of how many cigars are kept on hand at any one time based on smoking habits and purchase history. When planning to purchase a first or new humidor, Carnley recommends sizing up.

Ideal cigar storage means leaving room for airflow in the humidor, so consider approximately doubling the capacity of a humidor over the number of cigars. For example, for the smoker who wants to keep 50 cigars — roughly — at all times, look for a 100-cigar unit. If a manufacturer does not specify the cigar capacity, a rule of thumb is that 100 cigars can be stored in 700 cubic inches.

Smoking habits

For different cigar types, it may be necessary to have multiple humidors or a humidor with separate storage areas to keep more powerful flavors from overwhelming their milder relatives. A tight seal for the entire humidor and between areas is also necessary to maintain quality.

Science

For the cigar collection that includes exclusive options that improve with age and keen storage, ensuring proper humidity levels long-term is important, so investing in a box with built-in humidifiers and external monitoring options helps limit the number of times the box needs to be opened to smoking sessions. According to Cory Carnley, many options feature humidity and temperature monitoring dials on the outside versus the inside lid, and these are great for more exclusive blends.

Portability

How a smoker enjoys cigars is also important for determining the best storage options. Many cigar humidors are – to some degree –  portable due to their size, but specific options are designed for travel or portability. When cigars are enjoyed at a smoking club or a rotating house party, consider investing in a travel humidor that looks sharp on the desk with a small selection of favorites and is easily carried to the next lounge setting.

Deluxe care

True aficionados may also appreciate the added ambiance of a statement piece with a glass top for viewing, exclusive finishes, digital monitoring, and additional storage for key accessories, such as a cigar cutter and lighter. Cory Carnley advises the sky is really the limit for higher-end humidors with many larger options offering the chic, streamlined appearance of wine coolers and high-end storage centers. There is always the option to start small and work up to more exclusive offerings as a personal cigar collection grows.