Steven Trulaske's Intro

0:07
Today on the Servant Leadership Podcast,

0:09
we're joined by Steven Trulasque, CEO of

0:12
True Manufacturing. If you've ever

0:14
ordered food at a stadium, picked up a

0:16
drink at a gas station, or been in a

0:18
commercial kitchen, you've probably

0:20
interacted with True Manufacturing

0:21
without even realizing it. Over the last

0:23
80 years, they've quietly become one of

0:25
the largest refrigeration companies in

0:27
the world. True is a third generation

0:30
family-owned business that has grown

0:32
from bending metal in a garage to

0:34
becoming a global brand serving

0:36
customers in over 100 countries while

0:38
keeping their roots in American

0:39
manufacturing. In this conversation,

0:42
Steve shares the story of how True got

0:44
started, how they've expanded globally

0:46
without losing their culture, and what

0:48
it takes to build a company that lasts

0:50
for generations.

Welcome Steven Trulaske

0:52
Well, Steve, thank you for joining us on

0:54
the Servant Leadership Podcast. Okay. I

0:56
I'm so excited to have you. True is an

True Manufacturing's Products

0:59
amazing company. Uh it's been around a

1:01
long time. Share with our audience what

1:03
you do here.

1:04
So, we manufacture commercial

1:06
refrigeration that goes into commercial

1:09
kitchens in a hotel, in a restaurant, uh

1:13
school applications,

1:15
you name it. Doing a lot of um serving

1:18
up a lot of meals for whatever

1:20
application it is. You know, we offer

1:22
virtually everything. Uh and most

1:25
recently we just have launched ice

1:28
machines, commercial ice machines and

1:30
that tells a little bit of a story about

1:32
how true thinks about itself and how it

1:35
goes to market. So the idea for this

1:37
commercial ice machine started about 12

1:40
years ago and it just came out last

1:43
year.

1:43
So it took us 10 years to develop this

1:47
thing which most people in my shoes who

1:50
took that long to develop a product

1:51
would be fired, right? No shareholder

1:55
would put up with that long of a period

1:57
of development. But for in the

2:00
refrigeration world from our standpoint,

2:01
this was like going to the moon. We had

2:03
to have something very different.

2:05
There's a million ice machines out there

2:07
all over the place. They're great

2:08
companies, powerful. So there's no

2:11
thinking here that we got to come up

2:12
with me too product. And we really have

2:14
created quite a rocket ship here as far

2:16
as technology, connection to the

2:18
internet, serviceability.

2:21
So I'm giving you a real quick snapshot

2:23
is just insight as to how truth thinks

2:25
about thing. But this ability to take

2:27
this long-term approach and then we've

2:30
added great people, great people. We

2:32
pulled in make this thing possible and

2:35
you create this environment that we have

2:38
here that's very con constructive for

2:40
the engineering world to want to do it.

2:42
And they don't have a gun to their head.

2:44
They don't have private equity going,

2:47
you know, we need this thing right now.

2:50
So we don't make big mistakes. So we

2:52
have not made a big mistake and the

2:53
thing is going out there and it's it's

2:56
kind of a you know really excited about

2:57
it. What people might not realize is

True Manufacturing's Background

3:00
True is probably one of the biggest

3:02
companies that the average consumer

3:04
hasn't yet heard of. When I first heard

3:06
of True, I thought uh maybe I've seen

3:09
them, maybe I haven't. I don't remember.

3:11
But then once I knew about True,

3:12
everywhere I went, every stadium,

3:14
airport, restaurant,

3:16
Yeah.

3:16
gas station, True's everywhere. You kind

3:18
of own the market and and really this

3:22
company started what 80ome years ago.

3:24
Yes, exactly 80 years ago.

3:26
How did ex how did this happen?

3:28
So, uh grandfather was a tool and die

3:31
maker. Uh worked for a number of

3:33
Emerson. This is a big huge corporation

3:36
here in St. Louis. Has all types of

3:38
commercial products for HVAC and

3:41
refrigeration. And so he had that

3:43
background

3:44
and uh so he had this idea to take

3:48
residential refrigeration technology and

3:50
put it into commercial application and

3:53
that would be something new back in the

3:55
' 40s.

3:56
And so he got my only problem was he had

4:00
no college education and he had no

4:02
money. But then my father shows up first

4:05
college graduate World War II saved up

4:08
all of his money. Equivalent of $100,000

4:10
from his time in World War II. Wow.

4:12
In today's money and lent my grandfather

4:14
10,000 and they started bending metal in

4:17
their in their garage in 1945 here in

4:20
St. Louis and they first developed uh

4:23
freezers. Freezer was a very new product

4:25
back then and uh it went well until uh

4:29
until it didn't go well initially but

4:31
then President Truman declared meat

4:33
rationing and all of a sudden they could

4:35
sell all the freezers they could build.

4:36
So that was kind of the genesis of the

4:38
of the of the company.

Keeping True Manufacturing As A Family Business

4:40
And most companies, I mean, you talk

4:42
about having the luxury of time in some

4:44
respects of not having PE breathe down

4:46
your neck and all of that kind of stuff.

4:48
Most companies who have been this

4:50
successful

4:51
either go public or sell to private

4:53
equity. And I know it's been super

4:55
important to you and the family to keep

4:56
it as a family business. Why did you go

4:59
this route or stay this route? Yeah, I

5:02
really feel that um it is a great um

5:07
legacy of my father who just hey, what

5:11
else are we going to do? You're going to

5:12
sell this thing and you're you're going

5:15
to collect all this money that what will

5:16
you do with yourself? And we just have

5:19
so much fun. It's just kind of a fun

5:21
word to use, but you know, to run a

5:23
business and you know, we simply believe

5:25
that this is a better business model.

5:27
What are all alternatives? sell this to

5:29
the Chinese, sell it to private equity,

5:31
you know, see this thing get turned all

5:33
around. I mean, there's people are

5:35
really happy here in this building.

5:37
And everything I've seen, I've been on

5:38
private equity boards. I've seen how it

5:40
goes.

5:41
I mean, it is it we create a really

5:43
great environment for people to work in.

5:45
It's really a gift not just to

5:47
ourselves, but really to many people

5:49
really appreciate a family atmosphere.

5:52
And we believe in that that there's

5:53
value to the American system that fewer

5:55
people should sell their companies. And

5:58
that's really kind of what my father

5:59
always believed in.

Steven's Career Background

6:00
Did you always know you wanted to get in

6:02
the business?

6:02
No, did not want to be here at all.

6:04
Fought very hard not to be here.

6:07
So, what did that look like to then get

6:09
you here?

6:10
So, I had a big thing into sports and I

6:11
did one of the first sports

6:12
administration programs in the late '7s

6:14
at Ohio State. Went to work for uh the

6:17
professional football team of the St.

6:19
Louis football Cardinals. Did that for a

6:21
year and that cured me of my interest.

6:24
It was a lot of fun. It was a blast. I

6:27
mean, I got to, you know, catch punts

6:29
at, you know, and, you know, run

6:31
patterns and all this stuff. I was just,

6:32
I was basically a jock washer. I got to

6:35
do sidebar things and travel with the

6:36
team, but I didn't see a future for

6:38
myself. So, then I went back to business

6:40
school at Ohio State. Fell in love with

6:42
business. Love the graduate business

6:44
school program. And then when my father

6:46
said, "You you will you will show up

6:48
here." And I showed up.

6:49
Wow. So then you've been thinking about

Keeping The Family Involved In The Business

6:51
next generation at least at a high level

6:53
with your kids being involved in the

6:55
business some too now, right? Yes. And

6:57
and what does that look like? Those

6:59
conversations of trying to think through

7:00
how do you keep this going for another

7:02
80 years after you?

7:04
I think this is where you know for folks

7:07
in our shoes having great advisors uh

7:10
that specialize in privately held

7:12
companies and we do have a great

7:13
relationship um with a group up in

7:16
Chicago called BDT. Byron Trout started

7:18
this company and he really is a great

7:21
resource and his team as to how you

7:22
think about that specific question and

7:25
really one of the major fundamentals you

7:27
get into is governance.

7:29
Governance becomes quite critical and so

7:32
that's really what we work on a lot now

7:34
is for the future is governance and how

7:36
to keep it going.

7:37
Wow. So it's interesting because you're

True Manufacturing's Future

7:40
constantly having to think about the

7:41
future. Uh I know that true got a lot of

7:44
praise. I I don't forget how many years

7:46
ago, but a while ago when you came up

7:48
with the R290 canisters before that even

7:50
was something that people were thinking

7:52
about and now you're moving into

7:54
additional segments outside of just

7:57
coolers and freezers and refrigerators

8:00
in general. Talk about how you're

8:01
thinking about the future and what this

8:03
industry for you looks like.

8:05
So after 80 years, you inherently have

8:07
strengths. What are your strengths?

8:09
Right. And so we have, you know, I would

8:12
say because I did study in Europe that

8:15
there was a great benefit to me and that

8:17
I saw how the Germans work, how the

8:19
Italians, I started I traveled a lot in

8:22
Asia and I saw how the Asian business

8:25
cycle is and business community. So I've

8:27
had a very global perspective. So with

8:30
that, it it really helps me think about

8:32
the future as to where we need to go.

8:35
And again, always it's about leverage.

8:37
So we are we leverage whatever we do

8:39
here. We have this international

8:40
perspective. Will this work around the

8:43
world on the ice machines? Yes, it will.

8:46
So that it's not just selling the United

8:48
States. It's selling the globe. Not

8:50
because you can go everywhere. There's a

8:51
lot of limitations sometimes. But so

8:53
there's always this thinking about

8:54
taking existing strengths and your team

8:57
and say how do we leverage it?

8:59
Yeah. uh when we think about this, I

Moving Into New Markets

9:02
don't know for how long, but it's been a

9:04
while that you've kind of owned a lot of

9:06
the market the a large portion of market

9:08
share in this space and and you've

9:10
thought about moving into the hot space

9:12
too recently. How did you even make that

9:15
jump or even think through that process?

9:18
So about 20 years ago, my father and I

9:20
were at a trade show and we see that um

9:23
uh a top uh brand in the residential

9:26
world started making completely

9:28
stainless steel refrigerators and and we

9:30
saw we said to ourselves, well, if

9:32
that's what residential world wants,

9:34
well, we can do that. Well, we didn't

9:36
realize how difficult that that's like

9:38
going to the moon. Everything's

9:39
different residentially, but we figured

9:41
it out eventually. So, now we're in the

9:42
residential business. Residential is

9:44
going really well. We have this whole we

9:46
can do outdoor bars and kitchens and all

9:48
that. We can't couldn't do the hot side.

9:51
So in the world of residential

9:52
refrigeration, we want to be the

9:54
complete total source both hot and cool

9:57
for an outdoor kitchen today.

10:00
And then we had developed through our

10:02
going to all these trade shows a

10:04
relationship with this company in

10:05
California called Caliber and we've

10:07
entered into this agreement to work with

10:09
them production, sales and marketing and

10:11
it's about putting a whole thing

10:13
together. So when you come to us, you're

10:15
going to get a grill, you're going to

10:16
get refrigeration, we'll put it all

10:18
together for you. So that to me is very

10:20
powerful. Again, that leveraging

10:21
concept.

Dealing With Products That Are Not Successful

10:22
That's amazing how you've just continued

10:24
to move the industry forward, not just

10:27
uh for consumers, but for really other

10:30
competitors even, you're just taking the

10:32
industry to the next level, which is

10:33
just unbelievable. Uh as you think

10:36
through

10:37
things that you've done along the way,

10:39
not everything has worked, right? You've

10:42
probably had many things that didn't

10:43
work as you planned. Talk about how what

10:46
what's an example of something that

10:47
didn't work and how do you deal with

10:50
those kind of issues?

10:51
Yeah. So, you know, you see um segments

10:56
of a given like refrigeration market.

10:58
So, look at let's look at uh display

11:00
cases. Beautiful display cases. The

11:03
Europeans are very strong in this.

11:04
There's some great manufacturers here in

11:06
the US. And so, we we've come up with

11:08
our own display cases. they they really

11:11
have not had great success. There's just

11:13
certain industries and competitors that

11:16
you go, "Hey, we can do this." And you

11:17
get into it, you go, "No, we can't. No,

11:20
we can't." It's tough. And so, do you

11:23
keep chasing it and chasing it and

11:25
eventually we still make them. We still

11:27
have them, but it's not turned into

11:29
something like some of our other

11:31
successes.

11:32
Yeah.

11:33
But that's okay, you know. It's okay. We

11:35
just keep going.

The Long-Term Mindset

11:36
Yeah. One thing that I love that I heard

11:38
Simon Synynic talk about was this

11:41
concept of the infinite game. Have you

11:43
heard anything about this before?

11:44
I haven't.

11:45
Okay. It's about how the best companies

11:47
are built to last forever. They're not

11:49
worried so much about what happens next

11:51
year, the year after. They're thinking,

11:52
how do we make sure we're in business

11:54
and thriving 10 years from now, 20 years

11:56
from now, 30 years from now. And it's

11:58
just a different company approach.

11:59
There's probably a lot of shortcuts that

12:01
you've seen other competitors take that

12:03
might have won them market share in a

12:05
given year against True and that's

12:06
great. But on the flip side, you've been

12:08
able to outlast basically everyone in

12:11
the industry and really lead. When you

12:13
think through that, how do you instill

12:15
that mindset in the team members because

12:17
you've got a massive team and at the

12:20
same time it's been important for you to

12:21
keep most or a lot of what you do here

12:24
in the States? How do you instill that

12:26
long-term mindset? My god, it's a great

12:28
question. I mean I just think when you

12:30
see examples of for example us uh

12:35
looking at we made the decision about 5

12:37
6 years ago we we have to have a

12:39
facility for production outside the US

12:41
and so we looked all over the globe for

12:43
that and we took literally 3 or 4 years

12:46
to if I make a decision to go to

12:48
Monterey Mexico after considering a lot

12:50
of different places around the world

12:52
that that just shows you again this

12:54
long-term thinking

12:55
and this is a huge decision um that we

12:59
had to make. We felt because of all the

13:01
just the general things that are going

13:02
on as far as our international

13:04
opportunities, the ability to hire

13:07
people just strictly in the United

13:09
States. So, um I think those kinds of

13:12
business decisions, the long-term

13:14
thinking on the ice machine development,

13:16
these all show kind of our approach. M

Encouraging Business Owners To Stay Engaged

13:20
something that I hear from a lot of

13:22
people who have worked with you over the

13:24
years is that they love your leadership

13:27
style. Uh people talk about how you're

13:30
not just running this big company and

13:33
checked out doing things outside the

13:35
business. You know the business in and

13:36
outs. You know the details and you

13:38
really care about the business and the

13:40
people. How do you encourage other

13:42
business owners or people entering

13:44
business where their goal at least

13:46
initially is to make a lot of money and

13:48
check out and think about you hear all

13:50
the time about passive income and all

13:52
these things. Uh how do you care deeply

13:54
for people and stay just so in the weeds

13:58
in a good way? Well, I just think in

14:01
life in general, um, having a mission is

14:05
really, really critical. And I I don't

14:08
deny that there's a lot of business

14:10
situations for people who get in their

14:12
careers, whether it's privateely held

14:15
businesses, their family business, and

14:17
you know, they want to get out of it and

14:19
they have a new mission.

14:20
But it's the situation where you sell

14:24
the business or you get out of your

14:25
career, and you really don't have a

14:26
plan. And so the admission thing is

14:29
really what I care about. Whether you're

14:31
with us forever, how long, we have a lot

14:34
of people that stay with us in a

14:36
part-time basis, uh, and they really

14:39
love to have something to do.

14:41
And I think that's really, really

14:42
critical for the latter part of your

14:44
life, um, to have that. We talk a lot

Steven's Perspective On Servant Leadership

14:48
about this concept of servant leadership

14:50
which sometimes resonates really well

14:53
with people we're talking to and

14:54
sometimes it's the first time they're

14:55
even hearing those two words together.

14:58
When I say servant leadership, how would

15:00
you define that? Leading an organization

15:02
like True,

15:03
you know, largely I think about creating

15:06
great jobs, fulfilling jobs, uh,

15:10
opportunity for growth. Not everybody

15:13
wants growth. There's a lot of great,

15:15
you know, folks in the building here who

15:18
want that steady position have and they

15:21
fill tremendous roles. Do they want to

15:25
rise super to the top? No. that and

15:28
that's fine. They're very happy with the

15:30
various jobs. All right. So, it's always

15:31
that fit thing. Then we have the others

15:33
who they really want to go someplace.

15:36
But that ability to offer growth, I

15:38
think a company has got to be growing.

15:41
It's got to be offering new challenges.

15:43
You're not going to attract the best

15:45
people that you want if there's they

15:47
don't see this path, you know, to to go

15:49
someplace special.

Bringing On New Team Members

15:51
How do you go about building a good

15:53
team? You talked earlier about even with

15:55
the cooler direction you had to bring on

15:57
great people and you had to have great

15:59
people on it. How do you think about

16:01
bringing on new team members?

16:04
Uh well throughout my career you know I

16:06
was out there a lot and I pounded around

16:08
the world a lot. I developed a lot of

16:09
relationships all over the world and so

16:12
you know we have an engineer who I met

16:15
over in Europe in back in the 80s a

16:17
gentleman who runs our whole retail

16:19
division who worked at the Coca-Cola

16:21
company. So I found a lot you know I

16:23
would say hey uh would you think about

16:26
you know because you just you can tell

16:28
you can tell these are very talented

16:30
individuals and today I would say it's a

16:34
little bit easier on some respects

16:35
because we've developed such a

16:36
reputation

16:38
in the industry so people I mean they

16:40
they raise their hand say you know we

16:41
really would like to come and work for

16:43
you. So whether it's engineering, sales,

16:45
wherever it is, we just attract today

16:47
where I mean 30 or 40 years ago when I

16:50
was running around it wasn't like that.

Thinking About Future Generations

16:53
It really is exciting to think through

16:55
now. True has become a household name

16:57
and really the leader in the industry.

16:59
When you think about companies uh that

17:01
have led industries for a long time uh

17:05
20 30 years ago that don't exist now,

17:08
you've had to take a slightly different

17:09
approach and really just continue to

17:11
think about the long game. Do you ever

17:12
get nervous thinking about the future

17:15
generations that are going to be coming

17:17
into true and leading it? How do you

17:19
think that they're set up for success?

17:21
Well, that that's a critical question,

17:23
right? And we've seen a million examples

17:25
where that don't work out so well.

17:27
And you know, obviously uh you uh the

17:30
third generation is the classic one that

17:32
doesn't usually continue on. So, but I I

17:35
look at a company like Mila, which is a

17:37
German appliance manufacturer. They are

17:40
in their seventh generation. Seventh. I

17:43
think they're a great inspiration. And

17:45
that again goes back to this whole thing

17:46
of governance.

17:47
So does the seventh generation, you

17:50
know, run the thing full blast

17:52
themselves? No. Are there boards? Yes.

17:55
Uh do you have this opportunity for

17:58
engagement as a a ma uh descendant of

18:01
the seven? Yes. But that whole piece of

18:04
governance really comes in to ensure

18:07
that either you really want to be

18:08
involved and you're going to make the

18:10
sacrifices to be very involved or you

18:13
want to be a shareholder. And if you

18:14
want to be a shareholder, there's also

18:16
things you are required that you need to

18:18
be a good shareholder, not a jerk or

18:20
what that's probably too strong for

18:22
word, but you know, just with a healthy

18:24
perspective as to what your situation

18:25
is.

Advisors - What Should You Look For?

18:26
So surrounding yourself with good

18:28
adviserss and good leadership. It's

18:30
funny because when I met you, uh, it was

18:33
because you were on the board of a large

18:35
company that everyone listening would

18:37
know. U, which I'm not sure if I'm

18:39
allowed to say or not, but but you were

18:40
on the board of this company that

18:42
everyone would know. Uh, and we met and

18:44
they used you as a great adviser, uh,

18:47
for very crucial periods of their

18:49
history. When you think through advisors

18:52
you want around you and board members,

18:54
things like that, what are you looking

18:55
for and what should people think about

18:56
as they're trying to figure out advisors

18:58
for their own businesses?

19:00
First of all, that variety of

19:01
backgrounds and experiences and whether

19:03
you know you you have to have some

19:04
really really strong financial people

19:06
and some very strong uh sales and

19:09
marketing people and then there's the

19:10
leadership piece.

19:12
All that needs to come on to a board.

19:14
And um I think too with those positions

19:17
and boards, there's there's periods of

19:19
time that they're where they should

19:20
serve and then they should move on. You

19:23
can't stay on there forever. So that's a

19:25
part of the equation. But um you know

19:30
what I've seen with being on boards is

19:33
that

19:35
person who knows when to talk, they know

19:38
when they have something relevant to say

19:40
rather than just

19:42
talking a lot. and that that uh filter

19:46
it really is quite important to bring

19:48
real value to a board.

Finding Great Mentors And Advisors

19:50
So obviously you've been around and met

19:53
a lot of people through your dealings

19:54
with True and other companies. Uh so

19:57
it's probably easy for you if somebody

19:59
said I need a finance person or

20:01
marketing person or whatever it is. You

20:03
probably have a bunch of people that

20:04
come to mind. If you were starting

20:06
everything over and you were looking for

20:08
great adviserss and you didn't have all

20:10
the relational equity that you have, how

20:13
would you approach finding great mentors

20:16
and adviserss?

20:19
You know, that's that's a that's a tough

20:22
question.

20:24
There is this organization called young

20:26
executives and these are folks that have

20:28
started their own companies maybe like

20:30
you did and they're 25 they're 30 and

20:33
they all get in the room that they join

20:35
this organization and then there's

20:37
mentors out there that come in to help

20:40
30 year olds figure out their life or

20:41
their business life and all that. So I

20:44
think there are existing organizations

20:46
like Yo that you guys say hey this is an

20:49
organization that could help me

20:52
and that's the best answer I can first

20:54
come up with for you on that.

20:55
That's a good one. I I think people

Peer Group Opportunities

20:56
don't realize all the different peer

20:58
peer group opportunities there are with

21:00
yo even yo fistage c2 convene there's

21:05
all these great groups where you can

21:07
surround yourself with amazing

21:08
talent

21:09
and you need that and you really do need

21:11
that you don't know a lot of people I

21:12
think the interesting about your

21:14
generation is this

21:15
fourth fourth industrial revolution

21:17
we're going through the whole digital

21:19
world and you guys have this incredible

21:22
once in a-lifetime opportunity to really

21:25
run and develop huge businesses very

21:27
quickly at 28. Yeah. So, how do you just

Personal Life Outside The Business

21:32
on the personal side? So, we've talked a

21:34
lot about development. How do you think

21:36
about staying healthy personally,

21:38
staying plugged into your relationships,

21:40
staying plugged into just enjoying life

21:42
outside of the business? Cuz really the

21:44
business it it has your name on the

21:46
building in in some respects, right? So,

21:49
it's how do you enjoy personal life

21:51
outside of work?

21:52
Mhm. Well, I think it was good to see my

21:54
father's approach to it, which he when

21:55
he walked out the door,

21:58
he really he he walked out the door

22:00
and I think that's one of the bigger ch

22:01
that's probably easier to do in the in

22:03
the past cuz this phone doesn't follow

22:05
you around everywhere back in those

22:07
days. It did not. So, you know, you

22:09
really could walk out the door, but man,

22:11
you got to do that. You got to put that

22:13
phone down otherwise you'll just go

22:15
nuts. And I I So, for me, it's pretty

22:17
easy because I love sports. I I love

22:19
physical engagement. So I I run, I lift,

22:22
I swim, I play tennis, I play golf, I

22:25
water, ski, snow ski. And so I just have

22:26
all of that. And then I I love uh

22:29
Europe. I love the international world.

22:32
I'm fascinated by all of that. So

22:34
I study right now I'm studying World War

22:36
I. To me, World War I is tremendously

22:39
fascinating

22:40
as a guide as to what's happening today.

22:42
Study Theodore Roosevelt. That guy was

22:45
incredible. Unbelievable present. All

22:48
these stories. So I I just that that

22:50
part is not the hard part for me anyway.

22:53
I love that.

Ten Rapid-Fire Questions

22:54
So I want to finish with 10 rapid fire

22:57
questions where I ask questions and you

22:59
just say the first thing that comes to

23:01
your mind.

23:02
Okay. This this

23:03
this is where it gets hard.

23:04
You're making me nervous.

23:05
Yeah. This is where it gets difficult.

23:06
I get to edit this thing. Right.

23:09
Whatever you say goes. So who's the

23:11
first person you think of when I say

23:13
servant leadership?

23:15
Billy Graham.

23:16
All right. Five words that most describe

23:18
you.

23:19
Enthusiastic.

23:21
Uh

23:22
global. Um love life.

23:27
Uh sports. Uh family.

23:31
Love it. Favorite book or movie?

23:33
I would say uh River of Doubt is the

23:36
book.

23:36
Okay, that's great.

23:38
And yeah.

23:39
Favorite food?

23:41
Oh my goodness. Um,

23:45
well, growing up, you used to be know

23:46
anything about that. I would say, um, I

23:50
love everything. So, I don't know. I'll

23:52
go with,

23:54
uh, pork knuckles.

23:57
All right. I wasn't expecting that. I

23:59
like that.

24:01
Favorite thing to do in your free time?

24:03
I would say uh, play tennis these days.

24:06
Yeah.

24:06
All right. What's a surprising fact

24:08
about you?

24:09
Can you ask my wife on that?

24:12
It's hard.

24:13
Yeah, we we can come back to that one

24:15
maybe. Where's favorite place you've

24:16
been?

24:19
Um, so I would say um Milan, Italy. And

24:25
it's because there's such

24:27
a renaissance of uh of business life

24:31
from fashion to cars to everything,

24:33
design. I love their creativity and

24:36
innovation. And that is the kind of the

24:39
business capital of Italy. And you see

24:41
it all there.

24:42
And as a side note to the rapid fire

True Manufacturing's International Growth

24:45
questions, it's crazy to see truce

24:47
growth internationally in the last

24:49
decade especially. I mean, it's been

24:51
unbelievable. Are are you are you do you

24:55
track that pretty closely, I take it?

24:56
Yes. But that was really critical for us

24:59
to do because remember there's been this

25:00
huge

25:02
uh international um effort by our

25:04
competitors over the last 20 years

25:07
that's on a huge level. So, we had to

25:10
really change ourselves as a company. I

25:12
mean, our business is night and day from

25:14
20 years ago.

25:15
Yeah. All right. Where's somewhere you

25:17
want to go that you have not been?

25:18
Japan. Oh, that's awesome. What's the

25:21
best advice you've ever received?

25:23
Uh, well, my my father said would say,

25:27
don't screw it up.

25:30
No pressure.

25:32
That's good. No pressure. Well, Steve,

Closing

25:34
thank you so much for being on the

25:36
Servant Leadership Podcast. I'm so

25:38
thankful that you were willing to do

25:39
this.

25:39
Thank you, Chris.

25:40
And and I'm just so excited for where

25:42
TR's heading in the future.

25:43
All right. Thank you very much.

25:44
Thank you for listening to this episode

25:46
of the Servant Leadership Podcast. If

25:49
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25:51
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25:53
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