Face to Face - November 2000

Face to Face

Name: James R. Kilbur

Title: Chief Operating Officer

Company: Desert Radiologists

Type of Business: Radiology imaging. Southern Nevada’s oldest radiology group offers CAT Scan, MRI, MRA, Ultrasound, Mammography and other radiology services at five outpatient facilities.

Years in Nevada: 10 1/2

Years with Company: 10 1/2

I have three main challenges: advising 28 individual physicians and meeting each one’s company expectations; staying ahead of the ever-changing medical industry and new technologies; and reminding 200-plus employees of their importance and role in the success of Desert Radiologists.

I began with Desert Radiologists by working my way up as an X-ray, MRI, CT, angio technologist and manager. I eventually obtained my MBA and was promoted to chief operating officer of Desert Radiologists.

Allowing my work to consume my life, which in turn made me less productive as a manager. Now, having realized the importance of faith, family and friends, I am more effective in leading Desert Radiologists.

a) Humility and remembering you can’t please everyone all the time; b) Learn from your mistakes.

Excellence in medical imaging. Providing a professional work environment for our physicians and staff. I emphasize to all the employees of the company, whether a physician, X-ray tech or janitor, that they are equally important in providing quality patient care for our success. I also ask all new employees during orientation to treat each patient as if he or she were a family member.

Remember where you came from, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Name: Steve Brockman

Title: President

Company: Builder’s Capital Inc.

Type of Business: Mortgage Company. Provides short-term land and construction loans to builders and developers; these loans offer investment opportunities for individuals, pension plans, 401(k)’s, trusts and profit sharing plans.

Years in Nevada: 13

Years with Company: 3

Growing our investment base in the face of competition from much larger mortgage companies. They tend to have larger marketing budgets, and so they can advertise more and get their name in front of more potential clients.

I think our greatest accomplishment is the fact that Builder’s Capital has been profitable since day one, when I founded the company in May of 1997.

The thing I regret most is not starting my own company earlier. I should have done it two years sooner than I did.

As a business owner, if you have a new idea or a new way of making money, jump into it as quickly as possible before someone else does. Don’t sit around just thinking about it, or you’ll regret it later.

Builder’s Mortgage has two goals: to grow our investor base to at least 1,000 investors, and to fund at least $50 million a year.

Treat each customer as if he or she were your only customer, and hold yourself to the highest ethical standards at all times.

Name: Laura A. Schulte

Title: Chairman, CEO and President

Company: Wells Fargo Nevada, N.A.

Type of Business: Financial Services. Wells Fargo Nevada serves more than 275,000 customers through 114 banking stores throughout the state.

Years in Nevada: 4

Years with Company: 18

My biggest challenge has been communicating our business philosophy, because it is so unique. We aim to out-local the nationals and out-national the locals. By that I mean we can act as a big bank when customers need complex financial products, but we are a small bank when it comes to building relationships with our customers and being a part of the community.

I’m proud of the success we’ve had in merging corporate cultures and in retaining team members. If you retain the best of two companies when you blend them together, the result is better than either of the original companies.

I’ve sometimes underestimated the potential of my team and set goals with them that were actually too low. By trying to take it easy on them, I probably short-changed them.

Most companies concentrate too much on numbers and on shareholder value. It’s better to place an emphasis on people rather than numbers. Focusing on team members and making them feel valued makes them more productive, so you achieve your goal more easily.

Like any company, we want to increase value for our shareholders. We can do this by growing revenue, which in turn comes from growing and retaining customers, which brings us back again to focusing on our people.

Stay close to the customer and to the local market.

Name: B. J. Sullivan

Title: President

Company: Clark & Sullivan Constructors

Type of Business: General contractor with offices in Reno and Las Vegas. Specializes in commercial construction, including public works projects such as schools, hospitals, jails and prisons.

Years in Nevada: 22

Years with Company: 21

Finding and retaining good employees is the greatest challenge, but we must also maintain our leading edge in technological developments like software and Internet information.

I’m proud of growing the company from $5 million annual volume and 20 employees to over $100 million and 120 employees. We have also started to transfer company ownership to our managers and employees through an Employee Stock Option Trust (ESOT). This will secure the company’s future.

One of my early mistakes was not getting enough input from key managers. I now find that I make better decisions when I have input from managers and employees, so I make a real effort to promote face-to-face communications.

The importance of communication. Any problem that occurs can usually be traced to a lack of communication.

 We aim to establish a Sacramento office within three to five years, and bring it to a sustained annual volume of $50 million. Our Reno office has a goal of $50 million sustained volume, and our Las Vegas office aims for $100 million.

First, find a neutral party to be a sounding board for your ideas. Second, encourage growth in your personnel and have every manager mentor his or her replacement.