128: Top 20 Countdown

128: Top 20 Countdown

Welcome to Innovation City—powered by Venture Cafe—where Tyler Kelley and Michael Johnson, Co-Founders of SLAM! Agency, interview innovators, creators, and disruptors to discover how business is changing in the modern world.

Created and produced by SLAM! Agency in cooperation with Venture Cafe St. Louis and Venture Cafe Miami, Innovation City gives you an inside look at how rapidly business and culture are changing thanks to increasing diversity and inclusion, heightened creativity, and a stronger and better-connected business community. Venture Cafe is the largest combined gathering of entrepreneurs and innovators anywhere in the world. Events are held every Thursday in St. Louis, Miami, and other leading innovation cities around the globe.

Today’s episode is the eight of several highlight shows where we are taking a look back at our top 20 favorite interviews and conversations of all time. Today’s featured guest is Greg Hewitt, CEO at DHL Express (U.S.). Greg has over 25 years of experience in the corporate world and has been with DHL for 18 years. DHL is a leading international postal and logistics company with over 10,000 employees in the US.

Some key points from Greg from DHL Express:

• Amazon becoming a competitor for DHL’s industry, but embracing them and learning from them as a company who is failing faster and trying new things
• DHL working on finding, developing, recruiting, and cultivating employees who have a startup mentality to add more creativity and innovation to the company
• Asking himself everyday how he can help coach, lead, manage, direct, or council others in his organization
• Finding joy in helping others
• The importance of culture and speaking the same language at every level of business
• The importance of cross-functional training within organizations to help boost growth
• The importance of connecting, empathizing, understanding motivation of employees, and helping employees understand the role they play in the company today and in the future
• Balancing respect and results
• Creating a feedback culture
• Recognizing that every employee who comes in the door is coming in to do a great job
• The journey DHL is taking to focus on empowerment
• Listen or watch Greg’s full episode here