Behind the Scenes of a Corporate Leader with Brooke Smith

Better People Podcast

Dive into the riveting world of mergers, leadership, and company culture with CEO Brooke Smith. Discover how Deep Water Point & Associates navigate the challenging waters of blending distinct corporate identities while maintaining client trust and financial prosperity. A tell-all session packed with lessons on transparency, mentorship, and the perpetual quest for balance in the ever-evolving business landscape.

Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Better People Podcast:

• “Recovering engineer" to CEO Journey
• Bridging two distinct corporate cultures
• Focus on people & transparent leadership
• Strategic downsizing to 13 service offerings
• Blending mentorship with executive duties

Resources:

• Deep Water Point & Associates
• MidAtlantic Employers’ Association (MEA)

Connect with Brooke Smith:

• LinkedIn

Connect with our hosts:

• Holly DePalma - LinkedIn
• Margaret Uhrich - LinkedIn

Quotables:

• 9:31 - So thing one for me was people, let's dig in, let's understand where are the folks who can see around the corner and see the future and embrace it. You know, not everybody, you know, change is, change is difficult for everybody. Some people it's harder than others. And you really need to surround yourself with a leadership team that's embracing the nature of the challenge. So that was thing one. Thing two was then get to the rest of the people.
• 25:53 - You have to be good with the difficulties between the known and the unknown and the what, what is run of the mill, and what is gotta be done to create something uniquely in impactful for a client. And then there's this pesky thing called the finances and running a profitable business and making good cost trade-offs there, had my door is darkened multiple times a day with requests for money. Hey, I would like to, can we make this? And so kind of keeping that all in balance so that you kind of keep the momentum of all of those kind of working constructively and productively forward. I think that's the magic of the job. That's the art of the job. That's, the yin and the yang of it all. It's just being able to kind of keep those in balance and, and, you know not make it look hard and crazy.
• 30:47 - It's a little easier 'cause I can be really candid and direct, but you know, I'm a little bit sensitive and a little, you know, nudge the ball. Not, not, nail the ball with some of these young folks and with everybody. But I also in my one-on-ones, even with my executive leaders make this point, come back to this point all the time that we are known by the book of our business and we are the face of that and we represent that brand and those brand qualities. So are we doing that? Are we ensuring that, are you inspecting for it? Are you with your teams ensuring that we're not just letting things that we wouldn't be proud of creep into our business and look forward actively.
• 19:05 - I was kind of trumpeting some of the power of these experts that we have. And I called it a superpower. And that superpower comment has it's a pariah to me now because there's a whole group of 'em who feel like I've overemphasized people who are part-time employees over full-time employees. It was just this, trying to build a bridge, trying to build a connection, trying to create some balance between the two different business models. And, you know, with good intentions, you kind of create its own soundtrack of something that actually I wish I could take back. So it's strike that balance in kind of neutral ways.
• 29:19 - You're known by your brand, your honesty, your impact, your reputation. It really does matter that you treat that seriously. I counsel that with my children that, you know, as young, young in their careers how important it is to be seen, be there, be visible, get engaged, re-raise your hand and take a challenge on take, do something that you're uncomfortable with.