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Arizona State University, College Avenue Commons. / Henderson Engineers
Hard work in the heartland The CEO of Henderson Engineers Inc. strives to maintain five pillars of well-being, and he can throw a Frisbee a long way.
Rich Smith: At Henderson, all employees partici- pate in Strength Finders, a program that helps indi- viduals better understand what their top strengths are. As a result, we tend to focus on the strengths of each individual and celebrate their diversity. I took the test too, so I know exactly what my strengths are. The top ones include: ❚ ❚ Positivity. I am always able to see a solution to a problem and focus on the positive. ❚ ❚ Achiever. I am driven to get my hands dirty and work hard. See Q&A, page 4 “I believe the most important strengths for effective leaders are a positive attitude, the drive to work hard no matter what the situation or task is, and the ability to put others first.”
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent
R ich Smith, president and CEO of Henderson Engineers (Lenexa, KS), a 620-person compre- hensive engineering design firm with 12 offices, began his career with Henderson in 1994. He says that while he started out as the director of mechanical engineering, once he started with Hen- derson he quickly developed an interest in market- ing, business development, and branding. “It all came together. I was able to further develop those skills that I was passionate about at a time when there was a need at Henderson,” he says. The firm was recently named to the Kansas City Business Journal’s list of Healthiest Employers. Al- ways on the lookout for newsmakers, The Zweig Letter caught up with Smith for a short Q&A. The Zweig Letter: What are your key strengths? What do you feel the key strengths are for an ef- fective leader?
Rich Smith, President and CEO, Henderson Engineers
THE ZWEIG LETTER March 21, 2016, ISSUE 1144
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