On one occasion I had the opportunity to attend an award ceremony for the “McLane Leadership in Business Award”. The 2015 award was given to H-E-B; the 110-year-old business started in Texas and is known for their dependable customer service and ability to serve the communities that they are stationed in. The president and COO of H-E-B, Craig L. Boyan, came to receive the award for his business. He spoke about his companies mission statement and it was “to be the best retailer we can be, so that we can invest and seek three things.” The three things that they strive to invest their time and money into is the customer, their employees, and lastly the communities that they are serve in. This statement stood out to me a lot because this isn’t a company concerned with rising to the top with nothing in mind except money. H-E-B is a company that takes pride in investing in the people first; they feel like if they do that then their company will succeed on its own. This idea has worked well for them so far, they have been rising in the competitive market and they were named the 7th best employer in the world because they care. Their business success is not based on having the most stores; instead it is focused on being firm in what they do as a company and serving people well in the process.

            In Mr. Boyan’s speech he asked us to think about one question, he asked “How can I inspire my generation, and invest in people at the same time?” This question hit me hard because at this point in my life it is hard for me to imagine that something that I could do could affect the world. That being said I know that I am capable of challenging myself and doing things that are out of my comfort zone in order to inspire my generation in a way that is unique and special to me. Later in Mr. Boyan’s speech he gave us some advice, he gave 5 ways that we can serve EVERYONE, instead of just one type of people.

            The first point was to never stop trying to improve your self, the only way that we can be successful is if we set high expectations for our selves and strive to create a future for ourselves. This point was extremely important to me because sometimes we think that we know everything and that we can’t get any better than we already are; but the truth is that if we don’t keep improving then someone who works harder than us will come along and do our job better we could simply because we stopped trying to improve. The second point was to be a constant student; this means that even when we graduate from school we need to learn from our selves and others around us. We can’t jump to assumptions in our lives we have to use the data we are given and figure out what the problems are and solve them accordingly. The next point was to BE the question. By saying this Mr. Boyan wanted us to understand that sometimes the best thing that we can do is listen to what others have to say, ask questions, and learn from the people around us instead of trying to judge and analyze everything that others say. The fourth point was to capture the power of others and in doing this we have to value others and have a servant’s heart when working with others. By making the choice to develop others we can help the people around us to be great instead of just ordinary. Lastly he told us to create a purpose and passion in everything that we do. So inspire others, hire for attitude and work ethic, and be real while doing it.

            Running a business is in no way easy, but if we focus on the things that are important rather than just trying to get as much money as we possibly can. Then someday we can run a business that is well respected and successful based on values that focus on people. What’s more important than people when running a business, they are what its all about. Mr. Craig Boyan and H-E-B as a company have inspired me to focus on the people and everything else will fall into place. Success isn’t based on how much money you make, but instead on how many people we were able to positively reach. I WILL invest in people and serve EVERYONE through my future business endeavors.