"Remember that giving up is never an option."
David Reid is a Sales Director at VEM Tooling, one of the fastest-growing mold manufacturers in the world. They currently operate in over 5 countries to grow across borders. They have served multiple businesses including giants from Automobile, Steel, and other production houses.
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Table of Contents
Let’s start with a brief introduction first. Introduce yourself to our readers.
David Reid: Hello guys, I’m David Reid, Director at VEM Tooling, one of the fastest-growing mold manufacturers all across the world. Currently, we are operating in over 5 countries with a goal in my mind to grow all over the globe. Not only that, but we have served multiple businesses including giants from Automobile, Steel, and other production houses.
Our audience is interested to know about how you got started in the first place. Did you always want to become a CEO or was it something you were led to? Our readers would love to know your story!
David Reid: Well, who doesn’t want to be an owner of their own business or organization. I think everyone, one’s in their life span, thinks about becoming CEO. From my teenage life, I was always into opening a start-up & led worlds towards changes. When I was in college, I had already opened three start-ups & failed in each one of them. But I never gave up on my dreams. Dreaming is easy but making that dream come true is difficult.
Have you ever heard that you can create great stories in your dream, but you need to wake up to make your story great? I know it wasn’t easy; that’s why many people give up on their dream of becoming CEO, but I know I am different. That’s why I am here right now. And yes, it was my dream. I was always interested in becoming CEO in the first place.
“Selfmade” is a myth. We all received help, no doubt you love to show appreciation to those who supported you when the going got tough, who has been your most important professional inspiration?
David Reid: According to me, being self-made isn’t a myth. People can help you become self-made, but you will always find yourself alone in actual difficult times. At that point, your own decision & your mentality helps you. If you give up, you are done, but if you continue, you are self-made.
People often get confused between self-made & helpless. No doubt, alone you can never be whole, but you become whole with some people who are always there for you. When you have some great plans, everyone needs help from their friends & family, but that means you can depend on them. It never means you aren’t self-made because that plan is yours in the first place. In my journey, my professional inspiration is my dad. His work ethic gave me the power to work whenever I have something to achieve & I am grateful to him.
How did your journey lead you to become a CEO? What difficulties did you face along the way and what did you learn from them?
David Reid: Well, I have learned, when you desperately want something to achieve in your life. Not only people, but the whole surrounding helps you get that thing. Maybe that’s the reason why my journey leads to becoming CEO. There are several difficulties you can never imagine that I have faced being here now. Some of the enormous difficulties are failure & disappointment. Nothing breaks you more than failure & disappointment. It not only breaks your mind, but it also breaks your heart every time. But you know what, there is always another way that gets open after each failure & disappointment. All you need to do is never give up. That’s the greatest lesson I have learned through my difficulties & failure.
Tell us about your company. What does your business do and what are your responsibilities as a CEO?
David Reid: Currently I believe, we are one of the most prominent plastic manufacturing firms present on the globe. We provide all-in-one plastic manufacturing solutions to our clients. We have been in this market field for 30 years & there are many more to come as well. We make sure our engineer team provides expert insight to our clients about our parts. First, it begins with the design & manufacturing, but it goes all the way from here to the analysis. Hahaha… well, my responsibility is to handle everything that happens in my organization. I have to make sure the work is flowing accurately in my organization. Not only that but there are several crucial decision-making happens in our organization which needs me to be present there with my whole mind as well.
What does CEO stand for? Beyond the dictionary definition, how would you define it?
David Reid: Well, in my view, the CEO stands for a true thought leader of the organization. Not only does he needs to handle the present that is happening in the organization, but he also has to think about the future & work accordingly. He is a person behind the success of the business and the downfall. In the end, everything that happens in the organization falls on the shoulder of the CEO. So, he is the most responsible guy available in the organization. But that doesn’t make that person vital because he is just another firm employee. The thing that makes him different from other employees is his thinking & implementation.
When you first became a CEO, how was it different from what you expected? What surprised you?
David Reid: If you ask me, it is entirely different. I thought being a CEO meant great responsibility, but on the other hand, when I became one, it was all about trust. Undoubtedly, the CEO has to do many things in the organization, but trust is most important. He needs to put trust in the organization’s employees because it is not possible to do everything on its own for a single person. And creating trust in the first place is the most challenging task. What still surprises me a lot in being CEO is the motivation you give to others. If you are a good listener just like me, you can listen to everyone & give them conclusion which suits them accordingly. The motivation you give to your employees by being a leader of them works as a fire inside them. And it amazes me.
There are many schools of thought as to what a CEO’s core roles and responsibilities are. Based on your experience, what are the main things a CEO should focus on? Explain and please share examples or stories to illustrate your vision.
David Reid: The most essential thing that every CEO should focus on is the plan implemented in the organization. His primary focus should always revolve around developing & achieving the organization’s strategy. It is a critical factor that plays a crucial role in the firm’s success. Without a proper plan & execution, there is no point in a person being a CEO for any organization. So, their thinking should always revolve around the plan & how to champion it. Some other things that are crucial for CEO to focus on are: –
- Productivity of the employees
- Knowing where to spend time
- Creating opportunities for business
- Spending time in creating successful strategies
Share with us one of the most difficult decisions you had to make for your company that benefited your employees or customers. What made this decision so difficult and what were the positive impacts?
David Reid: When I was first introduced as the CEO, I had already developed a plan regarding the quality concern we had faced for some time. It is the first & the most challenging decision I have made in my life being a CEO of VEM. The thing that made this decision difficult is the role of our employees in it. It wants more efforts from our employees in the exact charges because we have to invest in developing a qualitative product for our customers. But when it was finally successfully implemented, it brought greater satisfaction to our clients and a bonus to our employees.
How would you define success? Does it mean generating a certain amount of wealth, gaining a certain level of popularity, or helping a certain number of people?
David Reid: Well, success defines all the aspects you have mentioned. It is the combination of all these things. The plan is only genuinely successful when your product is helping your clients, gaining brand value for your organization, & increasing wealth not only of the firm but also of the employees.
Some leadership skills are innate while others can be learned. What leadership skills do you possess innately and what skills have you cultivated over the years as a CEO?
David Reid: Yeah, that’s true; over the years, a person becomes a successful CEO because not all the skills are inborn with the people. Some of the skills have been developed over the years. I had already possessed several CEO skills when I wasn’t one, but I won’t lie. They are not the only skills that I still possess. Now I have developed many more skills over the years being a CEO.
Some of the CEO skills that I already possessed before being a CEO are: –
- Genuine leadership
- Thought leadership
- Understanding
- Strategy formulation
- Critical thinking
- Confidence in communication
- Vision
& many more
Some of the skills that I developed over time as a CEO are: –
- Adaptability
- Foresight
- Ability to learn from the past
How did your role as a CEO help your business overcome challenges caused by the pandemic? Explain with practical examples.
David Reid: The biggest challenge we have faced because of the pandemic is the great resignation. After the lockdown, several of our employees left their jobs because they wanted time to spend with their families. Some of them said this, but I know only those employees left from our organization who are unloyal. So I have planned to personally make PI with all the new hires to check their loyalty. With the help of this personal interview last round, we rejected 60% of the people because they didn’t sound loyal, but 40% got selected. I know for sure they are the loyal people out there, just like me, who will help this organization in every case.
Do you have any advice for aspiring CEOs and future leaders? What advice would you give a CEO that is just starting on their journey?
David Reid: There are several burnout waiting for you out there. So, be ready to take them on your heart, but remember that giving up is never an option.
Thank you for sharing some of your knowledge with our readers! They would also like to know, what is one skill that you’ve always wanted to acquire but never really could?
David Reid: I know the greater the risk the higher the profit will be. But sometimes, I don’t find optimism in myself to accomplish it. Someday I wish I could have that optimism, so I can take those risks.
Before we finish things off, we have one final question for you. If you wrote a book about your life today, what would the title be?
David Reid: “A simple journey towards the end” would be the title of my book.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank David Reid for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with David Reid or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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