Podcast
Susan's Story - Take the Risk & Trust
Episode Description
In this episode of Breaking Ground: Women in AEC Leadership, Reanna Dempsey interviews Susan Osterberg, CEO and President of Smith Seckman Reid Inc. (SSR). Susan shares her path from hospitality to leading a 100% employee-owned engineering firm and explains how SSR’s ownership model drives collaboration, long-term thinking, and shared success.
She reflects on embracing discomfort, building credibility, and staying connected to frontline teams. Susan offers clear advice for women in AEC: Trust that growth comes from stepping into challenges—not waiting to be perfect.
Dive into Susan's inspiring episode now!
Have questions or want to get in touch? Email us at podcasts@unanet.com
0:00
Kicking Off Breaking Ground with Susan Osterberg's StoryAnd then when the CEO transition came along, I raised my hand because I felt like I was the right person at the right time for this.
But I can tell you, Rihanna, when I started with SSRI, had no vision or desire or even thought in my head that that's a role I wanted to be in at some point.
0:20
I think it's about focusing on what value you bring in the moment you're in and the position you're in at the time.
0:36
Speaker 2Hello and welcome to our podcast Breaking Ground Women in AEC Leadership.
This is the show that lifts the voices, journeys and insights of women shaping the future of architecture, engineering and construction.
And it's brought to you by Unanet.
If you're in the architecture, engineering or construction space, you know how critical it is to keep your projects on time, your teams aligned, and your pipeline growing, and of course your finances in check.
1:00
That's where Unit Net comes in with project based ERP solutions, CRM solutions, and an AI growth suite built specifically for AEC firms.
I'm your host, Rihanna Dempsey.
In each episode, we will connect with professionals across the AEC industry to share real stories and hard earned wisdom.
1:18
At our core, we believe that a strong, diverse workforce drives innovation and success and that women are essential to building the future of AEC.
This is more than a conversation.
It's a community focused on growth and lasting impact.
So let's get started.
All right.
Today I'm so excited to be speaking to Susan Osterberg.
1:38
Susan is the CEO and President at Smith Seckman Reed and also the Chair of the Board of Directors.
I'm pretty sure that's like 3 full time jobs.
So welcome, Susan.
1:49
Speaker 1Thank you, Rihanna.
I appreciate it.
1:51
Speaker 2So excited to get to meet you over the computer and definitely want to hear more about, you know, your full introduction, a little bit more about you know, what you do today.
2:02
From Sports to Broadway: Teamwork Lessons for BusinessBut before we jump in, we like to start with a little ice breaker and warm up just to get to know you a little bit better.
So let's go with what's the last movie or show that you really enjoyed?
2:16
Speaker 1Well, actually kind of.
I think you, like you said, you like to paint outside the line.
So I'll paint outside the lines a little bit.
I'm not a big TV watcher, but I am a huge sports fan.
And so for me, watching some good football and certainly the World Series that just ended was kind of captured my attention.
2:40
And then in addition to that, it's it's kind of the, I'll use a lot of show, if you will.
I just met my sister in New York for a weekend and we go there probably 2 times or more a year and we take in a lot of Broadway shows, so those are probably my my latest and greatest watches.
3:00
Speaker 2Nice, What did you see on Broadway?
3:03
Speaker 1Well, we actually saw several things.
We kind of take it all in and pack it all in, if you will.
The one I really thought a lot about that is kind of related to business was the brand new Broadway show that opened with Kristin Chenoweth, which most people know exactly who she is.
3:22
She's an incredible talent, but it made me think about it work related, the stand out that you can be a really good talent, but if you don't have the supporting cast in the the story or the opportunity to really drive something forward, it's not a one man show.
3:42
And I think I I liken that honestly to the work that we do here at Smithseckman read.
It's not about one person, it's about hundreds of people doing incredible work every day.
3:52
Speaker 2That is amazing.
I have not.
I used to love going to New York myself.
I haven't been in a while because I don't feel like taking the kids because it's just too much.
But we saw Wicked when it opened the first like way back when that I have not been in a while, but I, I love the live shows and then we watch the commanders.
4:12
I'm in the Maryland area.
I'm a Ravens fan.
My husband's a Commander's fan.
And so last night was very sad for us.
It was a terrible, terrible game to stay up and watch.
I I didn't watch the whole thing, but.
4:24
Speaker 1I'm a I'm a Steelers fan with my oldest and they meet the Colts, so I'm sorry we're on a posing and opposing.
4:32
Speaker 2Sides there, it's always us and you guys it's just yeah, yeah.
But hey, Baltimore and Pittsburgh are so similar.
We're very similar, so well, you and you.
4:43
How SSR's Employee Ownership Drives Long-Term SuccessSo you started segueing into kind of the work that you all do.
And do you call it SSR?
Do you usually use the whole?
4:50
Speaker 1Name 1 is fine.
SSR versus the people that know us.
4:54
Speaker 2Well, tell us a little bit just quick.
We'll get into your career journey for sure because I want to unpack stuff there.
I'm very excited to hear about your journey.
But in terms of, you know, what the business does today and you know your roles and kind of everything that that you oversee would love to get, you know, give your two-minute intro and then any other personal things you want to include as well.
5:15
So just your your bio if you will.
5:18
Speaker 1Yeah, sure.
So 1st, I guess, first, Smith, Steckman, Reed or SSR, I mean we're based in Nashville, TN, We actually just acquired a firm last week.
So we are 700 plus owners in our organization.
5:35
Probably the thing to me that is the most compelling and interesting about what we do is not just the work we do, but it is about the ownership model that we have.
And so we are a company made-up of all owners in our organization.
5:51
So we are a 100% employee owned company through an ESOP.
So an employee stock ownership plan, we just, we love that about what we do because there are not the haves and the have nots.
We literally from day one are all owners of this organization.
6:09
So we're a very broad based organization from the standpoint of the services that we provide.
We have many different business units and provide services from MEP which is mechanical, electrical, plumbing to building a closure to building optimization, sustainability to transportation to civil engineering, just very broad based and today now have 11 separate business units that we provide, you know dozens of services to our clients.
6:45
As I said, we're based in Nashville, TN.
We're very, very strong presence in the Southeast in Texas is the primary geographies that we decide in.
6:55
Speaker 2OK.
Well, congratulations on the the new acquisition.
That's great.
And so you and you mentioned the, because we, I've worked in a bunch of different industries and you don't see the amount of employee ownership.
7:13
I, I feel it is very prevalent in the AEC markets that we serve.
And what I mean, what do you think that that I guess what's the biggest benefit to that?
You alluded to it a little bit, but I would love to hear more.
7:27
Speaker 1Yeah.
I mean, I think you don't.
I think I don't know if you see it a lot or a little.
I know that employee ownership is really, you know, there's so many firms in our industry still that start up because a few people decided they're going to stand up their own engineering firm or their own AE firm and they grow to 10/15/20 5:50 people, which honestly is still the great majority of our industry is there are many, many small companies like that.
7:59
The biggest challenges that companies face are two things.
One is ownership transition and one is leadership transition.
And so we've worked really hard on both of those areas.
And so we are 57 years in business Rihanna.
8:15
And one of the things that was particularly interesting to us was it was 10 years ago this upcoming spring that we became 100% ESOP.
And so prior prior to that we were actually a partial ESOP.
8:31
And so I like to call the generation I'm working in the fourth leadership generation of our company and in our second generation, they actually purchased the company partially through an ESOP.
8:46
And so we've been a partial ESOP for a very long time.
Nine years plus ago now we became 100% ESOP where we bought the remaining shares back and we take.
8:56
Speaker 2Them.
8:57
Speaker 1Brought it back into the company.
So to me, the real benefit is that helping people to see that whatever we do and whatever we achieve inside of the organization, we're just benefiting one another.
And so you have, you know, companies where there might be 45610 owners, everything you're doing and the work you're doing is really benefiting that small group or as you know, probably in the industry today, there's so much private equity money out there.
9:29
I meet with every new owner of our company Rihanna at the six month mark and in small groups.
And one of the things I talked to them about is understanding that I get private equity calls weekly, you know, and they want to invest in US, right?
9:48
And you know, they want us to give us their money.
And, and I asked our new owners, what, what do you think my answer is to that?
And of course the answer is no, but I want them to understand we have our path, we have our plan, we're going to go at our pace and we don't need that external influence.
10:07
And so to me, we just control our future inside this organization as 100% ESOP and everybody benefits from it.
Our goal is to be a generational firm and we don't want to have that outside influence and frankly we don't need it.
10:24
We are, we're high performing, we are people centric.
That's called the era of and that a sports generation and frankly we're a debt free company that I want to help create wealth for all of the owners of this organization.
10:42
More importantly, pass it on to the next generation as I exit the company in whatever time frame.
10:49
Speaker 2So, so much of what you said just resonates and I can imagine how motivating that is for someone coming in and you because I, I saw it all over your website.
Like we own it, right?
So like that's mentality is probably contagious.
And, and yeah, it's like we're all, we're all benefiting, which is like you said, a lot of places that's not the case.
11:10
So I love, I love that model.
11:13
Speaker 1There's real teeth behind that culture.
Yeah.
Instead of, you know, instead of asking people to work together.
And of course we're doing that, but they're doing it with a purpose behind it.
And it's not, it's not simply something we're asking people to do.
11:31
And there's not a reason behind it, Right.
They all understand if they do their response, if they uphold their responsibility, if they do their role and their job, their mission of what they're, you know, brought into this organization to do, and they do it as best as they can possibly do it, we're all going to succeed and benefit from that.
11:51
Speaker 2Yes, that it that it's very powerful.
11:54
Susan's Journey from Hospitality to AEC CEOWell, it feels like the right time to jump into how you got here because it was interesting.
You know, we're always looking for and you guys happen to be one of our customers.
Not everybody on the podcast is a customer, but you know, looking at your profile, it's like you, I feel like you've had two careers, right?
12:14
You kind of started and I don't want to spoil, but you started in one industry and then, you know, really they got to the top over there.
And then I would love to unpack all of that.
And you know, anyway, just start from the beginning if you will, and take us through how you gone.
12:31
Speaker 1I'm old, so we can't start from the very beginning.
Yeah, no.
To your point, Rihanna, iPad.
I've worked in two companies and to me, I'm a very committed, loyal person that I'd like to see things through from the standpoint of, you know, creating opportunities.
12:49
And I get really invested, frankly, in the people around me.
And so in my past career, I was in the hospitality industry and started with that organization that was only about 10 units when I first joined that company and saw them all the way through to I think close to 350.
13:10
And we took that company public and it was a great ride.
I think I had an enormous amount of opportunity and responsibility and growth because of probably how I approached the roles.
13:26
And so, you know, for me making the transition was a challenge, but I also think becoming a part of a really large organization that's publicly held different decisions start to get made.
And so I sought out a what I described as a, as a smaller company that could make longer term decisions and not be held to short term decisions based on quarterly earnings calls.
13:56
If you.
So that that was a big part of the motivation or the excitement I had for, for joining SSR and really came about frankly, by chance in the fact that as I was seeking that opportunity, I had never thought about being in the AEC industry.
14:17
And I had someone say to me, well, why don't you, there's this position open, why don't you interview?
It'll be good practice for you.
You haven't interviewed in 22 years, right?
And so I did.
And honestly, I absolutely felt connected pretty instantly to that CEO at the time and really thought, wow, this could be more interesting, you know, than I thought.
14:41
And so I just wanted an opportunity to sit at the table and have the influence and the opportunity to prove myself.
And so it's been almost 15 years.
14:52
Speaker 2And what are the different roles that you've held since being there?
14:56
Speaker 1I really took what I would describe as the step back.
It was the VP of human resources, which my most of my career was focused on the people side of the business, also operations.
15:12
So came in as AVP of human resources.
And I think once you start adding value over time, I was asked to take on many of the different support functions.
So marketing, I don't remember what order they came in, but marketing was added.
15:28
It was added.
I've LED strategic planning for the organization at one point and then really they turned that role into what they described it as ACAO or a chief administrative officer.
15:43
So really outside of the finance and accounting area of the support functions really, really reported into me and I was, I would say a person that really supported the CEO and made sure kind of I was traffic cop a little bit.
16:01
So that into that.
And then had the great opportunity to raise my hand and was COO for a couple of years post the Cao role.
And I'd already been, I'd already been placed in a role with the board of directors at that point.
16:20
And then when the CEO transition came along, I raised my hand because I felt like I was the right person at the right time for this.
But I can tell you, Rihanna, when I started with SSRI, had no vision or desire or even thought in my head that that's a role I wanted to be in at some point.
16:41
I think it's about focusing on what value you bring in the moment you're in and the position you're in at the time.
16:47
Navigating Imposter Syndrome and Embracing Growth ChallengesYou know, that's one of the lessons learned for me and throughout your career, right, is not being afraid to say I don't know or I don't understand, but I'm going to dig in and I'm going to learn it.
And because I had a lot to learn about the industry.
17:02
Absolutely.
17:04
Speaker 2And.
17:05
Speaker 1Did you?
17:05
Speaker 2Hesitate in putting your hand up at all.
17:09
Speaker 1Oh, sure.
Yeah, absolutely.
And maybe more so in some of the previous positions, probably one of the things I say most often to people when they're asking about you have advice or what not is like choose to be uncomfortable.
17:31
I just think that is probably one of the most powerful things people can think about in their careers is the minute you feel like you've got this and you can just continue to down that path and journey and things feel, I don't want to say easy because nothing is ever easy when you have, you know, responsibilities, but but choose to be uncomfortable.
17:53
And so I think choosing to raise my hand to be the CEO of this company was probably even more uncomfortable for me than raising my hand for the CEO role.
And but I think that's where you grow the most.
18:07
Speaker 2Yeah.
So a lot of the the women that I meet, especially there earlier in their careers, they do get that like imposter syndrome, it sneaks up.
And I would, you know, I haven't like I talked to you before we started pressing record.
Like I'm not like a like a seasoned feminist.
18:25
I haven't looked into like, I don't know all the stats, but I just based on my experience, I feel like women, that's the thing in our head, we get this head trash that's like, oh, but I'm not perfect for that.
So maybe I'll just sit this out and I'll get the next one right.
18:41
Like I have a feeling that's why we have less women because we're we're a little bit more hesitant in some ways to put our hands up when we don't completely check all the boxes.
And I just love to hear like, how'd you get yourself to just say, you know what, I'm going to go for this.
Like I can do this?
18:57
Speaker 1Yeah, I think for me it's a little different is it wasn't a lack of confidence in, I do believe anything I've ever put my mind to, I can figure out.
And I work and I work really hard and I know what I know and I know what I don't know.
19:13
And I know how to build a really good team around me.
Like now that I can yet check all those boxes.
So that I don't think it was that hesitant.
I think it was more just the in this industry, it would be you can't lead if you don't have followers, right?
19:30
And so were the people of this organization going to be bought into this decision?
And if I don't have that credibility, you know, again, you can't lead if people don't want to follow.
And so I think that I just knew that I had to get in there and dig.
19:49
And I think I, I think that's where I was maybe a little more hesitant, Rihanna with the COO role, because that gave me an even more immediate focus and impact on the organization rather than the support functions I had been holding up in helping to generate.
20:08
So the CEO role for me was one where I think you always question yourself, I mean, any person, if they're really being honest with you, they're, you're always going to have some doubt in the back of your mind.
It might be 1%, it might be 50%, but.
20:25
You're always going to have some doubt.
So I think the questioning myself came more at the COO juncture than it did the CEO role.
And I think I had the opportunity to build up enough of my confidence and vision for what I knew and thought this company could be and how I would approach it that I really did believe I was the right person at that moment for this company.
20:51
And that was, you know, a little two years and a few months ago.
20:54
Why HR Leaders Excel: Connecting with Frontline TeamsYeah, it's well, and, and I think that makes total sense too, because it's like sometimes I think we put the sea level on a pedestal a little bit.
Like it's this scary, like I'm AVP, but like, I can't be like getting to that sea has this like weird stigma sometimes.
21:14
And and I'm wondering too.
So you have these again, like you said, you kind of had two careers where you've like gone kind of the full gamut.
Are there major differences or do you find like a lot of what you were doing in this industry applies in that industry?
21:31
You know, how does that all come together?
21:34
Speaker 1Yeah.
I think at the, at the end of the day, for me, it's about people, period, right.
And you know, of course there's so much talk about, you know, AI and technology and yes, our industry is embracing that, our company is embracing that.
But that's augmenting the industry, not replacing the industry.
21:54
And so at a high level, it is about professional services, is about the people that you're bringing to the table to serve our clients and to build those relationships.
And so to me, the people equation is not foreign.
So when joining this organization, the application might be a little bit different, but at the core of it it, it's about the people.
22:17
Speaker 2And, and I think that's so true.
And I think when you, I feel like it's easy for people to say that, but then when you put your money where your mouth is and you have like you're backing it up, it makes such an impact.
And I'm always surprised I read an article.
22:34
I feel like it's probably HBR article a couple of years ago, but they were saying finally they're seeing HR heads becoming CEO's more.
And to me that has always been such a logical place to find a CEO because it's like the people taking care of the people.
22:50
You know, a lot of that is the most critical because you're leading like the CEO level.
You can't do all the work to your point, but it's like you can get the people around you and then you have to know how to keep them happy and help them grow and coach them.
And like, who better to do that than HR people, you know, coming?
23:09
But so I do think that makes a ton of sense that, you know, you did end up in the CEO seat.
And that's amazing.
And amazing that it was from outside the industry too, because I've heard from some leaders that I talked to and funny enough, a couple CEO's that I've talked to very recently, none of them were from the industry.
23:29
So I think you're starting to see but but but they when they join, they're like, it was like earth shattering that I wasn't an engineer, like I didn't have the engineering degree yet.
I was working in a leadership role to engineering firm, which just wasn't happening.
But now again, I think you're starting to see that shift a little bit because, you know, to all the things you just said, a lot of it is transferable and it's not so unique.
23:54
But you do.
Yeah, you do need to learn the industry.
And I would say, I mean, how did you go about, I think, like, how did you learn about the industry once you started?
Like what was your sort of playbook that you were like, all right, I'm here now.
Like where did you start?
24:10
Speaker 1Well, there's, I mean, from the very beginning, it was truly just learning like what were all the different roles and responsibilities, jobs we even had in this organization, right?
Because we were pretty diverse even back then 15 years ago.
And so it was really kind of learning it more from a, I'll say from a mechanics standpoint.
24:30
But one of the things for me that I I believe in staying close to the people that do, which maybe sounds a little quirky, but I know when I became COO Rihanna, one of the things I wanted to make sure I did was go out and shadow all of the different roles and jobs we had, you know, in the organization.
24:53
And so, you know, you found me on the side of a road with some of our CE and I people, which is construction engineering and inspection and, you know, doing slump testing on concrete in my work boots and hardhat, right, like get dirty, right, get in it with them and understand.
25:13
And so it was both about me learning first hand what they do, but it's all was also about the opportunity to make sure they're seeing heard and valued and what could we do to be a better employer?
What could we do to provide them with something different or something they weren't having their need met to make sure we could serve our clients at the highest level.
25:38
So it was, it's almost a one-on-one focus group, right, with some of our, you know, employee owners out there.
And so, you know, again, we have at the time of 10 business units and, and so it was going out and doing those inspections with them, spending time with people, traveling to meet with clients.
25:56
And I think the closer you stay to what your organization delivers and does, the more effective you're going to be.
I can't make decisions about things or even ask for feedback about a decision if I don't even know what I'm solving for.
26:12
And so to me, you find out what you're solving for by being with your clients, being with your people that are on the frontline serving our clients every single day.
26:21
Speaker 2I love that.
Yeah.
I, I feel like a lot of businesses could learn from that approach.
I hear like, I feel like banks do that, like they're like famous for like when you join, it doesn't like you're a teller and you like, you do a couple different jobs in the branches because yeah, it's like you can't, like you said it very well.
26:41
Like how can I make decisions without really deeply understanding it?
So that's a great approach, I'm sure.
And I'm sure the people like you said, the people that are out in the field doing the work, yeah, they probably don't always feel connected to, you know, the corporate side to.
26:57
So for you to be out there, I'm sure that meant a lot to them as well.
Well, and I think so the.
27:04
Speaker 1I have to, I have to interject their first.
Yeah, because if anybody from my company would, would watch this or see it and I imagine they'll be a couple, right.
My least favorite word Niana is corporate.
And I only say the word corporate to tell you it's my least favorite word, right?
27:19
And so to me it absolutely screams bureaucracy.
And I think sometimes people unfortunately think that processes and procedures are something that we have and it creates bureaucracy.
But if you have effective processes and procedures, it actually aligns with having a non chaotic environment, right?
27:42
And you protect the performance of the company, which again, I'm trying to work to protect all of the owners of the organization, just like they're trying to work to protect all of their fellow owners of the company.
So I just have to say corporate is and I.
27:56
Speaker 2Love that yeah, I'm not I'm not very corporate myself.
28:00
Inspiring the Next Generation of Female AEC LeadersSo I, like I said, I don't really like the rule following and, you know, the, the box checking, but you know, well, and so I think we had talked a little bit about even before we, we started, you know, recording the podcast, but we're seeing a lot of women entering colleges and universities to get architecture degrees, engineering degrees more so than ever.
28:28
But there's still, you know, sort of this lag with, you know, I guess if you do the math, it's like, well, that's recent.
It takes people time to grow in their career and eventually get to the, the leadership space.
But have you seen shifts in more, you know, females putting up their hand and, and wanting to take leadership roles?
28:49
From where you said, is that something you see shifting?
Because that's a lot of those conversations I'm having with with women earlier in their careers.
They're wanting to, you know, know that hey, there's opportunity here.
Do you see opportunity out there?
29:04
Speaker 1I do.
And I, I do think it's shifting.
I think one of the things that I've really enjoyed over the last couple of years being in this role is watching other people around that are getting into these same types of positions.
29:20
And you know, I can, I can, I think about half a dozen women that have been moved into CEO roles that I know personally.
And really, for whatever reason, if it's just, you know, one or two people that started this years and years long before I was ever put in this position, but just broadening people's perspective, like, OK, maybe this doesn't have to be an engineer or doesn't have to be a technical leader in the organization.
29:52
There's a different skill set for this role in this responsibility.
And so I do think that the, the mind shift is, is, is changing out there.
And it's evidenced again, by, you know, a handful of people that I could name by name, which I won't at the moment, but like, good friends of mine that have been promoted over the last, you know, even 12 months.
30:15
And it's exciting to see that there's different perspectives being represented out there.
Some are engineers and some are not.
But there's, you know, I think a broader perspective about the diversity and the skills needed to be in this role.
30:30
Speaker 2That's that is really great to hear and.
30:33
Speaker 1And I, and I do think that I, I guess I was a little surprised and probably shouldn't have been, but I know when I was placed in this role and have this great, you know, opportunity and responsibility, I did have more, you know, young females in SSR in my company, in our company that reached out and said, wow.
30:57
Speaker 2Like, yeah.
30:58
Speaker 1I mean it is seeing somebody in, you know, that looks like you, if you will, or they see a path.
And so if that's just giving people a little more courage to go, wow, it could be me or belief in themselves.
31:14
If that accomplished that at, at our company, then I'm, I'm really excited because we have an incredible talented people in the company in general, but lots of young females coming up in the organization, whether they're project manager serving our clients or they're technical experts or they want to lead and manage people, whatever track they want to get on.
31:36
Hopefully that just gave them a, you know, just a, a nudge more confidence that it doesn't matter what gender you are or what background you have, you can absolutely have more responsibility if you lean in and bring value to the company.
31:52
Speaker 2And that what you just described is exactly why we wanted to start this podcast because like you said, it's like if if one person just listens and is like, I could do that too.
32:02
Susan's Core Strengths: Building a Generational FirmThat's kind of what we're here for.
So I love, I love that whole story.
I know we're kind of getting close to I could just keep this is always my problem is I could just keep talking and they're like, keep it to 30 minutes.
What do we want to finish with, I guess?
32:21
Well, especially in your leadership role today, like as, as people are, like you said, trying to see themselves and, you know, bigger roles, what would be maybe your greatest strength?
3rd 2 strengths if you need to pick one.
And and really how have you leaned on those as you, you know, stepped into the CEO and president role?
32:43
Speaker 1I mean, for me, the thing I lean on the most is absolutely around being an effective communicator.
And I'm not necessarily speaking about speaking to a group.
I, I can do that, I think, OK.
But to me it's about how do you see the broader vision of what's happening in the organization and how do you bring people together?
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How do you get them all to be bought into that vision and connect to that vision and you know, where do you see, you know, where do you see some, I don't know, divide, if you will, and how do you bring that together?
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So communication for me is a huge skill that this role, it's imperative for this world to have.
And whether that's using it externally or internally, I think the other thing is just keeping that vision for the company in front of people, right?
33:39
So sometimes people say, well, Susan, what's the most important thing we're working on?
And I will back up and say, you know what, every day I think about how we will continue to be a generational firm.
And I mentioned that to you earlier.
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So to me, when I first was placed in this role in September of 23, I said day one to everybody in the organization. 8 to 10 years from now, I want to pass this organization to the next generation stronger than we all received it that day.
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And that's what I think about every day.
So whether it's the growth we're trying to achieve or the profitability we're trying to achieve or the talent we're attracting and retaining, it is all about are we growing more strongly than what we were, you know, the previous week, the previous month, the previous year?
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And is it going to be a company that continues for decades and decades to come?
The, the, the characteristic Rihanna that is so important to me and around the leadership team because it's not just communication, it's not just painting the vision, it's also about building the team.
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And I mentioned that kind of on the onset, right?
I can be a really good CEO or I can be a good leader, but if we don't have a team of people supporting one another and leading the organization and then have great people underneath that, we're just we're not going to be what we potentially could be.
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And so that team building aspect is really important to me.
So building the team that they trust each other, building the team that we communicate well with one another, ultimately that's what's going to help us be that long term company.
35:23
Speaker 2Fantastic Susan, thank you so much.
Any other words of advice that you would want to leave for anybody listening in?
35:32
Speaker 1Well, if people are listening to try to figure out how to grow their career, choose to be uncomfortable.
35:39
Speaker 2I love that I I need to take that to to heart sometimes myself so.
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Speaker 1Take the risk.
35:45
Speaker 2Yeah, and.
35:46
Speaker 1You're going to have some failures and take a risk.
35:49
Speaker 2That needs to be a whole different podcast episode.
I think it's a lot of a lot of people struggle with that for sure.
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Thank You for Listening: Join Our AEC CommunityWell, I so appreciate you joining us today and thank you for the.
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Speaker 1Opportunity.
36:01
Speaker 2Absolutely thank you to our listeners as well, and we appreciate you listening to Breaking Ground Women in AEC leadership.
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