Do it Best hosts leadership training

Do it Best Corp. concluded a week-long, intensive leadership training development program for a selected group of managers and leaders from among its member-owned stores.

The inaugural Leadership Development Institute (LDI) was held Nov. 12-15, at the co-op's Fort Wayne, Ind., headquarters. Twenty-three attendees took part in the training. 

“LDi has been an outstanding experience,” said Justin Ellis, manager of two Builders Do it Centers in New Mexico. “This program has helped me develop the tools our business needs to close the gap between vision and results.”

Do it Best Corp. said it created the LDI to help managers be responsive to the needs of their employees and their customers and, as a result, more successful overall. 

The first three days of LDI each featured content centered on a specific theme -- Self, Team and Business -- all of which culminated with each participant developing and presenting to their peers their strategic plans on the Institute’s fourth and final day. Several key Do it Best Corp. leaders shared their leadership insights during LDI, including president and CEO Bob Taylor; executive VP and COO Dan Starr; VP information technology Mike Altendorf; and Jay Brown, VP sales and business development.

“The focus of LDI is to provide these participants with the tools and concepts to understand why people do what they do and how leaders can more effectively manage themselves, their teams and their businesses,” said Brown. “The end goal of this training is to help them understand how to best execute the personalized strategic leadership plans they created here once they return to their stores.”

Several outside leadership development experts participated in the presentations and discussions, including Rick Davis of Building Leaders, Dr. John Lovell of National Assessment Services, Scott Harrison of Rea Magnet Wire, and Indiana University-Purdue University communications instructors Jake Gamble and Amanda Parker.