1. The Right Mix of People Copyright 2014 by Dave Cary
www.linkedin.com/in/davecary1/
Page 1 of 2
Some time ago, I garnered a plum opportunity in a plum company. It was a cement and construction
materials company based in Dallas. The cement industry is a strict process industry characterized by
huge capital expenditures and commodity pricing which fluctuates with the construction industry. Since
cement is very heavy, a successful plant has to be built near a raw material source, usually limestone, a
fuel source, often coal or natural gas, and ready markets. Proximity to transportation is critical: water is
best but rail will work.
The company I worked for had been around a hundred years. Process is critical to that industry so the
company spent a great deal of effort codifying all its processes into policy binders. In the event a
decision was required, one was to consult the policy binders.
Although once a darling opportunity in a growth environment, by the 1980’s, people came to the
company, followed all the rules, and never changed anything. The employee base got older and older
and the focus for many individuals became to not rock the boat because retirement was just around the
corner.
The company always played it safe, always followed policy, and always did it right, even as it slowly
liquidated away. This was an American industry problem at the time. Today, that company no longer
exists and most of the U.S. cement industry is foreign owned.
It was a great learning opportunity for me because it instilled in me a deep understanding of process and
discipline and an understanding of its value, and also, its limitations. It also taught me the value of a
dynamic culture.
Against the advice of all the pundits, I then took a job at a real estate-based financial company growing
200-300% per year through acquisitions. This company was everything the cement company was not.
For one thing, almost all the employees were 40 years of age or younger, often quite younger. The
philosophy was to go for broke all the time; tomorrow will always work out; we will always win; if we
need money, it will always be available.
It was an exciting opportunity because I got to do things a person my young age would never have
gotten to do. I managed billions in cash, led the administrative side of a huge acquisition, led another
company through Chapter 11, became business aware, and learned “impossible tasks” are often not
impossible to those who have the courage to aggressively attack them.
At one point, this company was reporting $9 billion in assets. Unfortunately, as one would guess, that
was there one quarter, then the next quarter it was not.
There were many angry investors after that. I was a lower level employee with no strategic level
authority, yet I got used to seeing the company, one way or another, referred to in the Wall Street

2. The Right Mix of People Copyright 2014 by Dave Cary
www.linkedin.com/in/davecary1/
Page 2 of 2
Journal daily for a time. Armed policemen were stationed at all entrances and one time and I came into
my office of the sixth floor and saw a bullet hole in my window (it had nothing to do with me
personally). At one point, I was the financial head of a multi-hundred million dollar company in
bankruptcy. As such, I reported both to the parent corporation which was the owner and the
management selected by the trustee, who were in violent legal opposition.
This was a wonderful opportunity to learn how to take on difficult projects and make them work in spite
of the hair they came with and dealing with strong and at times, irrational personalities. I learned there
is always an honorable way to make things succeed and a lot about both hostile and win/win
negotiation which I later turned into a revenue generating skill. (I also learned there is no such thing as
an intangible asset; it won’t cover payroll).
So which make the best employees: seasoned veterans or aggressive youngsters? In truth, they both do
and the best employee base has a mixture of both. Youngsters bring a perennial and refreshing
exuberance which can make things happen. They can also drive the enterprise right over a cliff one day
and no one will even see any skid marks. Veterans are better at discussing alternate avenues of
approach, fall back positions, anticipating downsides, and ensuring ongoing revenue opportunities. The
best team consists of both.
(And by the way, there are no retirement plans any more).