Steve Jordan talks to Brian Loud from Planes in Cincinnati about how the company developed its unique culture and the way in which it affects the success of the business.
Brian Loud has been in the international moving industry for a while. He started with Dean Worldwide in Los Angeles in 1988 subsequently worked with Crown Pacific in Singapore, Graebel for 8 years and Suddath for 17 years in California, before settling at Planes in Cincinnati, six years ago.
As so often, when browsing through social media or having casual chats with industry people, my interest is piqued by a brief comment. Such it was when I saw a social media post from Brian talking about the importance of company culture. My curiosity duly stimulated, I gave him a call to find out more.
Planes is a successful business, now in its third generation of family ownership and with a history dating back over 100 years. The company has five owned and fully operational facilities including the HQ in Cincinnati, other state offices in Dayton and Columbus, and locations in Chicago and Indianapolis. It employs approximately 700 people. My interest was how a company of that size, spread widely, can create and maintain a recognisable and effective company culture, especially as the modern world expects the flexibility of remote working by so many. Brian himself, for example, lives in California.
Brian acknowledged that, when it comes to company culture, there is often a lot of talk and not so much action. “Companies talk about mission statements and use a lot of jargon, but I don't know that there's always a lot of execution, a lot of focus. It’s more about ticking boxes. Some companies try to manage it, some pay lip service to it, very few really put any effort into making it a reality.”
But Brian explained that the company culture will evolve and create itself anyway. That could be good or bad. “So do you try to direct it and focus on it and create the company culture that you want, or do you just let it evolve?” Leaving the company culture to create itself can be dangerous ...
Photo: Brian Loud.