From our 2003 Census

When you think of a hardware store, you don't think of a woman. How did you come to lead TruServ?

When I joined TruServ it was a company working to overcome problems associated with a 1997 merger and a 1999 loss associated with poor accounting practices which came to light in early 2000. Two weeks after I joined the company, a new default of a debt covenant was determined. As CFO, I met with the co-op's lenders, explained that the business generated significant cash and how a plan could be constructed to reduce costs, sell assets, and deleverage the balance sheet. TruServ's principal brand, True Value, was, and is, one of the top 80 brands in the country. The majority of True Value stores were healthy businesses. The stores, flying under the banner of "service and convenience," serve a market need in a world moving more to micro-markets, and we had, and continue to have, a dedicated customer-focused workforce. How could we not succeed?

In July 2001, upon the resignation of the then CEO, I donned the additional hat of COO and began what I called "glasnost": openness with all of our key constituents as to all the issues and opportunities our co-op faced and how we would go about this.

We established 10 key initiatives with measurements and milestones, and alignment of financial incentives. Underlying the focus on results, with a sense of urgency, was my leading a change in our culture to one of openness, integrity, high ethics, strong internal controls, performance, accountability, and lots of continual communications with all constituents.

The lenders grew more comfortable with the new business plan and the early stages of its execution. As the Board searched internally and externally for a CEO, I was able to demonstrate that with strong leadership and financial skills - together with a growing passion for the co-op, its membership and its associates - I was in the best position to lead the turnaround of TruServ.

It was a gender-blind decision: Who was the best person to fix the company?

Does TruServ have programs or initiatives that directly target increased involvement by women and minorities?

I've been revamping our management team since I joined the co-op, and we now have a great team. We have fourteen officers, including myself, and, based on some recent acceptances of offers, 50% of them will be women by the end of the year. In every case, however, my management team and I interviewed both men and women. The search firms were told to find us the best people. Period. I did not choose my new team members based on gender; the best people for the jobs were chosen. What I try to encourage throughout the company is: be gender-blind and minority-blind, and get the best person for the job.

I would never hire someone merely because of their gender or race. I know what that feels like from personal experience. I get lots of calls to sit on boards. The quickest turnoff is when the recruiter says a company is really looking for a woman to sit on their board. Then I'm not interested. I focus more on opportunities from people who want someone for their board who has done turnarounds, has finance in their background or someone with manufacturing, distribution, or retail experience - areas where I add value because of my expertise and experience.

What would you say to your fellow CEOs about hiring, retaining, and promoting the best people?

You have to give people, regardless of gender or race, the opportunity to succeed. If they're willing to take risks, give them the challenge and let them go for it. When you're looking to hire people, tell the search firm to bring you the people who are most qualified.

The most important job of leaders in any organization is to attract, retain, and motivate talented people. Leaders need to set, and get the buy-in of, the picture of the future, and then prime the pump of good feelings so employees believe in themselves and strive to achieve that picture.

What has been your greatest personal challenge in coming in and running this company?

Getting people to believe that TruServ could succeed was a challenge because our associates had faced, and our storeowner members had seen, one obstacle after another for the prior four years. In 1997, Cotter & Company's True Value merged with ServiStar Coast-to-Coast. On its face, it was a merger that made a great deal of strategic sense: it was a consolidating industry. What was underestimated, however, were the talents and time it would take to successfully integrate the businesses to achieve the economies of the merger. Then the company faced an unexpected loss for 1999 as a result of poor accounting practices that dated back to at least early 1997: prior management, in Spring 2000, announced a $131 million loss. Associates were demoralized, storeowner members were devastated by a 65% loss in value of their stock, and debt covenants were breached. Then, a year later, another debt covenant trip occurred. My challenge was to reenergize these great people. I had to get everyone jazzed. We would celebrate every success along the way. It really takes success to breed success.

What advice do you have for women who want to be CEO?

Take risks. Women need to take more risks. If you fail, you move on, no big deal. A lot of people in general are just afraid of failure. Well, if you don't take a risk, you're never going to know what the outcome could have been. Try something innovative and just go for it. Consider being a little more confrontational. Some people avoid conflict. I like to get things going, set challenging goals, and then consistently encourage and push the team forward with a sense of urgency to achieve the goals. I try to inject fun into what has to get done, but I also make sure that everybody knows what counts is performance. At the start of our turnaround I began openly telling our associates: "Get it done and you will be handsomely rewarded; don't get it done and someone else may be sitting in your chair."