DEBUT NOVEL OUT NOW
FOUNDATIONAL LEADERSHIP BY ROBERT L. GRIGGS
Have you ever wondered how to lead your teams effectively? In Lead from the Bottom, Robert Griggs shares the story of his encounter with Jack Stack, author of The Great Game of Business. This first interaction changed Robert’s life and it formed the basis for an entirely different way to view leadership – one where leaders led with an open book and were willing to share the ins and outs of how a company was run.
As Robert shares, this approach, while unsettling in the early days of its implementation at Trinity Products, completely changed the way he and his team did business. Through the utilization of concepts such as profit sharing, benchmarks, scoreboards, and continuous improvement, Robert has created a company that continues to grow from year to year.
“Upon completion of reading this book, I was glad I did. there were takeaways after every chapter that are applicable right now. There were golden nuggets spread across each chapter. They were about the real growth of a person, associates, customers, and of a company. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn through the lives of others. This is a journey of growth.”
Jack Stack, CEO, SRC Holdings Corporation, Author of The Great Game of Business, Change The Game, and Stake in the Outcome
“Twenty years ago, I first met Robert given his interest in Open-Book Management. His passion for improving his business and the lives of his employees was obviously. He was the first person I have seen to incorporate both OBM principles and continuous improvement principles. His company’s results speak for themselves. His employees and customers make it clear he is doing this the right way. You can learn a lot from this book.”
Bill Fotsch, President, Economic Engagement, 90+ Forbes articles, including: Engage Your Employees in Making Money; 30+ Inc articles, including: How to Do Well in a Capitalist Economy; 5 Harvard Business Review articles, including: More than a Paycheck; and articles in Fortune, including: Employee Ownership Could Be the Future of Capitalism
“Foundational Leadership should be required reading for growth-oriented founders. while founders often pride themselves on what they ‘created’ they should keep in mind that success is a team-effort. Make sure the team IS brought along on the journey.”
Gregory L. Bier, Ph.D., Entrepreneur and Educator, Executive Director of Entrepreneurship Programs, University of Missouri
“I’ve known and worked with Robert for 14 years. He was one of the founding members of my first Vistage group and a great member. It’s been exciting to watch his journey with Trinity from Inception to ESOP. We met when he had just finished the pipe mill. Robert is very thoughtful in his approach to business. He is very ‘out of the box.’ A true entrepreneur! He truly cares about his people and put together a very strong leadership team. This is why the company has been able to scale so quickly and do so extremely profitably. Selling to an ESOP was also a big win both for the employees and Robert as well... I remember Robert talking about ‘Only hire Finishers.’ I’ve always loved this concept. It’s so true and important. That’s a trait that you can’t teach. You have it or you don’t. This book is a great tribute to the opportunity we have in this country. You can achieve anything if you work hard enough and have the ‘gut’ to persevere. Robert has done just that.”
Jeff Hindman, Vistage – St. Louis, Vistage Chair for 14 years
“I am truly looking forward toward Robert’s book! Working with Robert and Trinity was an exceptionally gratifying experience. It was great to see a company hit on all cylinders by reaching out to all employees to find, solve and implement solutions to improvement opportunities. I am pleased that he has embraced our process for team-based delegation and project management!”
Greg Huebner, Vice President / Region President, COSi (Since 2008) and President, Forte' Growth
“As an avid reader and learner, I found Robert’s book hard to put down. I was engrossed in learning about his management philosophy and principles and also about the steel industry in the USA along the way. Robert is open and transparent about his successes, his failures, and his challenges, and he presents a wonderfully humanistic logic for why his company has created and embedded the culture it now has. Griggs Law, ‘The universe only gives you opportunities when you are least prepared to take them,’ is just one of the unique perspectives Robert imparts that will no doubt lead readers of all generations to epiphanies of their own.”
Dr. Annette Kendall, Research, Innovation & Impact University of Missouri
About Robert
A lifelong Missourian, Robert graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia in 1977 with a degree in Agricultural Economics. He started Trinity Products in 1979 along with two other partners before buying the final partner out in 1993.
Along with his lovely wife Shelly, he currently lives in St. Charles, MO. His two sons are University of Missouri, Columbia graduates. His son A.J. is in a Sales Management role at Trinity while his son Bo is part owner, founder, and President of National Flatbed Solutions, a Freight-Logistics company.
Robert has served as President and Treasurer of the National Association of Steel Pipe Distributors (NASPD), an international organization of more than 300 steel distributors, and is involved with the CPTI (Committee on Pipe & Tube Import) which lobbies Congress on Pipe and Steel relates issues. He has spent his entire career in the steel and fabrications industry and has seen Trinity’s sales and manufacturing grow from a fab shop of $2.2 million in sales in 1993 to over $275 million in sales in 2022.