I've been in the distribution industry for more than 25 years, and have enjoyed every single day of it. "Why?," you ask? One reason: the people.

I'm proud of our company because of the company we keep—people are our number one asset. When you talk about the latest and greatest trends in our industry, they all boil down to one thing: it is people who make our world go around and it's people who make the difference between our service and the offerings of our competitor.

How to find good people and how to keep them is an age-old question that I've heard discussed at many roundtable educational sessions, and many after-hours cocktail parties. But for us, we started with three people. Today, Bolt Supply House has more than 100 fantastic individuals whom I would rehire in a heartbeat.

After putting my first advertisement in the newspaper and interviewing a lot of individuals, I divide the resumés into two piles, and then into a third.

The first group was not worth interviewing, and these received a phone call and follow-up letter telling them the position was filled.

The second group was worth the time to interview.

The third group was selected for a second interview.

The list was narrowed down to two finalists. The rest of the staff interviewed them and put forward their conclusions, and the decision was made.

We then set out to make sure the individual made the right career decision. We encouraged them to be open and forthright with their concerns and ideas, and invest in them with educational courses and ongoing training. We spend more on their self development than our competitors ever dreamed of, and take a long-term view of what we could do for them.

They, in turn, remain happy, and sometimes recommend their family and friends who they feel would add to the company. Going forward, we rely on our own people as the first source of finding new people. Today, we have more than 15 families who work here, and, for us, it's our good fortune.

We make sure that the grass isn't greener for our people somewhere else. We believe in their abilities and give them the freedom to exercise their way of trying new things.

We reward the good, and laugh off the mistakes.

We don't "major" in the "minor," and keep our eye on the big picture. We treat our people like volunteers, and have eliminated the word "employee" in our company. We are all equals here. In focusing on our people, good results will follow.