Daniel F. Snyder
Chief executive officer
Crispell-Snyder Inc.
700 Geneva Parkway, P.O. Box 550, Lake Geneva, WI
Industry: Professional consulting (civil engineering/planning/surveying)
Number of employees: 80
Family: Wife, Sue; three adult children; and one grandchild
What was the smartest thing your company did in the past year?
“We continued to concentrate on our core services in order to maintain market share while making a strategic effort to retain our staff and resources.”
What’s new at your company?
“This past year we expanded our social media and networking with Facebook, Twitter, and electronic newsletters and announcements. We are working on building alliances and partnerships with individuals and other firms in order to offer a broader range of services and expand geographically.”
Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year?
“We have recently expanded our transportation services group and are looking to hire additional specialty service individuals. As a service organization, we are always looking for qualified, experienced team members.”
What will be your company’s main challenges in the next year?
“Our focus will be continuing to identify new projects and clients. Our market is extremely competitive due to many government agencies reducing, postponing, or cancelling capital projects. Falling property values, reduced new development, and tax cut initiatives have caused our industry to become more creative in project budgeting and approaches. I think consolidation of service firms will be more prevalent in the coming years.”
What’s the hottest trend in your industry?
“Developing relationships and partnering with firms offering other service lines to create unique teams and approaches to solving our client’s problems/projects is important right now.”
Do you have a business mantra?
“We have been most successful when we hire talented people and provide support and encouragement to allow them to live up to their potential. Our primary mission is to anticipate and adapt to the needs of our clients.”
From a business standpoint, who do you look up to?
“I would say my strongest mentor was our founder Elvin Crispell who taught me to appreciate the importance of our staff and to develop strong mutual relationships with our clients.”
What was the best advice you ever received?
“A few years ago, when we were working on updating our corporate plan, Tom Aschenbrenner, our facilitator, encouraged us to take on new challenges, not be complacent, and stay out of our comfort zone. This advice has allowed us to strengthen our firm and withstand the past three years of recession.”
What do you like to do in your free time?
“I enjoy running and have been a runner for the past 12 years.This year I finished my 20th and 21st marathons. I also enjoy cycling and consider myself a semi-professional landscaper. My 20-month-old granddaughter also keeps me busy.”
