When Neal Lindquist of JPMorgan Chase & Co. told Steve Ziegler that he had nominated him for a Bravo! Entrepreneur Award, Ziegler simply responded, “It’s not me, it’s my people.”
“People are his No. 1 asset,” Lindquist said. “In his mind, if you get the right people and those people are driven, good things happen.”
Good things have been happening for Ziegler as chief executive officer of InPro Corp., maker of interior and exterior architectural products. In 2007, InPro brought in $70 million in revenue, up 21 percent from 2006.
Ziegler said his management philosophy involves empowering his employees.
“When you have all of the people in the company acting entrepreneurial, you really can affect a lot of positive change,” Ziegler said. “In a word, it would be ‘empowerment.'”
That strategy has paid off for Ziegler and InPro, as the Society for Human Resource Management recently recognized the company as one of the country’s 50 Best Small/Medium Companies to Work For. It is an honor that Ziegler is particularly proud of because he said it was an award not won by the company, but by the employees.
“It’s the employees that make up the culture of the workforce,” he said. “And when the employees make up a positive culture of success, that translates into a real positive attitude, and that attitude translates into these kinds of awards.”
In addition, Ziegler sits on the board of directors of the Kids from Wisconsin, the Mayor’s Task Force on Economic Development and National Night Out for the City of Muskego.
Address: S80 W18766 Apollo Drive, Muskego
Web Site: www.inprocorp.com
Industry: Architectural products
Revenues: $70 million in 2007
Employees: 382
