Since being named a Titan 100, Jeffrey Manion, CEO of DSC Communications, said his greatest leadership lesson learned is to understand and identify leaders. “Being a manager is challenging and not all managers are good leaders,” he said. “To be a good leader, you need to communicate, be present and get feedback from everyone.”
This feedback provides additional opportunities and shows that as a leader, he respects all employees’ thoughts. “The leadership team has to be moving in the same direction and speaking the same language for the good of the company.”
His ability to identify strong leaders has led to significant organic growth, acquisitions and continued growth of all employees at the firm.
DSC Communications has specialized in video surveillance, two-way radio and other wireless communications in Wisconsin and Minnesota for over 25 years with the purpose of creating communication and video solutions for a safer and more efficient environment.
According to Manion, the greatest accomplishment in the last year since he was named a Titan 100 was the continued growth of all employees after an acquisition of a second location. “Acquiring another company in a different market is a challenge and when you work with a long-standing successful company that has been successful, change doesn’t come easy,” said Manion. “Our motto upon purchasing a business is to learn and understand each other and we try to minimize significant changes to the workflow in the first year.” As a result, Manion said the firm has created a dynamic leadership team with a goal to grow.
“’We are currently in a position where change is inevitable and you are either in front or back,” said Manion. “We need to constantly evolve and diversify to ensure we have continued growth.”
Evolution begins with being educated, said Manion. The staff at DSC Communications are provided with consistent training opportunities to learn of new technologies, leadership styles and sales training. In addition, Manion takes a transparent approach as a leader. “I’ve embraced being transparent with our entire team by constantly communicating our core values,” he said. “One of our core values is passion which is what gets me out of bed every morning. I love coming to work and by sharing that passion, it is hopefully pushing others to do the same.”
For celebrating wins as a team and fostering the growth of the industry and his staff, Manion has been named a Titan 100 for the second time.
