Building A Company Culture from Scratch with Paul Barbeau

Executive Decisions by SYM Financial Advisors

Paul Barbeau is the Senior Global Director at Dow, a material science company that provides innovative and sustainable solutions for consumer care, infrastructure, and packaging businesses. Paul collaborates with various business leaders to improve existing workplace strategies with employee experience, asset optimization, and sustainability in mind. He is also the Director at 1st State Bank, a banking company that focuses on helping businesses grow in the Great Lakes Bay area.

Paul joins me to explain the importance of establishing a company culture where every voice is represented. He shares his experience with being part of the family business and where his entrepreneurial passion started. He describes his love for baseball and what it was like to serve as the President of the Michigan Baseball Foundation. He discusses how Dow impressed him the most from a cultural perspective. Paul also explains how businesses will shift beyond the pandemic, especially regarding flexible work setups.

"When you're starting, every voice has an impact on the culture." - Paul Barbeau

This week on Executive Decisions:

• What Paul learned from the family business from an entrepreneurial perspective
• Why Paul avoided the traditional career route
• How vital the culture was in Paul's career choices
• Paul's passion for both baseball and business
• Navigating the risks of moving locations for your career
• Getting the team to be part of the culture you want to grow
• What Paul believes is a good sign to choose a new career
• Why Dow's culture impressed Paul
• How our working environments will shift in the future
• The cultural bedrocks Dow cultivates
• Paul's passion and hobbies outside of baseball

Resources Mentioned:

• The Michigan Baseball Foundation

Our Favorite Quotes:

• "The freedom to learn and grow is important and formative." - Paul Barbeau
• "Anytime you find a good culture, you just want to bottle it and never let it go." - Sarah Delahanty
• "It's exciting to have a blank slate and build something from the ground up." - Sarah Delahanty

Connect with Paul Barbeau:

• Dow
• 1st State Bank Great Lakes Bay
• Paul Barbeau on LinkedIn

About SYM Financial and Executive Decisions Podcast

Executive Decisions is a show for business leaders. In each episode, host and financial advisor Sarah Delahanty sits down with executives and local experts who serve them. Together, they tackle some of the harder questions that business leaders face today. From inspiring creativity in the workplace to managing company politics to making the best choices with executive compensation, taxes, and lifestyle — our show delivers stories and lessons learned across many industries and lifetimes.

Email Sarah at [e-mail] with questions, comments, and to schedule a one-on-one conversation.

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