EP 8 — Thomas Weidley on How a Warrior Ethos Has Guided His Leadership from the Marine Corps to Capewell
On this week's episode of the DIB Innovators podcast, David talks with Thomas Weidley, President and CEO of Capewell, a safety, tactical, parachute, and aerial delivery solutions manufacturer.
They discuss regrounding yourself in order to be a better leader. Tom also describes how supporting national security operations inspires Capewell employees to consistently deliver high-quality, reliable products.
Topics discussed:
- How a "warrior ethos" has guided Tom's leadership both in the Marine Corps and as CEO of Capewell.
- Lessons from combat that transfer to the corporate landscape.
- Regrounding yourself and getting back to basics to stay connected to your team.
- How supporting national security operations shapes the ethos of Capewell and its employees.
- Challenges to staying innovative in delivering high-quality, reliable systems.
- How Capewell has incorporated AI and other tech in their operations and manufacturing.
- Balancing keeping an innovation mindset with keeping your ideas secure.
Guest Quotes:
"I still walk out on the plant floor every day to reground myself... No matter what's going on in the work life, when you go down there and talk to some of those young motivators, it changes your perspective on everything, kind of brings you back to ground zero. And I use that same technique here at Capewell when I do a daily walk around the plant, sometimes more than once. Just talk to folks, see how they're doing, ask them how it's going."
"I think you need a huge dose of humility. To be able to just come into an organization where folks are probably thinking about you a certain way. They've already made up their mind."
"If you create an environment in your organization that allows those types of opportunities to flourish and those types of ideas to bubble up, I think your innovative juices of the company tend to kind of just blossom."
"Apply those lessons learned of how you deal with uncertainty... not get lost in the chaff and flares, but actually seeing a problem for what it is and then making a good, solid decision and then moving out."
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