Troy Meachum of ACR Supply isn’t afraid to share his religious beliefs. While some might consider such transparency a recipe for disaster, ACR’s chief encouragement officer makes a case for sincere faith-based leadership. Jason chats with Troy about integrating his religious convictions into everyday operations and how those beliefs have impacted employee morale, customer satisfaction, and the company’s bottom line.
Perhaps it comes down to geography. While many business owners north of the Mason-Dixon line keep their religious beliefs private, those headquartered in the American South tend to be more transparent about their faith–on company websites, at branch locations, and in conversation. ACR Supply, which makes its home in Raleigh, NC, proves the point. Faith, says Troy, is the foundation upon which his personal and professional success rests. There’s no compartmentalizing the two. The most important thing to happen to me in my life was when I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, says Troy before launching into the story of how his company grew its revenue from $3m in 1997 to over $33m this past year.
ACR defines itself as a faith-based distributor, signaling that service to God is at the heart of everything ACR does. Candor upfront has circumvented many conflicts later. We’re not perfect, admits Troy. Don’t get me wrong; we have our conflicts like everybody else. [But] we try to be consistent and do what we say we’re going to do on a daily basis. And I think people, eventually long-term, they respect that.
Faith, according to Troy, is an active pursuit, the benefits of which directly correlate to one’s efforts. When conflict arises, he relies on the training he received via the Crucial Conversations certification program. I believe false harmonies are deadly to people, but people do not deal with conflict well, normally. Troy was so impressed by Crucial Conversations that ACR now supplies its employees with a similar workshop. When you’re proactive in the area of communication, you really can avoid a lot of roadblocks, hurdles, or even train wrecks.
Troy lives his faith with intention, whether by engaging with fellow HARDI members or championing initiatives through ACR Cares, his company’s outreach organization. I’m 60 years old, actually 61 on Friday, and I’m really starting to hit my stride just from a ministry perspective, he says, looking ahead and placing his faith squarely in the future.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Best Christian Workplace Institute
QUOTES
Our core purpose statement is to build relationships, impact lives, and glorify God.
I figure if I’m glorifying God in the way I treat my wife, in the way I treat my son, the way I treat our coworkers, our team members, the way we treat our customers, the way we treat our vendor partners, then I’m working for an audience of one. And if I can do that and please Him, then I’ll be a success in God’s eyes.
We’re very transparent about who we are or what our purpose is and that we want to glorify God in all that we do. So everybody kind of knows coming through the door, they know are who we are.
When you’re having conflict with someone, if they don’t trust you and trust your motive and trust that you have their best interests at heart, it’s going to be almost impossible to have a crucial conversation with them. But the opposite is true if somebody trusts you and they trust your motive, and you have a deep level of rapport, and you have a high level of trust, you can talk to almost anybody about almost anything.
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Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth and achieve personal goals.
This episode was edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios.
Brought to you by The Distribution Team and Connected Peers.
Description for Libsyn only
Troy Meachum of ACR Supply isn’t afraid to share his religious beliefs. While some might consider such transparency a recipe for disaster, ACR’s chief encouragement officer makes a case for sincere faith-based leadership. Jason chats with Troy about integrating his religious convictions into everyday operations and how those beliefs have impacted employee morale, customer satisfaction, and the company’s bottom line. In fact, ACR has grown its revenue from $3m in 1997 to over $33m this past year.
Perhaps it comes down to geography. While many business owners north of the Mason-Dixon line keep their religious beliefs private, those headquartered in the American South tend to be more transparent about their faith–on company websites, at branch locations, and in conversation. ACR Supply, which makes its home in Raleigh, NC, proves the point. Faith, says Troy, is the foundation upon which his personal and professional success rests. There’s no compartmentalizing the two.
Troy lives his faith with intention, whether by engaging with fellow HARDI members or championing initiatives through ACR Cares, his company’s outreach organization. I’m 60 years old, actually 61 on Friday, and I’m really starting to hit my stride just from a ministry perspective, he says, looking ahead and placing his faith squarely in the future.
