Marshall Jones on taking over the family business, training and employee testing

Distribution Talk

“I think salespeople do a fantastic job accomplishing the task that they’ve been given. That said, none of what they produce out there can really come to fruition without the support of a wide network of folks within the organization.” --Marshall Jones Jason catches up with Marshall Jones, former owner of Marco Supply Company. They cover a lot of ground from life in and out of the family business to the merits of various talent assessment methods. And, if you’ve got kids of your own in the family business, you’ll want to hear Marshall’s views on sending them to gain experience elsewhere. “I feel like I got a lot more out of the experience than they did,” Marshall says of his post-graduation gig with Omaha-based Carlson Systems (now SouthernCarlson Inc.). At a time when internships were few, even for graduates of the esteemed industrial distribution program at Texas A&M, Marshall credits Carlson for giving him a tremendous amount of flexibility to make mistakes and prove himself. “I had my work cut out for me and it was a great year of knocking on a lot of doors and learning a lot of lessons.” Admittedly, not all of the ideas he brought back home worked. Still, Marshall says his time away prepared him to face the challenges. “It was incredibly valuable… to see some of the struggles that you’re going to encounter going back into the family business.” One such struggle was learning how to overcome internal biases. No one wants to spend time or money setting up a good employee for failure in another department. “Not every individual...is cut out to be successful in every role,” says Marshall. Finding the right assessment method was key. “We learned lessons and they were painful lessons but we got better and better as we went along,” he says. So which method produced better results: instinct or standardized testing? And how does Marshall make sure each department gets recognized for the value they add to the organization? Tune in to find out. Thank you to our sponsor INxSQL, software built for distribution. *** 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. Edited & mixed by The Creative Impostor Studios. Connect with Jason on LinkedIn. Connect with Marshall on LinkedIn.

00:00
30:50
00:00
.
Help
·
Privacy
·
Terms
​
  • avatar
    Apple Podcasts
  • avatar
    Spotify
  • avatar
    Overcast
  • avatar
    Castbox
  • avatar
    Pocket Casts
  • avatar
    Podcast Addict
  • avatar
    iHeartRadio
  • avatar
    Podbean
  • avatar
    Audible
  • avatar
    YouTube Music
  • avatar
    AntennaPod
  • avatar
    Podverse
  • avatar
    Podcast Republic
  • avatar
    Player FM
  • avatar
    Fountain
  • avatar
    Podcast Guru
  • avatar
    Pandora
  • avatar
    iVoox
  • avatar
    Downcast
  • avatar
    Deezer
  • avatar
    Podcast App
  • avatar
    Castamatic
  • avatar
    gPodder
  • avatar
    TuneIn Radio
  • avatar
    RSSRadio
  • avatar
    Castro
  • avatar
    LN Beats
  • avatar
    CurioCaster
  • avatar
    Goodpods
  • avatar
    Anytime Podcast Player
  • avatar
    TrueFans
  • avatar
    Podurama
  • avatar
    Moon FM
  • avatar
    Global Player
  • avatar
    Breez
  • avatar
    podStation
Help
·
Privacy
·
Terms
Marshall Jones on taking over the family business, training and employee testing