‘You just don’t walk out of a board meeting’

Business editor Henry Unger’s “5 Questions for the Boss” reveals the lessons learned by CEOs of the area’s major companies and organizations. The column alternates with business editor Matt Kempner’s “Secrets of Success, ” which shares the vision and realities of entrepreneurs who started their dreams from scratch.

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With more than two decades in the commercial construction business, Rich Driggs has plenty of career lessons to share. As president of Heery International for nearly a year, he's been in charge of a soup-to-nuts Atlanta firm ($275 million in annual revenue) that provides architectural, engineering, interior design and construction services to many industries. Currently, Heery is involved in an array of projects, including the new Atlanta Falcons stadium and the new Sandy Springs headquarters for IntercontinentalExchange, which recently bought the New York Stock Exchange.

Driggs, 47, has had to deal with a controversial and costly lawsuit filed by the DeKalb County school system several years before he joined Heery. The much-publicized suit, which tarnished Heery’s brand, alleged that the company mismanaged the system’s construction program. He discusses how and why he settled the suit.

But it’s Driggs’ personal experience as a foster parent for at-risk children that separates his story from those of many other top executives. He and his wife decided to take on that challenging role after experiencing “a miracle.” Driggs talks about what happened, as well as what he learned from three instrumental people in his life — his father, a key professional mentor and a young girl.

Q: Who influenced you early?

A: I grew up in Peoria, Ill. My dad was a muddy boots superintendent running commercial construction projects.

To get me out of my mom’s hair when I was a kid, my dad took me to work with him on Saturday. We’d ride around on a tractor, pushing dirt around.

That was a dream for a 7-year-old. I always knew what I wanted to do from that. But my dad said, “you’re going to be on the management side of things, not on the muddy boots side.”

During college, I jackhammered concrete for three straight summers. That was hard, hot work.

My father’s lesson to me was — you’re going to remember where you came from, you’re going to appreciate your education, and you’re going to be empathetic toward the people who work for you one day.

Q: What early lesson did you learn from sports?

A: I was a wrestler since I was a kid. That is a humbling sport. There is always someone better than you. You're out there in the middle of the mat with your opponent. You can't hide. There is no one else to blame.

In high school, there were two wrestling coaches who I thought were pretty tyrannical at the time. They would push us to do stairs and sit in hot rooms where they would turn off the AC. Sometimes, we would even have the hot suits on. We would work our tails off.

That’s where I learned how to put my head down and endure. You always have to be grinding it out.

Q: You studied construction management at Purdue University and then worked on several projects after you graduated, including on the NASA building in Washington, D.C. There and later in Charlotte, you worked for an executive who was instrumental in your career. What happened?

A: A regional president, with six different offices under him, was known for churning out great leaders. He would pick one younger person who would work with him for three years. I was picked and he'd expose me to all his meetings.

Periodically, he would debrief with me. He would really help craft my leadership profile. He would say, “this was positive, this is what this guy needs to work on, and this is what you need to learn from this.”

You would see some manager who sells well, but doesn’t deliver projects on time, and vice versa. You got to see the best of both worlds when you’re at an impressionable age. I was in my late 20s.

It was ingenious. If I’m honest, I probably owe where I am today to him.

I’m doing (that same type of training) now with someone here.

Q: Through several acquisitions, you stayed with what became Lend Lease Corp. for 22 years, working in a variety of increasingly responsible positions. But you almost made a big mistake. What happened?

A: It just takes one bad experience to sidetrack your career.

We had a good safety record in the business I managed. But in the broader company, which was based in Australia, they had eight fatalities in four months across the globe. It sent up a bunch of red flags.

The CEO called me. “Hey,” he said, “we would like for you to come here and help us fix this problem.”

I had a silly response. I said, “I’m not a safety guy.”

He said, “come down to Sydney and let’s talk about it.” He explained to me that this is not about being a safety guy. This is about being a leader who can change the culture of a global company.

I almost made the mistake of being close-minded. I’m fortunate that he knew to take the time to frame the role in the right way.

Q: How did you change the culture? What are the lessons for dealing with any major issue?

A: We broke it down and looked at the various levers we needed to pull to create lasting change. It included committed leaders, robust communication, a new incentive compensation program for safety, revamped training, a new safety management system with requirements — and the means and methods to accomplish them.

We built safety into our business like we did finance.

Previously, you could statistically bank on eight to 12 fatalities a year. The year after we implemented the change, we had one fatality, and that was by a new acquisition that we had made.

It was career altering. It gave me a change-management skill set. You need to look at a (major problem) holistically.

Bonus questions

Q: How did you look at the DeKalb schools lawsuit?

A: I got thrown into the frying pan. I walk into this role and I very quickly understand what the priority is — and that is DeKalb. I've been doing this for 24 years and I saw how much money we spent on legal fees. It's a staggering number — tens of millions of dollars.

It was a dark cloud hanging over the company. In the first few years of the legal controversy, competitors were effective at hurting our brand. There were several sales that we would have won had this not happened.

I dug into it. I went and met with Michael Thurmond (head of the DeKalb school system) and established a one-on-one relationship. No lawyers around.

We knew we were both diverting funds toward legal fees. The fact the we both were new (in our positions) was the key element to (settling) because I had a willing partner.

The lesson there is that litigation should be the last resort. Once you start getting deep into litigation, there’s a deep financial commitment and it becomes an emotional issue, which is the worst thing that can happen. You just want to fight. But the thing to do is to cut your losses and compromise.

Q: How did you get involved with foster care?

A: My wife Carla and I tried to get pregnant and couldn't. The doctor said she has bad eggs — those of an 80-year-old woman.

We did in vitro fertilization and had our daughter.

Then, I’m at a board meeting in London about seven years ago and my wife calls me three times. You know, you just don’t walk out of a board meeting. She says she’s pregnant naturally.

The doctor predicts a miscarriage, saying, “80-year-old women don’t have babies.”

But later on, the doctor said, “I’ve been doing this for 30 years and it’s a miracle — you have a healthy, baby boy.”

We were blessed. It was the high point in our lives. Once that happened, we knew we had to figure out a way to give back.

Q: What did you do?

A: We got involved in foster care with a private nonprofit, Giving Children a Chance.

Our kids were 4 years old and 2 years old at that point. We brought in an 18-month-old girl and a 3-year-old boy. They were living on the street with their single, teenage mom.

I’m not sure we knew what we were getting into. The girl was detached at best. Her personality was sour. We just continued to work with her.

At the six-month mark, out came this little smile from her and out came this affectionate personality where she could kiss and hug. She chose to trust again because she began to think she had safe harbor. We made that connection.

I learned that despite the resistance to a connection, you just got to keep plugging away at it and eventually the stars will align. If there is a secret sauce, it is love.