In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Dan Hesse talks with Greg Graves, retired Chairman and CEO of Burns & McDonnell. Greg led one of the fastest-growing and most successful engineering, architecture, construction and environmental consulting firms in North America.  In his 13 years as CEO, employment (and therefore the number of employee-owners) quadrupled, revenues grew 10-fold to $3 Billion, and the company produced an average ROI in excess of 25% each year – all organically. Fortune Magazine listed Burns & McDonnell among it’s Top 100 Best Places to Work list six times, reaching #14 in 2014. His best-selling book Create Amazing about employee ownership has held the #1 positions in the Business, Human Resources and Democracy categories at Amazon.

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SHOW NOTES:

GREG GRAVES:

BIO: Greg Graves Bio

BOOK:

Create Amazing: Turn Your Employees into Owners for Explosive Growth, by Greg Graves

ARTICLES & VIDEO CLIPS:

CEO Greg Graves Announces Retirement

Retired Burns & McDonnell CEO Greg Graves on Improving Business and Empowering Workers

Video Clip: Greg Graves retirement and plans

Graves May Be Leaving Burns & McDonnell, but He’ll Remain a Civic Force in KC — Ingram's

These Kansas City philanthropists built a private lake for family, friends and charity — Kansas City Spaces, The Kansas City Star

HIGH PRAISE for Greg Graves' Create Amazing book:

Create Amazing reached #1 for Business, #1 for Human Resources and #1 for Democracy categories at Amazon over different times.

In 2023, the United States Senate reached out to Greg and asked for 100 copies, one for each member.

Rutgers University School of Business Annual Book Award is called the Joyce Rothschild Prize for Economic Democracy. Semi-Finalist, then Finalist, finally 2nd prize…2023.

The London Book Awards (Cambridge) Semi-Finalist, then Finalist for the International Business Book of the Year….2022.

Good to Great Author Jim Collins: “In Create Amazing, Greg Graves argues persuasively that employee ownership—-done the right way and for the right reasons——can be a catalytic force for economic prosperity and corporate endurance.”

University of Kansas Chancellor Doug Girod: “Greg Graves’ dynamic leadership of a highly successful large multinational employee-owned company provides him with a unique perspective of wealth building in America.”

United States Senator Jerry Moran: “As Create Amazing makes clear, employee ownership has a rich history in our country—-and a strong future. Greg Graves has given us a How-To Manuel for combining good politics and economic policy to reduce economic disparity and improve the financial well-being of our nation.