It's time for another profile. As I mentioned last month, I had the thought of writing a book and went about the business of interviewing those who have had a positive influence on me. This profile is about Rae Burton, a retired PPG Industries Vice-President, who I met in 1993 when I transferred to Lake Charles, LA. I reported to Rae through my plant manager, then on a dotted line basis when I was the Information Technology for the Chemicals division.
Rae is an "old school" guy who believes in personal relationships. Your word is your honor. He used the phone and travelled extensively to personally meet with customers, suppliers and his team. My first and lasting impression of Rae is that you had to be prepared and know your stuff. He doesn't suffer fools easily and helped me understand that preparation is the key to success. There are no free rides with Rae. You have to work for respect. He will not ask a person to do anything he wouldn't or hasn't done himself.
He is from San Antonio, TX with a degree from the University of Texas in Chemical Engineering and Business. He then went into the Navy for four years after graduation. Once leaving the Navy, he found PPG and stayed for 32 years, retiring in 2004. He picked PPG from the handful of offers because he felt they listened to him in the interviews and understood what he looked for in a career. He also felt they had high ethical standards, which would be supported throughout his career.
I'm a better person and leader because of Rae. I may not have always agreed with his methods, but he taught me that consistency and adherence to high ethical standards is a foundation for personal and professional success. With Rae, ethics are not situational. I define integrity as being true to your actions. Rae exemplified that core value for me. He would not tolerate unethical behavior and always moved quickly to root it out of his organizations. In addition, he lead his divisions to high levels of profitability year in and year out. I think of him often and hope I have the character to stick to my core values in every situation.
I wish Rae well and glad we had the chance to connect a couple of years ago. I know he is enjoying the three "g's" in his retirement-grand kids, golf and gardening. I hope he knows the impact he's made on me and those who worked with him.
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