Bill Yeargin
12 min read ⭑
“Reading to learn new things is exciting. Sometimes people are surprised to hear about my reading choices, but I much prefer to read something that challenges my thinking rather than something that validates it. Learning is a great feeling, and few things are as exhilarating as having my mind changed or seeing things from a new perspective.”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
Our family, like most, enjoys eating together. For many years, my extended family would meet at Pronti’s, an Italian restaurant in South Florida that has since closed. We would usually wait at least an hour for a table to eat the world’s best pizza. The pizza was always amazing, but the experience of being with family to catch up on the week and each other’s lives was a “money can’t buy” experience. Even the wait went fast. This was a family tradition we kept up for many years.
My book Education of a Traveler shares what I have learned visiting 117 countries. The following is an excerpt about food from the book:
“The best meals I have enjoyed while traveling were undoubtedly at my grandmother’s house in Oxford, North Carolina. She would make fried chicken that can’t be duplicated, country ham, vegetables straight from my grandfather’s garden, and homemade biscuits. Then she would top it off with homemade chocolate pie. I would be a rich man if I could replicate those meals and set up a restaurant selling them. A close second to Grandma’s food was just down the .street from her house in Henderson, North Carolina, at Nunnery Freeman BBQ. Unfortunately, Grandma passed away years ago and Nunnery’s, as we called it, is closed, but I would pay a lot to duplicate either of those meals.
“After Grandma’s cooking and Nunnery’s, probably the best meal I have enjoyed while traveling was a lunch in the Golan Heights, just northeast of the Sea of Galilee. It was an amazing mixed grill that several people shared, and it was wonderfully delicious. Mixed grill must be popular in the Middle East because a close second to the Golan Heights lunch was a similar meal sitting on the shore of the Nile river in Cairo. I can’t actually remember having a meal in the Middle East that was not delicious—it’s a great destination for foodies.
“I also remember one dinner on the top floor of my host’s home in a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, high-rise. The condominium opened on both sides for a total al fresco vibe. On one side of the condominium was Sugarloaf Mountain, and on the other was the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue. I cannot imagine there was a better view in all of Rio, maybe even in all of South America—and the dinner was as good as the view. Churrasco, the Brazilian BBQ mixed grill, was very tasty, although I am sure the remarkable view didn’t hurt the flavor. We also enjoyed feijoada, which is a bean stew with beef that is probably Brazil’s most famous dish. While that night in Rio may have been my favorite South American meal, my experience is that food all across the continent is outstanding.”
Janko Ferlič; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So, what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?
Fitness is very important to me. People often ask me how I have time to exercise, and I tell them it does not cost time—it provides me time. In business terms, exercise has a great ROI. Here’s an excerpt from Education of a Traveler about fitness that explains this:
“In the 1990s, I was getting a little heavier than I wanted to be, so I started exercising, and it became an important part of my lifestyle.
“I try to exercise every day I possibly can, even when traveling. At one point, I was so focused on exercising that I became a certified personal trainer. The benefits of exercise are well documented, but I have learned two things related to it. First, exercise is not an expense of time; it is an investment. If I exercise six hours a week, I feel like I get at least that much time back in productivity. Second, I have learned that no amount of exercise will make up for a bad diet.”
Learning is also very important and energizing to me. Below is another excerpt from my book Education of a CEO that explains how reading helps me:
“Someone once said that a year from now, we will be the same person we are today except for the places we go and the books we read.
“St. Augustine said, ‘The world is a book, and those who do not travel only read one page,’ while George R.R. Martin added, ‘A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.’
“As a young kid, maybe 8 or 9, I remember being excited on Saturday mornings when the Bookmobile would come into our neighborhood. I would run up to the Little General convenience store where it was parked for the morning and return the previous week’s book I had borrowed before searching through the big bus for a new book. I guess I was a nerd.
“As the decades passed, my passion for reading continued to grow, and even now, I finish dozens of books each year. I always have two books going, one on my Kindle and one on my Audible app. Though it’s now old fashioned, I will occasionally even read a hard copy of a book.
“Reading to learn new things is exciting. Sometimes, people are surprised to hear about my reading choices, but I much prefer to read something that challenges my thinking rather than something that validates it. Learning is a great feeling, and few things are as exhilarating as having my mind changed or seeing things from a new perspective.”
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
Goodness, an entire book—a long one—could be written about my mistakes. Here are a few:
I tend to have a zillion friends, but my relationships can often be a mile wide and an inch deep.
I tend to be more of a strategic thinker, which results in me not being particularly competent at anything in particular.
My eyes glaze over if a conversation gets into too many details because I prefer a big-picture view.
I tend to be more logical than I should be. I highly value people and relationships, but I may not give them enough importance in decision-making.
I tend to want closure, which can result in making quick decisions when more evaluation is needed.
Below is an excerpt from my book Education of a CEO on a consistent mistake I have made over my career:
“The best teammates have all three characteristics: character, competency, and chemistry. The consistent hiring mistake I’ve made throughout my career is to overvalue competency. Of course, I would never knowingly hire someone with bad character or chemistry, but I can be blinded by high competency, which causes me to either overlook character and chemistry or downplay the negatives in these areas. Unfortunately, over the years, this has put me in the position of having to ask some highly competent people to leave our organization after the chemistry or competency issues became unbearable.
“Focusing on character, chemistry, and competency provides me the best framework to evaluate current and prospective team members.”
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?
As CEO of Correct Craft, I spend a lot of time trying to create clarity. I need to provide clarity regarding our mission, vision, values, strategic plan, and annual plan. If I provide clarity regarding what we are working toward and how we will do it, I can pretty much step back and let people perform.
Below is a funny story from my book Education of a CEO about clarity:
“‘Bill, wake up. We have bears on the back porch.’
“Actually, I have heard those words more than once. We live in Central Florida on the east side of the region in an area known for bears; by some accounts, we have hundreds of them in our county. We occasionally see them in our yard, usually at night, although they have been known to make appearances in our community during the day.
“This particular night, the bears were on the back porch, and we were a little concerned that they would come in for a visit, breaking through the glass doors andheading out the back of the house. That was not an adventure I wanted, so I grabbed my gun. (Don’t hate me, gun control folks—it’s just for protection.) I found a nice spot on the staircase from where I could watch the bears. My wife grabbed a foghorn, and the noise from it scared most of the bears away with just one huge bear staying, staring into the house from the porch. I sat and watched the bear and would have sworn its head was turning back and forth, casing out the house. I expected it to come through the glass doors at any moment. I did not want to shoot a bear but definitely would have if it broke into the house. Of course, my cautious wife counseled me to be very careful and be sure I knew what I was shooting before pulling the trigger, to which I replied, ‘Anyone or anything breaking through that door tonight is getting shot!’
“Okay, I’m embarrassed to write this next part, but it’s important to my point, so I will. After a bit, we turned on some outdoor lights and realized the huge remaining bear was no bear at all; it was a big chair we had on the back porch. Thankfully, we finally turned on the outdoor lights and got some clarity.
“Like me that night, our teams need clarity. It is one of the most important things a leader can provide. Second, I spend time trying to create energy. Once a CEO provides clarity, then they need to provide the energy to help their team achieve the goals.”
And here’s another excerpt from Education of a CEO on the power of energy:
“Few would call me ‘passionate’ about sports, but I do enjoy paying attention from the periphery. I follow standings during the regular season and occasionally enjoy reading Sports Illustrated, but that’s about it. Other than a sporadic playoff or finals game, very rarely will I watch sports on television. I know people who spend hours each evening watching sports on TV, but that is not how I want to spend my time. I guess I would rather be reading. Yes, I know. I’m a nerd.
“Despite not being a sports fanatic, I have thoroughly enjoyed the unique opportunity of attending many championship games and events, including the World Series, Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, Olympics, World Cup, Kentucky Derby, Masters Golf Tournament, and a college football championship. And they were thrilling—the energy was off the charts.
“Other than my daughter’s games, the most exciting sports event I have attended was Game Seven of the 1997 World Series. The Florida Marlins were playing the Cleveland Indians in Miami, and the game went into extra innings. How could it get more exciting than Game Seven, extra innings, where every pitch could change sports history? In the bottom of the 11th inning, the tension was intense. Edgar Renteria was up and hit a walk-off single, allowing Craig Counsel to score from second base and giving the Marlins the World Championship. The stadium erupted. Nearly 70,000 people went from being extremely stressed to jubilant in a matter of seconds. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“The second-most exciting sports event was the Belmont Stakes on June 6, 2015. After a 37-year Triple Crown drought, that week, it looked like American Pharoah had a real chance to earn horse racing’s highest honor. Since our family had always enjoyed horses, we made a last-minute New York trip to attend the race and hopefully see history. And history we saw. The tension was palpable, and as American Pharoah went into the homestretch with a lead on his way to victory, there was enough energy at the Belmont to power all of New York City.
“Imagine the impact on our organizations if we could capture that kind of energy.”
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors, or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
The time God has been the clearest to me was when I accepted my current role as CEO of Correct Craft and moved my family to Orlando. I was entrenched in South Florida, having spent my entire life there. I was the chair of our community hospice, a board member of our local university, and an elder in our church. Plus, almost all my friends and family were in south Florida.
After walking away from the Correct Craft CEO opportunity once before, the company approached me again in 2006. Not really interested, I listened to be polite.
Then a few things happened in my life that were incredibly dramatic and could only be explained by divine intervention. Despite concerns about uprooting my family, I accepted the job and we moved to Central Florida.
In my book Making Life Better: The Correct Craft Story, I write about how God worked at our company in the years that followed. It created anxiety at the time, but looking back, accepting the CEO role at Correct Craft and moving my family to Central Florida was clearly a God thing.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin’ best for you right now?
Most years, I try to read the Bible all the way through. I’ve done it many times, and it’s interesting how I learn so much each time. In recent years, I’ve listened to a chronological version of the Bible. I’ve found that taking in the information differently, oddly enough, helps me see things in the Bible that I had never seen before.
Secondly—and I know this makes some Christians uncomfortable—I like to meditate. Sometimes when I mention that, Christians look at me like I said something crazy. And I guess to them, I had. So I spent time learning about what the Bible says about the practice, and it’s clear that spending time focusing on renewing our mind. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (ESV). That is meditating.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources—lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff, too. What are some resources that have impacted you?
For many years, I have been very concerned about how many Christians’ focus on legalism and politics is pushing people away from a relationship with God. I believe we should have an eternal perspective and draw people to our faith, not repel them.
Two resources that have really helped me in this area are books written by Andy Stanley, Irresistible and Not in It to Win It. I highly recommend them both.
We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season—and tell us what it’s done for you.
This may seem odd because it’s so common, but the resource would be Audible. I enjoy taking in as much information as I can and especially through books. Audible allows me to listen to books while I’m driving, exercising, or even just running into the grocery store to pick up something. Audible definitely makes my life much better!
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
I’m honored to be the CEO of a billion-dollar company with operations across the U.S. and in 70 countries around the world. Additionally, Correct Craft is a historic and well-respected brand that easily opens doors.
My dream is to continue finding new ways to use our platform for good. We already take employees across the globe to serve those who need us in addition to working in our local communities. Also, for many years, we’ve been working to cultivate a great culture throughout our companies and 2,100 employees.
But there’s a lot more to do.
When people learn that we’re a philanthropic organization, they’re quick to ask for money. We like to assist, but they are disappointed to learn that helping them is not part of our mission.
We are committed to finding ways to help our employees serve their communities and others around the globe.
So my dream is that we continue to find ways to engage our whole team in serving.
This culture of ours likes to separate things secular and sacred. But this distinction doesn’t exist in Scripture. Instead, as Christians, everything we do can have eternal significance—whether we’re worshipping at church, taking care of our families, or working at the office.
In every area of our lives, we can continue finding new ways to do good and benefit those around us. As Paul challenges us, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17, ESV).
So what does that look like for you today?
Bill Yeargin is the CEO of Correct Craft, a 97-year-old boat-building company with global operations. Under Bill’s leadership, Correct Craft has won all their industry’s major awards and developed a unique culture of “Making Life Better.” He has served both the Obama and Trump administrations on cabinet-level advisory councils. A sought-after conference speaker, he has also written four books, including Making Life Better: The Correct Craft Story and Education of a CEO: Lessons for Leaders. He and his wife, Leigh, have two daughters, Erin (married to Ben) and Amanda.