Chief Executive Officer, Techtronic Industries Company Limited
Agility Champions: Steve Richman, CEO, Techtronic Industries
When Steve joined Milwaukee Tool as president in 2007, the company was 83 years old and sold a limited range of traditional ...
About Steven Richman
In an April 2020 podcast appearance, Steven Richman, CEO of Techtronic, discussed the concept of balancing different areas of life, comparing work to a rubber ball that bounces back while other aspects are like glass balls that can be damaged if dropped. He also spoke about the importance of spirit over specific religion, stating that people need to bring their spirit to family, health, friends, and work. Richman introduced the idea of "two G's" — grace and gratitude — as essential components for one's spirit. He referenced a podcast from San Quentin prison as a way to gain perspective and appreciation for one's own circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transcript (36 segments)
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Don Su0:00
Hello, I'm Don Su from MIT Sloan. Today we speak with Steve Richmond, CEO of Techtronic Industries and former president of Milwaukee Tools. Steve, welcome.
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Steven Richman0:26
Pleasure to be here, excited about the opportunity, Don.
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Don Su0:29
When Steve joined Milwaukee in 2007, it was an 83-year-old company with limited power tools. Under his leadership, they transformed to battery-powered solutions, delivered double-digit revenue growth for nearly two decades, and became the market share leader. What was your assessment when you walked in?
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Steven Richman5:15
Our assessment was clear: we had the gun to our head. Small company competing with giants, wrong culture, zero focus on the user. We needed great people, a vision of relentless focus on core trades, and disruptive innovation. We told the team: you have a choice—be part of the change or opt out. The first few years, we didn't care about culture; we worked unbelievable hours to turn the company around.
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Don Su7:36
What was your value proposition to win over customers against global giants?
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Steven Richman8:14
We wanted to be a solution provider driving productivity and safety on the job. Earning respect meant setting a vision and communicating to distribution partners that we would focus and say no to everything else. It was easy because we were small and our brand was 'your grandfather's brand'.
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Don Su10:10
How did the transition to cordless fit into the strategy?
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Steven Richman10:10
Competitors were committed to NiCad technology. We had global patents on lithium, which was disruptive. We focused on making lithium safe, increasing runtime, and backward compatibility. We partnered with Texas Instruments and others to create a total system, not just battery tech.
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Don Su11:50
When did culture become important?
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Steven Richman12:30
After a few years of success, Tim Brash and Paul Fry came to me and said, 'This isn't sustainable.' New people were leaving, and we needed to step back and define what we wanted our culture to be. That was the tipping point.
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Don Su15:15
What signals led them to that view?
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Steven Richman15:55
It was a combination of talented people leaving and new people asking, 'What does empowered mean?' We realized we had to articulate a culture.
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Don Su16:25
Can you walk us through the process of defining the culture?
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Steven Richman16:59
We worked with an outside consultant for a year. After writing it, we read it and called it BS—it wasn't who we were. We then looked at Netflix's culture and realized we had to create words that defined who we wanted to be. We spent a day defining terms like candid, empowerment, and agility, and made them aspirational.
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Don Su19:37
How did you manage the tension between a sustainable culture for people and one that drives innovation and growth?
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Steven Richman20:38
We battled over words like 'candid'. We decided that candid must be respectful and about helping each other improve, not personal. That trust is built over time.
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Don Su22:20
How did empowerment come up?
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Steven Richman23:10
Early on, we were knee-deep in everything. We learned that empowerment isn't a free-for-all; it means you own it and ask for help when needed. Later, we changed the word to 'extreme ownership' to make that clear.
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Don Su26:20
How did you as a team step back to create space for new people?
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Steven Richman26:50
There were tipping points. The team told me to stay out of NPD, and Ty to let go of financial details. But we also had failures—like the 2017 ERP disaster—where we learned that leaders must have skip-level meetings to avoid bad news being hidden.
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Don Su29:15
How do you retain agility as you grow?
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Steven Richman29:52
We train leaders on agility. For example, when residential construction slowed, our team quickly moved resources to mega projects. We also changed to a 'one team' philosophy, grading sales and job site teams together.
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Don Su32:25
At the time you defined culture, you had about 500 employees. How did you scale it?
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Steven Richman33:00
We launched the culture tied to a 'Big Goal' of $5B revenue by 2020. We held big meetings with all director-level and above, then cascaded to the entire campus and manufacturing facilities. We learned to adapt examples for different locations—like in Mississippi, we emphasized health care to show we care.
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Don Su36:55
How did you embed candid in different cultural contexts globally?
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Steven Richman38:01
Candid is challenging everywhere. It requires trust. People need to know that raising a problem won't get them fired. There's a penalty for not being a cultural fit, but not for being candid.
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Don Su39:54
How did you ensure new leaders embodied the culture as you grew?
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Steven Richman40:56
We did opinion surveys, skip-level meetings, and training. When a senior leader blamed turnover on location, we dug deeper and found a manager who called new ideas insubordination. We let him go. Walking the walk is critical.
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Don Su47:22
What advice would you give a leader trying to change culture?
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Steven Richman47:56
First, surround yourself with the right people. Second, build trust. Third, communicate candidly about where you are and the steps to change. If you're not willing to stand up and say that, people won't believe in the culture.
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Don Su50:20
How do you coach your team?
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Steven Richman50:44
I expect them to tell me when I mess up. Immediately after an incident, I like to give coaching. I had a leader, Jamie Christian, pull me aside and say my aggressiveness in a meeting was unacceptable. That reflection made me understand the role of trust and timing in candid communication.
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Don Su53:30
Any final thoughts?
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Steven Richman53:30
When issues happen—and they will—it's about understanding why and fixing together, not pointing fingers. That's core to a successful culture. We believe in test and replicate, with speed. The Milwaukee team ended 2024 with a view that we're just getting started.
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Don Su56:40
Thank you, Steve. It's a great story of transforming an 80-year-old company. All about the people and culture.
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Steven Richman57:39
Thanks, Don. All about the people and culture; they make it happen.