Established in 1848, Hancock Lumber Company is a sixth-generation, family-owned business operating a land company, sawmill division, a network of retail lumber yards, home design showrooms and a truss manufacturing facility.
In 2010, CEO Kevin Hancock started losing his voice and was soon diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, an incurable neurological condition that causes spasms in the vocal cords and is made worse by stress. While going through his personal struggle, Kevin traveled to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota where he truly learned what it meant to have no voice. In this week’s episode, we dive into Kevin’s journey and how his experience propelled Hancock Lumber to a more employee-centric business culture.
Throughout the last decade, a significant movement has become more prevalent within the business world. An initiative that places a greater emphasis on people over profit; more organizations are embracing their passion for impact in an effort to leave the world in a better state from which they found it. Entities such as Ben and Jerry’s, Tom’s Shoes, Warby Parker, Patagonia, and many more are thriving with purpose at the wheel. What implications does this hold for marketplace opportunity? What internal and external challenges do these companies face when shifting their primary trajectory towards doing good in the world? Is there merit in the common stigma of organizations needing to be a nonprofit to place focus on impact and change? These and questions of the same vein are what Graham and Andrew seek to uncover. By sitting with entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, executives, and visionaries who are walking the walk, the two have the opportunity to seek out how this movement is changing the way business is being done across the globe.
If you’re interested in being a guest on the show, please send us a message and a member of our team will connect you with our booking coordinator.
