Chapman became chief executive officer of family-owned Barry-Wehmiller in 1975 at age 30, after the untimely death of his father. Today, $2-plus billion Barry-Wehmiller is a combination of more than 80 acquired companies with over 11,000 team members in more than 100 locations around the globe.
As Chapman states in his book, Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Treating Your People Like Family, his early focus as CEO was on financial success. That soon faded as he came to the realization that being a good steward of the business meant making sure that his employees received more than just a paycheck in return for their time and talent.
He believed, as a business owner, it was his responsibility to create an environment where his team members have the chance to develop their gifts and feel that they and their work matter.
“I was in the midst of raising six kids, feeling the deep sense of responsibility of making sure they were cared for and had the tools to develop into the people they were meant to be. It dawned on me that I wanted to give that same opportunity to the team members who worked for me,” recalls Chapman in his TrulyHumanLeadership blog.
Since the early 2000s, Chapman has championed the transformation of Barry-Wehmiller’s culture into one focused on bringing out the best in its people through communication, trust, celebration, respect, continuous improvement, and responsible freedom. “We now have a new way of defining our success,” says Chapman. “At Barry-Wehmiller, we measure success by the way we touch the lives of people.”