The Key to Positive Change

Scott Humphrey, CEO, WFCA

It is hard to believe that as I write this article, I am celebrating the 11th anniversary of my tenure as the CEO of the WFCA. It has been an amazing ride.

During those 11 years, we have relocated our headquarters to Dalton, GA, acquired fcB2B and CFI (Certified Flooring Installers), taken on the management of FCIF (Floor Covering Industry Foundation) and FCEF (Floor Covering Education Foundation), become the voice of the flooring industry in Washington, D.C., launched SEAL Leadership Certification, and seen our membership explode from 1200 in January of 2020 to over 10,000 today. And that is just touching the surface of what we have planned over the next 5 years.

I don’t say this to pat myself on the back or elevate your view of me. In fact, I see myself as only a small cog in the success the WFCA has experienced. I could credit a strong financial base due to the wisdom and foresight of my predecessor Chris Davis and the past WFCA leadership. Our financial position allows the WFCA to do what few associations can — like donate $1 million in seed money to launch the FCEF in order to take on the biggest threat to independent flooring retailers – the Installation Crisis.

I could credit timing that allowed us to be in the right place at the right time to acquire CFI in order to battle that same Crisis. I could credit my heritage working for my dad and uncle at HRH Rug, Thermo Carpet, and Rug, and Humphrey Brothers starting at the age of 7.

The truth is, I never envisioned this future while growing up or even during my 25 years at Shaw Industries. I have been blessed! Each year, I reflect not only on what the WFCA has been able to accomplish and how much we have changed but on the reason for our successes and what we can learn from our failures. In the end, success comes down to one thing, and this one thing, if you will invest in it, will lead you to success as well — Your People.

The WFCA Board of Directors

Over the years, our board has been made up of a great cross-section of the industry, encompassing: installation, retail, buying groups, commercial, distributors, suppliers and manufacturers. The Board represents small single-store locations and large multistore/multi-state conglomerates. We combine the wisdom of both men and women and older and younger. We focus not only on the trials of today but the legacy of the future. But there are several things our board members have in common: Integrity, positive reputation, hard-working, and passionate about the health of all independent flooring retailers and our overall industry.

The WFCA Staff

If you ask me what I am most proud of as a leader, it is the team I work with each day. I am surrounded by some of the hardest-working professionals in the industry. We are not the largest staff by any means, but I would put our accomplishments up against any group in the industry. I have never been one to hire people like myself.

The best organizations rarely succeed by cloning their CEO. Strong leaders know their weaknesses and surround themselves with those whose strengths fill the void in their own leadership. The most important thing you will do as a leader is attract and hire those who will determine your organizations successes. Bill Parcels, former coach of the NFL’s New York Giants, was known to say, ”If you are going to ask me to cook the dinner, you have to let me buy the groceries.” As a CEO that means that to require me to achieve success without attracting, hiring, and leading the team that will make that possible, is lunacy.

Personal Relationships

Through the years I have learned that growing and achieving success as a leader, is linked directly to surrounding yourself with doers, winners, and those who are willing to challenge the status quo. If you are a parent, you likely explained this truth to your children at some point — “Your friends will influence and in many ways determine the person you will become.” Let me share something with you that we can’t let our kids know. ”Adults are just kids in bigger bodies.” We are still influenced and impacted by those who surrounds us.

In short, if you can make one investment in life that is guaranteed to have the greatest impact on your success and life outcome, your efforts will be in vain if you focus anywhere other than the people who surround you at home and work. As I look back over my 61 years on this earth and the 11 years I have been blessed to lead the WFCA, any successes I have had rest not with me but in the relationships I have forged through the years. I challenge you to consider the one investment that will outlive you — people… ■