industry : lessons in leadership
Lessons in Leadership: Steve English, One World Shutters BY SOPHIA BENNETT
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teve English grew up on a small farm in Texas. His father, a police officer, and mother, a teacher, instilled values like hard work and never making excuses in him from a young age. These helped him achieve great success early in life, first as a pole vaulter at Texas State University and then as a high school football coach. They continued to serve him well when he and his wife, Julie, started their own window treatment retail company in Texas. Running his own business helped English learned about every facet of the industry, from sales to measuring and ordering to installation. After just a few years, he took a full-time job as the regional sales manager for Texas and Oklahoma at Norman Shutters. His territory grew as the company expanded, and he eventually moved into an executive role as general manager of Norman’s regional business center in Texas.
English went on to become the executive vice president of PIC Business Systems, then the COO and CEO of Elegant Windows. He also opened his own CRM company, called zoes.com, to help companies manage contacts and business
34 | JULY + AUGUST 2021
| wf-vision.com
as he discussed his thoughts on the window treatment industry and management in general.
What is the biggest challenge facing the window covering industry right now?
The ongoing problems caused by the pandemic, as well as the current worldwide supply chain and logistics challenges, are huge. More than 40 percent of the labor force has vanished due to COVID-19. With fewer workers at the ports, fewer containers can be filled. With fewer drivers for LTL domestic trucks, we’re seeing many issues and delays. processes. In 2018, he began laying the groundwork to enter the shutter business once again. His new company, One World Shutters, offers high-quality hybrid and wood shutters to the trade. Despite his perch at the top spot in the company, he’s never forgotten his parents’ early life lessons. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the values that I learned early on. It’s who I am, what matters to me and how I approach our work still today,” he says. He riffed on these and other themes
At One World, we have been deploying further local repair and production capabilities to keep up with consumer demands. We must all think on our feet and develop new strategies for how to supply the marketplace in a timely manner.
