ASD has been named a Top Growth Company by the Entrex Private Company Index (PCI) for its 38 percent growth in Q2 2010 over Q2 2009. PCI is a proprietary benchmarking tool that measures revenue performance in the sector of private companies with $250 million or less in annual revenue.
Bob began his career serving briefly in the Army and was awarded an honorable discharge.
Later, he worked on the assembly line at General Motors installing clutch pedals. In 1984, he was offered the opportunity to join the management training program and was assigned to the Quality Control department at the Lakewood plant in Atlanta, Georgia.
Here are some of the questions that guided the discussion:
1. What did your journey of from the army, to the assembly line at General Motors to “taking a chance” on the cabling business teach you about business?
2. After 25 years of successfully running a debt-free company do you still find yourself “taking a chance”? If so, in what ways?
3. As an entrepreneur, how do you balance risk with opportunity?
4. What has been your biggest challenge in growing your company from a start-up to a successful multi-million dollar company, and how did you overcome it?
5. You have said that ASD “is a 25-year-old start up.” What do you mean by that and in what ways does that benefit your company?
6. You are known for rejecting the status quo of your industry. How does an entrepreneur successfully carve their own path, even if it goes against industry norms?
7. You were born and raised in Atlanta, and your nationwide company Automated Systems Design (ASD) has the headquarters there. What is it about Atlanta that makes it a good location for you to run your business?