Jagler: ASQ's CEO William Troy applies military disciplines in corporate setting

It’s easy for William Troy to remember where he was during the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

He was working in the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

“It knocked me out of my chair,” Troy said of the explosion caused by the impact of hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the Pentagon, killing all 64 passengers on the plane and 125 people in the building.

Troy also remembers what happened next: Donald Rumsfeld, who was serving as U.S. defense secretary, told all surviving Pentagon employees to report for work the next day.

“The word came back from the Department of Defense: Everyone will come back to work tomorrow, whether you have a place to work or not,” Troy said.

By the time Troy retired from the U.S. Army in 2013, he had risen through the ranks to become a lieutenant general.

With multiple tours of duty and service awards in his hip pocket, the West Point graduate, who grew up in Racine, sought a position in corporate America where he could apply his vast experience and leadership skills.

With the help of an executive recruiter, Troy was appointed in 2014 to be the CEO of the American Society for Quality, a Milwaukee-based global nonprofit organization that advocates for and trains companies and their leaders to measure and improve quality.

As CEO, Troy has placed a high priority on creating and nurturing a “culture of quality.” According to Troy, that culture can be applied to any business in any industry.

“It’s a journey, not a destination,” Troy said.

For this week’s column, I asked Troy to outline seven examples of how his military training and skills can be applied in the private sector. Here they are:

1. Be clear about what you believe in. “Our armed forces have ideals to strive for and codes to live by. Similarly, our business and community organizations exist for some genuine purpose. What is it? What are you striving for? What is your larger purpose? If we’re clear about who we are and what we believe in, there’s a better chance of attaining our goals,” Troy said.
2. How you react in challenging times plays a powerful role in defining your culture. “In the military, a great deal of training prepares us for the inevitable tough times. Our training and military education give us tools to perform in stressful situations,” Troy said. “It is no different in the business world. A bad quarter, an accident on a job site, a complaint about misconduct or harassment — crises occur in every organization. We all have them. The question for us as leaders is, how are we going to react?”
3. Model desired behaviors. “People are people, in uniform or out. Building a culture is about shaping human behavior, and the best way to do that is by modeling the behaviors you expect. People will listen to what you say, but they will believe what you do. Our personal example as leaders is critical. I have found soldiers to be remarkably forgiving if they know you as a leader are doing your best and are honest with them. There is no difference in the business world.”
4. Pay attention to what you reward and recognize. “We all crave positive reinforcement, and most leaders don’t provide as much as we should. I think celebration is fundamental to a healthy culture, and if your organization isn’t celebrating, you should be asking why,” Troy said.
5. Pay attention to what you correct. “We enforce high standards in the small things so the standards will be adhered to in the big things. The key, however, is everyone knows the rules and the rules are enforced,” Troy said. “Your policies — and the way you enforce them — need to match the beliefs, values and behaviors you deem important in your organization.”
6. Measure the right things. “Your organization’s metrics say a lot about who you are and what’s important to you. Show me your top-level metrics, and I’ll show you what you value,” Troy said.
7. Be purposeful in how you allocate resources. “If you say, for example, that you value employee development, but you don’t allocate time or other resources to it, that’s not a very credible claim. No one in the organization will buy that development is valued, and no one will treat it as a priority. Your resource allocation must reflect your priorities and your priorities must reflect your values,” Troy said.

Steve Jagler is the business editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. C-Level stands for high-ranking executives, typically those with “chief” in their titles. Send C-Level column ideas to him at steve.jagler@journalsentinel.com.

William Troy

Title: Chief executive officer

Organization: American Society for Quality, Milwaukee

Previous experience: Three-star lieutenant general, U.S. Army (retired)

Hometown: Racine

Residence: Milwaukee

Education: Master of science degree in systems technology, Naval Postgraduate School; master of arts degree in national security and strategic studies, Naval War College; senior fellow, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University; and bachelor of science degree in history, U.S. Military Academy at West Point

Family: Wife, Paula; sons, Will and Garrett; and granddaughter, Carmen

Best advice ever received: “From my dad, ‘Do your best, then the hell with it.’ Like a lot of good advice, I admire it more than I follow it!”

Favorite movie: “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

Favorite musical artist: Bruce Springsteen

Favorite Wisconsin restaurant: Buckley’s Restaurant & Bar

Extra point: “When I retired from the military, I worked with a screenwriter on a television pilot. I loved it.”