Episode 054 - Ben Manthei — The WOW Factor Podcast

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Today on the Podcast,

You’ll hear from Ben Manthei, who co-owns the Manthei Development Corporation, a road construction, and concrete business, and sits on the Board of Directors of other businesses within The Manthei Group, including a veneer mill in northern Michigan and several resorts in southern California. He serves on the Military Ministry Executive Committee of Campus Crusade for Christ to support them to further their purpose of helping spiritually support the military community and those who minister to them. Ben enjoys applying God’s principles to life’s daily challenges, and the joy he feels in servant-leadership continues to give him a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

In this episode…

Ben joins me today to share the three critical lessons his fathers’ generation taught him and his cousins about working together and the way Ben’s dad explained personality types to him and made him realize that people need to learn to work together to make a project sing. He discusses the importance of having tenacity and understanding how to combine it with hard work to achieve your goals. Ben also describes his most significant setback, how it keeps him humble to this day, and why the experience helped him gain a sense of peace and purpose in his life.

“If you don't learn to give when you're young, and you don't have anything, you won’t give when you’re older and have a lot." - Ben Manthei
“Getting your relationship right with God helps you get your relationship right with your family, and your relationship right at work." - Ben Manthei
"Teamwork means you contribute your strength and cover your partner’s weaknesses." - Ben Manthei

This week on The Wow Factor:

How Ben’s father taught his youngest son the principles of business by giving him a cow
What it was like growing up in a large Christian family and why Ben’s father was keen to encourage entrepreneurial spirit in his children
How Ben’s business career started when he became a partner in a sawmill aged just 13 years
The incident that made Ben’s father and uncle retire and inspired the 13 cousins to take over the business
How Ben and his family learned to assess their talents and work together without disagreement and stress
Ben’s advice for leaders in resolving conflict, and the power of grace and understanding in trying times
Why Ben knew it was time to move onto the second part of his career and the promise that inspired the creation of Redi-Rock
Ideas that bombed and what Ben learned from his mistakes