Ted Dennard Of Savannah Bee Company
Ted Dennard is the visionary founder of what is now becoming a global brand with a wide range of honey-based products from honeys and Meade to bath and body products. He shared his thoughts on corporate leadership, marketing, and product development that have made the Savannah Bee Company a success. His passion for giving back with his non-profit organization The Bee Cause Project is commendable.
ON LEADERSHIP ➽ "My leadership style is more like a queen bee (there is no king bee). While set up as the titular leader, the real work is done by everyone else. I put in about 55 hours or more a week, and a queen bee can lay up to 3,000 eggs a day, but mostly I inspire the company to believe our dreams can be reached. Formally we have a bottom-up leadership style with a healthy dose of top-down when called for.
CREATING A CORPORATE CULTURE ➽ "I strive to create a healthy, happy place where everyone is glad to come to work. I’m not so naive as to think we get it right all the time, but I look around and see people laughing and seemingly glad to be here. It isn’t often we have someone quit. Like my queen bee analogy, she [the leader] sets the tone and the mood of the hive. Sometimes I feel like my most important job is just being available, appreciative of what each person is doing and making sure they have what they need to be successful. Not to mention I am hopelessly optimistic and truly believe that we can do anything!
MOTIVATING PEOPLE ➽ "For the most part, everyone here is fired up to get us to our goals, and you need both of those to really make it work.They have heart in it and are rewarded as they should be." For the full article pick up a copy of the June/July issue of South magazine.
Story by Paula S. Fogarty
Photography by Cedric Smith
