Glenn Decker

You spent the early stages of your career in the Sales and Marketing fields, having worked for a sub-$100M small business to a Fortune 100 (USAA). How do you think those early career experiences developed your leadership and entrepreneurial skillset? 

The three biggest lessons from my early work experience that have carried over into my experience as owner of Classic Transportation and VP of Development at TEKMAK are:

1. It’s all about relationships. Relationships are built over time, with trust slowly earned and quickly lost.  For example, investors in our hotel developments are often investing as much based on who we, the leadership of TEKMAK Development, are as they are on the projections of the project.
2. Every job involves sales, it is just a matter of what you are selling and who you are selling it to.  The core to being a successful salesman is about knowing your customer’s business better than they know it themselves and solving their problem(s).
3. As a leader, don’t ask your team to do something you are not willing to do yourself.  The most important role of a leader is to set the vision and define the culture, and behavior always trumps words.

After spending 9 years in Sales and Marketing roles, you raised capital with a partner to acquire a small non-emergency medical transportation business in OKC, doubling its annual revenue within two years. What hardships or obstacles did you have to overcome to start that business? What experiences did you learn from it? 

The biggest challenge was establishing a new culture with specific expectations that required a change in behaviors and practices for the employees.  My business partner and I felt this was a critical step to reduce risk, improve our brand, and ensure success in growing the company.  Making those changes to the culture required some tough decisions, including separating team members who couldn’t or wouldn’t meet those expectations, and consistency in both our words and behaviors as the leaders of the company.  These changes resulted in strong growth of the company, a reduction in employee turnover, and consistent feedback from clients that Classic Transportation is the top service provider in Oklahoma. 

You joined TEMAK, a full-service hospitality development company, in 2022. Tell us a little about your role and day-to-day responsibilities.  What are your long-term entrepreneurial aspirations?

TEKMAK Development was started by my father-in-law, Tom Kirkland, in 1998, and I consider it a daily blessing to have the opportunity to work with him in it. My day-to-day includes overseeing operations of our existing hotels through third-party management companies, managing the construction process for new hotels, and laying the groundwork via land, franchise, and capital acquisition for future hotel development projects. For instance, we are currently raising equity on a new development, and have two more hotel developments that we expect to begin building the capital stack for later this year. My efforts in this area have ranged from managing the financial modeling for the development to presenting the opportunity to Family Offices and hospitality-focused PE Firms. 

My long-term aspirations are to take the unique opportunity I have been offered with TEKMAK Development and grow it into an organization that not only makes a sizeable impact on the community we are based in (Rockwall, TX), but within each community we develop a hotel in. 

How do you define “excellence” in business? 

Excellence is ultimately defined by results…  How well does the business perform within the market and community it operates in relative to its peers, and does it deliver on its commitments to investors?  I also believe ‘results’ go beyond purely financial or business metrics, to include the impact you are making on the associated stakeholders: customers, employees, and the community at large. 

How has receiving the Future Texas Business Legend Award and being part of the organization impacted your professional journey and leadership skills?

Receiving the grant while pursuing my MBA at TCU Neeley School of Business gave me confidence that an organization dedicated to Texas business exceptionalism believed in me, and it accelerated my ability to take the entrepreneurial path with the scholarship funds gifted.  However, it has really been the time I have spent involved with the Texas Business Hall of Fame after I graduated that has made the biggest impact.  The relationships, mentorship, and peer mentoring that I have and continue to receive by being involved with the Texas Business Hall of Fame continue to be one of the richest sources of knowledge and inspiration I have found, and I am very excited for where it will lead.