LEADERSHIP Conversations with the Captains of Industry Leading With Candor and a Dash of Empathy
Nicole Glenn thrives on chaos and enjoys creating solutions on the fly that make someone else—her customer—into a hero. “Customers call with their hair on fire,” says Glenn, founder and CEO of Candor Expedite in Plano, Texas. “A shipment got routed incorrectly, someone missed something. When I tell them we can make it happen, it’s rewarding to hear their sigh of relief.” Glenn founded Candor—a logistics company for time- sensitive shipments—in 2017. We talked with her recently to learn her history and how she’s leading Candor into its next stage of growth. IL: Why have you made transportation your career? I fell into it as an administrator, but then I found I loved the opportunity to talk with people. Back in 2000, we still did a lot of our work over the phone. I enjoyed crafting relationships that way. I had friends—trucking company owners—all over the country who would call me when they had shipments. Now, I don’t think I could work in any other industry. I’m too used to the fast pace. IL: Tell us about an event that helped to shape you as a leader. I worked for many years as a transportation sales rep. There’s a mindset in that role that you should hustle to get as much freight as you can and increase your commission check. When I was asked to become vice president, I almost turned it down because I’d trained myself to constantly ask, “What’s next?” Leadership requires slowing down to think about the next step in the company’s journey, and slowing down wasn’t my style. But I took the position, and soon fell in love with managing people, figuring out how to help them grow. I went from having to be selfish to having to be selfless. Now that I own my own company, I get to do that every day. IL: What changes have you seen in Candor’s business since the start of the pandemic? In 2020, things went into radio silence for about five weeks. Then we started transporting some new commodities, such as hand sanitizer and respirators going into New York City. After a while, as e-commerce grew in importance, we started a new division that helps business-to-business companies with
Nicole Glenn Founder and CEO Candor Expedite
While she thrives on the fast pace of transportation and logistics, Nicole Glenn also knows how to slow it down when it comes to growing her company thoughtfully.
by Merrill Douglas
14 Inbound Logistics • November 2022
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