3 More Questions (Jimmy Kirchdorfer) with David Novak and Koula Callahan

Summary

Podcast Summary: How Leaders Lead with David Novak

Episode Title: 3 More Questions (Jimmy Kirchdorfer)
Date: July 7, 2025
Host: David Novak
Co-Host: Koula Callahan
Guest (Referenced): Jimmy Kirchdorfer, Chairman & CEO of ISCO Industries

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Episode Overview

This edition of "3 More Questions" is a thoughtful debrief of David Novak's recent interview with Jimmy Kirchdorfer, CEO of ISCO Industries—a billion-dollar industrial piping company with roots as a family irrigation business. Host David Novak and co-host Koula Callahan reflect on Jimmy’s leadership philosophy, growth mindset, and people-centered mission. The discussion distills actionable insights about creating meaningful mission statements, fostering psychological safety, and guiding young leaders.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Power & Purpose of Mission Statements

[02:24–05:40]

• ISCO’s Mission:
  ISCO’s mission statement is: "ISCO exists to provide long-term opportunities for members of the ISCO team."
• People-First Focus:
  David Novak observes that ISCO’s mission “has nothing to do with pipes or profits. It has everything to do with their people.” ([02:38])
• Purpose Beyond Profit:
  Novak stresses the importance of noble, purpose-driven missions:

  “I think when you just hone in on making money as your real objective, I think you miss out on the opportunity to give people a greater cause ... A mission statement should be much bigger than yourself and much bigger than the job that you happen to do.” — David Novak [03:17]

• Mission in Practice:
  ISCO lives their mission by reinvesting profits back into the company and creating career opportunities, echoed by their emphasis on employee recognition, including a Hall of Fame for retirees.

Notable Quote

“People do not wake up every day wanting to be a part of something mediocre. They want to wake up every day to be a part of something great. And I think the best mission statements really get at that.” — David Novak [04:44]

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2. Building a Culture of Psychological Safety

[05:40–08:34]

• Why Psychological Safety Matters:
  Jimmy Kirchdorfer considers psychological safety “absolutely paramount” to a healthy workplace where people can be themselves.
• Leaders Lead by Example:
  Novak says:

  “The most important thing that a leader can do to drive psychological safety is be vulnerable yourself... let everybody know that it hasn’t been just a straight arrow up. You had some rocky roads along the way, and share those rocky roads, set the example there.” [05:55]

• Detecting Culture Fit:
  Koula recounts Jimmy’s practical use of psychological safety as a “litmus test” for culture fit—watching team dynamics to see who elevates or diminishes openness during meetings.
• Hiring for Values:
  Novak highlights the importance of “diversity in style” but “unity in values,” using a Normandy analogy to emphasize support and camaraderie when hiring.

Notable Quote

“You want diversity in style, but you [need] unity in values.” — David Novak [07:43]

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3. Rethinking Career Advice for Young Leaders

[08:34–09:56]

• Jimmy’s Approach:
  Jimmy advises young leaders not just to "find what you love," but to “find something that you’re really good at and then chase that.”
• David Novak’s Perspective:
  Novak merges the two philosophies:

  “If you’re really good at it... 99.9 times out of 100, you’re going to love it. People are very rarely good at anything that they don’t love. If you’re bad at it, I guarantee you don’t love it.” [08:57]

• ‘Joy Builders’ and ‘Joy Blockers’:
  Koula links this with the podcast’s concept of steering life and work towards activities that generate joy, not those that drain it.

Notable Quote

“If something that you’re doing all the time is sucking all the joy out of your life... you’re not going to do it to the best of your ability.” — Koula Callahan [09:37]

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On ISCO’s Origins and Growth:

  “They inherited basically a $12 million business... now it’s not only a business that’s doing well in the United States, they’ve expanded into other countries.” — David Novak [01:54]

• On Employee Recognition:

  “They recognize their people. They have all kinds of recognition awards. They have a hall of fame for people who’ve retired. They know how to make people feel special and valued.” — David Novak [05:30]

• Normandy Boat Analogy (Cultural Fit):

  “Just imagine if you’re in that boat and you’re going across the channel, who’s sitting next to you? Do you want to polish your bullets together?... Do you want somebody that’s going to have your back? Yeah, you do.” — David Novak [07:54]

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Additional Highlights

• ISCO’s Community Involvement:
  ISCO is sponsoring a PGA Tour event in Louisville, blending business, sport, and philanthropy to benefit the Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute. ([09:58–10:39])
• Key Actionable Takeaway:
  Leaders should structure their organizations to provide opportunities for people and foster environments where psychological safety, recognition, and personal strengths drive both performance and satisfaction.

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Important Timestamps

• Introduction and ISCO Backstory: [00:04–01:54]
• Mission Statement Insights: [02:24–05:40]
• Psychological Safety in Culture: [05:40–08:34]
• Advice for Young Leaders: [08:34–09:56]
• Community Impact (ISCO PGA event): [09:58–10:39]

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Conclusion

This recap centers on practical, people-focused leadership. David Novak and Koula Callahan unpack Jimmy Kirchdorfer’s approach, showing how a clear mission, psychological safety, and playing to strengths fuel lasting growth and workplace satisfaction. The episode is rich with analogies, anecdotes, and actionable advice for all leaders, underscoring their belief that the best companies strive to be more than just businesses—they strive to be communities where people are inspired to be their very best.

Transcript

[David Novak]

FOREIGN.

[Kula Callahan]

Welcome to HOW LEADERS lead. I'm Kula Callahan here with David Novak to bring you another edition of three more questions. On these episodes. We debrief the conversation that David had with the previous week's guest. And David, today we've got a really fun one because Jimmy Kirchdorfer is a friend of yours and now a friend of mine. He's a great guy. And we're debriefing the conversation that you had with Jimmy. He's the chairman and CEO of ISCO Industries, which is an almost billion dollar company that you probably have never heard of because they do. They started out as irrigation systems and now they do industrial piping. So all of their products are underground. So you've probably never even seen an ISCO pipe. But Jimmy's a fantastic leader and this conversation was so much fun.

[David Novak]

Yeah, he's really excited about the growth that ISCO is having. And interestingly enough, you're right, people don't know that much about isco, but they're going to be sponsoring a PGA Tour event in Louisville, Kentucky. You know, that's something that he's passionate about because he's also an owner of Valhalla, a golf club in Louisville. And his family's been involved with golf forever. And he's a great guy who knows how to make things happen in all aspects of his life, at business, at home, in and obviously at play as he pursues his real favorite sport, which is golf.

[Kula Callahan]

I always think it's so fascinating when a family business that starts pretty small can grow to the scale that ISCO is. He and his brother took it over from their dad in the 90s. And you know, you think of a family irrigation system business in the 90s and it probably was a really great, healthy, growing business. But I don't even think Jimmy would have thought at the time that they would be pushing a billion dollars.

[David Novak]

Almost 30 years later, they inherited basically a $12 million business. And, you know, one thing led to another and, you know, now it's not only a business that's doing well in the United States, they've expanded into other countries. So, you know, the best is yet to come, I'm sure, for Isco and Jimmy and his brother Mark as they built the company.

[Kula Callahan]

Absolutely. Well, David, I'm excited to get your take on some of the concepts you talked about with Jimmy. So let's get going with our questions for today.

[David Novak]

All right. Let'.

[Kula Callahan]

Question number one. The mission statement of ISCO says this. ISCO exists to provide long term opportunities for members of The ISCO team. David, how do you think about mission statements?

[David Novak]

Well, I think in this case it's really interesting that isco's mission statement has nothing to do with pipes or profits. It has everything to do with their people. And I think the best mission statements are purpose driven. I think that they have a noble cause in them, that they're going to make the world a better place in one way shape or another. And I think Isco here says that they want to provide long term opportunities for their people and help people achieve their dreams. I think that really makes a lot of sense. I think when you just hone in on making money as your real objective, I think you miss out on the opportunity to give people a greater cause. A mission statement should be much bigger than yourself and much bigger than the job that you happen to do. It's more about changing the way how people can live. You know, it's like I remember Walmart's mission statement. It was to help ordinary people save money. You know, the Disney statement was all about giving people experiences with their family and you know, uplifting their lives, you know, more than just going, hey, come to the park and make money, you know. So I think that's what the best mission statements do. And I think Jimmy has, has one that works for his, his organization. I know at Yum Brands we had two. The first one was to put a yum on our customers faces all around the world. And that was just basically making our customers happy so that they could really enjoy our food. And then as we grew and got better and better, we saw an opportunity to really be a company that people could learn from, by the way, how we did business. So we wanted to become the defining global company that feeds the world. So we had the three things that under that that we knew we needed to do to make that happen. You know, build vibrant brands everywhere. You know, have a recognition culture that people would want to emulate and then feed people who really couldn't afford our food through our corporate social responsibility efforts. But you know, all of these hopefully will end up with you doing something that will make money. Okay, because in the end that's what you want to have happen. But I think you'll make a lot more money if you focus on things that get people excited. As I've many times. You know, people do not wake up every day wanting to be a part of something mediocre. They want to wake up every day to be a part of something great. And I think the best mission statements really get at that.

[Kula Callahan]

I love It. In the episode, David, Jimmy talks a lot about how he and Mark are really focused on reinvesting profits back into the company so that they can continue to create more and more opportunity for the folks that work there. And I think that, you know, learning from Jimmy and listening to this episode and almost every one of his responses, you can just tell that this is a guy who really deeply cares about creating opportunity for people. And the way that they've structured their business allows them to do that more and more.

[David Novak]

Yeah. And they recognize their people. They have all kinds of recognition awards. They have a hall of fame for people who've retired. And, you know, they. They know how to make people feel special and valued.

[Kula Callahan]

Question number two. Jimmy believes that psychological safety is absolutely paramount to having a healthy work culture where people feel like they can be themselves. What are some practical ways that a leader can drive that concept throughout their organization?

[David Novak]

I think the most important thing that a leader can do to drive psychological safety is be vulnerable yourself. You have to let people know what you've done in your career, not from necessarily how great you are, but what you've experienced, what you've learned. When you've screwed up, let everybody know that it hasn't been just a straight arrow up. You had some rocky roads along the way, and share those rocky roads, set the example there. And I think that will allow people to realize that, hey, they don't have to be perfect either, and promote a culture where you want to succeed. But it's okay if we fail, if we're failing together and we're failing trying to do big things together, and that we quickly adjust when we learn that we've made a mistake. And, you know, I think that that creates a psychological safety, that we're all in this together and let's be on the same team.

[Kula Callahan]

I love the way that Jimmy also uses this concept of psychological safety, almost like a litmus test for whether or not someone is a culture fit. He tells a story in the episode that you'll hear when you listen, but he noticed that when someone on his team was a part of a specific meeting, the psychological safety went down because very few people spoke up or shared their point of view. When that person wasn't in the meeting, more people spoke up, there was more discussion, there was more collaboration. And so I also love, like, you can tell when someone is in the room, when that sense of safety and feeling of I can be myself and share my opinion goes out the window. And so I love, too, this idea of kind of having that as a North Star for your culture and being able to, for lack of a better word, weed out the not psychologically safe people. Because you know, that that's so paramount.

[David Novak]

And I think that comes down to your hiring. You know, it's like you want to make sure that you hire people that are going to bring in new ideas and different ways to grow the business, but they have unity in values. I think you want diversity in style, but you to have unity and values. And I think, you know, the best companies get to that. You know, I always talked about if you were storming Normandy and you're on one of those boats that went over and remember how all these guys came out of those boats and climbed Pointe Du Hoc and, you know, ultimately, you know, win the battle that helps the United States win World War II. I said, just imagine if you're in that boat and you're. You're going across the channel, who's sitting next to you? Do you want to polish your bullets together? You know, do you want somebody that's going to have your back? Yeah, you do. You know, I think your hiring practices and hiring for cultural fit is critical to making that happen, too.

[Kula Callahan]

Question number three. In the interview, Jimmy talks a lot about how he mentors young leaders. And I thought that his main piece of advice was really interesting. He says that he's not a big fan of the find what you love directive for young leaders. Instead, he encourages emerging leaders to find something that they're really good at and then chase that. What's your perspective on that advice to young people?

[David Novak]

I think they're both linked. I don't think that people are very good at things that they don't love. So, you know, I agree with Jimmy. You should find what you're really good at. And I think that makes a lot of sense, because if you're really good at it, you'll be successful at it and you'll. You'll flourish. And my only point is that if you find what you're really good at and understand what you're really good at, I'm saying 99.9 times out of 100, you're going to love it. Okay? People are very rarely good at anything that they don't love. If you're bad at it, I guarantee you you don't love it.

[Kula Callahan]

It's not fun.

[David Novak]

Yes.

[Kula Callahan]

It reminds me a lot, David, of the concept that we talk about on this podcast of joy builders and joy blockers. So if something that you're doing all the time is sucking all the joy out of your life. Like you said, it's not going to be fun. It's not going to bring you any joy. And over time, you're going to get annoyed at doing that thing and probably not do it to the best of your ability.

[David Novak]

Could not agree more with you, Kula.

[Kula Callahan]

Well, David, like you said earlier, the ISCO Championship is a PGA Tour stop in Louisville, Kentucky, that is coming up this week. So if you're in the Louisville or Kentucky area, grab a ticket, come on down, I'll be there. I hope also to see you. And we're also going to be raising a ton of money and awareness for the Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute as they are the charitable partner of the ISCO Championship. So it's a really fun blend of a great time, great golf and a really great cause. So if you're in the Kentucky area, definitely come out.

[David Novak]

Yeah. And hats off to ISCO and the PGA Tour for really making the commitment to the Wendy Novak Diabetes Institute. Obviously, I love that and my family loves that and Louisville loves it. So it's great.

[Kula Callahan]

Absolutely. David, that does it for our episode of three More Questions for today. Thank you so much for tuning in to How Leaders Lead. We're on a mission to make the world a better place by developing better leaders. And if you carve out a little time with us each and every week, we'll help you build the confidence you need to lead well.

[David Novak]

And coming up next on How Leaders Lead is my conversation with Sharon Price. John, the CEO of Build a Bear.