Paul Darley had sales representatives on the ground in Wuhan, China, in the fall of 2019. As CEO and President of W. S. Darley & Co., a 113-year-old fourth-generation family business that manufactures fire trucks and pumps, as well as special operations equipment and PPE for firefighting, emergency and special operations personnel, Paul had early insight on the impending pandemic.

In the fifth episode of Leadership Legends, Jill and Paul discuss how Darley & Co. had six fire trucks scheduled for a December 2019 shipment to Wuhan. When Paul began to understand what was happening in China, he quickly took action.

All employees who could work remotely began working from home in late January/early February of 2020.The organization quickly set priorities and over communicated them, he said.

Employee Safety
Taking care of our customers
Cash Preservation
Pivoting successfully into new markets and preparing for the downturn. Use this as a time to make improvements across all areas.
Return on equity to shareholders

Jill and Paul talk about business agility and the leadership characteristics that helped him manage an essential services business during times of uncertainty.