// PROFILES IN LEADERSHIP date ready for the job. I kept both of those commitments. After considering our internal candidates, the board selected Zach Hutcheson, who will do a great job.
A fun Saturday spin at the Orlando Water Sports Park is part of Yeargin’ s active lifestyle.
BI: What will be your new responsibilities as board chair? BY: I’ ll manage the board while also helping Zach and the Correct Craft team as much as possible. I’ ll help however needed, while also giving Zach the space to do the job; I won’ t be in his way.
BI: How will you manage your time with this new role and other industry commitments? BY: I have a lot of requests for my time, but I’ m choosing carefully and not yet committed to anything. I could easily fill my schedule, but if I’ d wanted that, I wouldn’ t have stepped down as CEO.
BI: As you consider your lengthy career, what’ s been your most rewarding professional achievement at Correct Craft? BY: Being able to develop a culture that encourages learning and service. I’ ve seen this culture make a positive impact on innumerable people, both inside and outside of our organization. Making Life Better for these folks makes me very happy.
BI:“ Making Life Better” is your official cultural directive, right? BY: When we started to make acquisitions about 13 years ago, I read the book“ Start with Why” by Simon Sinek. It inspired me to choose“ Making Life Better” as our“ Why” and since then, rarely a day goes by that it is not discussed. We want everyone we encounter to be better off because of our interaction … including our competitors through some of the industry initiatives we’ ve led, like the Culture Summits or Innovation Summit.
BI: Let’ s talk leadership. What’ s the most valuable lesson you’ ve learned about leadership during your tenure? BY: To be a learner and focus on impact, not reward.
BI: How do you lead and inspire your key management team? BY: By creating tremendous clarity around our values, where we are going, and how we will use our platform for good. By creating a vision that inspires folks to do great things.
BI: What leadership traits do you feel are most needed by those working in the marine industry today? BY: Leaders need a vision for the future and must have the ability to execute on that vision.
BI: Have any marine industry leaders mentored and influenced you? BY: My primary mentor was the owner of Rybovich, Ed Bronstien. He demonstrated how to lead with integrity while caring deeply about those on your team.
BI: What’ s been the greatest challenge( s) of your boating industry career and what did you learn in the process? BY: My biggest challenges have always been around making people changes. However, I understand the importance of protecting the company by requiring underperformers to leave. My biggest mistake has involved hiring highly competent people without paying enough attention to their character and chemistry. When I make that mistake, it does not end well. I would never hire anyone I knew who had character or chemistry issues, but getting hijacked by competency can result in not paying enough attention to those areas.
The solution is awareness of the challenge and assuring enough attention is paid to character and chemistry, especially when you believe the applicant can fix your problem.
BI: What has been your strategy for handling conflict resolution among team members? BY: I encourage conflict because it makes us better. However, it must be based on a foundation of trust and a commitment from everyone to support the decision when made. It’ s based on ideas from Patrick Lencioni’ s book“ 5 Dysfunctions of a Team.”
BI: What drives and motivates you? BY: Having an impact, making everything around me better and helping people, and being able to inspire folks to learn and serve. I’ ve tried to use both my personal and professional platforms to do that.
www. boatingindustry. com september / october 2025
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