In mid-August, the Market Process Scholars group from the School of Business at the College of Charleston traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to meet with a variety of business executives, politicians, and academics. Initially, we met with John Cerasuolo, a business advisor to the Center for Public Choice and Market Process and the CEO of ADS Security. After John shared some of his professional narrative and the history of ADS, the Director of Monitoring, Steve Crist, led us around the facility. One of the most striking things about the company was the tremendous focus on customer satisfaction and how such a large portion of the business model was dependent on customer loyalty.
Later, we had the chance to meet with Patrick Shepherd and Stephen Riven from Avondale Partners, a financial services firm that specializes in investment banking and wealth management. Both men were able to provide significant insight into the financial industry while also conveying personal experiences gained from the development of the firm. Following that meeting, we made our way to Vanderbilt University to meet with two doctoral candidates, Rachel Dalafave and Zach Sturman, and Dr. Kevin Stack, the Director of Graduate Studies of the Law and Economics graduate program. There we discussed the unique combination of the two disciplines and the incredible opportunities that graduates of that program have.
The next day we met with Justin Owen, the CEO of the Beacon Center, a free-market-oriented think tank that is involved in both advocacy and research. We heard about current research and efforts to repeal unconstitutional laws. One of the most interesting focal points of the Beacon Center was on eradicating completely unnecessary business licenses that were not aimed at protecting consumer safety but instead preventing entrepreneurs from entering an industry.
Lastly, a personal highlight from the trip was having the chance to meet with former CEO and Chairman of the Tractor Supply Co., Joe Scarlett. We had the opportunity to learn from his professional experience while also hearing about some of the major transformations that the company went through, under his leadership, to refine its focus on products and target customers. To close out the week we actually went to an operating Tractor Supply Company store and there Joe explained the motivation behind a lot of the offered products and the intentionality involved in the selection process. I was thoroughly impressed by the company’s commitment to efficiency and Joe’s genuine enthusiasm for the culture he had worked hard to cultivate.
The trip to the Tractor Supply store was my favorite event of the week for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I had a lot of fond memories going to that store with my dad as we bought supplies necessary to keep up our small 13-acre family farm on the back of Lookout Mountain, TN. In addition, it had never occurred to me just how much thought went into deciding which products ended up on the shelves and which didn’t. Finally, I was amazed by the impact of employing positive recognition-based management. It was immediately evident that Tractor Supply Co. has an admirable corporate culture and has achieved their organizational goal of providing legendary service.
Our meetings with a handful of firms, and especially our trip to the Tennessee State Capitol, were heavily related to the Center for Public Choice and Market Process’ goals to discuss the role of government institutions in a capitalist society and the moral structure of a free economy. The combination of people we met representing the public and private sector enabled us to further examine the multifaceted interactions between the government and individuals. Overall, our trip to Nashville has provided me with substantial and concrete experiences that have advanced my understanding of the economic, political, and moral foundations of a free society.
-Will McEwen