Randy Larson Takes the Wheel for Ride of a Lifetime

Last year, when single-handedly driving his motor coach across the country -- covering about 20,000 miles in the process -- to most of engineer Professional Service Industries' roughly 100 offices, the big danger Randy Larson faced wasn't the driving conditions. It was the possibility that the five-month outreach and team-building tour by the Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., firm's new president might become "The Larson Show." It was something "we really had to guard against," he says.

Photo by Scott Judy

Randy Larson, president of Professional Service Industries, hit the road in 2012 to visit as many of his new company's employees as he could. He drove an estimated 20,000 miles in the process.

Larson's solo trip, which included nights parked at Wal-Marts and office parks, was part of PSI's challenge to its 2,300 employees to double revenue to $500 million in five years. Larson became president in 2011.

Johnny Lowe, a vice president in Charlotte, N.C., admits to thinking "I'll believe it when I see it" when he heard of the "500 in Five" goal. "But seeing and hearing Randy" made the difference, he says. "He was genuine and spoke from the heart. The reaction from staff was genuine belief."

Larson says, often, it was the energized employees who put on the show. In Nashville, senior project manager Doug Williams wrote and performed a song for the occasion. In Charlotte, workers presented him with a golden sledgehammer after he took the first swing to tear down a wall to make way for an office expansion.

The trip also was a manifestation of Larson's business philosophy: "We are only as good as our people, and anyone who thinks differently is a fool," he says. Larson adds that he "would not trade the past five months and the PSI office tour experience for anything. It was a blessing, and something I will remember and cherish for life."

In recognition of his extraordinary employee outreach, ENR editors recognized Larson as a 2012 Newsmaker.

Scott Judy is Deputy Editor for Regions, and editor of ENR Southeast, one of Engineering News-Record's 10 Regional publications. His roughly 27 years as a construction journalist began with an 11-year stint covering Midwest construction projects. In 2000, Judy helped launch the publication now known as ENR Southeast. He often delves into controversial aspects of the construction industry such as bankruptcies and fatal accidents, and wishes he would never have to cover another accident but suspects that he might.