Many people ask me if my dad, Mike Stathakis, started the business. He did not, but I think my dad was a very big part of developing the business to where it is today. Mike Stathakis never attended college and he didn't really have a great business sense; he worked as a brick layer at a steel company most of his life. My father Mike Stathakis was a hard worker, an incredibly dependable person and a man who believed in serving others before serving himself, and he lived his life that way. My dad worked long hours to support the family he was so dedicated to. He never turned down overtime and often did side jobs, in his brick layer trade, on the few weekends he had off in order to provide for our family and make sure his children had more opportunities than he did. This is the same old school mentality that my brothers and myself applied in the start up phase of Stathakis. We were able to make up for our lack of experience and business sense with plain old hard work and long hours. Of course as the business developed and we became more experienced we tried to work smarter, but I really think no amount of knowledge could have substituted early on for that hard work we learned from our dad.
Mike was one of the most dependable people I have ever known. Whatever was needed, Mike would deliver. Even the foreman at the steel mill knew that Mike would always show up if they called him. My dad was a dedicated man to those around him, his employer, his friends and especially his family. He was the kind of guy that would show up at 8:45 a.m. if you said to meet at 9:00 a.m. He never missed work and always did what he said he would do. After he retired from the steel mill, he would show up at Stathakis to run errands and help out, no task was ever beneath him. I could always count on my dad to be there no matter what.
Dad once volunteered to pick me up from the airport and waited five hours for me when my flight was delayed. This was before cell phones, so I had no real way of calling him to let him know about the delay. When I got off the plane, I was surprised to see him sitting there patiently reading the paper. When I asked why he waited so long he simply replied, "I didn't mind waiting at all now let's go home." That was so like my dad to redirect the conversation rather than take credit for himself. I guess that is one reason why we are so good about being "Customer Focused" at Stathakis today. To be good at delivering service the Customer really has to be the star of the show.
While Mike has been gone for more than a year in body, he will always be around at Stathakis in spirit. My dad was my first teacher and the lessons he taught me have carried me through life's ups and downs. Those many valuable lessons he passed on to me are a big part of why we do the things we do at Stathakis today. The "Core Values" we live at Stathakis were deeply influenced by Mike and keep his spirit alive today.
Mike's life offers proof that you do not need to be a doctor, lawyer, or college graduate to have an impact on those around you. Yet you must have your own set of core values that you live by every day. My dad Mike may have come from very modest beginnings and labored his whole life, but in doing so, he laid a strong foundation not of bricks, but of security, respect, values and love. My dad Mike showed me by example what it means to be a man and a father and I hope that I can somehow rise to his example and pass those same valuable lessons to those around me.
Leave a Reply