"As humans, we're storytellers. Tell your story, but in a way that is helping make our world just a bit better, even if it's just one small thing today." — Bill Strang
In this episode, Nozomi and Bill discuss:
Key Takeaways:
"When we actually were able to gain the trust and confidence of a plumber, that plumber became our greatest advocate." — Bill Strang
"There's no reason to agree with everyone. You just have to respect that they have different opinions, and respect that but you don't have to always win over someone every single time." — Nozomi Morgan
About Bill Strang:
Bill is President of Corporate Strategy/eCommerce/Customer Care for TOTO USA. As such, he is responsible, within North America, for new ventures, new business verticals, IoT, e-commerce, retail, technical services, and customer care.
Under Bill’s leadership, TOTO has received awards for 5S Lean Manufacturing Implementation, the US EPA’s Green Energy Leadership Award, the US EPA’s Water Efficiency Leadership Award, former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue’s Water Conservation Leadership Award, the Argon Award, the City of Atlanta Phoenix Award, and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s Sustainability Award, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce E3 Award for environmental leadership, and the Atlanta Business Journal’s Most Admired CEO award.
With Bill at the helm, TOTO USA has also developed secondary uses and recycling channels for the traditional waste streams which are upcycled as raw material for other manufacturers, such as rejected china used to manufacture new floor tile. TOTO also powers all operations in its Morrow, GA, factory using 100% solar energy. For its leadership in green energy use, TOTO USA was recently honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with its Excellence in Green Power Use Award.
All of these sustainable manufacturing endeavors -- from cradle to end-of-life recycling -- are tracked using Life Cycle Assessment methodologies to measure and reduce the impacts that TOTO’s products have on the environment. TOTO also uses health materials assessments to reduce the impacts of its products on human health and the environment. The result of this work serves as the foundation for TOTO’s transparency reporting, which provides the consumers and the design-build community with accurate scientific data in an easy-to-understand, standardized format, so they have the information they can trust and are empowered to make sound purchasing decisions when implementing environmental performance improvement strategies for their projects.
In his role as President of eCommerce, Bill collaborates with stakeholders and etailers to identify and implement strategies that make it easier for consumers and building professionals to work with TOTO. In this position, Bill has built a continuous improvement culture to enhance operational excellence within eCommerce and deliver business value solutions to all TOTO stakeholders. He has put in place strategies that maintain high levels of customer satisfaction by remaining abreast of current and emerging technologies to identify those eCommerce solutions that are strategically important to TOTO.
Speaking engagements include the US Dept of Commerce, Select USA, regional, national, and international conferences on sustainability, and national television programming on bathroom innovations.
Bill is also a member of the following boards, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Brookings Institute Chair of the Atlanta Global Cities initiative, Next Generation Manufacturing, the Kensley Grace Aquatic Center, Grady Foundation Velocity “Ride for Grady”, Past Chairman of Japan American Society of Georgia.
Connect with Bill Strang:
Email: wstrang@toto.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-strang-b3972016/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/william.strang.3
Connect with Nozomi Morgan:
Website: https://www.michikimorgan.com/
Book: In the works
Email: team@michikimorgan.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nozomimorgan
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NozomiMorgan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nozomimorgan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nozomimorgan/
Show notes by Podcastologist: Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie
Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.