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Josh Couts didn't walk into Arrow Electric and assume everyone understood why they showed up to work. He made them figure it out together — and then built the systems to make sure it held.
Josh Couts is the President of Arrow Electric, a family-owned electrical contractor based in Louisville, Kentucky with 150–175 employees operating across commercial, industrial, and traffic markets — including Churchill Downs and major highway infrastructure across the region. He came to Arrow after 23 years at a similar company in Nashville, where he watched a culture built on genuine care for people grow a business from $5–6 million to over $100 million. He brought that same operating philosophy to Arrow — and immediately put it to work.
In this episode, Josh gets into what it actually takes to build an organization where people know why they're showing up — not just what they're building.
This episode covers:
• Why the first thing Josh did as president was take the leadership team offsite to answer one question: why are we doing this?
• How Arrow built communication norms and behavioral norms that go deeper than core values — and why that distinction matters
• Why "common sense" is one of the most dangerous phrases in an organization — and what explicit standards actually require
• The paycheck story — what a second-generation owner handing out checks on Friday taught Josh about what people actually remember
• Why one-on-ones are sacred, birthday calls are non-negotiable, and what "my door is open" really means when someone tests it
• How to scale a people-first operating model from 175 employees to 700 — and what has to be discipled down for it to hold
Care. Communicate. Consistent. Three words. One operating system.
Operating Discipline with Terri D. Wilson — candid conversations with CEOs and senior leaders about organizational performance under pressure.
Listen: opdiscipline.com/podcast
Connect with Terri D. Wilson on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/terridwilson/
Visit the Operating Discipline website: http://opdiscipline.com/
Listen to Operating Discipline on these podcast platforms:
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClbUwY45jbStUKsa2v7mALQ
Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/033qMnr5bIiui03nulsvfc
Apple | https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/operating-discipline-hosted-by-terri-d-wilson/id1896857928
Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f3e88a4a-38f4-48b1-9827-8207876d4a95
#OperatingDiscipline #TerriWilson #Leadership #OrganisationalDesign #BusinessOperations #LeadershipDevelopment #ScalingBusinesses #CompanyCulture #OperationalExcellence #HRLeadership #TeamAccountability #BusinessGrowth #ExecutiveLeadership #ManagementStrategy #FounderMindset
Operating Discipline is the podcast for leaders who are ready to take a hard look at how their organisations actually work — not just what their strategy says on paper. Hosted by Terri D. Wilson, each episode is a candid conversation with founders, executives, and operators about how decisions get made, how accountability is held, and how work really flows inside growing businesses.
Terri brings over 30 years of executive and entrepreneurial experience to every conversation. She's worked across industries helping leaders build the systems, structures, and cultures that allow businesses to scale without breaking — and she knows that most organisations don't struggle because of bad strategy. They struggle because of how they actually operate day to day.
Whether you're navigating rapid growth, building a team you can trust, or trying to close the gap between the business you want and the one you're running, Operating Discipline gives you the frameworks and real-world examples to lead with intention. This is the show for leaders who are serious about execution, not just ideas.
