Leadership U Hosts Speaker Series Event with Bret Weiss

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Bret Weiss, President, CEO, and Founder of WSB Engineering, shared his leadership journey starting from his time as a Gopher student-athlete to his current role leading a national civil engineering firm with Gopher Athletics student-athletes, coaches, and staff on Wednesday, March 13th. In this Leadership U Speaker Series event, Bret underscored the importance of saying yes to new opportunities and staying true to your values.

As Bret discussed the evolution of his leadership at the helm of WSB and in his active community life outside of the company, he chalked many of his successes up to his willingness to jump into the unknown and his "yes man mentality." According to Weiss, this has allowed him to be innovative and open to the opportunities right before him. When asked how the audience could apply that same mentality, Bret encouraged the crowd to avoid a strict plan for their lives, allowing them to lean into welcoming new opportunities and being unafraid to take risks. To illustrate this, he stated that he has been "knocked down so many times, but never knocked out." His persistence in the face of adversity and failure has led him to see the lessons in each misstep and better himself for his next challenge.

However, he also shared that this open mentality needs to be accompanied and guided by strong values and relationships. For him today, this comes in how he crafts his team at WSB. To create a company that is receptive and ready for the unknown opportunities ahead, he strives to hire the best people with the right values to create a strong company culture. This was further illustrated by his citation of his former head football coach, Lou Holtz, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." With this mindset guiding his leadership philosophy, Bret prioritizes and clearly shows the value of connection and fostering strong relationships. As a result, his team connects well and cares for one another, leading WSB to flourish when other organizations have faltered. Bret urged those in the room to prioritize creating and maintaining genuine and authentic relationships to foster a similar sense of support and community in the workplace and beyond.

Bret Weiss is President and CEO of WSB, a design and consulting firm specializing in engineering, community planning, environmental, and construction services. The firm has been recognized nationally and locally for its innovation and workplace climate. Before beginning his more than 30 years in the industry, Bret was a student at the University of Minnesota, where he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering and played for the Gopher Football team. Outside the workplace, he holds leadership positions with the Minnesota Chamber Board of Directors, Minnesota Chamber Foundation, and Hennepin Theatre Trust Board of Directors.

Bret's impressive resume, inspiring leadership journey, and thoughtful reflection made for an engaging Speaker Series event with valuable takeaways for all in attendance. Leadership U looks forward to hosting our final Speaker Series event of the year, featuring a fireside chat with Sportsdigita's Angelina Lawton and Christy Grady-Murray on Tuesday, April 23rd.

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Leadership U Hosts Speaker Series Event with Bret Weiss

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