Army West Point Athletics
MISSION FIRST: The Servant-Leader
November 10, 2016 | General, Hockey
In order to lead, one must serve. That is the foundation of Joe DePinto's management style as the Chief Executive Officer at 7-Eleven, which he traces back to his time at West Point and as an officer in the United States Army.
That unique style, which is known in the business world as servant leadership has been a part of DePinto's career since he graduated from West Point in 1986.
"I have been a big believer, that if you are going to lead you have to serve and support," DePinto says. "That gives you the permission and credibility to lead. The concept is called servant leadership. We didn't call it servant leadership back then when I was at West Point or in the Army, but it is the same thing."
After graduation, DePinto learned first-hand of the concept of servant leadership in the field as an Artillery Officer leading his troops in support of the Infantry and Armor branches.
Today he has used what he learned as an officer and contoured it to his current job as CEO of an iconic brand that relies heavily on its franchisees around the world. Â
"The best leaders I've seen, and the guys I wanted to follow, had a service and support heart," DePinto says. "They were always thinking of others and putting others ahead of themselves. That really resonated with me and rubbed off on me. It's the way I believe a successful leader should be and West Point taught me that, and so did the Army."
DePinto applied his service strategy to the concept of the "upside-down pyramid" when he came back to 7-Eleven in 2005 after a stint as President of the GameStop Corporation. In order to spread his message around a culture of servant leadership, he was approached to appear on a new hit reality show on CBS.
The network launched the reality show "Undercover Boss" in 2010, and two members of his senior leader team thought it was a great opportunity for DePinto to show the company's culture and use of servant leadership.
At first he was against the experiment, but warmed up to the idea after discussing the positives that could come from the episode.
"There were two women on the team, one that was the head of strategy and other was head of marketing. They came and said, 'Look we have been working on building this culture and trying to get folks to understand what servant leadership is. There is no better way than for you to show that then to go on primetime television and show our customers and our internal folks,'" DePinto says. "So they got me to agree to it and it was a great experience."
On Feb. 21, 2010, DePinto walked into a 7-Eleven on Long Island as Danny Rossi, in the first season of the hit show. He worked in the corporate bakery and helped deliver fresh food and goods in north Texas, where he almost got discovered. He struggled to keep up with the rush-hour coffee consumers, fell behind on the conveyor belt and worked the night shift. Â
One of the employees he met on the episode was Igor Finkler, who became the highlight of the show. He came to this country with $50 in his pocket and was living the American dream as a truck driver during the night shift. Finkler had that selfless attitude that DePinto loves and he was so impressed he decided to reward him with his own 7-Eleven store in north Texas.
"I am glad we did it, and it has worked out wonderfully for 7-Eleven," DePinto says. "I could do without the questions every so often, but it has really worked out well. We accomplished everything we were trying to do, which was to tell our organization that our stores and the people that work in our stores are the most important part of the organization. 'Undercover Boss' was just a great medium to share that."
DePinto was first introduced to West Point through the game of hockey. He was initially told about it from one of his hockey coaches, Peter Roche, and he had the best connection to West Point if he was interested in attending.
"We were talking generally about colleges out East and he mentioned several colleges and one was West Point," DePinto says. "Interestingly enough his father knew Jack Riley but I don't know what the relationship was. It was one of those things where I went out and visited and fell in love with a place."
DePinto was able to play two seasons for the legendary coach Riley as a goaltender and those two years were tough, but he always knew the hall of fame coach had his back.
"Coach was a really good guy," DePinto says. "He provided a lot of tough love, but there was never any doubt that he was in your corner. He was always helping out cadets and had a passion to win and expected his players to come prepared. I had a lot of respect for him. He was a wonderful guy who left behind quite a legacy." Â
When thinking back about those two seasons, DePinto realizes the leadership Riley provided and the influence that he had on him and other cadets.
Hockey was a special game to DePinto, who started playing at a young age and loved being part of a team.
He continues to be involved off the ice as a coach for his kids growing up and currently works as an advisor to the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars.
"I did some coaching with my kids when they were younger," DePinto adds. "I am involved with the Dallas Stars as part of their ownership advisory group. I stay close to the game in that way, just as I try to stay close to West Point. I am involved as an advisory board member, so I advise their ownership group and it is pretty cool."
DePinto has stayed engaged with West Point since earning his Engineering Management degree. He is a member of the Army A Club and was part of the "For Us All" campaign to raise money for the Academy. West Point also became a family affair with his son John becoming a member of the Long Gray Line in 2012.
"I got to watch my son go through West Point as a cadet," DePinto says. "He was a good kid and a smart kid, but to see him transform into an unbelievable young man and see his friends transform, that was great."
The experience he received as a parent of a cadet was a unique perspective and one that he looks back on and realizes West Point is such a special place.
"When I was there I just didn't take it all in," DePinto says. "I didn't recognize the beauty of the place and the kind of transformation that was going on with people. When you see it as a parent, you recognize what West Point does and the leadership it adopts and teaches the young men and women."
The father of four doesn't leave his leadership role at work.
"West Point gave me the tools to be confident to lead in whatever role I've held," DePinto says. "Whether it is a husband, an Army officer or in business. I learned a lot around service, service orientation, mission orientation and a 'can-do' attitude. It really helped me teach my family and my children, the importance of service. If you ask my family today, they'd say we are very service-orientated and I am proud of all of them."
Ask anyone that has known DePinto, worked with him or co-starred on a reality show with him, and they'll say he has become a great leader by serving his classmates, teammates, employees, franchisees, customers and especially his family. It's been a remarkable journey to get to where he is today.
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That unique style, which is known in the business world as servant leadership has been a part of DePinto's career since he graduated from West Point in 1986.
"I have been a big believer, that if you are going to lead you have to serve and support," DePinto says. "That gives you the permission and credibility to lead. The concept is called servant leadership. We didn't call it servant leadership back then when I was at West Point or in the Army, but it is the same thing."
After graduation, DePinto learned first-hand of the concept of servant leadership in the field as an Artillery Officer leading his troops in support of the Infantry and Armor branches.
Today he has used what he learned as an officer and contoured it to his current job as CEO of an iconic brand that relies heavily on its franchisees around the world. Â
"The best leaders I've seen, and the guys I wanted to follow, had a service and support heart," DePinto says. "They were always thinking of others and putting others ahead of themselves. That really resonated with me and rubbed off on me. It's the way I believe a successful leader should be and West Point taught me that, and so did the Army."
DePinto applied his service strategy to the concept of the "upside-down pyramid" when he came back to 7-Eleven in 2005 after a stint as President of the GameStop Corporation. In order to spread his message around a culture of servant leadership, he was approached to appear on a new hit reality show on CBS.
The network launched the reality show "Undercover Boss" in 2010, and two members of his senior leader team thought it was a great opportunity for DePinto to show the company's culture and use of servant leadership.
At first he was against the experiment, but warmed up to the idea after discussing the positives that could come from the episode.
"There were two women on the team, one that was the head of strategy and other was head of marketing. They came and said, 'Look we have been working on building this culture and trying to get folks to understand what servant leadership is. There is no better way than for you to show that then to go on primetime television and show our customers and our internal folks,'" DePinto says. "So they got me to agree to it and it was a great experience."
On Feb. 21, 2010, DePinto walked into a 7-Eleven on Long Island as Danny Rossi, in the first season of the hit show. He worked in the corporate bakery and helped deliver fresh food and goods in north Texas, where he almost got discovered. He struggled to keep up with the rush-hour coffee consumers, fell behind on the conveyor belt and worked the night shift. Â
One of the employees he met on the episode was Igor Finkler, who became the highlight of the show. He came to this country with $50 in his pocket and was living the American dream as a truck driver during the night shift. Finkler had that selfless attitude that DePinto loves and he was so impressed he decided to reward him with his own 7-Eleven store in north Texas.
"I am glad we did it, and it has worked out wonderfully for 7-Eleven," DePinto says. "I could do without the questions every so often, but it has really worked out well. We accomplished everything we were trying to do, which was to tell our organization that our stores and the people that work in our stores are the most important part of the organization. 'Undercover Boss' was just a great medium to share that."
DePinto was first introduced to West Point through the game of hockey. He was initially told about it from one of his hockey coaches, Peter Roche, and he had the best connection to West Point if he was interested in attending.
"We were talking generally about colleges out East and he mentioned several colleges and one was West Point," DePinto says. "Interestingly enough his father knew Jack Riley but I don't know what the relationship was. It was one of those things where I went out and visited and fell in love with a place."
DePinto was able to play two seasons for the legendary coach Riley as a goaltender and those two years were tough, but he always knew the hall of fame coach had his back.
"Coach was a really good guy," DePinto says. "He provided a lot of tough love, but there was never any doubt that he was in your corner. He was always helping out cadets and had a passion to win and expected his players to come prepared. I had a lot of respect for him. He was a wonderful guy who left behind quite a legacy." Â
When thinking back about those two seasons, DePinto realizes the leadership Riley provided and the influence that he had on him and other cadets.
Hockey was a special game to DePinto, who started playing at a young age and loved being part of a team.
He continues to be involved off the ice as a coach for his kids growing up and currently works as an advisor to the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars.
"I did some coaching with my kids when they were younger," DePinto adds. "I am involved with the Dallas Stars as part of their ownership advisory group. I stay close to the game in that way, just as I try to stay close to West Point. I am involved as an advisory board member, so I advise their ownership group and it is pretty cool."
DePinto has stayed engaged with West Point since earning his Engineering Management degree. He is a member of the Army A Club and was part of the "For Us All" campaign to raise money for the Academy. West Point also became a family affair with his son John becoming a member of the Long Gray Line in 2012.
"I got to watch my son go through West Point as a cadet," DePinto says. "He was a good kid and a smart kid, but to see him transform into an unbelievable young man and see his friends transform, that was great."
The experience he received as a parent of a cadet was a unique perspective and one that he looks back on and realizes West Point is such a special place.
"When I was there I just didn't take it all in," DePinto says. "I didn't recognize the beauty of the place and the kind of transformation that was going on with people. When you see it as a parent, you recognize what West Point does and the leadership it adopts and teaches the young men and women."
The father of four doesn't leave his leadership role at work.
"West Point gave me the tools to be confident to lead in whatever role I've held," DePinto says. "Whether it is a husband, an Army officer or in business. I learned a lot around service, service orientation, mission orientation and a 'can-do' attitude. It really helped me teach my family and my children, the importance of service. If you ask my family today, they'd say we are very service-orientated and I am proud of all of them."
Ask anyone that has known DePinto, worked with him or co-starred on a reality show with him, and they'll say he has become a great leader by serving his classmates, teammates, employees, franchisees, customers and especially his family. It's been a remarkable journey to get to where he is today.
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