OMAHA, Neb. — For the past two decades, Tony Boldt has earned more responsibility and authority at Nebraska Furniture Mart, part of Top 100 Berkshire Hathaway furniture division.
Boldt joined NFM in 2002 as a warehouse manager and rose through the company ranks, becoming store manager of the Des Moines store, appliances and electronics general sales manager in Omaha, store director of the Kansas City store, and most recently president and COO prior to his promotion to president and CEO last spring.
Throughout his tenure with the company, Boldt has learned from industry luminaries such as Ron and Irv Blumkin, Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett and more. Those lessons, and the experience of organically working his way up in the company, has positioned Boldt to lead NFM for what’s next, which includes expansion into Austin, Texas, soon.
Boldt spoke with Furniture Today about how he has developed his leadership style, risks, successes, mistakes and more.
Where do your best ideas come from?
I think the best ideas generally come from our customers. We do a lot of research on our customers and we listen to them through surveys and channels and focus groups. I think the best way to connect with your customers is to listen to them.
I also have a fantastic executive team that I get tons of ideas from. My family always loves to give me their experiences with Nebraska Furniture Mart, so I get their ideas too.
Who opened doors for you?
I’ve had a lot of really good mentors throughout my life. But since I’ve been at Nebraska Furniture Mart, I’ve had a couple of big breaks.
Our chief logistics officer gave me an opportunity early. Over the rest of my time, I was reporting to Ron Blumkin, who was president and CEO, and he did a wonderful job of being a mentor to me.
Once I became president and COO, Irv Blumkin was my boss. I had the opportunity to learn from legends, and it’s been a fantastic ride. They’ve been instrumental to my continued education and growth.
What the biggest risk you’ve taken?
Closing our showrooms during the pandemic. We were still considered essential business because we carried appliances and electronics, but I didn’t feel we knew enough about COVID-19 to risk our employees and customers.
Closing all of our showrooms for 30 days — a couple closed for 60 — was a risky proposition. Financially, we wanted to stay strong enough to be a relevant business, but we wanted to take care of our employees.
Where is the most interesting place your job has taken you?
There are two of them. The first is having dinner with Warren Buffett, which was an educational experience. Being part of a Berkshire Hathaway company I’ve had the opportunity to do that.
Then, there’s going to Harvard Business School. I’ve been there on four different occasions for seminars and educational experiences. I’ve been fortunate to learn from the Harvard professors and the people from around the world who go there for seminars.
How do you balance work and home life?
Work/life balance is important to me. As much as my calendar fills up with work activities, it’s important to schedule your leisure time, and when you have it scheduled, it’s important to stay as true to that as possible.
It’s important to be fresh, and when I’m here, to be present. You can’t do that if you’re burned out or if your mind’s not right.
Scheduling my personal time is as equally important as scheduling my work time. They’re on the same calendar so they don’t overlap.
What questions related to business or the industry have you been asking yourself lately?
The biggest question is the furniture industry has been on fire for the better part of a year and half now. I don’t think it will last forever. Understanding when supply starts overruling demand and the timing of that and how sudden it will be are things I ponder on a regular basis.
What will it look like after that, and how do we best prepare for that?
What has been your biggest business mistake and what did you learn from it?
I’ve always done fairly well with identifying talent as I’ve hired people over the years. But my first hire as an executive, I went more on résumé than I did on cultural fit, and it ended up not working out, not to the fault of either party.
What I learned from that is no matter what job you’re hiring for, culture is going to trump everything. That’s been the root of my decision making, and I got away from it.
When you get together with others in the industry these days, what is the key topic of discussion?
These days, everybody is talking supply chain and labor shortages. They are the most pressing needs for every retailer and every manufacturer.
If you could change one thing about this industry, what would it be?
Moving forward quicker with innovation.
I think the pandemic has taught us we can communicate a lot better, and we could have systems that could mitigate a lot of these things in a better way. I think there are a ton of opportunities around technology and innovation that other industries are moving forward with that the furniture industry could take advantage of holistically.
What was the best piece of advice you’ve been given and by whom?
It came from my parents: Control your own attitude. Everybody goes through things in life, and they’re impacted positively or negatively, but how you react to them defines the character of the person.
I try to be positive. The world isn’t easy but the more we could be kind to each other, the better the world will be.
What are three things people would be surprised to learn about you?
I love live music; I love to go to concerts. That’s how I love to spend some free time.
I met my wife when she and I were working at a pizza place.
I started my Nebraska Furniture Mart career at Homemakers Furniture, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of NFM, as a warehouse lead.
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January 10, 2022 at 06:24PM
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Profile in Leadership: Getting to know Tony Boldt, CEO, Nebraska Furniture Mart - Furniture Today
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