Friends of Build Magazine

Dan Davenport of Mountain Land Design in Salt Lake City Utah

Episode Summary

Today Ted speaks with Dan Devenport, the Owner and CEO of Mountain Land Design, a supplier of kitchen appliances, plumbing and hardware fixtures with five showrooms in three states.

Episode Notes

The spark that led to the founding of MLD took place over 30 years ago when Dan, his brother Joe, and friend Steve Stockfish started delivering appliances for a small builder supplier in Salt Lake City. “The Three Mountain Landers” saw potential in their concept and continued to develop it through the years. Today MLD is made up of 140 employees and spans five locations.

Listen in as Dan talks all things company culture and building a resilient organization. He names “fun” as one of the top qualities he looks for in any new hire and says that he has brought people aboard who were willing to take significant pay cuts to become a member of his positive and dynamic team.

Today, with his continued plans for expansion and move to decentralize operations between each of MLD’s locations, Dan explains how he looks to increase the self-leadership capabilities of his team.

Dan goes on to discuss how he was forced to adapt to the limitations brought on by the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 and, now, COVID-19. He speaks on his biggest lessons learned in times of adversity and how he plans to build on his massive success in the new normal.

Topics Discussed:

[02:04] The inspiration behind Mountain Land Design
[07:32] How Dan leads his 140+ employees
[09:37] Dealing with clients who first walk into the showroom overwhelmed
[11:44] Buying out MLD and expanding to five locations
[18:21] How Dan built relationships with incredible vendors
[21:46] How Dan plans to decentralize operations between each location
[22:55] Helping your teams lead themselves
[25:21] The moment Dan and his two partners realized that they made it
[26:49] Surviving 2008 and being forced to cut the staff in half
[29:46] MLD’s challenges during the pandemic
[33:37] Projects that MLD is most excited about right now
[36:14] The biggest lesson that Dan learned after 32 years in the industry
[38:42] How Dan almost lost his wallet at a Bronco game
[41:40] Dan on how anyone can live the American Dream

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Key Quotes from Episode:

When we’re hiring somebody, we look at, “Are they going to be fun? Are they going to fit with everybody?” Otherwise, they can become buzzkills for the rest of the group.
It’s not about the money. We have hired people that have taken significant pay cuts to come work for us. We’re a fun factory.