John D. Smith Is Excited About Coaching Up a Winning Team at Foundation Partners Group
It’s easy to picture John D. Smith on the sidelines, huddling with his team before the crucial fourth down play in the last seconds of a tied-score playoff game, enthusiastically giving them the direction, inspiration, and support they need to secure the win. Easy, perhaps, because long before he was selected for the role of Chief Executive Officer at Foundation Partners Group in January, Smith was a fixture on the football field. From his peewee team’s Junior Super Bowl win to his time as a D1 strong safety to his decades in executive leadership, Smith has trusted that teamwork is integral to any kind of success.
“Football is the ultimate team sport,” he explains. “Nobody can make the play work by themselves. Every player has a role, and success depends on each person executing their assignment. It’s the same in business—everyone plays a part, and when we work together with a shared vision, that’s when the magic happens.”
It’s this ingrained belief in a team dynamic, along with the Zen Buddhist concept of the beginner’s mindset, that has led Smith to surround himself throughout his career with individuals with different skills, opinions, and expertise — and to genuinely value what they bring to the table. It’s why, as a newcomer to the deathcare space, one of Smith’s first actions at Foundation Partners Group was to assemble an advisory board composed of seasoned funeral professionals.
“In most of my roles, I didn’t know that industry when I first started; I didn’t come from that industry,” Smith says. “I’m humble enough to know that I don’t know about the roots of it, and that’s where respect comes in. Even if you have new ideas or maybe other and better ways to do things, you still respect the people who have spent their lives in the industry. Some of the best coaches in sports didn’t play the sport. I bring multiple industry experience and a leadership aspect, and if you can marry that with people with deep subject matter expertise, that’s where the magic happens.”
Smith’s first Community Advisory Board members, Mark Krause, Kevin Waterston, and Rick Tuss, definitely filt the bill as subject matter experts. They represent both multi-generational funeral homes and wildly successful start-ups, with nearly a century of combined deathcare experience as owners, directors, industry advocates, and community leaders. When talking about the board with Smith, it’s evident that each member is actively embracing their position on the team, and that Smith truly enjoys and appreciates their input.
“We text each other,” says Smith, smiling. “I just had dinner with Kevin Waterson at the CANA Symposium in Las Vegas. I met Rick during my second week with the company, and we ended up having a great conversation. These are three longtime icons in the industry, and in my conversations with each of them, they had a genuine interest in wanting Foundation Partners to be successful. They were excited to see a new person in the CEO position, they’re excited about what’s possible, and they want to help. I thought, ‘You’d be a fool not to take advantage of that.’”
Smith’s respect for his advisors is evident, as is his commitment to ensuring every member of the Foundation Partners Group organization knows the importance of their role within the larger team.
“As a team, you have to have great ingredients — great talent in key roles,” Smith says. “It doesn’t mean everyone is going to be a Heisman Trophy winner, but as long as everyone knows their role and we’re all bound together by a clear set of values we believe in, you can get people collectively excited about a shared vision. That’s where teamwork happens.”
Much like Deion Sanders and Nick Saban, Smith works to “coach up” the people on his team. This doesn’t necessarily mean teaching everyone how to do their individual jobs; it’s bigger than that.
“I see my role as helping them be more effective in their roles,” he explains. “How can I help them engage their teams? How can they communicate more effectively? That’s what I work on with folks. That falls right in line with what you’re trying to do as a coach. If a person is going to play quarterback, I can only help you to some degree if you can’t throw the ball and you can’t read the defense. But I can certainly help you with leadership; I can help how you study, and how you prepare for the game.”
