Chad Silverstein built a company to change how people see collections. He credits spiritual growth and three core values—identity, principles, and magnum opus—with shaping his leadership, and shares how his team's willingness to help each other find meaningful work proved the mission was working.
Chapters
From day one of starting my company, I set out to try to build the kind of company that I wanted to work in. I set out this big dream early on to change the perception of collections. You know, what we ended up being able to do as a company and as a team was really special, and it was a long journey. When I started with build 2 lead, you sit down with this executive builder, and he asks you the hard questions about life. Have you answered the hard questions about life? And growing up Jewish and not having any religion in my background, and I really didn't know anything. I had to answer those questions for myself and for me, my journey. When my kids were born, something happened in me, and I went searching. That changed everything for me, and it became. It became my real identity. So when I first started off as a wrestler, that identified myself as an athlete. But then I stopped wrestling, and I stopped coaching, and then it became an entrepreneur and a leader. But that can end like that. If you don't have a team and you're not leading anyone, that's not who you are. So my spiritual journey for me, it really became my identity and who I am, and I started down that path in 2008. I'm who I am. I know who I am. I know what I believe. I don't push it on anyone else. And it guides every single aspect of my life, everything. It's about having a strong core, knowing who you are, your identity, your belief system, your principles, your core values. And it's aiming at this big dream, and we call it your magnum opus. Like, what's your opus? Right? Your labor of love. Like, what are you going after? Is it a life worth living? You know, they say the most damaging thing you can do to your kids is to not live a life worth living. You got to show your kids what it looks like, so then you can expect them to go do it. And so I took it seriously, and I'm like, I'm gonna run with this. I'm very intense. And I was obsessed with, like, you know, getting my vision clear. And I worked and worked and worked and rinsed it, and I had a builder with me who helped me clarify that. And then I started sharing it with my team. And when we got together and we practiced, people had the courage to stand up and talk to us about their dreams. And this one gal did that one day, and I was doing mine, and she's doing hers. And I made that connection. And I walked in my office the next day, I said, you really want just a collector? I said, you really want to change people's lives? I said, today you're not a collector. You're off your desk. And I said, I want you to call as many people as you can and tell them that you want to help him. Get him a job. She came to me after the first day, upset because no one wanted our help. Kind of weird for a collection agency to call you and say, we want to help you get a job. I said, just keep asking. Find one, you'll find her, you'll find him, and pour your heart into that person. And she did. And I have to tell you, when I read that letter that the person sent us to the entire company at our month end meeting, I'm like, we got something.
