On the latest episode of the “Only The Strong Survive” podcast, host Dan Kahn sits down with Bob Wheeler, the visionary president and CEO behind the modern resurgence of Airstream.
Bob’s journey began in the trenches of General Motors as a mechanical engineer. While navigating the complex manufacturing floor, he earned his MBA at night, gaining invaluable, real-world lessons in leadership and labor relations. Seeking less bureaucracy and greater agility, Bob eventually transitioned into the RV industry, taking the helm at Airstream in 2005 after joining the company in 2002.
Founded in 1931, Airstream is an undisputed American icon in luxury travel trailers. However, when Bob arrived, the legacy brand was suffering from stagnation, relying on a single outdated product line while sales dropped despite a booming RV market.
In this episode, Bob reveals how he steered a storied company out of a slump and into record growth. Click on the icon to listen to the lessons he learned while successfully modernizing the brand for a new generation of adventurers without losing the timeless magic that makes an Airstream instantly recognizable on the open road.
Here are our top five takeaways:
Spending time on the factory floor helps you understand what really makes the business run.
Fresh, external talent can be a great way to reinvent a brand.
Great marketing is about building relationships with future buyers long before they’re ready to purchase.
Leaning on past experience and company history keeps your employees focused when times get tough.
Leaving your ego at the door makes you open to better ideas and keeps your team collaborating.
Get on the Factory Floor
One of Bob’s first roles after transitioning into the RV industry was supervising manufacturing on the factory floor. The experience was pivotal, as it taught him that the people on the floor are just as important as the products made there. Gaining a deeper understanding of those workers, how to connect with them and their needs has helped him throughout his career.
“I started out in manufacturing management, which is a great experience I would recommend for anyone,” said Bob. “If you jump right into an office job and you are part of a manufacturing company and you don’t spend time on the floor with people that don’t have your background, opportunities or resources, and you don’t learn to communicate, connect and understand their perspectives, you really miss something important.”
Bring in Outside Eyes
While Airstream’s trailers were iconic, they were also becoming stagnant and steadily losing sales to other competitors. The product needed a refresh, but it had to be done very carefully. To help accomplish this feat, Bob brought in a fresh set of eyes with an outsider’s perspective.
“There was a real challenge and opportunity to refresh the brand, but it had to be done in a way that respected its heritage and didn’t ruin what is so magical about Airstream. Luckily, we partnered with a respected and talented architect out of San Francisco named Chris Deam,” said Bob. “He reimagined what the Airstream could be in a way that none of us had. When we saw it, we recognized that it really would change the game and reintroduce the brand and the product to a whole new generation of owners.”
Plant Seeds
Marketing can often be very focused on the near term. However, for Bob, thinking long-term and “planting seeds” is equally important as reaching quarterly goals. Doing so ensures that there will always be a steady crop of buyers for Airstream’s iconic trailers.
“We have gone from just kind of answering the phone when people call and opportunities land in our lap, and they continue to at a rate we remain grateful for, to now being more strategic in who we want to partner with, rather than who is calling us,” said Bob. “And, maybe more importantly, how do we continue to push the brand to connect in ways with buyers that are younger? They might not be buyers in five or even 10 years, but how do we plant the seeds with future buyers in a way that they understand Airstream is cool, it’s authentic and can transform your life?”
Keep Calm and Carry On
Guiding a company through an economic downturn and a pandemic can be a hair-raising experience for any CEO. However, Bob was able to rely on the knowledge he gained during the 2008 financial crisis to remain calm and collected. But just as critical as keeping yourself calm is allaying the fears of everyone else in the company.
“When we hit the downturns in 2018 and 2019, when things got soft, and the crisis of early 2020, when the bottom fell out for about six weeks before it came roaring back for us and everybody else in the industry, you learn how to manage through that. You keep calm because you have done it before,” said Bob. “It helped to tell people that I had been through this and we had been through this before as a company. We were 90 years old then as a company and knew how to weather these things.”
Be Humble
For Bob, being humble is about more than just not being braggadocios. When you are humble, you become more open to collaboration and other ideas. By doing that, you become a much better manager and a more effective leader than one who thinks their ideas are always the best.
“Humility is really a strong core value for me. It leads to a collaborative style of management. I don’t always have the best idea in the room, but every now and then a blind squirrel finds a nut,” said Bob. “I have got a great team, and I listen to them, and we collaborate a lot. Humility makes you open to others’ ideas, and many times, it is a better idea.”
