Superior Water and Air

Founded in 1956, Superior Water and Air had spent over 40 years focused on a single product line. By the time Rob Anderson became CEO, the company had 25 employees operating from one office with plateaued revenue of $4 million annually. Superior needed to expand to remain viable, but internal problems made growth impossible.

Hostile Atmosphere Consuming Leadership Energy

The workplace atmosphere was toxic. One employee described it simply as "hostile." General Manager Todd Jameson reflected on the cost: "A huge part of our time and energy was spent dealing with internal conflict. I mean, that was our biggest challenge."

The hostility permeated daily operations. "I didn't think I could communicate with the management very well," Mitch recalled. Jeff admitted: "I take everything very personal. If they question what I'm doing, I would've come aggressive towards them."

Trust was nonexistent. "People in general don't trust each other that we're here to help each other," Laurie observed. Martin described the prevailing attitude: "Sometimes we meet up at a job where he was like, 'What are you doing here? I do my own, and you do your own.'"

The message to employees was blunt: "No excuses, no crime. Just do your job and if you don't like it, then go someplace else."

Blame Culture Preventing Accountability

When mistakes occurred or numbers declined, employees immediately pointed fingers. "If something was broken or if sales numbers were down, well, it was the stupid salesman and they're doing stupid things," Marty explained.

Todd described the blame cycle: "If there wasn't enough installs, then the plumbers would blame the salesman or the marketers." Laurie added: "We're getting frustrated with them. They're frustrated with us."

The blame intensified with specific incidents: "And they're idiots and they don't know what they're doing and they don't know how to sell the new product," Marty recalled hearing repeatedly.

No one took accountability. Different departments blamed each other rather than solving problems collaboratively. Rob acknowledged the reality beneath the surface: "I would've told you on the surface that we were sharp, but reality, we weren't."

Employee Complacency and Lack of Motivation

Employees seemed complacent and uninvested in the company's success. They narrowly defined their roles by specific tasks rather than broader impact. Individual motivation was minimal—people did their jobs but showed little initiative or innovation.

Rob faced a critical problem: "How to improve the sense of individual motivation and accountability in work where employees seemed complacent and uninvested." The company's future depended on frontline workers' diligence and customer service, but neither existed at necessary levels.

Stagnant Revenue Blocking Growth

Annual revenue had plateaued at $4 million. Superior had focused on one product line for over 40 years with no expansion. The company served 30,000 customers from a single location with no path to growth visible.

Rob knew expansion was necessary for survival, but the internal dysfunction made it impossible to consider. You can't grow a company when leadership energy is consumed by internal conflict and employees won't take accountability for results.

Rob received a pre-publication copy of "Leadership and Self-Deception" and experienced a breakthrough. "When I got what the material was trying to teach, it was like somebody opened the blinds on a window so I could see," he explained. "That's why I introduced it to my company."

Starting with Leadership Change

Rob recognized the necessity of changing himself before trying to change others. He made a personal commitment to lead by example. Rather than focusing on employees' shortcomings and how they inhibited his objectives, he worked to consistently see their full humanity.

This choice fundamentally shifted his approach to working, managing, and conducting meetings. "What I realized as a leader is that I have a deep responsibility to our people, to our customers," Rob reflected.

Engaging All Employees

Rob engaged Arbinger to provide initial training for employees, creating a shared experience and unified understanding of mindset. He also completed Arbinger's train-the-trainer process, enabling him to lead the transformation within Superior.

Since then, Rob has trained all Superior employees in Arbinger's methodologies. He and his leaders manage and operate using the tools they acquired from Arbinger—essential for transforming internal conflicts, establishing clear accountability, and elevating team performance.

The impact was immediate. "It really helped right from the first day," Mitch recalled. Martin agreed: "Things have changed since I started that training."

Breaking the Blame Culture

Employees stopped blaming each other and started taking accountability. "Got to work with these people. So you've got to care about them, know what's going on with them, know how you can help them, how they can help you. And I know they'll always back me and I've always got their back," Mitch explained.

The shift from blame to mutual support transformed how teams worked together. Communication improved dramatically. Trust replaced hostility.

Transforming Customer Focus

Rather than narrowly defining roles by specific tasks, employees began viewing their work in terms of impact on fellow employees and customers. This led to better understanding of customer needs and desire to exceed expectations.

"Arbinger taught us to really take care of the customer and by that it has been pretty amazing at what it's done to our sales numbers at Superior," Marty observed. Mark added: "We've gotten more business because of it, because of word of mouth."

Rob described the transformation: "The way we look at our customers has been transformed. Consequently, the way we treat them is different as well."

Enabling Innovation and Expansion

The improved accountability and collaboration eliminated employee resistance to change and encouraged sharing of innovative ideas. For the first time in over 40 years, Superior could consider expansion.

"Arbinger helped us ask and dive into two questions," Rob explained. "First, what are all the ways that we can make the customer experience better? And second, how can we make the experience better internally for our employees and each other? Our work around these questions changed everything for us and for our customers."

Rob saw "immediate and obvious" impact. Superior employees began communicating and working together far more effectively. The transformation produced spectacular business results.

Measurable Business Growth

Individual departments saw immediate improvements. "My divisions went from...in the last three months, we've been up to 30,000 over last year," Jeff reported.

The company-wide results were remarkable:

• Revenue grew 400% from $4 million to $25 million
• Customer base expanded from 30,000 to 140,000
• Product lines increased from 1 to 6 in just six years
• Locations expanded from 1 office to 4 offices across 3 states

Todd reflected on being part of the growth: "Company's almost tripled in size in that time, and so, been really good to be on the ground floor of something and be able to be part of it growing."

Cultural Transformation Enabling Sustained Success

The hostile atmosphere disappeared. New employees immediately notice the difference. "New people come in here and I mean, they'll react by saying, 'Oh, I never worked at a company that gets along so good.' We all kind of giggle and say, 'Well wait until you go through Arbinger,'" Marty shared.

Marc captured the shift in organizational trajectory: "Here, we're actually going someplace."

The improvements extended beyond work. "It certainly has helped me with some difficult relationships that I've had personally," Laurie noted. Martin agreed: "All around, that program helped me out with my career here at work, with my customers outside."

Jeff summarized the transformation: "And it's night and day with this company. Taking the time and doing it. I think it makes a company grow. I just don't see us being successful without it."

Superior Water and Air has become one of the largest independently owned and family-operated providers of water treatment, plumbing, and heating and air services in the United States, trusted to service over 130,000 homes throughout the Intermountain West. 

Superior Water and Air proved that employee complacency, blame culture, and hostile internal conflict don't just create miserable workplaces—they prevent growth. When leadership energy is consumed by managing dysfunction, expansion is impossible. But when 25 employees shifted from blaming each other to backing each other up, Superior accomplished what "most people would think is impossible": 400% revenue growth, expansion from 1 to 6 product lines in 6 years, and growth from 1 to 4 offices across 3 states. The transformation from stagnant single-product company to regional industry leader demonstrates that addressing accountability and blame culture isn't just about workplace harmony—it's about unlocking business performance that seemed impossible.