For fleet operator, success in fleet maintenance has come from MBWA – management by wandering around, and not WA – walking away. Darry W. Stuart, President/CEO, DWS Fleet Management Services, calls MBWA a real-world MBA (Master of Business Administration). He started working toward his "MBWA" as a young boy working on a farm for John Peck, a boss who was about 10 years older than him. Peck was Stuart's brow-beating tutor and coach.
Both Peck, and the owner of the farm, Demetrios Haseotes, taught Stuart many things on a minute-to-minute basis. He quickly learned by their sharing their experiences and successes, as well as through his own failures.
Stuart says, "What I didn’t understand was why Haseotes, at the time the CEO of a then 500 million dollar business, was always around checking on things, even showing up on Sunday mornings at 5 a.m. One day I asked him: 'Why don’t you leave me alone and let me to my job?' What I really meant was: 'I don’t need anyone looking over my shoulders.' "