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Sayer discusses top business principles for state agencies

Jeff Sayer is the director of the Idaho Department of Commerce. Appointed in 2011 by Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter, he has provided financial and executive leadership for companies ranging from startups to those with sales of more than $500 million. As the first speaker of the day at the 2014 Leadership Summit, Sayer touched on three business principles that are prevalent among most state government agencies.

Primarily, departments must be hyper-attentive to who their customers are and what they need. Secondly, companies must pay attention to where the world is going and finally, care about culture. Sayer relayed a story about the first time he met Director Brian Ness in 2011, where Ness discussed how he wanted to make economic development a priority at the Idaho Transportation Department and more specifically apart of its strategic plan.

“I left the meeting energized,” Sayer said.

Innovation was also a theme of Sayer’s speech, pointing out how companies like Apple and Amazon left their fellow competitors, including Barnes & Noble and Dell in the dust, when each embraced new innovative ways of doing business. He said high-performing companies care about their culture, people and values. To watch Sayer’s entire presentation and his thoughts on culture in the workplace, click here.