Reunion Profiles
Steve Barger
(MBA ’74)
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Growing up, Steve Barger spent his summers picking crops in Oregon until he was old enough to work in the cannery his father ran. A graduate of Williams College, he has two children and is married to his hometown sweetheart. Barger is president of Northwest Cascade, a privately held firm that has twice been named the Best Company to Work For by Washington CEO magazine.
I remember sitting in Professor Ray Goldberg’s office during my second year at HBS discussing a project I was working on. His assistant interrupted to tell him that Earl Butz — the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture — was on the phone. Goldberg said he’d call him back. I couldn’t believe he put our meeting above that call. It was a powerful moment.
It’s hard for me to fathom what it’s like for today’s graduates. As a student, I remember shelling out $125 for a calculator that could add, subtract, multiply, and divide! The world was so different then — no cell phones, software, biotech, or espresso. It’s sure to change as much for today’s graduates, with opportunities to create products and services not yet imagined.
When I graduated I took a job consulting in New York City to hone my skills. I never imagined I’d be doing what I’m doing today, but the culture at Northwest Cascade really suits me. We are a company that is focused on human waste. Among other things, we install septic systems and sewer lines, lease portable toilets, and manufacture and clean septic tanks.
Our company values teamwork, employees, and customer service. If it comes to choosing between quality and profitability, we always go for quality and trust that it will lead to profit. I spent my first six months here working alongside our employees in each of our divisions. My first job was cleaning toilets, then I moved on to pumping septic tanks and installing sewer lines.
Obviously our work is not glamorous, but we do tough jobs, and we do them better than anyone else. Most of our improvement ideas come from our employees. Everyone is invited to our company planning meetings, and we make decisions as a group. We also review our mistakes and learn from them. Every week we spread the paychecks out on the counter so everyone knows what each other — including me — makes. There are no secrets. I think the key to success is hiring great people and keeping them informed and involved.
What I didn’t like about consulting was that I wasn’t on the front lines. Now I’m definitely on the front lines. The great thing about HBS is that it gives you confidence and prepares you to succeed in a variety of jobs. Still, I’m pretty sure I’m the only HBS MBA in this particular line of work.
