Art Barter believes “how you get the results is more important than the results themselves.” To teach people about the power of servant leadership, Art started in his own backyard by rebuilding the culture of the manufacturing company he bought in 2004, Datron World Communications. Art took Datron’s traditional power-led model and turned it upside down; and together with his management team, began to serve first. The result: a small international radio manufacturer grew from a $10 million company to a $200 million company in six years. In late 2016, Datron received a record $495 million order which Art feels is a direct result of the companies servant leadership culture.
Fueled by his passion for servant leadership and the lessons learned from the implementation of Datron’s culture shift, Art founded the Servant Leadership Institute (SLI) in 2008. As a vehicle to share his knowledge and to teach others how to implement servant leadership, SLI inspires and equips those they influence to improve an organization's culture. At the company’s heart is a servant leadership foundational curriculum that includes 45 hours of training for every employee in an organization.