John Mahle: The Role of Teamwork in Achieving Success

In this week’s episode of The FreightCaviar Podcast, we sit down with John Mahle, Senior Sales Executive at Triple T Transport, Inc., and host of Stay In Your Lane Podcast. He reveals how the company has evolved into an employee-owned enterprise that values quality and sustainable practices over unchecked growth. He also discusses the decisions that led to embracing employee ownership, and highlights how this model not only empowers the team but also reinforces the company’s dedication to long-term excellence.

John Mahle’s Journey

He’s worked at Triple T Transport, as a Senior Sales Executive, since the mid-1990s. Founded in 1988, the company has steadily grown thanks to the old-school values of integrity and dependability that were pushed since day one by founders Tom Sanfillipo and John Walker. Thanks to their influence and guidance, John Mahle has gathered some of the best advice he’s learned throughout the years and shares them with us today.

The Role of Teamwork in Achieving Success

When it comes down to it, no one does it on their own. It takes two, or even a team of great individuals, to get to the top. 

“You can’t do it all on your own so you need to have great people around you. I never saw a great company that didn’t start with great people.”

Motives also play a huge part in building a business. Remember the saying ‘Slow and steady wins the race’? –  it exists for a reason.

“What are your motives? Are your motives to be the biggest and hurry up and get as big as you can?”

The Impact of Ego on Success

And once you do get successful, ego can play a huge role in shaping your mindset and decisions. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that your success is due to your greatness, overlooking factors such as support from others, luck, or good timing. The secret is staying grounded. 

“When you get too much you want more, right? Then how much of it is human ego? It’s a huge liability.” 

AI’s Role in the Freight Industry

Shifting gears to one of the hottest topics in the industry– AI. John shared his thoughts on its everchanging role and when it brings the most value.

You can get AI to do everything now, right? But where does it fit? Where does it make sense? How does it bring value? I think in our industry it brings the most value when you’re using the data in a timely manner.”

While the technology is not new, the cost of it hasn’t changed either in the last decade or so to allow it to become more affordable and give more opportunities to people. Only time will tell what awaits us all. 

Listen to the entire interview on Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, or watch it on our  YouTube Channel.