Leadership Greater Topeka | Colton Strathman
Photo by BRADEN DIMICK
What led you to this career?
Strathman Sales has been in my family since my great-grandfather bought it in 1939. Growing up, it was something I always considered as a possible option. In high school, I spent a few summers working there in the sign shop, warehouse, and as a delivery assistant. However, I made sure to get experience working outside of my family's business as well. I took a few years to work retail and one in food service before deciding I wanted to come back into beer distribution. After graduating from college, I began working full time at Strathman Sales spending time working in each position to gain a more complete understanding of how this company operated.
What is the biggest professional goal you have accomplished?
Anheuser-Busch, our primary supplier, requires the managers of their wholesalers to submit to an approval process. In order to be approved, you must gain experience within every aspect of the business and be interviewed by a member of Anheuser-Busch's senior leadership to demonstrate your knowledge and ability to run the company. For me, this was a five-year process that allowed me to become familiar with how each piece of this company works. After my interview, when AB's Region Vice President signed off on my approval, I felt the greatest sense of accomplishment of my life thus far.
What do you do for fun or to recharge?
Every day when I get home from work, I sit down at my table, turn on a comedy podcast (something mindless to not pull focus), and draw. Most of my drawing time is spent creating pages for the comic books I'm working on. This is something that I enjoy that helps me recharge, but it also brings about a sense of accomplishment. When I finish drawing a page, I feel deeply satisfied when I see my skills progress, and I've created something which realizes or exceeds my initial concept.
What do you think the secret to a good life is?
I don't claim to have a definitive answer to this question, but I feel I'm most content when I have a good sense of balance. My life feels the most complete when I'm able to dedicate time to work, the people I love, play, and my hobbies. At times, I struggle to maintain this balance and become too focused on one or two of these. This typically leads to a brief period of overall dissatisfaction until I'm able to restore my balance.
What are you grateful for?
I am extremely grateful for my family. Throughout my life, my parents have always made sure to set me up for a life full of opportunity and happiness. They've always been incredibly supportive, and I can't thank them enough. I appreciate my brothers for their lifelong friendships. It’s great to spend time with them and bond over our shared history as well as share the things that make us each unique. Finally, my wife, Abby, is someone who I'll always be grateful for. I appreciate how supportive she's been of my personal goals and developments throughout our relationship. She's also introduced me to many new interests. Before her, I never thought I could get pleasure from spending my free time running. Now, I really enjoy it and we've even completed a half marathon together! Overall, I really enjoy spending my time with her. She's the perfect companion for our journey through life.
What motivates you?
It might sound grim, but I feel like my greatest motivation is the knowledge that one day I will die. I really want to make sure that I'm able to make a positive impact on people while I'm still around. I want to feel like I'm contributing to the world in some way that makes it a little better even after I've completed my life.
What do you collect?
I collect comic books. I do it purely because they bring me a lot of joy. Over the years, I've read several comic book stories that have resonated with me emotionally and have read some that are simply fun entertainment, but I typically feel good about my time spent within the panels of these pages. Also, comics are beautiful collections of art. Each page contains several well-crafted illustrations that I can come back to and study to help develop my own artistic skills. Modern comics typically depreciate in price immediately, so this is certainly not a collection of financial investments. However, they hold value to me, so I continue to acquire them.
What would we mostly likely see you doing on a weekend?
If you see me on a weekend, I'm likely out to dinner somewhere with my wife, Abby. Aside from that, you may see us with our dog, Murphy, out for a run on a trail or around a neighborhood.
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