You already know that Leggett and Platt created an incredible company, but did you know they were also highly-respected community leaders? Here are our top 5 facts about the duo who started it all.
1. Joseph (J.P.) Leggett was the child of immigrant parents. After leaving England, his father became a prominent citizen in Pennsylvania and secured Joseph’s early education at the Millville Seminary – knowledge he surely drew upon throughout his life as an inventor and businessman. As a young man, Joseph worked in St. Louis for several years before moving to Carthage, MO.
2. Cornelius Platt was an (actual) pioneer. At the age of 10, he and his family traveled from Iowa to Carthage in a covered wagon to become one of the town’s early settlers. His father, a blacksmith, started C.D. Platt Plow Works – where the first coiled bedsprings were produced in 1883.
3. They were born entrepreneurs! Leggett and Platt knew their sales market was limited in Carthage, so they decided to hit the road. After loading a horse-drawn wagon with bedsprings they traveled to nearby towns, drawing crowds as they assembled springs and slats on the spot.
4. They were civic leaders too. Both men were very active in the Carthage community. Leggett served as City Mayor from 1906 to 1912. He was also President of the Bank of Carthage and the Jasper County Fair Association. Platt served as Director of the Bank of Carthage and was President of the Board of Public Works from 1908 to 1929.
5. They loved life. Leggett spent much of his “spare” time inventing. He held patents for many ideas including a tea kettle lid, an endless necktie, and an automobile propelling system that was a predecessor of today’s front-wheel drive systems. He was also known as an avid hunter and fisherman. Platt loved to golf at the Broadview Country Club and was devoted to his church. He also owned Platt-Porter Co., a wholesale grocer best known for their fresh roasted coffee!
If you want to get to know Leggett & Platt, you should get to know our people first. What better way than by seeing a few of their favorite things?
Mary’s role: Business Profitability Analyst in LBSO (which stands for Leggett Business Systems Office)
Job in a nutshell: Building and maintaining financial models to help our business units allocate general ledger costs to customers and products.
Want to see more? Check out a few Office Must-Haves from the past.
This throwback for your Thursday proves it: Even in 1948 we had a lot of winners on our team!
(Corsicana Daily Sun, Jan 23, 1948)
If you want to get to know Leggett & Platt, you should get to know our people first. What better way than by seeing a few of their favorite things?
Claudia’s role: Credit Manager I – Remote Specialist
Job in a nutshell: Finding ways to control, reduce, or eliminate higher-risk transactions with international customers by doing evaluations of creditworthiness.
Want to see more? Check out a few Office Must-Haves from the past.
In celebration of National Inventors’ Day, we’re sharing the work of our original inventor, J.P. Leggett. Here’s our very first official patent!
In 1883, J.P. Leggett invented the first spiral-steel, coiled bedspring. It was revolutionary in design and offered the best night’s sleep available. Leggett was granted an official patent in 1885, as indicated by this drawing from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
You may not find yourself behind a microphone on a regular basis. However, it’s just as important to have great presentation skills when you’re presenting to your own circles of influence.
Hi, we’re the Communications Team. We’ve witnessed a wide variety of presentation styles over the years. Here are our Top 5 tips on how to be a more effective presenter.
1. Be Prepared. Practice, but don’t cram. Nerves can kick in whether you’re speaking to a large audience or a small, informal committee. Go over your notes until you’re comfortable with the material and can speak to it with confidence. An overly polished presentation can lose authenticity though — be sure to find a good balance.
2. Bring your personality out to play. Your audience will be more engaged if you’re enthusiastic and passionate about the project or topic. Personal anecdotes or humor can be great tools for maintaining attention too. Lose the note cards and just be yourself.
3. Stay positive. The audience is your friend.
4. Look at people, not your slides. Make eye contact with as many people as you can. A good rule of thumb is a gaze of 3-5 seconds before shifting to the next friendly face. This makes them feel both important and included.
5. Breathe. Relax and pause when you need to collect your thoughts. Oxygen is essential.
If you want to get to know Leggett & Platt, you should get to know our people first. What better way than by seeing a few of their favorite things?
Jeff’s role: Senior Internal Consultant
Job in a nutshell: Connecting dots, building bridges, and finding ways for people, data, and systems to achieve better outcomes for everyone.
Want to see more? Check out a few Office Must-Haves from the past.
It’s a new year, folks, and we’ve got some new faces at L&P! Throughout January, we’ve introduced you to several of our recent hires and their thoughts on the year ahead.
Last but not least, meet Gavin DePaul, Software Engineer at our IDEA Center. He started with us in August.
What brought you to Leggett?
I interacted with L&P during a business seminar in high school, so it’s been on my radar for a while. I decided to pursue a Computer Science degree in college, and so when I graduated, the research and development facility at L&P seemed like the perfect fit!
What’s something surprising about you?
I’m 22 and my brother is 17, but he is already taller than me. This might not be super surprising, but when I’m not at work, I like to do web development as a hobby.
What’s your biggest goal for 2019?
I’d really love to learn more within the software engineering industry. I’m working within the world of IIoT (the industrial internet of things), which means I write code and adjust machine programming to make machines work more efficiently. It’s an exciting field to be in and there’s so much more to learn.
