Description:
Bob Labbe has spent a lifetime building businesses, solving technical problems, and engineering practical solutions. From scaling air pollution control companies to developing a quantitative putting system for golfers, Bob approaches life with the mindset of a builder: observe the problem, test relentlessly, and keep refining until something works.
In this episode, Bob shares the journey behind building and selling multiple engineering companies, the importance of long-term partnerships, and the relationships that helped shape his career over more than five decades. He also reflects on retirement, rediscovering golf, and how frustration with his putting game eventually led him to develop and publish Putting by the Numbers, a system designed to help golfers think about putting in a completely different way.
What makes this conversation especially interesting is how Bob applies the same engineering mindset everywhere. A frustrating putting problem became years of experimentation and eventually a published book. A ruined silk tie at dinner became the inspiration for a patented coaster design. In both cases, the process was the same: notice the friction, stay curious, and build a better solution.
Key Takeaways:
- Great businesses are often built through strong partnerships and complementary skill sets.
- Innovation frequently starts with frustration and curiosity.
- Builders train themselves to notice problems other people ignore.
- Testing, iteration, and patience are essential parts of building something meaningful.
- Relationships and trust are foundational to long-term business success.
- Builders never really stop building, even after retirement.
Bob Labbe
Bob Labbe is an Inventor & Engineer. He has a pet peeve with drink coasters, and justifiably thinks you should too!
Drink coasters are meant to protect any surface from the water rings produced by cold beverages – but they aren’t user-friendly.
One day before a nice dinner out at a restaurant, Bob was enjoying an ice cold drink with his family. He was dressed to the nines and decided to use a leather coaster for his drink. After about 10 minutes, he grabbed his beverage only to have the coaster stick to the bottom of his glass, spilling the condensation all over his tie, shirt, and slacks. His silk tie was forever stained, and so a new product was born.
THE MEAT OF IT!
- Bob Labbe’s Early Life and Foundations
- Growing up with strong family values
- Education, athletics, and discipline
- Working through Georgia Tech
- The Start of Entrepreneurship
- Owning a gas station at a young age
- Learning the realities of business ownership
- Transitioning into engineering
- Building Air Pollution Control Companies
- Practical engineering lessons at American Air Filter
- Finding the right business partner
- Growing and selling multiple companies
- Leadership, partnerships, and long-term relationships
- The Importance of Relationships in Business
- Building trust with employees and representatives
- Creating lasting business friendships
- Why enjoyable work matters
- Curiosity, Golf, and Engineering a Better Method
- Learning golf seriously after retirement
- Frustration with putting performance
- Applying engineering principles to golf
- Developing a quantitative approach to putting
- Turning Everyday Frustrations Into Products
- How a ruined silk tie inspired a new invention
- Designing the Ultimate Coaster
- The process of sketching, prototyping, and patenting
- Why simple ideas still matter
- Lessons on Innovation and the Builder Mindset
- Builders notice problems other people ignore
- Testing, iteration, and persistence
- Creating products that genuinely help people
- Why builders never really stop building
Check out these related Episodes:
- Episode 275: William Holsten – Turning Product & Business Blunders into Hard-Won Lessons
- Episode 274 – How to Build Something New Without Breaking What You’ve Built, Rebuilding My Art Practice
- Episode 273: Silyana Bojilova – Building Without a Blueprint: Turning Instinct and Curiosity into a Career
