When it comes to overseeing about 14,000 employees and raising a family, Kim Dixon, executive vice president and chief operating officer for FedEx Office, said, “It’s all about being highly engaged where you are.”

Dixon talked about FedEx Office and balancing work and family Wednesday morning during the Tandy Executive Speaker Series.

During a question and answer session with O. Homer Erekson, the John V. Roach dean of the Neeley School of Business, Dixon said being highly engaged at work has helped her make the changes necessary to create an achievement-driven culture.

“I am very action-oriented, results focused and I am big on simplifying,” Dixon said.

Dixon said she appreciates her work environment because FedEx supports a healthy balance between work and family time. 

“When I leave the office at night, I take a break to be very engaged with my family,” Dixon said.

Her talk got positive feedback from many students, including second-year MBA student Brandon Lewis.

“I really enjoyed her insight on business as far as simplifying her operations and setting high expectations, which I can take to add to my tool kit,” Lewis said.

Dixon said her mentor taught her values such as “putting scores on the board” and “driving needed results while maintaining integrity.” Dixon has made it her goal to achieve both.

Dixon tells her employees they are the face of FedEx rather than the trucks and planes. One-on-one interaction is an important factor for her team, Dixon said.

Dixon said she constantly reminds her employees of the company’s motto, “Purple Promise,” meaning that they are to go above and beyond to satisfy customers.

“The comment about ‘Purple Promise’ sparked ideas for me to take back to my company,” said Kim Speairs, the director of client services for the Forth Worth-based Balcom Agency. “I’ve also attended other speaker series sessions, and I usually take away different tools and inspirational things that I can use going forward in my career.”