• KICKER style! Proven workforce tactics and 6 leadership tips to help you build culture and create community

By Marilyn DeMartini, Marine Industry Marketer & Journalist

Attrition is not a problem at KICKER. The average tenure at the company is 14 years, compared to the quoted industry average of two years. But then there’s also a sizable skeleton crew that has been with founder Steve Irby, since the beginning, when he and a friend started Stillwater Designs, KICKER’s corporate umbrella, in a garage, in 1973.

To uncover the secret to KICKER’s retention, we spoke with Global Trainer John Myers, who is celebrating his 29^th year and Aaron Malin, Global Training Manager, who has been with the company for 19 years. They explained why after 50 years, Steve Irby is still Kickin’ it every day in the company’s Stillwater, Oklahoma headquarters.

Leadership Tip 1: Build your dealership culture from the top-down to establish long-term loyalty. KICKER has led with passion from the start helping it to avoid turnover’s frequent and revolving door. Leading from the top daily with strong values — and without micromanaging tactics — can help you overcome your workforce challenges. Leadership’s willingness and desire to be present can boost trust.

A Little Background

KICKER/Stillwater Designs started with Steve Irby being a “Beatles-inspired” garage band teenager with a passion for transmitting music with concert-like quality — just as the recording artist envisioned it. He began building large event sound systems but got sidetracked in 1980 when a friend with a music store asked him to build one of his full frequency range sound boxes for his truck.

The success of the truck sound system, which reportedly “Kicked @$$, changed the name and the focus of the company, which flourished during the conversion van, oil and rock ‘n roll boom of the 70s, 80s and beyond. KICKER built its reputation on sound clarity and is known for its resounding bass, created by strong lower frequencies converted to sound waves by speakers, woofers and subwoofers. The company won numerous sound competitions as it grew into a powerhouse in the automotive and powersports fields. KICKER even developed the popular GMC MultiPro™ audio system that brought a strong KICK to Americans’ infatuation with tailgating.

The Marine Audio side of the business began more than 20 years ago with a quick learning curve on developing a purposefully-built Real Marine™ quality product. KICKER Marine Audio set the gold standard for durability, reliability and a strong warranty, relying on its design, engineering and use of top-technologies, talent and materials.

Today, KICKER’s impressive 280,000 square foot headquarters in Stillwater, sits on a lake, housing a lobby showroom, museum and various sound testing facilities. Irby and his mentees listen to each system before releasing it to the public. Over 200 team members work in design, engineering, service, sales and quality control. They provide components to over 2,000 authorized dealers internationally in more than 50 countries.

The KICKER Culture – God, Respect, Family, Trust

“We live the culture, we don’t talk about it,” says Malin, and part of that spirit is immediately reflected on entering the lobby of the KICKER headquarters where “Soli Dio Gloria,” Latin for “Glory to God Alone” is inscribed in stainless steel on the granite floor. “Christian values are part of who we are,” Malin further explains, “We don’t flaunt it, but we don’t hide it.” The resulting camaraderie and confidence are palatable when visiting KICKER as each team member radiates an amiable contentment, stemming from true satisfaction in what they are doing as well as where.

Natural light fills the modern building and the landscape is strikingly colorful, beautiful and inviting. It’s ideal for lunchtime walks around the lakefront. On the interior, KICKER product becomes artwork adorning the walls, including in the lobby showroom, filled with celebrity vehicles loaded with KICKER equipment. The infamous “Wall of Boom,” — an impressive and massive assembly of speakers, woofers and subs — demonstrates the raw power of KICKER sound. It seldom blasts to full volume. Its 23,000 watts of sound can shake the windows of area neighborhoods, testing the “Golden Rule.” Special events end as early as 6 p.m. to honor and respect neighbors’ quiet time.

Respect and family are integral to KICKER Culture. Bart Deal, VP of Product Strategy and OEM, has said, “The job supports the family, not the family supports the job.” On occasion, Deal may excuse himself from a meeting to take a call from his wife. He respects others in the room, but his teammates understand that his spouse would not call unnecessarily.

“There is a lot of leniency to take care of family first,” says Malin, adding that clemency is built on trust.

Leadership Tip 2: Respect and flexibility create happy, balanced employees. KICKER’s family-first approach and compassion for others builds unity and trust. So often, when you support employees in caring for their families it has an impact on their work life. Employees are more engaged, value and appreciate these small-but-important levels of leniency.

Freedom to Take Action

Myers shares a story that impacted his early career, “The day I started here, they gave me a key and an alarm code and said, ‘It’s yours, do what you want to do!’ I always worked on people’s cars and was busy, so I worked a lot of nights and weekends in the shop, doing installations.” One day he ran into Steve Irby who said, “Do you like it here? I heard you were working on cars here for other people.”

“I got scared, thinking I was going to get fired, but I knew I had to be honest and admitted that I was working on cars in the KICKER shop. He said, ‘I need some work done on my car, but if you don’t want to do it, it’s OK. I’m happy to pay you for it.’”

Myers learned that Irby’s stereo had been broken, but he didn’t want to bother anyone there with it. While Myers quickly fixed the car and established a deeper relationship with Irby, imagine the owner of a premier sound company, driving with a broken stereo out of consideration for his employees. That insight demonstrates the top-down respectful culture of KICKER.

Malin says staff members are coached to do what you think is right and if it’s wrong, tell somebody and don’t do it again. “We are allowed to screw up because a lot of innovation comes from screw ups,” adds Malin. Such leniency shows KICKER giving people the freedom to take action and responsibility. When asked about employees who have been fired, Malin laughed, “You have to do something really stupid to be asked to leave!”

Leadership Tip 3: Support them with real autonomy or ownership of their role and responsibility. Allowing your team to fail, learn and grow — together — is an essential trust builder. It can help reinforce that you not only believe in them, but need them as mission contributors. Onboarding new service advisors or technicians while allowing room for screw ups empowers them and enhances decision-making.

KICKER celebrates family year-round, hosting an annual July 4 picnic at the facility. The event has games, a cookout and prime seats to watch fireworks explode across “Boomer Lake.” An elegant Christmas party is also a highlight for employees and spouses. Dress up is optional as KICKER is a “casual company.”

Company benefits are also family-friendly, including a Christmas bonus, 401K plan, profit sharing, funded health, disability and life insurance. KICKER, an MRAA Platinum Partner, believes in treating and rewarding people well — the result is appreciation and loyalty.

Leadership Tip 4: Go beyond the baseline benefits if you can. To do so, though, don’t guess at what your team wants and needs — ask them! Do an employee survey to pinpoint low-cost and valuable improvements. From family-based perks to more scheduling flexibility, give your team a voice to share their priorities. Ultimately, it should turn up morale.

Community — Caring, Sharing & Giving Back

Irby and his wife, Becky, lead by example, encouraging employees to participate in the Stillwater community. They generously support the area United Way, donating and serving on the Board. Other staff commit time to city government committees and boards. KICKER support work contributed on company time. Team members voluntarily give back to help improve the community in which they live.

KICKER also supports its hometown Oklahoma State University Spears School of Business. KICKER has hosted “Startup Weekends” in conjunction with the University’s Riata Center for Entrepreneurship. Students enter a competition and come to the offices and for three days. They work alongside KICKER staff to develop new business presentations. They also meet mentors, possible investors, partners and learn how to launch a business.

Additionally, KICKER backs the OSU sports teams and coaches, equipping the ski team’s boat with KICKER gear. They help faculty and students with installations on their vehicles and vessels.

Every month, area car enthusiasts gather at KICKER for “Hot Rod Friday,” to share their passion and cruise to lunch together. KICKER plans to add “Motorcycle Monday” soon.

A major example of giving back to the community is “Block 34,” a 10-year public-private development project of a vacant city block, spearheaded and largely funded by Steve and Becky Irby. They had experienced an interactive park in Boulder, Colorado and sought to replicate it in Stillwater. They worked with the City, a local bank and other stakeholders to create The KICKER Soundstage, an amphitheater for use by national acts and local bands. The park also features a splashpad and beautiful play space. On opening day, July 26, 2025, as Irby watched kids playing, he was quoted to say, “This is what it’s all about, you know, this is what we’re here for.”

Another example of the KICKER team in community support occurred during the pandemic. KICKER received pallets of face masks from an Asian supplier. It then donated them to area hospitals and urgent care centers. In addition, the company let staff choose between working from home or coming to the office with mandatory safety protocols in place.

Leadership Tip 5: Your dealership knows how to do events, from in-house boat shows to demo days. However, do you allow your workers to find time for dealer-supported, community-based efforts? How often do you let them give back and serve their community and go beyond the daily grind? They remain associated with the brand while actively adding value beyond their job description.

Charity Begins at Home

For its own corporate community and family, KICKER hosts a Sound Quality Competition for the International Auto Sound Challenge Association (IASCA) and Mobile Audio Sound Quality (MASQ), both trade groups that set standards for the industry. KICKER invites the community, and the parking lot rocks all day until the 6 p.m. quiet time.

KICKER also hosts bi-annual trips to reward top-ranking dealers, both big and small. The group has enjoyed cruises to exotic islands, and for the past few years, an all-expense paid trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, that included KICKER’s sales and marketing team, along with spouses. The company commandeers the entire Hard Rock Hotel, and employees leave business and training behind to fish, lounge and forge camaraderie. Irby attends, mingling with dealers and staff as his people are part of his passion.

Irby’s passions for music, sound and business are fundamental and extend to his immediate family. Irby’s son Joel owns the Stonecloud Brewing Company in Stillwater and while embracing his father’s passion, he was free to pursue his own, which include brewing beer and climbing mountains. The two men co-exist happily, proud of each other’s accomplishments.

Contagious Leadership from the Top

An employee once asked Irby, “Why do you do this? After building a large, successful company, most people are eager to sell out and move to the beach!” Irby’s response was insightful and clear. He relayed that he loves what he does, “If I didn’t own KICKER, I’d have to pay someone to do what I do!” He also explained that 200 families rely on KICKER and he wouldn’t be able to protect them if he sold the company. In addition, hundreds of stores sell KICKER and hundreds more manufacture the product so in reality, there are thousands of people who count on KICKER to support their families. Such is the powerful motivation for a man who could retire but chooses not to.

Irby demonstrates the KICKER Culture through his leadership. It trickles down to each of the 200+ members of his team. God, family, respect, trust and passion result in loyalty, long-term commitment and enjoyment of doing a job well. No wonder no one leaves KICKER, it’s like home.

For more insights view KICKER’s 50-Year Anniversary video.

Leadership Tip 6: How do you celebrate team successes? Your leadership’s recognition, from incentive trips to team cookouts, builds up your team and reinforces your belief in them. Furthermore, it strengthens your culture. Remember, it’s your team, your brand and your culture that makes you unique, not necessarily the products you sell. Investing in your staff improves your workforce and the experience of your customers.

---