Gene Kwon: Pay Closer Attention to People Than to Plans

• Gene Kwon, Salt Lake City entrepreneur and co-founder of eHub, explains why the right people matter more than the perfect strategy.

The Turnaround Nobody Planned For

Utah, USA, Jul 24, 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — A few years into building what looked like a solid business, a founder realized the strategy was working, but the company was not. Every plan was being executed. Every milestone was being hit. But the team felt disconnected. Decisions took too long. Trust was low. Growth had stalled.

The shift came when the founder stopped obsessing over the next tactical move and started paying attention to who was in the room. Within six months, the company had rebuilt its leadership team, clarified who owned what, and started moving faster than ever. The plan had not changed. The people had.

“Pay closer attention to people than to plans,” says Gene Kwon, co-founder of eHub and Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year. “The right people can make an average idea successful. The wrong people can make a great idea fail.”

Lessons from the Court

Kwon grew up in Oregon and Utah and became a ranked junior tennis player. He later played collegiate tennis at the University of Washington, where he earned a degree in English. Tennis taught him something most business books skip over.

“Tennis teaches you accountability,” Kwon explains. “When you’re on the court, there’s nobody else to blame. You learn how to adjust and keep moving forward.”

That mindset carried into his career. After college, Kwon co-founded Move Method and later helped launch eHub, a logistics and shipping solutions company based in Salt Lake City. Along the way, he earned recognition including the Forty Under Forty Business Award and served on the board of the Package Shippers Association.

But awards do not tell the full story.

“It has been my failures that have taught me the most,” Kwon says, “enabling a unique perspective on business and in life. A perspective of humility, gratitude and integrity.”

Why Good Businesses Start with Real Problems

Kwon believes most companies fail because they solve the wrong problem or solve it for the wrong reason.

“I’ve always believed that good businesses start by helping people solve real problems,” he says. “If you stay focused on that, growth usually follows.”

At eHub, the problem was clear. Businesses were spending too much time and money trying to manage shipping. The solution was not another platform. It was a partner that could simplify operations and help companies move faster.

“There were businesses spending too much time and money trying to manage shipping,” Kwon says. “We wanted to create solutions that made operations easier and more efficient.”

The approach worked because it started with listening, not pitching.

Copy This Framework: The Five-Phase People-First Strategy

Kwon’s approach to building businesses is less about following a rigid plan and more about building the right team, asking better questions, and staying focused on what matters. Here is how to apply it.

Phase 1: Audit Your Current Team Before you hire or fire anyone, get honest about who you have. Who makes decisions faster? Who slows things down? Who do people trust? Write it down. You cannot fix what you will not name.

Phase 2: Define What You Actually Need Stop hiring based on job descriptions. Start hiring based on gaps. Do you need someone who can execute, or someone who can think three steps ahead? Do you need a builder or a manager? Be specific.

Phase 3: Prioritize Trust Over Talent Talent gets you in the door. Trust keeps you in the room. Kwon says companies only grow when people trust each other and work toward the same goals. If you cannot trust someone with bad news, you cannot trust them with your business.

Phase 4: Ask Better Questions “The challenge isn’t finding answers anymore,” Kwon says. “The challenge is asking better questions.” Stop asking what went wrong. Start asking what you missed. Stop asking how to grow faster. Start asking what is slowing you down.

Phase 5: Build Relationships That Outlast Transactions “One conversation can completely change your perspective,” Kwon notes. “You never know where a good relationship might lead.” Invest in people before you need something from them. The best opportunities come from relationships, not networking events.

Quick Wins You Can Implement This Week

• Schedule a 15-minute one-on-one with every person on your core team. Ask one question: What is slowing you down right now?

• Identify one decision that has been stuck for more than two weeks. Assign it to one person with full authority to move it forward.

• Write down the names of three people you trust completely. Make sure at least one of them is involved in every major decision.

• Replace one status meeting with a problem-solving session. Bring the right people. Ask better questions.

• Reach out to one person you respect but have not spoken to in six months. No agenda. Just reconnect.

Red Flags That Signal You Are Focusing on the Wrong Things

• You can recite your strategy but cannot name the last time your team felt aligned.

• Meetings are getting longer, but decisions are not getting clearer.

• You are hiring to fill roles instead of solve problems.

• People are waiting for permission instead of taking ownership.

• You have more plans than you have people who can execute them.

• You are proud of your idea but frustrated with your team.

• Growth has stalled, but you keep tweaking the plan instead of evaluating the people.

Why Curiosity Beats Ambition

Kwon has a contrarian view on what drives long-term success.

“I think ambition is overrated,” he says. “Ambition is useful because it gives you direction, but curiosity is what keeps you growing.”

Curiosity leads to better questions. Better questions lead to better decisions. Better decisions lead to better outcomes. And better outcomes come from better people.

“Having a second chance makes you want to work even harder,” Kwon reflects. That second-chance mindset has shaped how he builds companies, leads teams, and shows up every day.

Apply This Framework to Your Business This Week

If you are leading a company, a team, or a project, stop and ask yourself one question: Am I spending more time perfecting the plan or understanding the people?

This week, pick one phase from the framework above and put it into action. Have the hard conversation. Ask the better question. Rebuild trust where it has been lost. The right people will take an average plan and make it work. The wrong people will take a great plan and watch it fail.

The choice is yours. But the answer is always people first.

About Gene Kwon

Gene Kwon is a co-founder and partner at eHub, a logistics and shipping solutions company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He also co-founded Move Method and has earned recognition including Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the Forty Under Forty Business Award. A former collegiate tennis player at the University of Washington, Kwon serves on the board of the Package Shippers Association and continues to help businesses grow through innovation, leadership, and a people-first approach.