By Brian Reich

It is always a pleasure when an alumnus of Adelphi University takes time to return home. This is especially true when their purpose is to advise current students. On March 5th, 2026, Adelphi alum Kris Amplo ‘00, president and owner of J.C. Steel Erectors, presented at Adelphi’s Insights and Experts lecture and shared his expertise with students who were ready to learn the many secrets that help create a blueprint for success.

Mr. Amplo has a long and storied past with Adelphi University. He was a member of the school’s Lacrosse team in both 1998 and 1999, and helped the team win the NCAA championship in both years. Since graduating, he has been working at J.C. Steel, spending his days strengthening the company to be one of the best steel erector companies in all of New York. Despite the workload, Mr. Amplo has continued to give back, not only to the community, but also to Adelphi. He is this year’s Executive in Residence, and through the Amplo Family Foundation, Mr. Amplo works to financially support treatments for individuals diagnosed with cancer. All his charitable work and his work on the school’s Lacrosse team, led to Mr. Amplo being honored in Adelphi’s 2023 annual Golf Classic. Mr. Amplo’s choice to spend his time teaching students the secrets to a blueprint for success is yet another example of his desire to help the next generation of Adelphi business students.

Attendees at the lecture event learned about philosophies they can use in the future to gain better results in business, specifically the four major philosophies that have helped Amplo on his path to success.

The first idea that Mr. Amplo focused on was the importance of repeatable and predictable processes. A key part of his success, along with the continued growth of J.C. Steel as a company, was by controlling both the costs involved with and the efficiency in doing any project the company was hired to do. Mr. Amplo focused on managing both time and materials while creating standardized processes for speeding up the downtime between each step of the work being done.

Amplo’s second philosophy is the need to know numbers which he stressed is not solely for those running a business, but also something everyone should know. Understanding overhead costs is integral to making money and avoiding debt, as without a clear understanding of income and expenditures a situation can easily arise where more money is spent than the company or individual has. 

Third is about how to be a good manager. Mr. Amplo explained the philosophy by asking the audience to remember a specific phrase “inspect what you expect.” Mr. Amplo clarified that this means writing down what you ask people to do in order to follow up on it later. By consistently asking and checking in to see if work is done, the manager creates an atmosphere where everyone works to complete their assignments in a timely manner. In a lighthearted tone, Mr. Amplo also stated that this can be used in one’s personal life as well when he told a story of how he used this business philosophy to ensure his daughter takes out the garbage.

Amplo’s final piece of advice was about overcoming feelings of discomfort. Uncomfortable positions, Mr. Amplo explained, are great opportunities for success and should not be avoided. Through stories of his own feelings of discomfort, Mr. Amplo described scenarios when he chose not to avoid a situation that gave him negative feelings. Instead he chose to hold his head up high and take risks in introducing himself to strangers. By choosing to leave his comfort zone, he was able to open doors and create opportunities that he did not previously have. One easy way to start putting yourself out there, he suggested, is by offering strangers high-fives. Most people won’t avoid high-fives, and by even just asking a couple of people a day, you grow more confident and comfortable engaging in conversation with people you don’t know.

Amplo was pleased with the event and his audience. He said, “The enthusiasm from the students and faculty before, during and following this event speaks to the remarkable way that Adelphi finds ways to engage their students with real world and relatable examples of success.”