Don’t Send Me Two People! A look at Arc Blast Liability

Why would you send me two people, just so you can charge me more? This is a complaint we get often in the electrical service industry. In today’s article, I want to talk more on the technical side and lay out five prime reasons why you would want to have two technicians sent out for a service call when it comes to an electrical system. While I believe this article will apply to many different industries, parts of this article are specific to the electrical industry and anyone who uses electrical services.

Over the last decade, the electrical service industry has transformed substantially. Mostly due to the awareness of Arc Flash incidents and the severe risks it presents to electricians. Not that arc flash is anything new, it has always existed, but the industry’s awareness to the severe risks, and ways to avoid those risks did not exist. Depending on when you were trained in the electrical field, you may have had different ideas about working something hot. In my day you were heckled if you wanted to turn off the power, thought of as weak, or too timid to work in the electrical field. In today’s world, quality electrical firms would never think of allowing anyone on their team to work on an energized circuit for anything other than troubleshooting or testing. So if the idea is that you are going to turn off the power, why would you need a second person? Well, that is where this article comes into play. Below I will explain why you should still have two people available for any electrical service call.

1.      It is required by NFPA 70E? I have been told many times that there is no electrical code that requires two people be present when performing electrical work. While this is partially true, there isn’t anything in NFPA 70 the National Electrical Code (NEC) that requires two people to perform electrical work, there are multiple places in the NEC that refer to NFPA 70E (Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace). Since NFPA 70E is the recognized as the standard for electrical installations, by referring you to NFPA 70E, the NEC is inferring that NFPA 70E is the standard for how to safely perform electrical work. NFPA 70E specifically spells out that no electrical work shall be performed in an energized state, with only allowing three exceptions; 1. If it creates a greater hazard by shutting the power down (130.2(a)(1); 2. It is not feasible to shut down the system to perform the task, for example, troubleshooting or testing (130.2(a)(2); and finally 3. If the operating voltage is less than 50 volts. (130.2(a)(3).So where does the second person come into play? In NFPA 70E 110.2(c)(1) it states that “employees exposed to electrical shock, and those responsible for the safe release of victims from contact with energized” parts shall be trained in the methods of safe release. NFPA 70E infers that a second person must be present that has been trained in the methods of safe release from energized parts. I know, at this point you are saying that, if the power is off, meaning you are not doing hot work, then there is no exposure to energized parts. That part is true. However, in order to turn off a circuit, the first step is to verify the absence of voltage. In order to do that you must remove the cover and test the system to be sure there is no active or stored energy. At the point of verification, you could be exposed to energized parts if the power isn’t truly de-energized. It is not uncommon for a panel to be mismarked, meaning you thought the power was off but in fact it is still energized. Furthermore, once you have completed your installation, you must test the system to verify it is working properly, which in most all cases require you to have an energized piece of equipment with the covers removed, thus requiring an additional person per NFPA 70E.

2. OSHA & CFR Regulations There is also nothing in OSHA’s CFR that requires there be a second person for performing electrical work, or is there? The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) also refers several times to NFPA 70E. While the CFR continues to copy verbiage from NFPA 70E as it evolves, there is no doubt that the intention is that NFPA 70E is the standard for safely performing electrical work. As an electrical service company it is our job to know and follow industry standards. Therefore, should someone get hurt due to an arc flash event, you can bet that NFPA 70E will be used in the lawsuit to identify whether or not your team was properly trained and following proper procedures. No one wants one of their team to get hurt, but the last thing you want to deal with after a team member gets injured is a legal battle and OSHA fines. In some cases the courts have proven criminal liability against the company for knowing better, but not implementing a safe work place. So this is nothing to play around with. Make sure you and your team fully understand NFPA 70E and how to properly use this document.

3. Electrical Spotter. Having a team show up allows you to keep a safe work environment not only for the electricians, but also for the general public. Many times while working, you have to go to the truck to get additional material. By having a second person, they can stay in the marked off work zone and insure that no one else enters the work zone, becoming exposed to the risk of getting injured. Also many times electrical service work requires a scissors lift, Snorkel lift, or bucket truck. By having a second person they can be a ground spotter making sure the general public is safe and that the lift remains clear of hazards. Finally, by having a spotter, you have a ground man that can get help in the case of an emergency. Can you imagine for a minute if you had a sole electrician working on a pole light in a snorkel lift and he came into contact with an energized part, knocking him unconscious? He would fall down into the bucket, completely unseen, and remain there until someone figured out something wasn’t right. How long could that take, hours, days?

4. Twice the labor means it gets done faster for a lower rate. If a lead electrician and an apprentice are sent out you are getting twice the labor at a reduced cost. In most cases electrical service companies charge a lower rate for an apprentice. Therefore, the time spent running to the truck, doing simpler tasks, and cleaning up is being done at a lower rate per hour saving you money. While I do realize that there are times when the task is a quick simple fix, you may not be saving money in those circumstances, but in most cases it isn’t known what the problem is until the electrician is on site and troubleshooting. Also, the quick simple fix is the exception and rarely happens.

5. Training the next generation. By sending an apprentice you are helping support the next generation of service electricians. The apprentices graduate school and become lead electricians, knowing the customers facilities, and the process required by each individual customer. It has always been comical to me that no one wants to pay for an apprentice, but they all expect to have an unlimited supply of lead electricians. The apprentices need to learn, and there is nothing better than on the job training.

Hopefully, this article makes sense to the non-electrical crowd. Like I said there are many lessons in this article that should speak to all industries. On the surface it may not make a lot of sense why certain companies do things the way they do, but, when you dig a little deeper you can see why those processes are in place. I know for my company, we are always thinking about the customer and what we can do to continue the Ultimate Customer Experience. While some of the processes may not make sense on the surface, all our processes are created to help serve and protect the customer. While safety should always come first for your team, you also need to think about the impact on your customer and make sure that you have a well-rounded program that protects your team but serves your clients.

Shepherd Wolves & Sheep (A Lesson In Leadership)

In today’s article, I am reflecting on a conversation I was having with a fellow business leader at a networking function a few weeks back. We were both talking about the struggle we each have providing the type of leadership we feel is proper within the corporate structure and regulations in which we were both governed. Since we both are employed by large corporations, many times, we are limited to internal programs we would like to implement. In order to implement a program, it has to be something that can be done for everyone in the company not just in your business unit or division. With this “what’s done for one, must be done for all” type of structure many times internal programs that would help with the team environment, have to be set aside since it isn’t something that every business unit leader within the organization agrees with implementing.

Our conversation quickly covered some of the best forms of reward systems for team members that don’t cost anything. Catching someone doing something right and just giving them specific praise for that particular action goes a long way with letting a team member know they matter and you notice the good they are doing. There are many forms of rewards that cost little to nothing but still have a huge impact on your team. While I could go into details on low to no cost programs, I am sure that anyone reading this article knows you can look those up quickly online, so I am not going to waste anyone’s time with spelling out specific programs. What I would like to discuss is not necessarily a program but an act that all great leaders should perform and will have a dramatic impact on your team.

My new friend and I ended up talking about issues with large corporations and the effect it can have on your individual team. I will say that I am very lucky in this retrospect since I work for an amazing company where there isn’t any corporate sludge that leaks down into my team. However, I wasn’t always this fortunate. What I am talking about is how in some companies, while you may have a great brand within your business unit, other business units within the company don’t exude the same level of professionalism, quality, team environment, customer service, or the like. Sometimes in those situations, the fall-out can affect your team causing them to question your own business unit. So the question is what can you do about it?

One thing I heard a long time ago, was ‘the responsibilities of a good shepherd’. A shepherd’s job is to lay down their life for the herd. The only thing that matters is the health and safety of the herd the shepherd is protecting. I remember this so vividly because I grew up in a Christian school and remember the stories of Jesus, and him being the shepherd of his flock. There are so many great leadership examples in the bible and the works of Jesus that I couldn’t help but relate the story of the good shepherd to the same stories I was reading in the bible at school. In fact, there is a passage made famous by Hollywood “I send you out as sheep amongst the wolves” which comes from the Bible, Matthew 10:16.

Over the years I have found that being a leader involves the same tasks as a shepherd. You have to protect your team from the wolves at all costs. The wolves can be represented by anything that would hurt the health and happiness of your flock or team. Whether that is corporate sludge, overbearing bosses, micromanaging superiors, anything that can damage your brand or the health of your team must be shielded away, so they are not exposed. Throughout the decades of my career, I have always lived by the creed that I will take all of the blame and none of the credit, purposefully shielding my team from the backlash of any mistakes. I have always felt that if I am the leader than any mistakes made are my fault, so why wouldn’t I take the blame? It doesn’t do any good to throw the person who made a mistake to the wolves. The wolves will devour the person, and then you are down one team member. I will jump in front of the wolves and shield my team from their destructive actions. In all, my job is to protect my team from anything that could bring them harm. While there are repercussions if mistakes are made, those need to be kept internal and between the team. As you know already, my feelings are that when a mistake is made, there are only three reasons that can possibly apply to why the mistake was made; lack of training, lack of communication, or lack of processes and systems.

In order to stand out as a leader you have to understand that it isn’t about you, it is all about your team. You must protect them from danger as a shepherd would and keep them happy and healthy. The happier you can keep them, the better environment you will have and the better products you can produce.

To Protect and Serve A Lesson In Leadership

In today’s article, I would like to start off by talking about being a servant leader and what that means to me. You see I have the greatest job in the world. I get to serve others and watch them flourish as tomorrows leaders. Throughout my career, I have mentored and consulted with many companies and individuals. I can’t count the number of times I have explained to others the concept of servant leadership. The idea is that you, as a leader, are in servitude to your team, not the other way around. Your most important goal should be to help your team be successful in life, as well as in their career. However, over the years I see a consistent problem with many people in leadership positions having it all backwards. These leaders think that the team is supposed to do what they are told and the team’s job is to serve the leader. It is my opinion that in most cases, anyone who falls into this category has never been trained in what true leadership is, how to implement such skills, and how amazing and rewarding it is to be a servant leader. In order to be successful as a servant leader, you must put your team’s needs ahead of your own and set your team up for success. That is what this article will touch on today.

It never ceases to amaze me how many leaders are quick to blame a team member when something goes wrong. Sometimes even going to the extreme of calling them stupid or worthless. However, in almost every case you should take a deep look in the mirror and ask yourself, what was the root cause of the problem. Did I communicate my expectations properly? Did I provide them with the proper support and training? In many cases, if you are honest with yourself, you will see that you probably fell short in one of these areas and the problem was, in fact, your fault.

I have a strong belief that most everyone wants to do a good job. There are only three factors required to ensure that someone has the ability to succeed. First and foremost is communication. Second you need processes and systems in place, and finally, you need to make sure that all team members are fully trained. If you supply your team with these fundamentals, then everything else will fall into place. So with that said let’s briefly explore these fundamentals.

Communication: Over the years I have developed strong processes to help ensure the success of my teams. The most important, and the one that has to be constantly improved, is communication. Poor communication is the number one cause of a team member not meeting your expectations. While there are hundreds of ways to improve communication, here is one simple example I used in my industry, to make sure I was clearly communicating with my team. Back in the day when I was running large projects, I would have a meeting with my team every Monday morning. We would go over a detailed three-week look ahead schedule which married with the General Contractors schedule. It would list every crew member and what was expected to be completed on a daily basis for the next three weeks. This plan would not only have what was expected to be completed but also the materials, equipment, and tools required to accomplish the tasks. I never saw a reason to go out further than three weeks because by the end of the first week you needed to adjust your three-week look ahead and revise the expectations for the following week. Things are too fluid on a construction site to expect that everything will go according to plan so constant changes need to be made and communicated to your team.

Armed with the three-week look ahead, every person on my team knew exactly what was expected of them and if they were ahead of schedule or behind schedule on a daily basis. Every team member could go home at the end of the day feeling good about what they accomplished, or concerned if they didn’t meet the daily goals. What I also found was that many team members were working through lunch or getting in early the next day because they were behind schedule. I didn’t have to tell them anything. Their pride took over, and they were self-motivated to meet the goals set on our project plan. That is the benefit of good clear communication. I want to take a minute to make an important point. When you set expectations for your team, make sure they are reasonable. If you set unattainable goals, you will end up having a team that is constantly defeated and will have an attitude of, why even try? Setting unattainable goals is a sign of a weak leader who feels they have to push everyone to their limits. This makes for a horrible working environment, and in the end, you will not keep many high performers.

Processes & Systems: I have always operated under what I call “the French fry theory.” The idea is that no matter where you go to a McDonald's; Florida, Georgia, California, or Europe, you get that same great tasting French fry. This isn’t done by accident. This is done by processes, systems, and training. You need to build a script for the customer experience. You want your team to understand exactly what you’re trying to create as well as your expectations. Processes make it easy for your team to follow. It also makes it easy to develop training in those processes and systems. This is the only way to get real consistency, be it in quality, customer experience, safety, etc. Processes and systems keep everyone tuned in to the vision of the company and the expectations of the team. I am not going to go into details about our processes. One, because I don’t want to give away anything that helps us gain a competitive advantage, but more importantly because what works for my business isn’t what will necessarily work for your business. But to keep it simple, take the time to think through what end result you want, and work backwards through each step. Then spell out a system or process for consistently achieving the desired result for each step.

Training: Training is my passion, and I could write a textbook on this subject alone, so I will try and keep this short. It’s really quite simple. What skills does your team need to obtain the create your vision? Every position that exists at your company should have a clear training guide. This guide will include specific and detailed training for every skill-set needed for that position. Hard skills are easy, such as MS Word or Excel. It would be an amazing world if companies just provided training in the hard skills, but if you want to set yourself apart and be truly world class, then you can’t stop with the hard skills. You should be training your team on all the soft skills required to see your vision to fruition, it includes leadership, how to deal with difficult people, customer service, emotional intelligence, and so many more. Again I could fill pages with soft skills in which many people should be trained but unfortunately are not. The common practice seems to be to throw them into the deep end and see if they sink or swim.

One comment I get consistently is that “I don’t have the money to provide all the training.” That isn’t true. Many people may not have the money to send all of their team members to formal training, but you can do in-house training. For example, who do you have that is the strongest in Excel? Have them put together a class to help train team members that are weaker or could learn some more advanced techniques. Or, pick your strongest leader and have them put together a series of thirty-minute training sessions for your team. Don’t have anyone that could be an in-house expert? Then send one person to some training and have them share what they learned in-house once they complete the training. Can’t afford to send one person to a class? Ok then read a book, watch a YouTube video, heck, read this article and then set up a quick training session for your team. The bottom line is getting your people trained and positioned for success.

In closing, I want to say one last thing about training. A leader once said, “I am not going to spend all that money training my team.” When asked why? He replied, “What if I spend all this money training them and they leave?” To which I asked, “What if you don’t train them and they stay?”

I hope you all enjoyed this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. This article touches on my true passion which is helping others to be successful, in life and their careers.

Hitting A Bad Note

As many of my followers may know, I used to be a lead guitarist in a heavy metal band back in the eighties. When my son was much younger, he wanted to learn how to play the guitar, so I started showing him some basic chords and scales. What does this have to do with Business? Good question, but please humor me-it will all come together in the end. 

A good friend of mine, we will call him Scott for the purpose of this article is starting up his own electrical business and I have been mentoring him along the way. In the beginning, it was all about setting up his business plan, doing some market research, and coming up with a high-level marketing strategy. Scott is a great electrician, however, when it comes to the business side, he has the attention span of a mouse and doesn’t enjoy any of the duties required as a business owner. 

A few days ago we were in my kitchen talking about building new business. I referred him back to our marketing strategy that we developed in the beginning and told him we had to build an actual marketing plan for him to begin working on. Up to this point he has had several jobs to keep him busy, but they were all from friends and family, and he didn’t really have to do anything to gain the jobs he had landed. I was helping him to understand that in order to grow his business he needs to have a marketing plan, with a set goal of bids he needs to push out every week. In order to get the jobs he needs to bid each week, he has to market to local businesses and /or general contractors. This requires going to networking functions, cold calling, joining associations, and etcetera.

Scott didn’t want to hear any of what I was telling him. He kept telling me that he isn’t good at marketing, selling or talking with potential clients. I told him that if he was not going to handle the marketing himself, then he would have to hire someone to do it for him. Scott, of course, didn’t have the money to hire someone to market for him, so he kept complaining about how uncomfortable it makes him to just walk up and talk to someone. I explained to him that most people have a problem with that, but he needs to get over it, move outside his comfort zone, and learn how to be as good at marketing as he is at being an electrician.

I asked Scott when he first started the electrical trade, was he uncomfortable about being left alone, or doing a task he wasn’t confident in performing? He answered me with a “Duh, of course, I was!” I explained to Scott that as you learned more and became confident in that task, it didn’t bother you anymore. The same is true with marketing. The reason you don’t want to walk up to people is because you are not confident in what to say. Scott agreed with me and explained that in the electrical field he had someone to show him how to properly perform that task, but there isn’t anyone to show me how to market. So I told Scott, fine let's go right now and I will show you what to do and say. 

We went out for about four hours hitting several businesses. By the end of the four hours, Scott had several examples to learn from on how to solicit a new possible client. I explained to Scott that he didn’t have to remember what I said or how I acted, he just needed to take what I did and adapt it to his style. However, Scott was still reluctant to make any attempt to follow my lead and try the marketing himself.

Scott tried to explain to me that he was afraid of looking stupid or saying the wrong thing to a potential customer.

While we were talking my son, Randy was in the room, and he jumped into the conversation. To my surprise, Randy told Scott that “one of the best things my dad ever told me, was when I was learning how to play the guitar.” Randy told Scott that when he was learning how to play the guitar, he would get frustrated every time he hit a bad note. During one of my lessons with Randy, I apparently told him, not to worry about the bad notes but to just keep playing. In many cases, as you improve, few people would ever even know if you hit a bad note as long as you don’t show it in your face and keep playing. Also hitting bad notes is part of the learning process. You have to hit the bad notes to learn. Then Randy went on to apply that lesson to Scott. Randy told Scott, “don’t worry if you say something wrong, keep talking to the customer. Even more importantly, listen to the customer. Even if you look stupid, it will be a learning experience, it will be your bad note, and you have to hit those bad notes to learn how to market successfully.”

Scott, also being a musician, looked at Randy and said: “wow that is so true!” He then looked at me and said you have a pretty smart son! I told him “I know, Randy is quite amazing.” 

I find it funny sometimes, you never know what you say or do that will have such an impact on someone. Back when I was teaching my son to play guitar, I never thought about the deep meaning behind what I said about a bad note. I never knew it had such an impact on him, nor did I think it would be something that would be a guiding principle in Randy’s life. However, the way Randy took it was very profound and very accurate. In life, you are going to hit some bad notes. The key is not to let the bad note affect your ultimate goal and to just play on!

To Be Outstanding You Must Stand Out

Do you stand out from your competition? What is your market differentiator? Are you working outside your comfort zone? It has been my experience over the years, that when I ask people these questions I usually get the same answers.

Do you stand out from your competition? Everyone thinks they stand out from their competition. Usually it is because they think they have the best team, or they offer better quality than their competitors. But when put to the test, this is rarely the case, at least not to the point that it is a true market differentiator. Everyone wants their company to be outstanding, but to really be outstanding you must stand out. So ask yourself, what am I doing to make myself standout? What value do I bring to the customer that others do not? You should know the answer to this at any given time on any given day. You should also understand that the market is changing every day, so what might make you different today may not make you different tomorrow.

What is your market differentiator? As previously discussed, this is what makes you stand out and you need to have an answer to this and constantly be testing its viability. I have known many good people that lost rapid market share because they were not constantly monitoring what makes them different and what value they bring to their customers that others cannot. This takes a lot of deep thought and being honest with yourself, which some people have a very hard time doing. I have a sign in my office that says “Thinking is hard work, which is why so few do it!” This is as true a statement as there is since so many business owners don’t take the time to stop and think about where the market is, where is it going, and how will I position myself to be ahead of the changes?

Are you working outside your comfort zone? Without a doubt if you answer no to this question you are on your way to ruin. I just finished reading a book by Mark Cuban called “How to win at the sport of business.” This is an excellent book and I have already suggested it to many people who own, run, or are starting a business. It is a very short and succinct book that gets straight to the point. In one part of the book he talks about how at any given moment there are thousands of other companies who are trying to kill your business. I love that part of the book and this is why you need to live outside your comfort zone and constantly be thinking about what makes you stand out today. Over the years I have mentored many people who have started, rescued, or run businesses and one of the most common things I hear is, “when is this going to get easier?” The answer is never! You must be out there every day blowing your customers away, offering them value that others cannot give, and planning for the future. If there are always thousands of other companies that are trying to kill your business, or at least steal your market share, then you don’t have time to be in a comfort zone. Also, what about the effects of technology on your business? What effect will that have on your value stream and market differentiators?

I can remember not that long ago I knew a woman who had her own successful business. She transcribed doctor’s recordings to a word document. She ran this business, and was one of the top in her field for decades, making a very good living. However, all at once a computer could do this work, or at least to her it was all at once. Now she no longer has that business. Mainly because she spent too much time in the comfort zone and assumed that as long as she was good at her job she would continue to have her business. Technology killed her business and it was a hard lesson for her to learn.

Owning or running a business should never get easy. If it does get easier then you are not trying hard enough. Owning or operating a business isn’t a sprint, it is a career long marathon. Just because you hire people, train people, and build an amazing team you need to continue to push yourself to live outside that comfort zone to stay relevant. To be completely honest, I have never understood the reason for anyone wanting to live inside their comfort zone. If you stop to think about it, the most amazing things in life happen when you are outside your comfort zone, so the more time you spend there, the more amazing moments you will have in your life. Sure it isn’t easy, but no-one ever said it would be easy. Owning or running a business is one of the hardest things you will ever do. It will test you every day, it will consume your entire life, it will make you question your own abilities, but it will also be one of the most rewarding things you can ever do in life. You get to serve people, help people, and help your team live the American Dream! I have said in many articles how hard it is to be the best in anything, but in order to be the best, you have to live outside your comfort zone. In other words in order to be outstanding you must stand out!

Embrace The Suck

In today’s article I wanted to discuss the trials that come with business. I currently have a good friend and a family member that are starting their own businesses. This article is dedicated to them, but I am sure this will ring true to many of my followers.

I can remember a while back when a good friend of mine named Devo, made a decision to go into the Army. He used to be a roadie for my band and we had a lot of good times together. However, after his 21^st birthday he decided he had to do something with his life. He made the decision he was going to join the Army, not only to get his life on track, but to also help him get into shape. You see he was a very large guy, standing about six feet four inches and weighing in at around 300 pounds. I remember the night before Devo left for basic training. Well, I remember the beginning of the night because we threw him a going away party. Devo was scared but excited at the same time. He had that same feeling inside that someone has when starting their own business, because you are excited about the possibilities, but scared at the same time about the unknown.

About six months after Devo left for basic training he came back to visit us. We couldn’t believe how great he looked and what good shape he was in. He must have lost 70 pounds and was solid as a rock. We caught up in between music sets and he was telling me about how hard it was for him going through basic training. Devo explained that he was never really an athletic guy, nor had he ever done any exercising in his life. So when he went to basic training it was a really tough experience. He went on to tell me about his sergeant and all the yelling he had to endure. I remember thinking to myself; I don’t think I could take someone yelling at me like that. When I asked him how he got through it he told me about a saying they had, “Embrace the suck”! Every time he was hurting, he would think about these words and mentally taught himself how to embrace the suck and push through any mental limitation he was trying to set on himself.

It has been decades since then but I still think about Devo and the term “embrace the suck”. I can remember when I was starting my first business and things would get rough, I would think about that term and it would help me push through.

Recently, I just started trying to get back into running. As some of you know, I  severely injured my ankle a couple years back and haven’t been able to get back into the swing of things without reinjuring my ankle. This whole article came to me yesterday while I was running right as I was starting to hit the wall of pain. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is a term in the running world to describe a point you hit when running. For anyone who has even tried running you are probably familiar with this moment.  The wall of pain, it is the point when you are running and everything is hurting, your lungs, your legs, your feet, I mean everything. Then your mind starts messing with you. You are convinced this is as far as you can run. You begin questioning yourself and why you are even running in the first place.

I bring this up because there are many times in life when you hit that wall of pain. It doesn’t have to be when you are running, or even physical. You can hit the wall of pain mentally, physically, spiritually, or even in a relationship. I have been married to the most wonderful woman in the world for 31 years, but believe me we have had our share of walls of pain throughout our relationship.

When you are in the business world, and probably even more when you own your own business, you will hit the wall of pain multiple times, sometimes even in the same day. You can’t find the work, or when you find the work you can’t get the guys. You have a customer who won’t pay you and then you have to figure out how you are going to pay your team, or your suppliers.  You have a major piece of equipment break down and now you can’t get the job done until it is fixed. These are all examples of the wall of pain at work. It is at this point when your mind kicks in and starts questioning everything. Why am I doing this, I can’t take this anymore, why did I ever go into business for myself, I am not good enough or smart enough, etcetera. It is amazing how much your mind can mess with you, make you question your own capabilities, and destroy your self-confidence.

Here is the thing though, as anyone who is into running knows, if you push through that wall of pain, if you bust down these false barriers your mind inflicts on you, you suddenly start to get this rush of endorphins known as a runners high. You feel better than you ever have and can press on for miles.

The same holds true for business or any other part of your life. If you push through that wall of pain you will achieve amazing success. The one thing you have to keep in mind is that there is no up without down, there is no good without bad, and there is no success without failure. Remember that if it was easy then everyone would do it. You didn’t start down this road thinking it would be easy, you are doing this to transform your life. So “embrace the suck” and push through that wall of pain. When you get through it all you will feel so much better about yourself and what you can achieve. By embracing the suck and pushing through the wall of pain, it will make your victories feel that much better and you will teach yourself how to embrace the suck!

What Is Character?

I have always believed that to be a person of strong character, you have to do the right thing when nobody is looking.  That is what this article is about, character. It is easy to do the right thing when all eyes are on you or to do the right thing knowing you will be praised for the act. But what about when no one is looking, or if the act will happen without you getting any acknowledgment?

I have always hired based on character, attitude, and aptitude rather than focusing on skills or experience. Skills can be learned, and experience means nothing if the experience someone has gained was in doing things wrong. Yesterday this hiring process resulted in an unexpected return. To tell the story, I have to go back several months to a service call performed by one of my team members.

Tony had a service call for a store we had under contract that was located in a large strip mall. When he completed his job, he was backing out to return to the shop and ended up backing into a light pole. This accident happened despite all the time and effort we put into training our team members in defensive driving and being aware of their surroundings. Now when he hit the pole, it didn’t knock the pole down, but it did cause a pretty significant dent in the side of the pole which damaged the structural integrity.

Our contract was with a company that occupied one of the stores located in the strip mall, not the strip mall. Since Tony parked towards the back of the parking lot, it would have been very easy for him to drive off and not tell anyone what had happened. However Tony was a person of strong character. So he immediately called his manager, Patrick and told him what happened.  This had to be a hard decision for Tony since he knew that calling in with an accident was not going to be a fun conversation, and would also require Tony to complete our company’s safe driving training all over again.

Once Patrick assessed that Tony was ok and no one was hurt, Patrick told Tony to see if there was a management office at the strip mall so we could report to them what happened. After Tony told Patrick he could not find any management office, Patrick told Tony to fill out an incident report, and wait for Patrick to see if he could reach someone at the strip mall’s management company.

Patrick was finally able to get in contact with Will, the property manager for the strip mall. Patrick explained what had transpired, and requested that Will allow us to fix the pole. Will asked Patrick to send over a copy of our insurance and licensing to verify we were legally allowed to work on the lighting pole, but told Patrick that as long as we are a bona fide company, he would have no issue with allowing us to perform the repairs. Patrick let Tony know and had Tony disconnect power from the pole, take the pole down for safety, quarantine off the area, and then pack up and head back to the shop.

Patrick called around to find the same exact pole to match the one that was damaged. Once he found the proper pole, he was informed there was a four week lead time before we could receive the pole. Patrick called Will, the strip mall manager, and informed him of the lead time, but assured him that we would verify the safety of the work area and as soon as the pole comes in we would be back out the next day and make the repairs. Will told Patrick that would be fine, but asked Patrick if he could change out the heads to LEDs since we were there anyway. He wanted his boss to see the difference between the existing HID lighting and the LEDs light spectrum. Will further stated we could send him a bill for the LED heads. Patrick told Will he would be happy to replace the heads with LEDs and that we would cover the cost difference to make up for all the trouble we caused. Will was ecstatic and thanked Patrick profusely. 

Four weeks later the pole came in, and Patrick notified Will and scheduled a crew to replace the pole. When Patrick called Will to let him know that the new pole was installed and working, Will thanked him and said he would be in touch. 

About a week later, Will called Patrick back and told him he was able to show his boss the LED lights, and his boss was sold on retrofitting out the entire parking lot with LED fixtures to replace the older HID fixtures. Will asked Patrick to get him a price and he would send it up to his boss for approval. Later that day Patrick sent the price, and by the following day, the purchase order was cut.

Patrick called Will after receiving the purchase order to thank him for the business and to set up a schedule for when we could plan the work. Will let Patrick know that the reason we got the work was because of the way we handled things with the damaged pole. Will immediately recognized the character it took for us to notify him about the accident. But that wasn’t all, he went on to tell Patrick that the way we did the work and how safe we were with quarantining the area also impressed his boss. Finally, he stated that our level of communication and the fact that we made his job so easy, he literally didn’t have to do anything and the pole was fixed and in better condition than before, is the reason we have earned their business. Will closed the phone call with Patrick by saying that they manage 18 other properties in the area and they will exclusively be using us moving forward.

In this story, the example of true character was demonstrated several times. Not just by Tony, but by Patrick as well. It would have been easy for either Tony or Patrick just to disappear and not say anything about what happened. Chances are no one would have been caught. It also would have been easy for Patrick to charge the customer for the LED fixtures, and maybe even cover the labor in the markup. However, Patrick and Tony chose to do the right thing when no one was looking. In the end, they were rewarded for their character, but that wasn’t the reason they did what they did. Tony and Patrick were people of character; they couldn’t help it! We spend a lot of money on training; we constantly teach our team about providing the Ultimate Customer Experience and instructing the industry’s best practices. But in the end, you can’t teach character, you either have it, or you don’t. Luckily for me, I am surrounded by people of strong character, and that is the foundation for providing the Ultimate Customer Experience, even when nobody is looking!