Cheap Is No Bargain

First Composed by Jim Bartolotta (HVAC – Mechanical Contractor & Friend), Chicago, IL / Tweaked add images added by G. Crumpton / AirTight

 

“It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little.  The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot … it can’t be done.  When you deal with the lowest bidder, it is wise to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better!”

                                                                   John Ruskin (1819-1900)

 

This simple fact regarding cost was written in the late 1800s, but it still holds true today.  The HVAC industry is full of companies who claim to offer discount service, when in reality they perform “breakdown maintenance”.  The scenario usually goes something like this:  the building owner or manager calls for service (oftentimes, it’s an emergency); the “discount” company sends someone out to patch things up, and the building owner is led to believe that everything is working fine.  A short time later the system fails again, and this cycle continues until the system is in such disrepair that it must be replaced.  Now the building owner is faced with a large, unexpected expense. 

Maintaining a complex mechanical system in this way is like putting a band-aid on a serious injury.  Without routine testing procedures there is no way of knowing what trouble lies ahead.  So why then, when it comes to a building’s HVAC system, which is mechanically very complex and represents a large investment, that routine maintenance is often put off or forgotten?

One reason is because in commercial buildings, heating and air conditioning systems are usually housed where they’re not readily seen, like on the roof or in a basement mechanical room.  Their location makes it easy to forget that like anything mechanical, they need attention.  The functions they perform are also easily taken for granted, until the system ceases to operate properly.

Quality mechanical contractors take a different approach to mechanical systems.  Due to lack of maintenance, many building owners are spending far too much on their HVAC systems and related costs such as higher energy bills, loss of production, emergency repairs, and ultimately, premature replacement.  Long-term success comes from the contractor sharing their customer’s concerns and providing a planned maintenance program that offers solutions.

Because HVAC systems are extremely complex, quality contractors provide experts in all facets of operations, ensuring their customers get the right person for the job and information on technological advances.  Regularly scheduled visits guarantee that the system is constantly monitored and maintained according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.  An offensive approach to maintaining such valuable equipment allows for budget control and just makes good business sense.

Establishing a Leadership Team from Within

Many companies get to a point where you have to have some lieutenants to help forward the mission.  So you corral your top talent, real stars who get it, care about the mission and yet, have been taught little, if any, leadership skills.  Maybe a couple of them served our great country through one of the armed forces, maybe one was the captain of the football team or the majorette in charge of the drill team in college.  But overall, we all grow up, refrain, most of us grow up having to learn leadership from in front of the keyboard, becoming a student teacher, which from what I gather is like the band scene in the movie “Roadhouse” where the crowd was throwing stuff at the band  or peering out of the windshield of a service vehicle.

First step, get your core together and ask them what is it they want from a leadership position?  Most of the front line assassins simply do not know.  It isn’t that they do not want to help, it is simply that many people do not know what leadership looks like, sounds like or moreover, feels like to be sure.  Once you get them circled up, it does get easier, for me, we start simple and depending on your group, ours are mid-thirties with a wife/husband and two kids on average.  The amount of time that they can spend on personal development can be impaired fairly significantly until the kids are of a functional age and that the spouse of said employee or team member realizes that the effort by their partner may well indeed pay off later in life.  Learn how to deal with the DIMK’s (Dual Income Multiple Kid’s) group, they make up our future and current leaders.

As a male, I can attest to the fact that we on average do not mentally mature until we are in our mid thirties or at least 74.5% of us.  That isn’t a bad thing, it just is, deal with it, pace yourself, your expectations and work through it.  As a male doing what I can to serve the female members of our team, they do get it much faster, they also tend to have many more responsibilities than their hairier spouses, it all will come in time.  Just keep the faith, keep the energy flowing and work on your on expectations as to what you can expect from this next generation of EXCELLENT leaders you are shepherding.

Parting thought, Do Not Not Do This, It Is Important, We all need the next generation to be strong, keep the faith even on those days when you feel that ... whatever feeling.  

 

Dig In!

Ctrl Alt Delete

Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life.

Your Future Depends on It.

 

I sat there on my favorite couch at home peering into this funky colored orange book, delighted to finally have it in my hands.  Though it was a typical morning, me up early, great coffee and study time before the "real day" had begun.  It was an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Ctrl Alt Delete, the new, soon-to-be-released book by one of my new favorite authors, bloggers and thinkers:  Mitch Joel.

 

Mitch Joel was a gent who I had grown to admire over the previous few years, I was introduced to him by the Internet... Shocked right?  I was on #Amazon looking for some new reading material by some up and comers, I read about Mitch Joel (@MitchJoel) and took him to be a little of Seth Godin (@ThisisSethsBlog) and a little of the business owners that I have known and appreciate, due to the common sense and logic displayed in the table of contents ... In a word, it was relevant to me.  So I bought it, yes, hardcover for me, yes like electronically-formatted books, et al , mainly for travel ... I still enjoy paper books though for my morning read.

 

OK, how did I come to get this ARC?  One day, while reading Mitch post of the morning, I saw an invite that he published, it basically said, hey, if you buy Ctrl Alt Delete today, in a pre-purchase from Amazon kind of way, you will receive the ARC for your efforts.  So Again, I did. 

 

Shortly before this posting by Mitch, I was fortunate enough to be able to meet him, talk a bit and watch him work.  Mitch and Jeffrey Gitomer (@Gitomer), Jeffrey who is a friend, had invited me over to watch and listen to this podcast he and this "Great Guy from Canada" were going to be recording.  I say to #Gitomer, Hmmm, great guy from Canada huh, would it happen to be Mitch Joel?  Gitomer says yes, I went on to explain me following and enjoying Mitch's work, so I was psyched to get to go to the Gitomer offices and see this go down.

 

The winter day arrived and I was able to meet Mitch and listened as he and Jeffrey talked and discussed several topics on the podcast, both were spot on.  Mitch showed his hand just a bit and discussed some of the core work within his up-coming book. #CtrlAltDelete.

 

OK, back to the couch, cracking it open and zooming in on the Table of Contents page, I had a flash back to Six Pixels Table of Contents.  Good, clear and succinct chapters.  Digging into the pose over the next couple of mornings, I really was drawn to The #OneScreenWorld and the #EmbracingtheNext chapters.  This book is filled with real-world examples sprinkled in with a usable "road-map" if you will about what lies ahead.  Not a pie-in-the-sky kind of way, but in the way of:  Look at this point, and that point, by analysing Mitch's words, the road-map parts really jump out.

 

I highly encourage any and all that want to be #relevant in the coming age to buy and study this book, one reading is not enough, simply use it as you would a #Fodors travel guide, it is that forth-telling.

 

Read, Learn & Share

 

 

Greg / @gregcrumpton

www.airtight.co

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 



My Zappos Moment

I was fortunate not to many weeks ago to attend a tour and subsequent Q & A session at the Zappos world-wide headquarters facility.  Zappos huh?  Maybe you are wondering why anyone would go to a shoe distribution place for a tour, well, if you have ever dealt with Zappos and things didn't go perfectly, then you would know.

Many people do not know what a huge commitment Zappos has towards serving you, the customer.  The machine they have built is pretty well-oiled, so problems do not arise often, therefore, you may have never seen them leap into action.  Leaping and action are very appropriate words to use at this juncture.

I really do not remember how I first got exposed to Zappos ... I would wager a bet though that it was through the buying habits of my Imelda Marcos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imelda_Marcos) impersonating wife. Imelda is noted well for her love of nice shoes, Connie, that initially exposed me to the company.

Following pop-culture to a degree through Twitter, I became keenly aware of Tony Hsieh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hsieh), pronounced Shay, the founder and CEO of Zappos.  While digging around on the Zappos website, I found a section that offered a free book on their culture, the 2009 version.  Upon more snooping I found that Tony had just recently released a book he wrote called Delivering Happiness, obviously then I was on the search to get it bought and read as well.

The book was a great read, it really exposed how Tony, Fred and the team started, the concepts, their beliefs, etc...

So fast forward a few years to December 2012, I was reading an article on Zappos and how they were helping to redevelop North Las Vegas.  This area was old school Vegas, crime riddled and full of hookers and other types that the city really didn't want or need hanging around.  Zappos, as you may read in the Hsieh book, moved to the Vegas area years ago so as to have access to a city that pretty much was 24x7, as a call center has to have folks working when most folks are at home ordering shoes from the Internet.  Zappos bought the old City Hall from the City as I as write this, are in the process of moving 2,000 or so people from the campus in Henderson, NV, just 15 miles from Vegas, into this really cool, huge and refurbished facility.  (http://is.gd/ULr6kV) The goal being ... getting all of the smart folks of Zappos under one roof, the Henderson-sized buildings have not allowed them to do so as they have grown.

Before a blink of an eye, I was back on their website & saw they had a "training with us" type tab.  Upon clicking on it, I saw several options.  You could register for a tour of the facility or tour and then capped off with a 30 minute one on one session with a team leader or do a full 3 day immersion session.  I opted for the tour plus one on one. 

April 17th, 2013 was a beautifully, all though cool day in Las Vegas.  I arrived a few minutes early, shocker for those who know me, not, Anyway, signed in and sat and watched.  The first thing that got me was the "Mayor", he was the greeter and having the time of his life in doing so.  Warm welcome to all would be an understatement, this gent made you feel like you were the only soul in the lobby, although there would be a total of about 30 of us in general for the tour.

We did the tour ... Complete with a parade that we got to watch, no one really knew what the group was celebrating, but they did it very well ... We saw the entire facility, including Monkey Row, that would be where Tony & all the exec's sit, as well as a well appointed (see image of wall art) bathroom. 

The experience was really great, I wasn't surprised, as having read about the culture, I kind of got it.  However, the group of 13 Red Hat Ladies that were in the group, well, they were not accustomed to young ladies with full sleeves and blue hair, I had as much fun watching that crew as I did on the tour.  I sat with Jim G & Tom, both Team Leaders in the Customer Service Group.  Great guys, really get it and represented Zappos so well, what a privilege it was to talk to people who embody the company spirit.

The bottom line is this ... from my reading and visitation ... Hire smart people, keep your core values up front and practiced consistently, then get out of the way and let good stuff happen! 

Happiness Delivered!



The Deeper I Dig, the Fewer I Find!

This was my first thought when I saw the number of followers of mine start to dwindle.  The Lizard Brain, as I have learned form Seth Godin, was quite happy about this.  The lizard was thinking, of course nobody wants to read what you write, you are a mechanical guy ...Get over it ... Who cares.

Once I let him, he is a he by the way and a nasty little booger at that, vent for a while and allowed him to be somewhat thrilled with my agony of loosing less than 2% of my tribe, I looked at the situation differently.

It became really simple for me to understand. The deeper I dig into what fascinates me, regardless if it is reading on a specific topic, writing about things I know or just plain interacting with folks --- I realized that a few people in the tribe didn't want to go that deep or invest or waste their time on topics of my interest.

Simple right?  Or so I thought.  I have decided that what I am interested in may be compelling to some and not so much to others, I am now comfortable with this.  So as we gain followers, albeit Twitter, LinkedIn, etc... some will grow to like your stuff, some won't and some will just hate.

The important things is for me are, continuing to educate myself, take others who want to go for the ride along with me and be happy with that.  I live my days and nights with this concept, for the better or for the worse.

The bottom line, literally is: The more concentrated your tribe becomes, by people weeding themselves out, those who only want a casual encounter or to play the Social Media Game, you are left with a higher percentage of quality people who are with you for the right reasons.  With that reason(s) being, they enjoy what it is you produce.


Regards,



G

The Genesis of the Battle Against Mediocrity, .... My Particular Art

I was born in the summer of 1964, well before most homes had air conditioning, to two fine parents.  My dad, a tradesman and an excellent craftsman, my mother, a home-maker and full time mom at that point.  We, my sister and I, grew up very middle class.  We were proud of our parents, dad was held in high regards in his field and our mom went to nursing school during my elementary school years and became an RN.  Those couple of facts, I believe, are the basis of what and how AirTight operates.

The core of what we do is labor intensive work, coupled with the analytical responsibilities of trouble-shooting and a keen understanding of the sciences of electricity and mechanics.  Very blue collar, like our roots.  My wife’s, same as my roots.

When I got out of High School in 1982, I already knew what I wanted to do.  My dad as mentioned above was considered very good within the mechanical arena and I knew I wanted to follow suit.  He,  and then I, worked for McKenney’s, Inc. in Atlanta, GA, a unionized shop.  Due to their affiliation I went through a four year plus apprenticeship program.  This program was considered the “high bar” for many union trade schools within the US.  My dad was also an instructor there, so learning was never far away from me as my young brain soaked it in.

I learned from some of the best mechanical service tradesmen of the day at that school and upon graduation, returned to teach there as my way of giving back what I had learned.  Following technical school, some time at Clayton State College prepared me for the more of the business side of the leadership role, what an excellent time.  I learned so much from so many there, not to mention an Executive Management program at Georgia Tech that put me side by side with some really seasoned business veterans.  I was very fornunate to have found that program and able to attend.

So then fast forward 15 years to Charlotte, NC ... I was transferred here by my previous employer, by that time had bought into the company as a small stakeholder and as a division manager running a group out of the Atlanta headquarters and home office.

North Carolina and the word union have never and most likely never will coincide within the same sentence, much less work in real life.  It goes way back to the textile days when the folks here were brain-washed into thinking all unions were bad and that premise has never gone away. Within 18 months of moving to Charlotte, it became clear to me that AirTight needed to be formed, and so it was.  The first two years we remained a union shop and had access to the apprenticeship program, albeit a hell of a lot less robust than the Atlanta version I was a part of as a youngster.

After two years, our men voted to get out, saying they believed in AirTight more so than the union, in regards to who would care for them long-term.

At that point, I knew we had to create our own “Apprenticeship-type” program.  Through the local technical colleges and our first ever employee, Denny Baumgart, who was at a previous company with me as well, we have created a model that works.

AirTight hires a youngster, limited or no experience and pays for their school that they attend at night for the theory portion of their education and then they work full time for AirTight during the day.  It works for us and allows us to grow our own talent and allow these men to have a real career without having to suffer through the lack-luster educational environments that are so pervasive within our industry.

My right hand woMan is Shonda Ruland, our VP of Operations.  Shonda has been here side by side with me for nearly 11 years, she carries the same mantra as I do to her team, which is all of our Production Coordinators, admin, billing, AP, AR, etc…  The career path for our internal team is of high cognizance as well, we want all AirTightans to feel as they definitely have room to grow within the company.

The combination of my technical mindedness and psycho-obsession with details, followed with Shonda and her having at least the same degree of neurosis (in a good way) that I do (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurosis) coupled with the deep, deep technical bench strength we have from Denny, now VP of Technical Services, our automation team, the many factory certified techs, AirTight Energy Group, etc… Makes for a strong Battle Ship.

We couple all of the above with the business philosophies from influences like: Tom Peters, Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Jeffrey Gitomer, Mitch Joel, etc.  Some of these people we are actually friends with, like have lunch together  kind of friends, some of these people I only know about by reading (http://www.shelfari.com/airtight_university_library/shelf) their work, but all influence us daily … hourly. 

We are small, lethal and laser sharp with our focus.  Shonda is a LARGE part of what you see and is available for discussing this, as I am as well.  She can do a class for your team, sometimes having an outside looking in perspective works very well.  We could come to your place or you can come to ours,  we can do a day in the life with each other’s crews, we can talk about what it takes to deliver WOW! service, etc…

These actions mentioned above could be a catalyst to take our interactions and customer care to a whole new level:  We would welcome it.

Bottom line is, we are a service company.  We take great pride in going the extra mile.  We would do it even if no one noticed!

I hope this gives you a bit of insight to AirTight and me, really, it is the same mindset, one just has 34 mouths to feed vs. one.

All of these words are meant in a voice of, “We aren’t perfect, but we are damn sure striving for excellence!”.

AirTight Energy Group Announced

Evolution is a normal process in all aspects of life and in any business.  Part of whatever success we have had as a company, in our opinion, has come from the ability to see trends early and then being poised and prepared to act upon opportunities when they are presented.

To this point, AirTight is pleased to announce the formation of the AirTight Energy Group, LLC.  This new group, under the AirTight umbrella, has been created to allow AirTight Mechanical (www.airtight.co) to keep serving the HVAC & Mission Critical Infrastructures market.  Our goal is to keep serving at a very high level, as our customers have come to expect, while allowing us to fill a need that we see and that we are being asked to become involved with, in regards to energy management and automating facilities.

AirTight Energy Group will focus on electrical power utilization and efficiency gains through energy wise-products, these will include power factor correcting apparatuses as well as LED lighting systems from Redwood Systems (www.redwoodsystems.com), the leading producer of low voltage LED systems world-wide.  LED lighting and in particular low voltage LED lighting is truly revolutionary, the lights require only a CAT 5 cable to power them, not a line voltage (120 or 277 vac) connection as historically all lights have required.

As building power usage and efficiency continues to be on the front burner for many companies, the interoperability of all building systems is so important and will be the number one method of ensuring your utility cost stay as manageable as possible, in particular with impending rate increases from our providers.

There is a natural flow to be recognized between the controlling and enhancing of lighting through a buildings automation and environmental control system.  This is a strong reason the connection between what AirTight Mechanical does with the Tridium (www.tridium.com) products by Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) we represent and the alliance with Redwood will allow our customers to benefit from a reduction in lighting expenses.

If you have a need to reduce lighting expenses or a need to save energy by retrofitting the lighting within your facility, data center or an entirely new facility, we would love the opportunity to sit and discuss how the Redwood System can help meet those goals.  Please click on and watch the video at this link and see for yourself how far this technology has developed.  http://www.redwoodsystems.com/company  We look forward to continuing the conversation as it makes sense for you.