Enough with all that Canada stuff. Let’s get back to our typical newsletter programming!
Read on to learn: If people feel like their employer values their safety and wellbeing; why we visited airports four days in a row; and how I balance working two jobs.
Workforce Poll
I asked my social media following (your workforce) the question —
“Do you feel like your company values your safety and wellbeing?”
The Results:
Here’s what some had to say:
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YES |
NO |
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YES
- “It’s written plainly throughout the company and is a true safety culture.”
- “Leadership always talks to us about taking our time.”
- “Everyone in safety has started in the field.”
- “They’re flexible when personal issues arise.”
- “They train us on safety and keep us up to date on CPR.”
- “I feel like I have stop work authority.”
- “I feel like I have a voice.”
NO
- “They expect you to work your life away.”
- “They say they care about our safety but push us to break the rules to meet production.”
- “Safety, yes, but well-being? No. Get back to work.”
- “When issues are brought up, management seems annoyed.”
- “I asked for window guarding on our machines but was told it’s too expensive.”
- “We’re told if we don’t like something, we know where the door is.”
- “Yes, until it starts to cost them money.”
- “All about what YOU can do for the company.”
Travel Update
Welcome to Operation Black Ice. Yes, everything has a dumb name these days. We have to keep ourselves entertained.
Is visiting five companies in five states in five days wise? Nope, but we did it anyway.
Earlier this year, we promised six of the companies we've historically worked with through our marketing business vlog episodes. If you haven't seen one of our vlogs (sad... one's linked below!), I visit Dirt World operations, explain what the heck is going on, and do some nonsense along the way.
When considering how best to execute all the vlogs, someone (me) had the dumb idea to do as many of them as possible in the same week. One a day for five days meant we could do five of six in a week! Easy!
Here's what our journey looked like:
- Southern Site Contractors in Knoxville, Tennessee, moving dirt for a commercial project.
- RAWSO Constructors in Portland, Tennessee, moving dirt for a commercial project.
- MILBURN Demolition in Tampa, Florida, removing an old monorail system at Tampa International Airport.
- Witech Excavating in Indiana/Illinois, moving dirt for a commercial project (see a theme?) and for a landfill cell closure.
- Bemas Construction in Denver, Colorado, moving dirt for residential subdivisions.
Long story short, despite what the news tells you, the Dirt World is alive and well. Sure, people are nervous, but the dirt's flying like never before.
Business Lesson Learned
I work two entirely different jobs:
- Travel the world, learn about the Dirt World hands-on, and meet thousands of people who call the industry home.
- Lead a start-up marketing and software business comprised of 80 great humans.
On a week like this, I was nearly all #1 while neglecting #2.
If I were distrusting or had bad people around me, this week's formula would be a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, we have phenomenal people, and I trust them wholeheartedly.
While it usually works well, it's not perfect. Let's cut to this past Friday…
We were in Castle Rock, Colorado, watching Bemas knock out 30-50' cuts and fills for a residential subdivision. It was a beautiful morning, and I couldn't have been happier. I love what I do!
After a few hours of drooling over scrapers scrapering, it was time to dial into our weekly leadership call. When I'm in the field, I participate for the first 10ish minutes and then go back to looking at dirt, or I listen in for the remainder, if possible.
I reached the point of casual listening as I watched scrapers, but as the conversation evolved, I realized I needed to be more active in the call. Since I operate at the business's highest level, I have context others don't, and our leaders needed my context.
As I sat on a backhoe, trying to ignore the noise of the nearby scrapers and a paving crew, I did my best to provide the communication our leaders needed. After we wrapped up, I got our rental car stuck in mud… That's another story.
I guess the lesson for me is this—while it's simplest to view traveling and leading the business as separate, they're entirely intertwined. As a leader, I must distinguish when to be present in the field versus when the company needs me, and the company is always first. While sometimes inconvenient (like knowing there's a herd of 631's feasting over the hill), I have an essential role to play. I haven't figured out the balance, and I doubt I ever will, but I'm doing my best and don't take my responsibility lightly.
Vlog
In this week’s vlog, we smash cars with two D10s. I’ll leave it at that.
Podcast
If you want to learn about the latest equipment technology, this is not your podcast episode! Instead, we discuss the opposite, including antique draglines and steam-powered tractors.
George Marsh is an old-school dragline operator and antique heavy equipment enthusiast. I chatted with George about antique equipment show culture, how many machines he and his father have in their yard, and what it takes to run friction machines. I learned so much…
