October 2018
BUILDINGTOGETHER ARE YOU A LIFELONG LEARNER? As I’ve transitioned into the role of Vice President of Operations over the past year, one of the duties I’ve taken over from Tony Roussey is meeting with many more of our team members to do reviews and check-in meetings. With the great people we have, this is much more of an honor than a duty. In all of these meetings, we spend a majority of the time going through each individual’s uMap. The uMap allows everyone to sit with their supervisor and agree on their top responsibilities. The employees are also able to share their personal and professional goals. Talking about goals inevitably leads us to look at how to achieve those goals. At that point, we move to one my favorites sections of the uMap, “Training & Guidance” (or “Training Needs” depending on which uMap version you use). Author Stephen Covey said, “If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’re getting.” One of our core values is to Be Unmistakable in all that we do. As Doug Eddy discussed last month, Becoming Unmistakable (and staying Unmistakable) is a never ending and constant pursuit of improvement. This improvement isn’t just about what we do, but it’s also improvement of who we are as individuals. That is why I love the Training and Guidance discussion in reviews. Each and every one of us, no matter our age, experience or position, can learn new things to be better.
This was illustrated well by a meeting with a carpenter with 30+ years of experience. He was excited to tell me about how he is using new technology to more efficiently perform tasks he’s done for years. One of the ways was setting door frames using only a laser…no levels. As someone that’s only done it the old way, my mind was blown and we got into a discussion about what else could be done with a laser. This carpenter, even though he’s been doing this for 30+ years is still learning. He is a lifelong learner. We are blessed to have a team full of lifelong learners. This past year we have done more E&V YOUniversity classes than ever before. I have been able to attend many of them and I never walk away without a deeper knowledge of the topic. I encourage everyone to take full advantage of these great opportunities to better ourselves. Lifelong learners improve themselves and support us all in our quest to Be Unmistakable in ALL that we do.
Joe Novakoski, P.E. Vice President of Operations
THANKS FOR COMING! Thanks to all of the tradesmen who came out for the annual outing!
BUILDINGTOGETHER | October 2018
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