LEADERSHIP, EFFICIENCY, & GROWTH
LESSON #23
by: Michael O’Malley, Ph.D.
TREAT YOURSELF WELL
Bees have a naturally hard life, and it takes a toll on them. They frequently are moved during times of the year when they are accustomed to rest. When bees are busy, they are not able to gather, store, and consume their customary foods. Their diet instead consists of a high fructose syrup mix that is like drinking soda for every meal. The nutritional value of a bee’s diet is found in the protein, minerals, and vitamins of pollen, not in sweets.
So, there you have it: hard work, crazy hours, and poor diet. Sound familiar? No wonder, then, that mobile hives have higher incidences of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites than are found in stationary colonies. In addition to the likely spread of disease through contact among bees of different colonies in the field (much like what happens to us on a crowded airplane), the physical movement of hives is stressful.
Thus, we need to take good care of ourselves – if not to work smarter and more productively, then for a longer, happier life.
Stress in the hive, or the corporation, imposes social costs with a subsequent loss in overall productivity. Some of those costs can be insidious. Recent research shows that persistent stress leads to a virulent form of habit formation: under stress, we tend to do the same things over and over again even when the actions we take get us nowhere. Therefore, one of the best things a company can do is to create environments that filter out unnecessary stresses.
More Pollen
Fatigue, inactivity, and poor diet impose heavy individual and social costs on organizational performance – so take care of your health. Do not end up like the bees that have been succumbing to what appears to be, at least in part, a stress-related affliction.
Organizations can encourage employees to stay fit, physically, and mentally. Most companies realize that workplaces that support healthy lifestyles are good for employees and good for business. Of course, it ultimately is up to you to take care of yourself and live a healthy lifestyle. Most of all, companies can do much good by creating high-quality products that people want and by inserting social consciousness seamlessly into their corporate strategies. For example, companies can pay farmers in developing countries a fair wage, use clean energy to generate power, or use recycled goods in the manufacture of products as a fundamental way they choose to do business.
THE HIVE CAN TEACH BUSINESSES ABOUT
WHAT
Recently, HMC’s FST Team was asked to assist on a project in Austin, TX that had electric water heaters tripping breakers when the heater got a call for heat.
Longhorn Mechanical, who was the contractor on the job, reached out to FST to help diagnose the problem. Brad Curtis, in San Antonio, was dispatched to the project to get “eyes on” the installed heaters. Brad made an initial visit and determined that the heaters on the job were not the same as the heaters ordered for the job. All the electrical specifications were the same, but the wiring circuit on the heaters shipped by AO Smith was different than what the customer ordered. Without boring you with the details, the heaters were shipped “simultaneous” instead of “non-simultaneous.” This meant that as shipped, on a call for heat, both elements would draw power at the same time. The customer ordered the top element drawing power, on a call for heat, until satisfied and then transferring power to the bottom element until it satisfied.
With the assistance of Team 6 from HMC, and AO Smith’s technical services department, it was determined that the best course of action, to resolve this matter, was to change out both the elements on 143 heaters to a lower kW (kilowatt) rating. This would allow the elements to run simultaneously and not trip the breakers. Changing the elements would require FST to shut off power, drain each heater, remove the existing elements, install the replacement elements, refill each heater with water and restore power. This would be no small undertaking.
Before proceeding any further, the first step was to get the project owner, engineer, and general contractor to “sign off” on the suggested fix. Our contractor partner, Longhorn Mechanical, ran point on this phase of the project, and had approval within three days.
A.O. Smith agreed to supply the replacement elements (at no cost) and new rating plates for each heater. FST worked out an estimate of our cost to complete the necessary work and provided it to the factory. Based on the parts “lead time,” and FST availability, the work was scheduled for the following week.
Once all the necessary work was completed, FST had a total of 84.5-man hours of labor involved and related travel and equipment costs of $1500 in the project. FST team members who diligently worked to get this project completed to everyone’s satisfaction included, Brad Curtis, Adam Merritt, Jim Fouts, and Hal Haas. Dianna Bryant, with Team 6, also deserves recognition for her assistance with this matter.
Once again, HMC, and all the resources we can bring to bear on issues like this, are what sets us apart from our competitors and allows us to represent some of the premier manufacturers in our industry.
NOLAN CORNISH - DG -2ND SHIFT
Nolan grew up in Oklahoma and Texas. He enjoys playing and coaching football. His favorite food is Chicken Alfredo. He mainly listens to hip-hop and rap. He likes football (Packers & NCAA Oklahoma) and basketball (Oklahoma City Thunder).
CID DOMINGUEZ - DG -1ST SHIFT
Cid grew up in DFW and California. He enjoys working out, eating, and sleeping. He loves street tacos. He likes to listen to hip-hop, country, and R&B music. He likes baseball (Yankees & Astros) and basketball (Dallas Mavericks). He has a Frenchie dog named Steve. An interesting fact about Cid is that he once ate a quadruple cheeseburger in under five minutes.
TREVOR COOLEY - DG -2ND SHIFT
Trevor grew up in Carrollton. He enjoys playing football and skating with his friends. His favorite food is pizza. He likes to listen to hip-hop and enjoys watching the Dallas Cowboys. He has a cat named Jr.
GABRIEL GONZALES - DG -2ND SHIFT
Gabriel grew up in Dallas. He is a senior in high school. He enjoys skateboarding and eating seafood. His favorite music to listen to is rap and hip-hop. He has a dog named Poochie.
JOE GUZMAN – DG SAN ANTONIO-1ST SHIFT
Joe worked as a route sales representative and a promotional sales dealer. He enjoys all outdoor activities. His favorite food is Cajun boil. He likes to listen to country music, likes football (Dallas Cowboys), baseball (Houston Astros), and basketball (San Antonio Spurs). He is married, has four kids, and five grandkids.
KALEB TINDELL – DG SAN ANTONIO-1ST SHIFT
Kaleb enjoys almost anything outdoors. He loves street tacos. He likes to listen to rap and country. He enjoys watching football (Houston Texans) and baseball (Houston Astros).
YOUSEPH TIRFE – INSIDE SALES – TEAM5
Youseph has a bachelor’s degree and he has experience in customer service. He is also a Veteran. Youseph enjoys working out, spending time with family, and sleeping. He likes to watch Florida State play football. His favorite food is Jamaican Ox Tail.
BLAIR SPENCER – INSIDE SALES – TEAM3
Blair grew up in Amarillo, TX. He went to Amarillo High School and Amarillo College. Blair enjoys fishing and hanging out with his wife and two kids. His favorite food is chicken fried steak. He likes to watch the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers.
ERIKA AVALOS – INSIDE SALES -TEAM2
Erika has nine years of customer service experience and had worked as a Medical Practice Assistant, at Parkland Hospital, for the last five years. She loves pizza, sweets, and anything spicy. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, thrifting, journaling, and cooking while watching funny videos on YouTube. No children, but she does have three dogs named Ribeye, Coco, and Kylo.
MICHAEL MASTERS - FWG/FCG/GSG ACCOUNT MANAGER
Michael lives in San Marcos and was also born there. Has a B.B.A. in Marketing – Sales Concentration, from Texas State University. He comes to us from Ferguson Enterprises, where he was a Commercial Inside Sales Rep. Mexican food is his favorite food. He has a one-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer named Cooper. Michael also enjoys listening to Classic Rock and Texas Country, playing golf, fishing, and hunting.
BRIAN PACHECO – HVAC ACCOUNT MANAGER
Brian comes to us from Coastal HVAC Supply where he was in outside sales. He got into the industry at the ripe old age of sixteen, sweeping floors and pulling orders in the warehouse, and kept learning and climbing up the ranks. Brian lives on a Bayou in Alvin and enjoys saltwater fishing. He loves to cook and BBQ, has six hchickens, a pig, and a huge dohg that looks after the livestock when he is not trying to be a lap dog. He and his wife grow their own vegetables, enjoy taking weekend trips in Texas, and live music. Brian has six grandchildren and another on the way.
JILL WEBB - PURCHASING MANAGER
Jill is no stranger to HMC. She worked for us before as Marketing Director from 2011 to 2015. She comes to us from Complete Emergency Care, where she was the Director of Business Development.
Jill graduated from the University of Oklahoma, was born in Ft. Worth, has three sons (two Aggies and one Sooner), and likes to volunteer at the Humane Society of North Texas.
Well, we survived 2022! Whoo-hoo! I know many of us thought 2022 was going to be SO much easier and better than the two previous years, and in many ways, it was, but it definitely had its challenges. However, challenges are what makes us stronger and pushes us to reevaluate our status quo.
We learned a lot during COVID, the computer hack, the freeze, etc. that more than ever we needed to be more fluid with Inside Sales. We previously had minimal cross training, as each team believed their products were handled and processed differently from anyone else’s. And, to a degree, this was true. There are still teams where processes are completely different – look at Team 5 with Bradley and Chicago’s ERP systems vs Watts’ QAD. But with the implementation of SAP, we discovered there are a lot of similarities. Today you will find the HVAC team entering orders for water heater parts. Team 2 has assisted with RGA’s for other teams as well as processing drop ships. Team 5 has helped enter orders for Teams 3 and 6. Our Inside Sales folks do whatever they can to assist each other so that we, as a whole, can continue to move forward. They say you are only as strong as your weakest link – well with teamwork we minimize our weaknesses. We train and support one another so that we can continue to be there for our account managers and customers.
We used to only hire someone for a specific team, and this is still primarily the case, but now we are also asking ourselves where else could we utilize this person? Could this person be a floater across multiple teams? Could they assist with marketing as well? The lines are becoming more blurred as we continue to grow. And this is new and exciting ground not only for management but also for our associates. They are seeing more opportunities for growth and a stronger future with HMC.
Speaking of futures – we have also relaunched our Mentorship Program. Thanks to Lori Zimmer, we are off to a great start with six associates showing interest and interviewing for the program. Lori has worked to open this program up to not only be an avenue for advancement into outside sales, but also for PSEAM and other departments in operations. The program gives individuals the opportunity to work with other teams, spend time with account managers, and visit customers. The goal is to enable individuals to help carve and form their future path with us.
I am very proud of my core team of supervisors and all members of my Inside Sales Teams and Quotations. Notice I always say inside sales – that is because they are more much more than customer service. These individuals have more contact with our customers than anyone else and have more opportunities to sell and build relationships with them. And they do this often. There have been some challenges this year on a few fronts, but we continue to overcome and do all that we can to make improvements and grow. They continue to express a desire to learn, embrace learning opportunities and challenges, and band together to help each other out. We are truly a family and care about one another. People will hear me say I am RESPONSIBLE for these individuals. That is because I truly feel that way. They don’t REPORT to me. I take my job seriously and want to see every single person succeed. I want them to be happy. I want them to grow. I am extremely grateful for everyone and all their hard work. And I hope they all know the value they bring to HMC every day.
Thank you everyone!
Are you married? Yes
Do you have kids? Yes
Mountains or beach? Beach
Favorite “adult beverage”? Whiskey
What size shoe do you wear? 9-1/2
Favorite hobby or pastime? Reading
Favorite food to eat? Chicken wings
Favorite cartoon growing up? Scooby-Doo
Favorite type of dessert? Anything chocolate
Are you an “indoor” or “outdoor” person? Outdoor What’s a family nickname they have for you? Stella
Do you prefer a sports car or a pick-up? Sports Car What will you NOT eat if it’s on a pizza? Anchovies
Who was the president the year you were born? Richard Nixon How many teams or departments have you worked in for HMC? One What was your first “real job”? Women’s clothing store manager
Who was the biggest professional influence on your career? My dad If you could meet one historical figure, who would it be? Jane Austen
Did you have a favorite pet growing up? Yes - a Bloodhound mix “Penny” What’s the best vacation you’ve been on? Twelve wonderful days in Scotland
The Bedlam Series is the name given to the athletics rivalry between Oklahoma State University Cowboys and the University of Oklahoma Sooners of the Big 12 Conference.
Submitted by: Robbin Javier
