Latest / The Elevator Careers Podcast / Build Elevators, Build Escalators, but above all, Build Each Other | Ed Rivera

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Build Elevators, Build Escalators, but above all, Build Each Other | Ed Rivera · The Elevator Careers Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: He looked at me.
• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: He said, if you can figure out how to build elevators and tie that into your current skill set, you're going to be of extreme value.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_02: And uh yeah, he gave me that opportunity.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, and welcome to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the Allred Group.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host, Matt Allred.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: In this podcast, we talk to the people whose lives and careers are dedicated to the vertical transportation industry, to inform and share lessons learned, building upon the foundation of those who have gone before to inspire the next generation of elevator careers.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Today we are talking with Ed Rivera, who is currently a modernization and construction foreman with TEI in New York City.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Online, Ed goes by Your ElevatorPal, and his tagline is Build Elevators, Build Escalators, but above all, build each other.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Ed started in the industry as a file clerk or Boca Group, and after a few years, he wanted to learn elevators from the ground up.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So he joined Local One.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Ed is passionate about the elevator industry and in particular about the people who make it all happen.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Ed, welcome to the show.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, listen, Matt, thanks for having me.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: It's uh really excited to have a chat with you.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm excited to talk to you.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, I'm really I'm pretty fascinated by the fact that you're standing on top of an elevator car as we speak.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: The car is uh currently under modernization.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: It's uh it's a duplex.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: I have a car to the side of me that's also out for modernization.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's the end of the day.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh works complete.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: So uh there's no movement happening here.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: No, I definitely want to keep you safe.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: But I have I've always ever since I started recruiting in the industry, I've always wanted to ride on the top of an elevator car.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_02: But uh I've never said yeah, listen, we we're we're on top of it.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_02: We ride it, but only on inspection, you know.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, right riding a car at full speed uh is a is a big no-no in our profession.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: No, I can only imagine.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Well, um, well, thank you again for for making time to to talk with me.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, I I'm always fascinated by how people get into this industry.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so I've just got to ask, what was your method of getting into the industry?
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: What what happened to lead you this direction?
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I mean, I had no idea the vertical transportation industry existed.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I went to William E.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_02: Grady, which was vocational high school in Brooklyn, studied electrical, uh, took tests for MTA, Con Edison, local three, because just kind of waiting for uh for that phone call.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um and while I was waiting, my father's co-worker, Eddie Garcia, was a karate teacher to a man named Dan Nichols.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_02: Dan Nichols was the founder, well, one of the founders, one of the two founders of Boca Group.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: Boca Group is a vertical transportation consulting firm here in New York City.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: Again, at the time I had no idea.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: I thought I was gonna go interview with an elevator company.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_02: My dad sets up an interview.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_02: I go to this interview.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the night before I'm studying my motor control books, AC Motor Control, DC Motor Control.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: Went to this interview in uh 200 Park Avenue, the MetLife building in New York City, and thought to myself, wow, this is a fancy elevator company.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: This is a fancy building.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: Uh went in, sat down in the conference room, first time in a conference room, and walks Dan Nichols.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: He had a presence about him, just big burly guy, walks in, sits down, stares me right in the eye, and says, So how are your filing skills?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I just thought to myself, what the is this guy talking about?
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_02: I just said they're great.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_02: He goes, Okay, when can you start?
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_02: I said, today, tomorrow.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_02: He goes, good, go upstairs, see Jennifer,$7 an hour.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: And that was the beginning of my elevator career.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: So tell me what you were telling me what you were doing for Boca Group, because you sound, I mean, you had some electrical knowledge, but as far as elevators, maybe didn't know.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, zero.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, just at the time I could say it was, you know, zero experience uh with elevators specifically.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I was filing papers.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the first couple of weeks, months, I just was filing papers, filing papers.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_02: But at the same time, I was kind of just really getting a peek into this huge industry, and I started to just study the project managers and and and the consultants and interact and engage, and I would take home specifications.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Cool.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_02: And on my own time, I would read them just to get an idea of the jargon.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_02: Had no idea what anything meant at the time.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it was all still foreign, but I thought, you know, I said to myself, man, there's a there's opportunity here.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_02: I just gotta put some work in.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I was there for about four to five years.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_02: And in that time, my responsibility started, my responsibility started to grow from filing papers to assisting uh with the bid packages, um, to the assisting of writing specifications.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: And again, I wasn't like an expert writing specifications, I was assisting, you know, the senior PMs in that process.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_02: Uh started to go to meetings, um, you know, I just started to grow.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_02: And with that growth, um I think Dan Nichols had recognized that and sort of kind of moved me up little by little, more and more responsibility.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: And then just came a time where uh unfortunately Dan passed away.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: And he was the first guy in this industry who who I looked up to as a mentor.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: So when he kind of passed away, unfortunately, um, I don't want to say I was lost, but I said to myself, okay, now's the time for a change.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I really wanted to work with my hands, that's why I went to vocational school.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: And um I picked up the phone and I called Mark Gregorio.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_02: Mark Gregorio is the president and one of the founders of TEI Group, right?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_02: Who's my current my current employer?
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that was about 15 years ago.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: 15 years ago, I gave him a call.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: So you call him and he said, Wink is I I I I I called him and I remember the phone call vividly.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_02: I said, Hey Mark, does that offer still stand?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: And he said, Absolutely, come see me tonight.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_02: So, okay, yeah, you know, and I at the time I was I was meeting all these uh, I guess like industry powerhouse players, key players meeting, because you know, you're on the consulting side and you're interacting, you're engaging.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: And there were, you know, a lot of times the companies were always saying, Hey kid, you ever want a job, call me.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_02: So I had like a list of companies I could potentially have worked for.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: But uh what I found interesting about TEI Group was, and uh specifically Mark was that he he worked on elevators, you know, he he went from building elevators to having a company.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_02: So I I found that fascinating and I kind of wanted to be a part of that.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and you said you wanted to work with your hands.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Was that a huge shift to go from filing papers and and going to meetings?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: Oh no, no, man.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_02: That was no huge shift.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_02: The huge shift was going to filing papers.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_02: The huge shift was that side of the business.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: Uh since I since kindergarten, I knew I was gonna work with my hands.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: That was uh no question.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I kind of went in and it was funny because uh we we we sit down, we have a meeting, and uh he was under the impression I wanted to actually work for him, like sort of like a project management side.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I looked at him, I said, no, no, I'm here because I want to get into the union.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, uh TEI employees uh local one union members.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: And uh he looked at me, he said, Oh, really?
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_02: He says, Okay, um, interesting.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_02: He says, huh, if you can figure out how to build elevators and tie that into your current skill set, you're gonna be of extreme value.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: And uh yeah, he gave me that opportunity.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_02: He he you know got me into local one.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and which was really neat.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: When I was leaving his office, I saw a book on his shelf.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I said, and I went and grabbed the book and I said, Wow, I said this looks like a book from Grady.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_02: I opened the book and sure enough, it was from Grady.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I looked at Mark and said, Mark, you went to Grady?
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: He goes, Yeah, I went to Grady.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_02: And then we had like something else in common.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_02: Both Brooklyn boys, you know, went to vocational high school, uh, same high school.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: We actually had some of the same teachers.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and yeah, I went, I didn't realize how many uh people in the industry in New York actually attended Grady.
• 8:48
  unknown: Cool.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_02: So that was kind of cool to learn.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but yeah, that was uh that's kind of my beginning in this.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and so once you got into the field, started working with your hands, is uh have you pretty much stayed doing that ever?
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: I I think you took a little time with Boca again, correct?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I was uh let's see, I went through my entire apprenticeship program with TEI, uh, mechanic.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_02: The apprenticeship program is about four years, and then you take your mechanics exam.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, thereafter you get put out as a mechanic.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: I went from mechanic to running my own projects.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um and of course it wasn't perfect, you know.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you're mechanic, you're young, you're you're you're learning, you're you're a forming, you're responsible for all you know the project and people.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_02: And uh it was always a uh a learning process and constant improvement.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_02: And even till this day, it's a constant improvement for me.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_02: I'm always aiming to be a little better, really figuring out how to add value.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_02: And that's genuine.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: That's what gets me excited in the morning.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_02: How am I gonna add value?
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_02: Even though it may feel a little different, like running a project is second nature, second nature to me now.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_02: Building an elevator is sacred nature to me now.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I have a big focus now on building the next generation and not just technicians, but project managers and engineers and engaging with them and developing them, even consultants, you know.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm not saying I'm gonna build a consultant.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of older senior guys, but uh there's also a lot of people who are just getting into this business who just need a little bit of guidance.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I'm I'm thankful for the guidance I've gotten over the years.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_02: So I kind of want to pay that forward.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's and and that's one of the honestly, one of the things that caught my attention about you, you know, before we even met was um, you know, that you, especially online, you know, you talk about building each other.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: And um whether that's you know, through, like you say, whether it's a consultant or a uh new helper or slash apprentice, um, there's always opportunities to pay it forward to to make somebody better just by giving them a little bit of knowledge or giving them some support, maybe when they're struggling with a problem.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I couldn't, I I I couldn't agree more, man.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_02: There's a this this industry is it's huge and there's a lot of roles and responsibilities.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, if I can add value to anybody's life, I I I like doing that.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: So we we talked a little bit the other day about um kind of leadership and um you know being a superintendent.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I really liked some of the things you were saying because um and I think one of the things that I I think is impressive, the fact that you've you've been through the apprenticeship program, you've you've you know, you've got your fingers dirty, you've you've learned by doing, and now when you lead, obviously there's a there's a certain uh amount of credibility and and just knowing, hey, I've I've done that, I know how to to do what you're doing so you can lead that team.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: But then you were also talking about how those who, you know, maybe they come from outside, maybe they come from the military, maybe they come from somewhere else, but kind of the the key, and I just want to see if you could elaborate a little bit on the key difference you've seen between those who succeed and those who don't succeed.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_02: I guess uh I'd like to highlight the importance, or there is a there is a lot of value to having a superintendent um or or manager who's actually done what you're doing.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um there's a lot, there's a lot because you know you can always lean on them for guidance and sorts.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_02: So there's that's that's something really special.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um but then there's people who are just come into this industry who were just great project managers, and and that's needed too.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you know, probably come from backgrounds where they've led people, uh led projects, and that's great.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_02: What I found most interesting, uh, the ones that really do succeed are the ones who who've never built an elevator before, but kind of acknowledge that and don't walk into uh uh a team or a group where it's you know my way or the highway, but more like, hey, let me be honest with you.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to building elevators.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_02: That's why you guys are here.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_02: I'm here to manage the project, I'm here to, you know, engage on emails with the clients, but I can't do that without you.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_02: So if you can lean, you know, if I can lean on you and you can lean on me, we can create a winning team.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that's how I've met a lot of project managers and superintendents that uh were most successful when they've really um had the field personnel on their side.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I and I like the way you said that.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it sounds like it takes some humility to go to your mechanics and say, hey, I don't know what you know, but I'm here to support you.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm here to support the project.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: We're we're on the same team, so let's let's work together and make this happen.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think a big thing, I mean, in in my personal experience, because I've sat on both sides of the table, and in sitting on on both sides of the table, um I've noticed people tend to forget we're sitting at the same table.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_02: Right?
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_02: We we have the same mission, the same goal.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_02: So we may be on other sides of the table, but we really have this, we should all have the same goal.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that's that's and that's the key.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: That's been uh a key to my success was is acknowledging that, understanding that, and and realizing I can't do it without my team.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: Not even my team, just people around me, you know.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I can't, I can't, I can have uh, you know, 15, 20 car job.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: It's only successful if I have my team, the guys that trust me, the guys, the girls that trust me to lead them, um, to ensure that I'm setting them up to be a success.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_02: I think that happens a lot on the projects when the guys and girls come onto the job.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, all right, we're in good hands.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: And that's just because I had developed a reputation of doing the right thing.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, that's that's huge.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: And and I've heard stories at times of of people who, like you say, forget that we're at the same table, forget that we're all trying to, you know, accomplish the same thing.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: But I like the way you've just emphasized that, hey, acknowledge what you don't know.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: Don't don't try to pretend that you know something you you don't, and just you know, work with your team.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Allow your your mechanics, your professionals who who've been there and and know what needs to happen to to teach you something.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's good advice.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's that's uh that really is a recipe for success on that end.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_02: You know, everyone has their role to play, and we learn how to play those roles really well and play those roles really well together.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: It's you're only gonna do well.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's inevitable.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm curious when at what point in your career did you realize, wow, I love this industry.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to go anywhere else.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not looking to go to Conet or you know, oh yeah, those call, those calls came and went.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um it was just something fascinating about the industry, and it really circles back to Dan Nichols.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: Here was an outside, I mean, he was foreign to me, right?
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_02: He wasn't family.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: He was, you know, at that at that time he wasn't family.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um he was just a guy who essentially just took a chance on me, you know.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_02: He provided me a job.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, in what ways did he did he affect your your career, your life?
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, how how significant was he?
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_02: It was it was big in a sense where he was also he he worked on elevators, right?
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_02: He was another elevator guy, you know, for lack of better term.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_02: This is an elevator guy.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um he he he he he did it.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_02: He went from you know building elevators to starting a consulting company.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um so I I just found I found that fascinating.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_02: I guess you know, subconsciously it said to me, hey, you know, it's all achievable, Ed.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_02: You know, all this is achievable, you know.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_02: If if this guy can do it, why can't I do it?
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_02: You know.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um so I was inspired by that.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_02: I was inspired by him.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I I did I studied him a lot.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_02: He was a good, really, really, really I'm sure anybody who who really knows him could speak highly of him.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's neat the way that he inspired you.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: And and I don't know if he knew it at the time.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: He knew he knew he was running a business.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: He maybe didn't know just how closely you were watching.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, no, yeah.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_02: I was really watching closely, and a lot of a lot of you know, he he gave me a lot of responsibility over time.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I found that fascinating because this guy doesn't know me from a hole in the wall, but he's entrusting me with you know this and this and this, and the responsibility just kind of added up.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and it sounds like you were hungry for for knowledge.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the fact that you were noticing what books, uh, you know, when you when you went to TEI, you noticed the book on the shelf, you know, you were you were looking for what can I learn?
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: How can I, you know, gain this knowledge, you know, get this hands-on experience?
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: How can I learn everything possible so that I can add more value here in the in the industry?
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_02: Back then and and to this day, figuring out ways to educate myself.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I tell apprentices all the time, all the time.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_02: Ask any apprentice who's worked with me, all the time.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_02: It's what you do after 330 that makes the difference.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I use the time frame 330 because we generally work from 7 to 330.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I tell guys, it's what you do after 330 that makes a difference.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_02: If you're just gonna come in here to collect a paycheck, at some point, you know, it's gonna fizzle.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um there's no, there's no joy, there's no excitement.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you've got to be hungry.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: This there's too much opportunity in this industry not to be hungry.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I mean, I I I understood that a long time ago.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm still I'm still hungry, man.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_02: I'm still hungry, you know.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Hungry and also willing to give it to others, which which is uh a way of building everybody else.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_02: You'd have why why you know I I found too you can't you can you could potentially potentially inspire people, and that's interesting in itself, but you you can't inspire those who don't want to be inspired.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_02: So either that apprentice or or that uh project manager or superintendent, you know, general manager, either they're they they're looking for more or they're just uh just or they're not.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_02: And the ones that are looking for more are the ones who kind of like will feed off your energy and go, hey, how can I get a little more information from you?
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_02: What are you doing with this?
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_02: What are you doing with that?
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I I connect with everybody in the in the industry, especially here in New York City.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I'm always a phone call away.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm not like the guru who knows everything, but I, you know, they're also a phone call away.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I could pick up my phone and just say, you know, hey, I I don't know this, but you know, you're you're gonna talk to that person who's equally as enthusiastic about what they're doing and willing to share the knowledge they gain over the years.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_02: And that's also part of our little tight-knit community.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, and that's one of the things I find so fascinating.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: And even having worked in other industries, I just don't see it anywhere.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: But this this connection, like you say, this tight-knit community.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: When I talk to somebody and they say, Oh, yeah, I called my buddy that we, you know, we worked together years ago, not even in the same company, but he he can help me walk through this problem or you know, help me with an issue.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that's I think it's unheard of in a lot of other industries.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's it's common.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_02: It's common here, man.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_02: You you get get an elevator tech and start talking elevators, forget about it.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_02: You'll be there for days.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's awesome.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: So so tell me what you love most about this industry.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, about the industry?
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_02: What do I love most about it?
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_02: That's a good question, isn't it?
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if I love anything specific about it.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: It's a it's a big, big, big, big, big, big, big family.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's a giant community, you know, of uh individuals with a common goal, right?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_02: To provide quality service to a customer or a client.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_02: That that part's really neat.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um your end product is tangible, right?
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_02: You can touch it.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: It's a move, it's a moving box that you built.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um that's pretty exciting.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_02: You get to see what you built.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_02: Uh you also feel accomplished kind of every day, right?
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_02: You you did X, Y, Z task, and it's all tangible.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: You can touch it, you can see it, you've completed it.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um Yeah, it was and again, it's one of those never knew it existed, but I'm I'm glad I fell into it.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um you know, between you know, these moving boxes and the people who help you build these moving boxes, it's a it's quite a combination.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: It really is.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: And like you say, it's a it's a a big, big family, uh a tight-knit community.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: And um if if um let's let's end with this question.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: I guess if you were to you know give some advice to uh to to others in the industry, maybe they're starting out, maybe they've been there for a while, but what what's something you've learned or observed that you feel like could maybe strengthen this family or you know, be good to know?
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_02: Uh to the to the to the senior personnel, sh share your knowledge.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_02: Share, share your knowledge.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_02: It it should never go to waste.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we should always be sharing, uh, especially to those to those that are eager.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, those who are new to the industry, um just start to study people, watch.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_02: I've always I've always emulated individuals.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um you know, sort of look up to this individual and say, wow, how do I what is he or she doing?
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_02: You know, how is how did he or she get there?
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_02: How can I get there?
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I I've taken so many characteristics, you know, uh from different people and kind of, you know, just being constantly observant and watching those in positions that I want to be in has really has really served me well.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_02: And being curious, you know, not being scared to go up and just chat with them.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_02: And most of the time they just are happy to provide feedback.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_02: You know, um, yeah, have some people that really just in this industry really helped, you know, helped me become who I am as a as a professional.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_02: I think we should all we should all be striving to become the best versions of ourselves and the best professional that we can be.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that that really speaks to the to the tagline that you've you've got on online just about building each other, right?
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: Let's let's build one another, let's all ascend together, maybe to to borrow a little bit of elevator speak.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's that's that's the key, man.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: That's the key.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: You're gonna go further together, man.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_02: You know, so did you, you know, did you make that up yourself?
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_02: Like, yeah, I don't know how I don't remember the day, but I just remember I thought I was just jotting away, riding away.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_02: I said, build elevators, build escalators, but above all, build each other, because that's how you're gonna win.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for sharing that.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for being here with me today.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: And uh hopefully we'll get another chance to do this later on.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, Matt, real pleasure.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having me.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_02: Really appreciate it.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_02: And everyone out there, nothing but love.
• 24:36
  unknown: Peace.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks, Ed.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_02: Take care.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_02: Take care.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the All Red Group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: You can check us out online at elevatorcareers.net.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: Please subscribe, and until next time, stay safe.