Latest / The Elevator Careers Podcast / Reflecting on 46 Years in the Elevator Industry | Michael Ryan

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Reflecting on 46 Years in the Elevator Industry | Michael Ryan · The Elevator Careers Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think you're gonna miss the most?
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: 100% is the relationships, right?
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the the Peely relationships, you know, when you work that close with uh a group to face all the crises that you face, I mean you're you have to put your heads together and figure out, hey, how do we how do we solve this problem?
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then you're you're members of these trade groups like NAEC and Sika, and they have their own problems and their own challenges.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: I've I've been on both of those boards.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's nice to work through those problems with those people.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: So that's really been something I've been amiss.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then I've really been blessed working for Peely and have had the freedom and the ability for Feely to send me to really anywhere in the world that people were interested in Feely.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and it's it's nice to have been with a company that, you know, is is that global and that well known that uh you know I miss the face of that company.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I I will miss being like that expert, you know, as part of part of my brand, and I I will miss that opportunity to do that at a great run at Healy and the elevated to 50, and you know, I hope nice things are said about me when I'm not around, but yeah, I I will miss, obviously, engaging all you guys in events.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to the Elevator Careers Podcast, brought to you by the All Red Crew.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Matt Allred.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: When talent is mission critical, call the All Red Group.
• 1:20
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• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: You need the All Red Group on your side.
• 1:27
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• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: Call now.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: 404-890-0445.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: Today's guest is Michael Ryan, Vice President of Fitness Development with the Felix Company.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: Mike is a longtime elevator industry leader whose career spans more than 46 years.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: From being hired over the phone into the wrong role to becoming one of the industry's most recognized experts in freight elevator doors, Mike has seen decades of change across the elevator world.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: As he prepares for retirement, Mike joined me to reflect on the lessons, relationships, and experiences that have helped define his remarkable career.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: Mike, welcome to the show.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, Matt, thank you for the invite.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great opportunity.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: No, I'm honored.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: I really am.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, when when you mention that you're going to be retiring and, you know, stepping away after having started 46 years ago, I'm like, that is an opportunity to at least a conversation.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's no way to capture all four 46 years, right?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: But um You don't have long enough, maybe.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I appreciate it.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm looking forward to it.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I want you to just take us back to the beginning.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how did you first get into the elevator industry and and what what kept you here?
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Man, it was totally random.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: I was thinking about that.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: I was hired over the phone, if you can believe that.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: I had gone to Peely.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: I was interviewed for an engineering position with one guy.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: For whatever reason, I wasn't the right guy for him.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: He told another guy, and that guy hired me on the phone.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: It was really a bad fit, actually.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: I did not excel well in that particular role.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: So you were hired into an engineering role, is what you're telling me.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: I was the engineering guy for a salesperson who did very specialized New York City conversions.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And they dumped me with this guy to be his layout guy.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't know anything about doors.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: And he was gone most of the time, either traveling or in New York City.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I had no guidance.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: I was pretty sure that I was going to be out that door had it not been for the fact that somebody was transferred to Chicago in the sales department.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I think they just said, stick that kid up in the sales department.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And that that was really a better fit for me.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I interesting.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: I had a good time.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: And right away, between all the customer engagement with these elevator projects, I found it like a fun, fun place to work.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: And interestingly, I think a lot of elevator people enjoy the fact that they can point to a building that they said, hey, I I was involved in that thing.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that was kind of cool.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I I think that's what kept me.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: But I think if it hadn't been for being transferred from that sales engineer guy to actually sales, I would have been gone.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, you you know the saying, right?
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: The right person in the right seat, right?
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: It sounds like you're the right person, but but had somebody not noticed that, hey, he's in the wrong seat, yeah.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Let's let's give him this opportunity, you'd have been gone a long time ago, right?
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: You wouldn't have flourished, you wouldn't have stayed.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: I would have been gone 46 years ago.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like you said, either either either they'd have fired me or I'd have just fired myself because it wasn't it wasn't the right place to be.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: So it was the wrong fit, yeah.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: I I'm glad I found the right fit.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: So you told me uh that at some point early on, you left, you came back.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: What pulled you back in?
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: And and when when did you realize that I am gonna be an elevator person for the rest of my life?
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, ironically, I now see myself in those guys that I was looking at at Peely saying, why am I staying here?
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Those guys were like my age and they were really having a good time, but they just they weren't leaving.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I left.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm never gonna get promoted, right?
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah, I'm not gonna go anywhere.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I left and I got a little bit more education.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: I wasn't gone very long, like two and a half years.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: I went for an electronic security system manufacturer, also on Long Island, and I got some more education.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then those guys started to retire.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was recruited back by uh my then boss, who was the boss I left on to fill in one of those spots for one of those retired guys.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm hypersensitive to those younger people at Peely looking at people my age.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I've decided like the timing is good.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to be like that guy that I used to talk about.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it's weird.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: I came back, I I think I ended up at my desk, and I think I ended up with pre-computer, of course.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: I ended up using my price book that I left like two and a half years earlier.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: They saved a seat for you, right?
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, that's that's Mike's spot.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: Nobody sit in it.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll he'll he'll be back.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: It was perfect.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I I started working literally with the same people, and you know what?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Freight elevators aren't all that popular.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I think I probably spoke to people who had no idea that I had just been back and had been gone for two and a half years.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, some markets don't see a freight elevator for a few years at a time.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: And the and the elevator community was so welcoming, either because they recognized that I came back or just in general, that it it was a pretty easy thing to say, you know what?
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: I I left because those guys weren't retiring.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm back.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: This is really kind of fun, and I started to get more involved with the industry.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: So it obviously agreed with me because I stayed since I returned.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, and at some point you you decided, hey, this is who I am, it's what I'm gonna do, and and been here ever since.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's not uncommon, right?
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: I know a lot of coworkers and I know a lot of people in the elevator industry in general that leave for something and then they return.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: I I know I know more than a couple dozen of those people.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, obviously you've you've seen over 40 years of change.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say is the biggest shift in the elevator industry that I don't know, maybe, maybe some others don't uh fully appreciate it, but from your perspective, what would that be?
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: I hate talking about like back in the day, but you know, it's it's sort of like it's sort of like back in the day.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the elevator industry, it's still very homey, but back when I started, you know, a lot of the suppliers and even the contractor firms, it was very much geared around family.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: And those elevator conventions and those spring conferences, that was their vacation.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, and it was common uh that we don't allow it on the on the show floor anymore, but you know, you have to be 18.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: But man, we had kids running around.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the first day of the show was like trick-or-treat where kids would pick up like all the giveaways.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I would say that's the the biggest change.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: There's the the show floor was so much different than it is today.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I remember the first show I did was in the early 80s.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I think it was the basement of the Diplomat Hotel in Miami Beach.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: And everybody, I mean everybody had a 10x10 booth.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: I many times was next to Herb and Walter from GAL.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: I had my little 10x10 and they had their little 10x10.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, it was it was a much smaller group.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was more intimate.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Now, of course, now today, um, it's it's not any better, it's not any worse, it's just different, right?
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: You've got all of these VCs and you've got consolidation.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, when I started, all of the major elevator companies were not only located in the states, they manufactured in the states, right?
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Westinghouse became Schindler and Montgomery became Koney, Dover, and everybody that Dover purchased became TK, right?
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, it's it's a little bit different with the with the VCs and the consolidator.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: But I would say that the fabric of like uh what we were is just different.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's not any worse.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, also on the other side is the trade shows and the education are are way bigger and more powerful than they were when I started.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: The uh that would be the big difference that I I would say is uh you know how the the makeup changed, um but not not in a bad way.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it would be it it would have been unreasonable to think whatever we were in the 1980s would be the way we would be in the 2020s, right?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: So and it sounds like yeah, you're you're speaking of the community, the connection, the the families, that you know, all those things.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: How would you say the the industry overall has changed?
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe I don't know, maybe it's technology, maybe it's you know, all the just curious, what what strikes you?
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think it's all of those things, right?
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: We've gotten more um more technical.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think um, you know, codes drive a lot of of what the changes.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: I can see it where I travel that clearly when you go to elevator contractor offices, they are, you know, there's many levels of people they report to, especially if you're not an independent.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I I think that's changed the way you know business is done.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's a little bit more corporate, but again, I don't think that's a bad thing.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's just you know, you just adapt to whatever the business culture is at the time.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, you know, the codes and the standards, I mean, it keeps everybody safe.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, you've got to make the right product and you've got to sell the right product, you've got to install the right product.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I I think it's uh, you know, I think it's a change for the better.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: No, I agreed, agreed, right?
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it just there's no reason to think it would have stayed the same, but just yeah, curious what what kind of jumps out at you.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: And and I'm curious, you know, most people, uh honestly, my myself included, right?
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's easy to to ride an elevator, not thinking about anything except inside the box.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think would surprise most people about how an elevator actually works or what it takes to make it work?
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know how many times in my career uh with people not familiar with the elevator business, when they ask what you do, and you know, you you tell them you're in the elevator door business.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: And that that could be true of any of my supplier friends.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'm in the elevator fixture business, I'm in the elevator lighting business, I make car enclosures, right?
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think the people who ride elevators have any idea that it's really a collaborative effort.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: And like there are so many specialties driven by quotes and standards and inspections.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: And even the big guys, uh, you know, even the the major elevator companies, I mean, they're not they're not braiding their own, you know, a rope and then they're not extruding their own rails.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there are so many specialty manufacturers that really have to come together to build an elevator that I think it's really surprising to people because they joke, like, what do you mean, the elevator doesn't come with the doors?
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, no, the elevator sometimes does not come with the doors.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: The door can be.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what would they compare it to?
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's almost like an automobile without doors.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, what why would you do that?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 12:01
  unknown: Right.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's surprising.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think they realize that it's a collaborative effort, a bunch of specialty manufacturers, and they're probably completely unaware that there's yet a whole group of people in front of us, the suppliers, you know, the consultants and the general contractors, like, what do you need?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: What are we gonna specify?
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: What's the right solution?
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then even after everything is installed and running, that you've got inspectors and AHJs behind the whole thing, making sure that, okay, I know what was specified, I know why you made what you made, why you installed what you thought.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna make sure that it's okay for people to ride it now.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: So it, you know, it really takes a lot of people to get that elevator up and I think, yeah, I'm glad you brought that up because I think one of the maybe the big surprises is, you know, I don't know.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: I've some people is like, what?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: I thought buildings were born with elevators, right?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's like zero consideration.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: But then there's the other side, like automobiles or airplanes, where it's like, no, I just thought they were standard, right?
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they all come with the same parts, pieces, components.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's just it's just an elevator.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's a it's a silver box, and I climb in and and how can it be that different?
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: And yet every one of them are are pretty much different, right?
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: Depending on where they're putting and you know, certainly there's some some consistency and you know, templates, but there's a lot of a lot more variation, I think, than than most people would consider.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, for sure.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that would be something that people find interesting.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: They, you know, just didn't know.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they don't think about it.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: They walk in, they press the button, they get to go what they're where they go, they walk out, and you know, they have no idea that there's you know, 30 different uh, you know, organizations, you know, make that happen, right?
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's mind-boggling to especially to somebody that's on the outside, right?
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: So what what would you say one thing the industry that that maybe is a challenge or a or a frustration, or maybe we're working on it, still haven't quite quite got it right?
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: What would that be?
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you had asked me about this, and uh, it bothers me still, and uh and and I'll just say it the media characterizes responding to people stalled in an elevator as needing to be rescued.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: I've I I I I'm bothered so much that I I wrote something that Elevator World printed and I put it on LinkedIn and it received the most hits I had gotten from anything.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that as an elevator industry community, I don't think that we should sit by and tolerate, if that's the right word, people needing to be rescued from the thing that we produce.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you look at an elevator, it's climate controlled, it has Wi-Fi, sometimes there's TVs, there's a phone, you know, just hang out for half an hour, someone's gonna come and get you.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you don't need to be rescued from it.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I think when you talk about needing to be rescued from an elevator, and certainly the way Hollywood portrays elevators in some disaster movies, you know, this is the reason why people pry doors open and try to get out of the elevator before being rescued and they get hurt.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: And why?
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because you need to be rescued from a stalled elevator.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then you watch uh movies like Speed and The Towering Inferno, and you know, there's actually a movie called Elevator.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: They don't really portray the elevator in like the most positive light.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, that aside, I wish that we could, as a community, get to the fire service and get to the media and say, look, you know, nobody needs to be rescued.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Where's the fire?
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be fine.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: Hang out for a few minutes.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: The elevator guy is gonna come and bring you to the next floor, and then you can get out.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's like it's like saying, Oh, I need to be rescued from rush hour because my my car can't go as fast as I want it to.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: There's a car in front of me, and I need to be rescued from the situation, maybe.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: So obviously, they love to play on sensationalism, they love to play on a little bit of what we talked about about a minute ago, which is not everybody understands this whole world of elevators.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so there's a lot of assumptions and stories, and oh, these are scary.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let's let's let's build on that to get clicks or likes or or whatever it may be.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: It does remind me a little bit of a situation I heard of, don't have any factual evidence, but I heard a story of a person who uh called it an entrapment.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: Apparently, they they got stuck on an escalator.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: It stopped.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, they stood there.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: And they stood there, they called 911 and insisted that they be rescued from this escalator that had stopped.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: There is a YouTube video of a joke.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that that is a joke.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody did it on YouTube.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: The guy stood there and they just stood there waiting to be rescued from the escalator because it just so maybe it was a joke, but but somebody told me about that, and I was like, oh my gosh.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's awesome.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um so uh after four decades, over four decades, what's one lesson that really changed how you approach your work or even relationships in this industry?
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I wish I had done it earlier, but I I would say, you know, get involved, stay involved, volunteer, join a committee, join a trade association.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Look, there's no shortage, right?
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: We've got NAEC, there's SECA, there's a safety foundation, there's uh NEI, there's every major city.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: I shouldn't say that it's different now, but uh there are a number of major cities that have local elevator associations.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I would, I would, I would get on that, get that that committee or that association, join that association, and uh just get involved.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, every company has a brand, and then every person within the company has their own brand, right?
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: And the sooner you establish yourself in that company, uh in that association as uh a resource, uh I think you know, things come to you, right?
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: That people call you for advice, they remember you, uh, you're somebody that they they want to have involved, maybe you end up on their board.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I I think that's a good thing because that until you're really involved in those associations, especially on a national level, you really don't understand the scope of every other association.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think what I would suggest to people getting in is that you should get involved early and join a trade group or join an association and you know, volunteer and and try to understand, like, you know, not only your local market, maybe do that first, but then if you join some of the national markets, that really broadens your horizons and you can collaborate with people in other markets because they probably have the same problem.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, are they handling the same way?
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: Are they doing something different?
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: And you said uh, you know, maybe I should have done this sooner.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: How did things shift for you as you started getting more involved in some of the organizations?
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: If I had gotten involved earlier, I just think uh my career would, you know, I think it would be in the same spot.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: I just we'd be better, better informed.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I I don't I don't think that that's a bad thing.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: No, not at all.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I and I'm guessing, you know, as people get to know you, then they're more likely to call you for business, right?
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: There is there's benefit in just being known and and being able to help answer questions or or you know, even if it's not directly tied to sales, it's it's hey, he's known, he's trusted, you know, but give him that resource, right?
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: They they know you, they've seen you to a thing, and then you know, before you know it, someone's asking you to speak at an event, and sure you're imparting whatever knowledge you want to impart.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, then somebody else says, Hey, could you help me out here?
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: Then you just it that's just part of the personal brand and the company brand.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't think that's a bad thing.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, agreed, agreed.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh it's a way of of really paying it forward and uh you know being there to to help bring bring things along, if you will.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um and it speaks, I think, to the to the elevator industry's unique culture, right?
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: You talked about the families.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: We talked a little bit about you know how it brings so many people, it it requires so many people to to make it work.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: And what would you say that is that kind of I guess drives the the collaborative nature?
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I hear it over and over on the on the podcast interviews I do, right?
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: That that even though we're competitors, we still, you know, there's healthy collaboration, right?
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: And if somebody calls and needs help, what do you think it is that drives that?
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I don't know what drives it, but what should drive it is, you know, my my opinion is that we we all own the responsibility to ensure that the users of elevators have a positive experience.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: And if if we're to do that, then we have to work together.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think if you want to work together, I think you make it as easy for your customer or your customer's customer to have a good experience.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: For ourselves, you know, our company, we make databases and drawings and any information available to our customer and our competitor, if that's the way it needs to go.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: We're not shy about somebody calling us and saying, hey, this is what I've got existing and this is my problem.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if if the right thing to do is to say, look, you you really got to go back to the original manufacturer um and have them solve your problem because you know the only solution for us is for you to rip that out start from scratch.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes that's not a good solution.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't think that that's a bad thing because I know that we refer our competitors when we need to.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: I know that in each little elevator community, um, if somebody is better suited or one contractor is too busy, they refer somebody else.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that says a lot about the community.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I would like to think it leaves a positive impression on the um the ultimate, you know, user or customer that, hey, I I chose this guy, but for whatever reason he referred me to his competitor because his competitor was available, better suited, had a better price, whatever.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think that makes us all look good because I think we own we own that responsibility to make sure that the people who use our products are are left with a good impression of the elevator industry overall.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, absolutely.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I think it uh it speaks to being a good citizen of the of the industry, right?
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: And make sure that customers are taken care of, even if I can't.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe take care of you right now, but hey, there's somebody who can.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: Certainly uh kind of the being the bigger person, right?
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: Being willing to say, hey, I'll uh I'll give this business to someone else.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: So in in a previous conversation, you had mentioned becoming the expert in your niche early.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: How important is it for someone to really own their lane?
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: And what does that look like?
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, you said that before, and I said that there are so many specialties, and I would not want to assume that I knew more about somebody else's product than my own.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because we are so unique and everybody's a specialty, I think it's important to establish yourself early as an expert.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think that that takes much, actually.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, because really, who knows about every aspect of what we do?
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like I couldn't tell you very much about fixtures, I couldn't tell you very much about Rails, but you know, I I own what we do, you know, what and you know, when you do that, you become the answer man, if you will.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the consultants reach out or you know, contractors reach out.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about those trade groups.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: Every once in a while, you know, somebody needs to fill in a speaking slot, or you go to some contractor and there's a lunch and learn.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the more niche you are, ironically, the more there is a need for you to actually speak at events.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because let's face it, you know, we make a very uh unique product that isn't seen every day, right?
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: So if you don't see our product, but every two or three years, you're not really, you know, you're not really up to up to date with what you thought you may have known.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and even if you see it, seeing it doesn't equal understanding it.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: And if I go to buy one, uh that doesn't mean I understand why I would buy this door over that door and what are the benefits of the, you know.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it I think it's I think it's good for your personal brand.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: Let's face it.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, sure, I've been doing this a long time, but when I have to speak somewhere and I have to throw together a PowerPoint, you know, I gotta do some research and I gotta check in internally.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, is this thing still true?
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, you gotta put it together, and then you get you get a chance to deliver it, it keeps you refreshed.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I've got about four more questions for you.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: And three, three kind of looking at the retirement and then maybe one to the uh to the rising generation.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm curious, looking back, is there anything you wish you had done differently or pursued more aggressively or anything like that?
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: I I, you know, I of course I was super, super young.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: I was a teenager when I started.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um if I had to uh make a request of the people that I reported to at the time, I would have liked to have gotten started um visiting customers sooner.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and I I did start pretty quick.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, I I just told us at some NAEC podcast that um I think for the first five years of my career, maybe even more, I really I wasn't old enough to rent a car.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: So they had to rent cars for me because I don't think you could rent a car, at least in New York, where I am, uh, until you were 25.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: So they had to rent cars for me.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's better than the bicycle, just saying.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I would have liked to have gotten out more because I I probably learned more looking at our stuff and and seeing people than I learned any other way, certainly more than I learned internally.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: And and along those lines, I wished that I spent probably more time in places that I personally avoided just because they weren't big markets for us.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: At some point, I was doing a majority of the travel, and then at a later point in my career, I ended up managing people who traveled.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I kind of tended to keep them on the the coasts, and we didn't spend a lot of time by no fault other than my own, we didn't spend enough time in the the middle of the country, you know, Dallas and Chicago, of course.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: But um, so I I would wish that we had would have gotten out more.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then the other thing I wished I would have done is um we actually have quite a few options of our products because I went and visited the user and got feedback.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you only know what you know, right?
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: So we we Peely knows, you know, oh, we make this and we make this for this reason.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, it wasn't until I actually got a phone call from a guy at uh Target Department Store complaining about something, and I saw the problem.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: I said, geez, I wonder if we could fix that.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: And we we did fix it.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: And we had a similar experience over at Boeing and Anheuser Busch.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so uh yeah, probably if if I had had to do it again, I I would have modified where I went and how early I went.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I love that.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, and as you step away, what's the message or mindset you hope the next generation carries forward?
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I would tell them, um, look, help everybody, your competitors, your coworkers, you know, the people that um use your product, you know, it's going to pay off.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's not always about selling something and making some money.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, make yourself a resource.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: I would tell the younger generation, which I had to learn older in my life, is that you you cannot underestimate the importance of social media.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: I said, not only is it good for the company's brand, it's good for your personal brand, you know, put up like where you are, what you did, what was successful, you know, impart as much knowledge as you can.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you operate in your own vacuum, I mean, that's exactly what you're going to get.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, the elevator industry is still so homey that it's super scary when you go into any event.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you could go to a local New York event or Chicago event or a trade show or a spring conference.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: We just saw you at the spring conference in LA, right?
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you are brand new and you were dumped into that environment, I mean, it looks like a family reunion.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody is enjoying everybody's company, right?
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody seems to know everybody, and it's got to be terrifying.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I would just say, look, just jump, jump into a group, jump into a conversation, you know, and this guy's gonna introduce you to that girl and she's gonna introduce you to that guy.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, the elevator people in general are you are pretty pretty friendly and and very inviting.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: It can be a little intimidating, having done that myself, right?
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: But I found that, you know, just like say, jumping into a group, shake hands, say hi, you know.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Never once been chased away.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: Always been welcome to the conversation.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: When you uh when you think about walking away after all these years, what do you think you're gonna miss the most?
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it you know, 100% is the relationships, right?
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I I've been with these Peely folks and the people that have left and the new people.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the the Peely relationships, you know, when you work that close with uh a group to face all the crises that you face, you know, uh supply chain and material increases and recessions and tariffs.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're you have to put your heads together and figure out, hey, how do we how do we solve this problem?
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then you're you're members of these trade groups like NAEC and SECA, and they have their own problems and their own challenges.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, you end up on those boards.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: I've I've been on both of those boards, and it's it's nice to work through those problems with those people.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: But that's really been something I'm gonna miss.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, in addition to the trade people I'm gonna miss that I worked with, I've really been blessed working for Peely and have had the freedom and the ability for Peely to send me to really anywhere in the world that people were interested in in Peely to attend a trade show or speak or to visit customers.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: I've had the the pleasure of doing that in China and Germany and Dubai and India and England and all across North America, you know, and it's it's nice to have been with a company that you know is is that global and that well known that um you know I was the face of that company.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I I will miss being like that expert.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it was part of part of my brand.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I it will be I will miss that opportunity to do that.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: But I I don't uh I have no misgivings.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: I had a great run at Peely and the elevator industry was good to me.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I hope nice things are said about me when I'm not around.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I I will miss obviously engaging all you guys at all those events.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, you'll be missed as well.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_01: So final question for you.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh if someone's getting into the industry today, what should they focus on to succeed?
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: I would say, you know, there are so many opportunities.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, pick something that you're gonna be good at and just you know, overlearn that and make it your own.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, and I tell this to young elevator hires I see all the time.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you you think about this industry, you know, if you're halfway decent at your job, whether you're project managing or you're in engineering or you're coordinating or you're at sales, you know, you'll do great.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: You'll do great where you are.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't like that particular organization, you can go to somebody down the street that's in the same business.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't like the town, you can go to another city, you can go to another state, you can work your whole career here.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then after you're done with working for elevator companies, you can become an elevator consultant.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: So if you enjoy the elevator trade, or you could be running podcasts like you, right?
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: Literally, I mean, find the thing.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you like this industry, there are plenty of opportunities.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: Figure out what you're good at, you know, excel at that.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, I think the opportunities are literally endless for, you know, every city's got an elevator company, right?
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: So you could really be anywhere and just become that expert, and that becomes then your brand no matter where you end up in the elevator industry.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: So true.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_01: Mike, it's been a privilege.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_01: And uh thank you for being with me today.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's my pleasure, Matt.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, and uh wish you the very best as you uh ride off into the sunset.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_01: You'll see me around.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gone until the end of the year.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_01: All right, man.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_01: All right, we'll see ya.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_01: Bye.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the Allred Group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: Please visit our YouTube channel at Elevator Careers or check us out online at elevatorcareers.net.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: Please like and subscribe.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: And until next time, stay safe.