MY CAREER ADVICE
By Keith Wayne, President & CEO
Here I am facing another birthday in September. Proud to be 63, but not so happy to be getting more than gentle reminders from the Social Security Administration regarding my approaching deadlines to register for Medicare.
In any case, it is good to be alive and working through my final chapters of a career in the construction business. While I can’t say that this latest chapter is nearly as physically challenging as the first forays into the formwork, placing and finishing or Concrete Pumping periods were, I can report that the opportunities and outcomes as CEO of Wayne Brothers are more exciting and rewarding then ever.
While being interviewed by an industry professional, I was asked what advice I might give someone who was just starting out their career in construction? I would like to share my answers with the newsletter readers. In part, because I know there are hundreds of our employees who read this as well as many of our clients and associates who may be in the early chapters of their career.
My top three pieces of advice:
- Learn to take pride in your work product by doing the work itself.
I notice that all of those who have great success in this industry have at least one craft skill in their toolbox. It usually involves the craft through which they entered the industry. This serves as their foundational connection to one’s dynamic career journey. So, pick up a trowel, hammer or saw and wade into the trades.
- Seek out a mentor or coach who has already traveled the journey you are set out upon.
In many cases, and mine is among them, the mentor or coach may not be a formal assignment. Rather person may just be someone that you seek to emulate in your career. It can be another successful master craftsman or a contractor who has proven themselves capable of the tough and demanding projects.
- Engage with your clients.
I have witnessed the owners of buildings we have built who were open to and pleasantly surprised by the Wayne Brothers professional approach. If you present a construction team approach that is every bit as professional as the design team and developers of the project, I have found that in most cases you become a valued and preferred team member for the projects that follow.
These three ideas for success may seem simple and unexciting to some, but I know it works. I can only hope that any of you who are on our team find as much value in using these tips as I have in my career. Happy and Safe Building to all of us!
