Some installers should not be working on advanced panels

Hell, I know people in this business who shouldn't even be allowed to wire a home, much less install anything.

Sometimes I'll have to use an installer "borrowed" from another company. I mean, I know I've been doing this for over 40 years and could probably snake a wire up a brick wall, but some of these guys after being in the trade for 20 years, will take a half hour trying to snake a wire up an inside, non insolated wall. I'll see their frustration, walk over, snake it in less than a minute and watch their surprised amazement. There are only a small number of options to snake a wire anywhere and if you don't know them after at least a couple of years of trial, error and instruction ..... man ...... go do something else for a living.

I could never understand people that hate there job so badly it effects there work go find something you do like to do so many times i hear this I hate this job i hate this employer i dont want to go to school im only working here to have benefits etc etc.

RHC: There seem to be two widely varying philosophies towards earning a living at play here..

Many if not most people work to earn money sufficient to allow them to live properly. This can even evolve such that the quest for money and wealth becomes an overriding factor in their lives, dominating all else. This class of people "work to live".( on one extreme). As such, it is often easiest to to take shortcuts in the work they do, partly through laziness and partly because it is too easy to work without the need to develop and follow internal standards of competency, quality and honesty. Especially when working for someone else, they see no personal attachment to whatever they do. Many trudge through life not even enjoying what they do for a living.

Then there are the lucky minority who are self motivated in their work, and have found something they truly love to do, or who work for themselves. Many of these people "live to work" (on the other extreme). They enjoy what they do and see the results of their work both in customer satisfaction and financial results. They have a personal stake in the quality of their work and the customer satisfaction that comes from this attitude towards their endeavours. The business is theirs, and in the case of small business, they are the business !

When one "side" looks at the other, the disparities become quickly evident. Thank your lucky stars you are one of the lucky ones who work for themselves.....

I've been a gadget guy and a Mr fixit from the time I was a kid. At this stage of my life, many people ask me "when are you going to retire?" or "when are you going to stop working?"

I've come up with a few reasons:

Since I love what I do, even if I retired, I'd still be doing it.

Since I love what I do, I never have to worry about dividing my time between work and play. I do what I do, even in my (so called) spare time.

And that old saying ...... find what you love to do and you'll never work a day in your life.

One of the (so called) secrets I will occasionally mention to people who are searching for their path in a profession, is to have (or at least show) enthusiasm about what ever it is that you are doing. Even to the point of forcing yourself to have it. It doesn't always work, but as I see it, if people see that you are enthused about what you are doing, it's sort of catching. Customers see it and interpret it as someone anxious and likely to do a good job. And, if you are working for someone else, it is usually singled out and noticed by employers, possibly leading to advancement. I find that you can even catch it from yourself as it becomes a part of your personality. That is .... once you see the results of what enthusiasm does ..... you actually do become excited about your profession and doing a good job.

That coupled with my other sage advice about the big secret to running a sucessful business has worked for me: Tell the customer what you are going to do .... and do it.

RHC: Well put Jim. Years ago when I worked in middle management of a large corporation, I interviewed and hired many people for many different kinds of jobs within the organization. The final part of the interview process was the personal interview after all the first steps were met by the interviewee... previous work experience, education levels, special past experience which related to the particular job in question. One of the things that I looked for was an eager, bright, inquiring person, with drive above all, who was anxious to make a difference, and one who had done some investigation of the company, and had an idea of where they thought they could fit in. Regardless of their place in the formal ranking for the job, I always looked much more closely at these people, because they had the right attitude for success. I dismissed many times people who came to me with endless degrees, and who thought that we owed them a job simply because of their education, and who showed no internalized ambition or drive to excel (and you'd be surprised how many people fit this description)

I don't want to oversimplify the process, but most of the time it came down to gut feel about the person based on how they came across during the job interview. People with the right "genes for success" know how to make the right moves for success. Only once did I hire someone who was totally out of her league and nervous, but I suspected she had what it took. So we went down to the cafeteria where she felt more comfortable, and I got her to come out of her shell over a long cup of coffee to the point where I could make the decision to hire her. Well some 15 years later, when I retired from the company, she was vice president of the company, and came to my retirement for a big hug.....

Success is a matter of attitude, hard work, trust, honesty and drive as much as it is about anything else. Those who have it will succeed, all else being equal. Those who drift aimlessly through life will always be mediocre in what they achieve, luck notwithstanding......

Know where your coming from Jim my grandfather died from heart attack with his tools in his hands fixing a old fashioned console fan.

Even back when I was running my business part time and getting it off ground I still always worked hard for who ever I was working for. One of my customers often hires former or still working part time for them selves employees because they work hard for him because they know what it takes to run a profitable business and they want the company there working for to run well. It definitely shows.

the work ethic in this country would change over nite if more people where forced to have to fend for them selves and see what it takes to run a small business.

RHC: Well put Jim. Years ago when I worked in middle management of a large corporation, I interviewed and hired many people for many different kinds of jobs within the organization. The final part of the interview process was the personal interview after all the first steps were met by the interviewee... previous work experience, education levels, special past experience which related to the particular job in question. One of the things that I looked for was an eager, bright, inquiring person, with drive above all, who was anxious to make a difference, and one who had done some investigation of the company, and had an idea of where they thought they could fit in. Regardless of their place in the formal ranking for the job, I always looked much more closely at these people, because they had the right attitude for success. I dismissed many times people who came to me with endless degrees, and who thought that we owed them a job simply because of their education, and who showed no internalized ambition or drive to excel (and you'd be surprised how many people fit this description)

I don't want to oversimplify the process, but most of the time it came down to gut feel about the person based on how they came across during the job interview. People with the right "genes for success" know how to make the right moves for success. Only once did I hire someone who was totally out of her league and nervous, but I suspected she had what it took. So we went down to the cafeteria where she felt more comfortable, and I got her to come out of her shell over a long cup of coffee to the point where I could make the decision to hire her. Well some 15 years later, when I retired from the company, she was vice president of the company, and came to my retirement for a big hug.....

Success is a matter of attitude, hard work, trust, honesty and drive as much as it is about anything else. Those who have it will succeed, all else being equal. Those who drift aimlessly through life will always be mediocre in what they achieve, luck notwithstanding......

================================================== I too did some hiring when working for Corporate America. Had an interview with a guy that got so relaxed towards the end of the interview that when I asked about prior employers stated the following.

"When I worked for XYZ Company and we were out on strike, I was the only one that had the balls to climb over the fence, past the guard dogs and slice the tires on the company trucks."

The interview was very short after that. Sad part was up and until that moment he was on the top of my list for hiring. All I can say is that he was honest................................

I hope he is reading this and reflexes back to that moment when time stood still.

Les

In some sales training course I took a 100 years ago, the trainer was trying to bring home the point about trying just that little bit more, to put yourself ahead. He said something to the effect that ..... most people who sell are included in the up to 80 percent successful range. if you try to succeed only 5 percent more than the next guy, it puts you in a category of much fewer people that consists of people in the

In other words, you don't have to try that much harder then the next guy to put yourself in a much smaller category of people that are going to be more successful. I liked that idea and it still gives me incentive today. Just putting in that little bit extra makes you outstanding in what ever you do ..... especially in view of what the competition has to offer today.

However, the hard thing to do, is convince someone who doesn't know you that you will actually give the customer what you say you will, considering all of the rip-offs that consumers experience today.

Gee ..... thanks for the warning Nick. I'll be sure to stay away from console fans. :-)

I always did the same. It worked well for me until I reached the point of "upper management". In that category, in a big company, you've got to be one of the "good ol boys" and a "team player" which is a category that I just didn't fall into. When I came up with ideas and suggestions, I never could accept the " oh we've tried that before and it didn't work" answers. My attitude was " It didn't work because YOU couldn't make it work. When I do it .... I'll MAKE it work" That's not how you make friends of influential people. Not having come from a background of family business owners, At first I had no idea that this was one of the characteristics that a entrepreneur needed and that it didn't fit into the mold of big business.

Well, on one hand, we need the giant corporations to do what they do best. Although there aren't many, some of the big companys do reward inventivness and individual thinking. On the other hand, the US has more private small businesses than any other country in the world and small business far out employs and out produces all the big businesses. So that says a lot about it.

RHC: Yes, it can be difficult to gain the customers confidence initially -customers are rightly skeptical in our industry, with good reason !! However, I find just being upfront and straightforward with clients, and answering all their questions without trying to put a sales spin on things quickly gains their confidence. The rest comes with how meaningfully you answer their questions; how knowledgeable you seem to them versus the competition they just spoke to (usually pretty easy in this business given the poor quality of sales people in our industry); and your overall demeanor and appearance. They are asking you to be their "security man" for their home and safety, and if you come across high pressure, or you are evasive in your answers, people aren't stupid - they can see through that shit right up front !!

Like most things in life, it's all about trust !! People sense when you are genuinely trying to help them versus just selling something...If you have a good product offering; if your prices are at least competitive, and you are even half way professional in your approach, the sale evolves almost automatically....

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You could also say he was athletic, was an animal lover, and had a special skill set.

You could also say he was athletic, was an animal lover, and had a special skill set.

Yea, there is that possibility...................................... Looking on the positive note did not get him the job.