Family – Many business owners would tell you, “never work with your family.” For me, working with the ones I love and appreciate has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. When I began working with my father in 1995, I developed a deeper understanding not only for business but also for the importance of relationships. Watching my father interact with his “regulars,” I picked up some very important relational tools, many of which can be used in both business and in life. These essential practices have shaped who I am today. Moreover, they have also become crucial building blocks of the culture that I’ve tried to adopt into my company today:

Measure what matters

My brother Dave reminds me of this daily. When you take time to measure how you do things in business it often identifies the things that you do well; but, it also highlights the things that you need to improve upon. When my son first started playing basketball, we took time to measure how many free throws in a row that he could make. When we first started keeping track he struggled even getting only two in a row. However, as time went on and as he labored in his craft, he began to develop a skill for shooting free throws, a muscle memory of sort that would allow him to be very consistent in hitting those important shots at the stripe. Muscle memory in business translates into taking time to recognize what your good at, while strengthening what you need to work on. By measuring what matters you’ll better define what your good at as well as single out deficiencies that you might need to work on. Keep track of and measure the things that are important. It will serve you well!

Don’t exacerbate your weaknesses

Stop focusing on the negative. My father would never convey a “woe is me” attitude, nor would you ever hear him say “I can’t” or “I give up.” It just wasn’t in him to throw in the towel, which probably speaks to his life of being a warrior, fighting out of the projects, barely a high school graduate and a two tour Vietnam vet. He just didn’t know how to sulk in his weaknesses. It’s one thing to recognize flaws or areas in our lives that need strengthened; it’s a completely different thing to live from those flaws. Have you ever been around someone who constantly speaks to how their glass is always half empty? It’s an emotional wear out! Not that it’s always easy but make it a daily, conscious priority to speak and live life from a position of strength and positivity.

Surround yourself with people better than you

I’m so thankful my dad took a chance on me. I really love my company and more importantly, I love my co-workers. I have the best staff that I have ever worked with… ever, anywhere. We really are the epitome of TEAM. We all have different gifts and different skillsets that we bring to the table. It wasn’t always like that; in fact, early on in my business life I would never consider hiring a better salesperson, sharper estimator or a more creative designer. Frankly, it scared me. I was afraid of being marginalized by my own staff. I was the visionary, the bar-setter, the envelope pusher. There’s no way I’d allow another to take over those key responsibilities… That was until I landed a big job, I mean a game changer big job, I mean a career altering, “OH WOW, how am I gonna get this done” type of life changing project. I instantly knew that I’d have to hire better people than me, which I did. It positively was one of the most dynamic turning points in my life both personally and professionally. I haven’t shied away from that commitment. I want to be better because of my people. I want US to be better, better than ME!

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