In the construction industry, we go to the projects, meet new teams, build amazing relationships, and celebrate our success by moving on to the next job. “See you on the next one”, avoids the fact that you may never see each other again. During the Holidays, I often hope for truth in those words, and wish for “a next one” sooner than later. With the Pandemic mandates removed, these Holidays are a bit of a catch up for me.
In January 2020, before COVID (45d BC), I made list of HITO goals for the next 1,000 days. I’ll humbly brag and say we (mostly) made it through the pandemic and met all the goals for revenue, clients, and consultant head count. At that time, I had a print out on my wall from the Gru Movie 2 where he’s over-lording all his minions awaiting his command.
My favorite scenes from “Despicable Me” are when the Minions are in the basement creating more villainous weapons than ever before. Being a world class villain takes a grueling pace that left Gru little time which is why he needed all the minions. As HITO has grown, I’ve had less time to do technical work and/or train our folks like I’ve been able to in the past. No doubt my family has received collateral damage, much like the orphans-turned Gru’s daughters.
The best comes with the worst. Being handshake folks (we’re really not villians!), we’ve had commercial issues I didn’t expect. We’ve lost some of the best people we’ve hired. It’s tough and I’ve wished them all the best. I can’t wait to “See you on the next one.”
That Gru picture stuck around for a while, ending up on my binder of resumes of resumes. (If you’ve read this far, hopefully you know my humor!) Sometime after cancelling benefits for two families that departed HITO, that Gru picture got replaced with a picture my daughter drew for me: I guess it juxtaposes well with Gru’s character development. It reminds me that everyone we hire is trying to be their best for their best people.
Doing the math, the next 1,000 days concludes around Labor Day 2025. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence, and makes the idea of setting goals for headcount seems callous. I know I don’t want a horde of Minions-I want people that want to do their best for our best clients.
Enjoy your time with your family these Holidays. Our best wishes to you and yours in 2023!