Mentoring The Next Generation
Date Posted: April 5, 2016
Posted In: Ideas,
by Brian Hayden
Hayden Wrecking Corporation
Last month, my youngest son’s spring break coincided with the annual National Demolition Association’s (NDA) Convention in Orlando. After declaring his major in Business Administration, my freshman son has been pondering his future more and more. I viewed this trip as a good opportunity to expose him to new experiences that might affect his future.
As a third generation family business, we consider our potential future leaders in our own children. But, at the same time, I want my sons to make their own decisions and figure out a career path that speaks to them. I told my youngest, Carter, that his potential job interests should be where he finds his passion.
While Carter has always shown interest in the family business, lately he’s been considering it with a new perspective. As a proud father, I do my best not to push this destiny on him. I want it to be his choice and his passion, like it is mine.
My biggest job right now is to mentor my son, expose him to the industry, and let him find his own way. The NDA convention was a perfect way for him to see the forest before the trees of our trade.
Benjamin Franklin famously stated, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
From large multi-million dollar firms, to smaller, leaner family owned companies, the who’s who of demolition showed up in Orlando. It was an all inclusive convention with exhibitors, educational seminars, cocktail events, keynote speakers, and social events.
I not only involved him in the industry, I immersed him in a national platform so he could see a high level view of our business and a different perspective of how various companies operate, network buy, and sell. We went to a nice dinner with consultants, scrap vendors, and manufacturer reps, so Carter got to see firsthand that this industry is more than the work we do. It’s the networking, the knowledge, the training, the experience, and the knowhow.
At this learning stage for him, it’s all about exposure. I also recently took him to a Southern Illinois Builder’s Association (SIBA) board meeting and the “Business After Hours” event, so he could speak to representatives in the construction industry. There, he got to speak to a senior estimator from Holland Construction who shared how great the construction business is and his background in the industry, along with his college experience. At the demolition convention, he met another gentleman from one of the largest environmental consulting firms in the US, ERM, who raved about the industry and told my son about what a great business this was.
It is a great business, and I’m proud to show it for what it is to my son.
Before these events, Carter didn’t know what to expect because he has no real experience in our industry. He knows what we do, has grown up in it, but it didn’t become a reality until he was immersed in it. Now as he negotiates his future and signs up for college credit hours, I hope he views our business in a new light.
Similar levels of exposure need to take place with this next generation, as the construction industry on a whole grapples with labor shortages, time constraints, and efficiently training these new members in the field. Our trade and other trades are not just for kids who want to work with their hands and are not interested in college. We need to mentor the next generation so they know all the benefits and intricacies that this industry provides. Not only were my son’s eyes opened to the business world in a new way, he also gained a greater appreciation of the family business that he has always grown up with. It’s a legacy I am thrilled to pass on. No matter what decision Carter ultimately makes about his career, I am happy knowing he has a new perspective with which to make it.