The following transcript is provided by YouTube. Mistakes are present. To hear the podcast episode, click HERE.
0:08.1
0:14.0
Welcome to Scaling UP! h2o the industrial
water treaters podcast
0:14.0
0:20.8
hello Scaling UP! nation my name is Trace
Blackmore and I get the honor I get the
0:20.8
0:29.8
privilege of being the host of Scaling UP! h2o and folks I want to thank each
0:29.8
0:35.8
and every one of you out there because
we have so many members of the Scaling UP!
0:35.8
0:39.9
nation and we’re getting stronger
every day and we’re doing that because
0:39.9
0:46.9
you are out there telling other people
about the Scaling UP! h2o podcast I can
0:46.9
0:52.9
see that in our metrics and I want to
thank you I also want to thank all of
0:52.9
1:00.6
the organizations out there that want to
start educating the Scaling UP! nation
1:00.6
1:07.8
about their organizations I have had
many organizations contact me and asked
1:07.8
1:15.2
me if I would bring Scaling UP! h2o to
them so they can talk to you the Scaling UP!
1:15.2
1:21.5
nation about what their organization
does as you are listening to this show I
1:21.5
1:28.5
am recording people at the international
water conference in Orlando Florida and
1:28.5
1:34.6
I am doing that because they reached out
to the Scaling UP! h2o podcast and said
1:34.6
1:43.0
we want to let the Scaling UP! nation
know what the IWC is all about so folks
1:43.0
1:49.0
while I am diligently recording all of
these episodes you will be hearing them
1:49.0
1:55.7
in a couple of months and you will see
what it is like to go to an IWC an
1:55.7
2:00.4
international water conference
convention well last week we talked a
2:00.4
2:06.7
little about goal-setting and I was
really surprised at some of the mail
2:06.7
2:12.1
that I received where people were saying
thank you for reminding me that I
2:12.1
2:17.6
created a goal this year and
really haven’t done a lot to work on it
2:17.6
2:23.7
and I gave you some tips last week that
even if you haven’t started working on
2:23.7
2:30.0
it figure out what are the things that
are getting in your way that are making
2:30.0
2:36.4
it so you cannot start to work on your
goal if you can address those in the
2:36.4
2:43.3
next two months you can then start next
year with a running head start and get
2:43.3
2:50.3
something done get what you said
mattered most to you accomplished within
2:50.3
2:56.7
the confines in which life allows you to
do things and folks don’t get upset if
2:56.7
3:01.6
you did not well maybe you should get
upset if you did not do the planning
3:01.6
3:07.2
that you needed to do in order to
accomplish whatever goal that it was
3:07.2
3:13.4
that’s where you failed you have to
incorporate those in your plans for
3:13.4
3:18.8
example if this huge life-changing
experience happened to you this year and
3:18.8
3:24.5
because of that you weren’t able to get
a professional designation well folks
3:24.5
3:30.9
that’s the issue we have to address how
we’re going to work with that life
3:30.9
3:37.4
changing experience and then when we can
figure that out we can get that goal
3:37.4
3:43.5
done so make sure you’re realistic about
the action items that you need to take
3:43.5
3:49.7
start working on that and I promise next
year you’ll be able to accomplish that
3:49.7
3:57.2
well today’s guest is Eric Russo CWT now
Eric’s going to talk about a bunch of
3:57.2
4:03.2
things with us Eric’s an amazing
gentleman I met him two years ago at the
4:03.2
4:07.9
association of water technologies
conference in Orlando Florida and he
4:07.9
4:14.3
came up to me and he said I absolutely
love Scaling UP! h2o and we had a great
4:14.3
4:20.6
conversation he had some great content
ideas for me and we just had a great
4:20.6
4:27.6
conversation so with that I asked him to
come on Scaling UP! h2o annex
4:27.6
4:34.3
what it’s like to be Erik Russo my lab
partner today is certified water
4:34.3
4:38.5
technologist Erik Russo of Dubois
chemical how are you Eric
4:38.5
4:42.4
I’m doing great today tres Elbert
yourself I am doing great I want to
4:42.4
4:46.2
thank you for coming on Scaling UP! and
you and I just recently met we were at
4:46.2
4:51.3
the AWT convention and Expo and I got
the honor of shaking your hand as you
4:51.3
4:55.2
accepted your certified water
technologist certificate and came off
4:55.2
5:00.1
stage there and you got one of those
t-shirts that everybody wants I did I
5:00.1
5:04.9
did and I’m excited to have it and the
honor is all mine tres I’ve been a huge
5:04.9
5:08.9
fan since you’ve started the podcast and
I was really excited to meet you I think
5:08.9
5:12.8
the first thing I asked you was can you
draw me the picture of the phosphate
5:12.8
5:17.1
breakdown I heard about it on the
podcast and we did that didn’t we didn’t
5:17.1
5:21.4
we do that on the side thing we did and
I think if I go through my AWT notes I
5:21.4
5:26.3
could probably find that cocktail napkin
that you wrote it on well that’s awesome
5:26.3
5:30.1
and I appreciate you listening to the
show and since you’ve listened to every
5:30.1
5:35.3
episode any advice for me you’re doing a
great job I love the short format with
5:35.3
5:40.3
the the pinks and blues and I think
gaining the input from the audiences is
5:40.3
5:44.6
awesome especially going to a weekly
format that’s great if you could do
5:44.6
5:48.1
daily that would be the best advice I
have because I’m on the road every day I
5:48.1
5:51.9
got to tell you that you’re not the
first person that has told me that and
5:51.9
5:56.4
for podcasts to really get traction with
an audience they recommend that you do
5:56.4
6:01.8
daily and unfortunately and I’m sure you
probably know this the podcast doesn’t
6:01.8
6:07.2
pay that well so I have to keep my day
job so probably weeklies the most I’m
6:07.2
6:10.7
gonna be able to do for a while I guess
we can live with that for now
6:10.7
6:15.8
I’m sure to move to another format to
evolve ads popping up on the phone and
6:15.8
6:20.2
all that good stuff but I do appreciate
the advice and if somebody does have
6:20.2
6:25.3
some advice as you know I am always all
ears so do you mind telling the Scaling UP!
6:25.3
6:30.6
nation a little bit about Erik Russo
absolutely not I live here in the
6:30.6
6:36.3
Greater Boston area and I actually went
to school just a button hour north at
6:36.3
6:41.3
universe in New Hampshire for my
chemical engineering degree I graduated
6:41.3
6:45.1
from
there in 2012 and like most traditional
6:45.1
6:50.7
chemical engineers I went and worked at
a large manufacturing plant as a company
6:50.7
6:56.3
called Clarion they had a manufacturing
site just outside of Boston and Newton
6:56.3
7:02.9
and I worked there as a customer test
engineer testing out catalyst elements
7:02.9
7:07.7
are you familiar with a catalytic
converter in your car Trace I am I am
7:07.7
7:12.1
but please tell the Scaling UP! nation
more well essentially what this is is a
7:12.1
7:19.0
honeycomb or metal substrate coated with
a precious metal and what that precious
7:19.0
7:24.6
metal does is this is being used in
industrial air purification applications
7:24.6
7:28.7
where they’re trying to eliminate or
reduce a contaminate in the exhaust
7:28.7
7:35.0
stream in the precious metal actually
allows a chemical reaction to occur at a
7:35.0
7:40.0
lower temperature so we’re using using
less energy to get the desired result
7:40.0
7:46.1
and we would manufacture these elements
and my role was to do activity testing
7:46.1
7:50.8
on all the samples that we have in the
field to ensure they’re performing as
7:50.8
7:55.7
designed and if they weren’t performing
as designed we would offer what’s called
7:55.7
8:00.5
a rejuvenation process where the
customer sends in all of their catalytic
8:00.5
8:06.0
elements from a big exhaust system from
maybe a stationary engine power plant or
8:06.0
8:12.7
industrial manufacturing site and what
we would do is we would rinse them in an
8:12.7
8:18.3
acid solution in a caustic solution and
then we would throw them an oven to
8:18.3
8:22.9
essentially get the activity back to
that the catalyst element themselves and
8:22.9
8:28.5
that was my first introduction to
wastewater because I was charged with
8:28.5
8:33.1
cleaning up that water before it got
discharged to the city municipality I
8:33.1
8:37.5
can’t tell you how interesting that is
my experience with catalytic converters
8:37.5
8:40.4
is they’re very expensive when they fail
and you need a new one
8:40.4
8:45.8
they are extremely extremely expensive
but the interesting part was when I’m
8:45.8
8:50.6
working with these customers you can
offset the upfront cost of adding these
8:50.6
8:55.2
elements by doing essentially a cost of
ownership now
8:55.2
9:00.5
is on them and you can help save the
customer themselves on their utility so
9:00.5
9:06.0
they’re using less fuel to maybe run at
higher temperatures where if you didn’t
9:06.0
9:10.6
have a catalytic component you would
have to run to get this desired reaction
9:10.6
9:15.6
so it was really my introduction Doug to
help saving manufacturing sites on their
9:15.6
9:20.4
utilities helping them ensure they’re
running as efficiently as possible well
9:20.4
9:25.0
I’m so curious now how do you go from
that to becoming a water treat you know
9:25.0
9:30.1
I couldn’t even tell you how I would go
about mapping out this career path
9:30.1
9:35.9
because I had no idea that this industry
of water treatment existed and while I
9:35.9
9:41.7
was doing the customer test engineer
role at Clarion I also had a whole bunch
9:41.7
9:46.0
of school loans behind me because being
the first person to go to college in my
9:46.0
9:50.2
family everyone was incredibly
supportive say go get him we’re here for
9:50.2
9:54.3
you they didn’t tell me not to go out of
state and the school loans that were
9:54.3
9:58.2
gonna come with it with going to school
for four years out of state so I was
9:58.2
10:03.0
actually doing real estate on nights and
weekends because it really just
10:03.0
10:07.4
scratched a niche of mine of going out
building relationships developing
10:07.4
10:12.4
marketing plans I guess you kind of
categorize that as the the sales aspect
10:12.4
10:16.8
of it that most traditional Chemical
Engineering jobs they really don’t offer
10:16.8
10:20.5
and that was really what I was
passionate about was developing
10:20.5
10:24.9
relationships of people understanding a
process such as buying a home I knew I
10:24.9
10:29.3
would at least buy one at one day and
then helping these I’m I guess my
10:29.3
10:35.4
clients at the time get through that
process and one day about two years into
10:35.4
10:39.6
my my job running myself ragged working
nights and weekends and then my
10:39.6
10:44.5
full-time job I got a call from a
recruiter and they started explaining
10:44.5
10:50.1
this dream position to me where I have
experience in wastewater treatment which
10:50.1
10:54.7
I didn’t even realize there was huge
market for which I was incredibly wrong
10:54.7
10:59.6
and I would actually get this
opportunity to combine my my foundations
10:59.6
11:04.8
and chemical engineering and my passion
for growing building relationships and
11:04.8
11:08.7
helping solving people’s problems that
sounds amazing
11:08.7
11:13.1
so were you looking for a job did they
just call you right out of the blue they
11:13.1
11:16.8
did they called me right out of the blue
and I’m incredibly thankful for that
11:16.8
11:20.8
every day but there’s a catch to this I
went through I went through the whole
11:20.8
11:25.5
recruitment process I had three rounds
of interviews I won’t say who the
11:25.5
11:30.5
company was with because it is a is a
big competitor and I had a waiting
11:30.5
11:34.9
period about two weeks where they said
we have to pause because we have a
11:34.9
11:40.4
career star program where reps who are
new and already in the program get the
11:40.4
11:44.8
opportunity to relocate to wherever
they’d like so if no reps take this
11:44.8
11:49.9
position you are going to be the
successful candidate so about a week
11:49.9
11:52.5
later I got a phone call that that
position was backfilled
11:52.5
11:57.8
and we’re sorry your dream job no longer
exists but we’ll be sure to reach out to
11:57.8
12:02.2
you and and I’m sitting there going I
didn’t even know this industry existed
12:02.2
12:06.6
it just sounds so right it combines
everything that I’ve gone to school for
12:06.6
12:11.7
everything that I want to do I need to
start looking around and seeing if
12:11.7
12:16.0
there’s other positions open and I was
lucky enough to get an interview with
12:16.0
12:21.3
Dubois chemicals and it’s been history
ever since that’s fantastic you know a
12:21.3
12:26.8
lot of people are either born into this
industry like I was or they have so many
12:26.8
12:30.5
different ways that they found it and
yours just happened to come from a phone
12:30.5
12:36.1
call exactly yes I wasn’t even looking
and uh you know I think back and thank
12:36.1
12:39.5
God I did get out of there because like
a lot of manufacturing in the Northeast
12:39.5
12:43.6
that plant actually closed up and
relocated down to Charlotte North
12:43.6
12:49.7
Carolina within maybe three or three or
four months just after I left so it was
12:49.7
12:54.7
a good time to go so Eric you describe
it as your dream job now you’ve been
12:54.7
12:59.5
doing it for several years is it yes
absolutely after spending almost five
12:59.5
13:04.9
years in this industry I can tell you
that it absolutely is still my dream job
13:04.9
13:09.4
or I should say dream career because
everyone’s positions will change as they
13:09.4
13:15.3
develop and keep moving along but I can
say this does scratch every itch that I
13:15.3
13:20.1
I’m passionate interested in curious
about well that is awesome that you
13:20.1
13:22.3
found water treatment because you and I
had great
13:22.3
13:27.0
conversations a few times at the
Association Water Technologies Expo and
13:27.0
13:32.3
it’s very apparent that you enjoy you
love what you are doing so I’m so glad
13:32.3
13:36.1
you found the water treatment industry
we need more people like you in the
13:36.1
13:40.4
industry well thank you Trace so and one
of the things that I was so impressed
13:40.4
13:46.9
about and how you and I met was you
obtained the highest designation that
13:46.9
13:50.7
any water treater can receive you got
your certified water technologist
13:50.7
13:56.7
designation and I know you did that with
a plan and there are a lot of people out
13:56.7
14:01.4
there that are thinking do I need to get
my CWT is it worth all the stuff all the
14:01.4
14:05.3
commitment that I have to do so I was
hoping you could speak to those people
14:05.3
14:10.1
in the Scaling UP! nation talk a little
bit about why you went after your CWT
14:10.1
14:15.9
and what was the plan that you use that
allowed you to successfully get the CWT
14:15.9
14:21.4
yes it was absolutely worth going
towards that working towards the CWT and
14:21.4
14:28.4
obtaining that designation I decided to
go for the the CWT the moment I learned
14:28.4
14:32.8
about it and it was actually introduced
to me by my boss Tom Mercer who I would
14:32.8
14:37.0
consider my mentor he is always someone
who was striving for me to do better
14:37.0
14:42.1
every day and I think that’s also kind
of a hallmark trade line of what you say
14:42.1
14:49.8
but essentially as far as my plan goes
for getting my CWT step one was as soon
14:49.8
14:55.1
as I met the qualifications for the five
years which I was able to meet slightly
14:55.1
14:59.2
early because I had my bachelor’s degree
in chemical engineering with additional
14:59.2
15:05.0
relevant work experience that I had a
four week plan laid out where I was
15:05.0
15:10.6
going to start by briefly going through
a brief overview of the different
15:10.6
15:14.8
technical manuals that are out there
read through them so I a general idea of
15:14.8
15:19.9
what was going to be incorporated into
the exam but the next step it’s going to
15:19.9
15:23.8
sound really tedious but there’s one
important point that I want to make it
15:23.8
15:28.0
took me a while to understand this is
that everyone really has to understand
15:28.0
15:34.7
how they absorb material whether they do
so by hearing it or whether they do so
15:34.7
15:37.1
by
writing it now I heard that point in a
15:37.1
15:41.0
book somewhere I couldn’t tell you which
one at this point I found out that the
15:41.0
15:46.1
best way for me to really absorb and
understand material was by writing it so
15:46.1
15:50.3
what I did and it took quite some time
was I went through each one of the
15:50.3
15:53.8
technical manuals
and I wrote what I thought were
15:53.8
15:58.6
abbreviated notes for each one of the
manuals where I really kind of digested
15:58.6
16:03.1
it down use some shorthand writing but
essentially pulled out the most
16:03.1
16:07.2
important information from each line I
have a stack of papers that’s probably
16:07.2
16:11.7
bigger than a technical manual itself
from all my notes I put together for
16:11.7
16:15.8
this but just by going through the
process of writing out each of the
16:15.8
16:20.9
important points and the facts and
organizing the information in a way
16:20.9
16:25.3
that’s logical to me to help me
understand it was really my first step
16:25.3
16:30.6
in digging in deeper into the different
material that’s out there and then off
16:30.6
16:34.8
of the notes once I went through all of
those manuals I then run out of
16:34.8
16:40.0
flashcards so by going through that
process I had two opportunities to write
16:40.0
16:45.1
out that information so that helped me
familiarize myself with it and actually
16:45.1
16:48.8
just help everything stick and then
after I have those those no cards
16:48.8
16:53.4
written out that’s when the laborious
part comes through where I’m actually
16:53.4
16:58.1
memorizing all of those note cards each
step of the way and those note cards are
16:58.1
17:02.3
based off my notes off the technical
manuals and the study guides and in
17:02.3
17:06.7
practice exams that are out there now
how did you know it was the right time
17:06.7
17:11.0
for you to take the examination well I
took your advice and I scheduled the
17:11.0
17:14.9
date so I didn’t have a choice whether
it was the right time or not that’s how
17:14.9
17:20.7
to do it now let me ask so did that help
you keep on task because you knew you
17:20.7
17:24.2
couldn’t push that back you already had
a commitment you told people about it
17:24.2
17:28.1
you paid for it and you need to make
sure that you did everything you needed
17:28.1
17:33.7
to do within those four weeks in order
to pass that examination absolutely it
17:33.7
17:39.1
helped me prioritize what was most
important that I had to get done and it
17:39.1
17:43.2
helped me stay on track each day when
maybe an email might come through or
17:43.2
17:46.9
there may be a phone call that I could
hop on that may not be the most
17:46.9
17:51.2
important thing I have to do that day
it helped me kind of eliminate the noise
17:51.2
17:56.7
and stay focused and having a set time
line for sure did you go to any of the
17:56.7
18:02.9
AWT technical trainings I did I did take
a drink from that firehose and that’s a
18:02.9
18:07.5
great way to look at it you know I
mentioned my mentor Tom Mercer earlier
18:07.5
18:13.9
in and she is unbelievable he’s been in
the industry over thirty five years he
18:13.9
18:18.3
is incredible resource for me and I
could bunk just about any question I
18:18.3
18:22.5
have off of him it needn’t get a good
answer but he absorbs all the
18:22.5
18:27.0
information that he might not already
have and have stored away by hearing
18:27.0
18:32.0
everything he remembers at once you tell
him once now he went to the technical
18:32.0
18:35.6
training and he took the exam right
after and passed with flying colors told
18:35.6
18:40.3
me no problem this wasn’t too bad you’ll
be able to finish it up and I kind of
18:40.3
18:44.6
had a remind him I I hadn’t been in the
industry for 35 years yet when I would
18:44.6
18:49.3
the technical training it was a great
opportunity to get exposed to the
18:49.3
18:55.2
material but I in no way could actually
absorb all of that information in that
18:55.2
18:59.7
manner because that’s just me I know I
have to write things out and if I tried
18:59.7
19:03.0
to do that I’d probably have carpal
tunnels at the end of the third day I
19:03.0
19:09.6
think one of the best things that AWT
did was not offer the CWT right after
19:09.6
19:13.0
that training I think it puts a
tremendous amount of pressure on people
19:13.0
19:19.7
to do that and the test center and their
program is just so much easier to
19:19.7
19:24.0
navigate and I’ve said on the show
before and Angela confirmed it that I
19:24.0
19:28.6
was pretty sure that people would put
number Ten’s answer and number nines box
19:28.6
19:33.5
and then when they get to answer 200
they’re really at 199 oops where did I
19:33.5
19:38.8
make that mistake that just cannot
happen on the computer-based test so I’m
19:38.8
19:43.0
curious which one did you take I did
take the computer-based test and I did
19:43.0
19:47.7
this at a Pearson VUE testing center
close by to me so if you don’t mind
19:47.7
19:52.5
describe for the Scaling UP! nation what
it was like to go to that testing center
19:52.5
19:58.8
what the format was like are there any
tips on how to read the the screen or
19:58.8
20:03.1
how the screen is formatted
yeah it I would say first and foremost
20:03.1
20:07.2
make sure you get there early it may not
be a gym pack session that day but
20:07.2
20:12.0
that’s just a great tip and in general I
think I was there probably an hour early
20:12.0
20:16.2
with a short stack and no cards the ones
that I wanted to brush up on and the
20:16.2
20:21.7
process itself was completely painless
you go in you sign in think you need
20:21.7
20:26.7
your driver’s license with you that day
and essentially you go into a what I’m
20:26.7
20:31.0
describing is a fish tank you go in
there’s glass walls there’s cameras
20:31.0
20:34.9
looking around to make sure everyone’s
staying on track and you log into your
20:34.9
20:39.1
computer and as you mentioned before
using the computer to go through the
20:39.1
20:43.7
exam was incredibly helpful because it
gives you options that maybe mark off a
20:43.7
20:48.0
particular question that you maybe want
to go back to or a question that you
20:48.0
20:52.1
weren’t exactly a hundred percent
correct on and you can easily navigate
20:52.1
20:57.1
to what is the kind of the equations
page or the reference page that you have
20:57.1
21:01.8
for an additional resource right while
taking the exam and having the timer’s
21:01.8
21:07.1
write up was really helpful as well to
keep me on track I did take the entire
21:07.1
21:12.5
time allotted for the exam but I would
say the Pearson VUE testing center was
21:12.5
21:17.8
fantastic it’s easy to go through and I
remember I walked in there that day
21:17.8
21:22.8
there was no one else in the room and
that actually kind of helped me not get
21:22.8
21:27.9
distracted and being able to go through
and go through the exam I actually kind
21:27.9
21:30.9
of have a funny story I hope it on
itself shoot myself in the foot on this
21:30.9
21:35.2
one but you know after going through the
whole exam and I think they they asked
21:35.2
21:39.3
me am I sure and I was like what kind of
question is that I’m already struggling
21:39.3
21:44.7
yes it is I and I selected the the are
you sure and I’m it pauses for a moment
21:44.7
21:49.9
in well that pause was going on which
kind of felt like I don’t know at least
21:49.9
21:55.2
a decade I was a little anxious you know
I spent a lot of time preparing for this
21:55.2
22:00.6
exam I just spent several hours going
through each and every question and
22:00.6
22:05.9
apparently I was swinging my feet a
little bit or kind of fidgeting and what
22:05.9
22:11.1
I did was I accidentally disconnected
the cable to the monitor in the screen
22:11.1
22:17.1
went black
and I have never my heart sunk into my
22:17.1
22:21.2
chest that I got sick to my stomach I
looked around the room and in my job I’m
22:21.2
22:25.2
in this fishbowl I know there’s cameras
people can see me and I I have my hands
22:25.2
22:29.5
up and they’re going what just happened
please don’t tell me all that time was a
22:29.5
22:34.7
waste and this whole exam I have to now
retake over I just can’t do it I’m gonna
22:34.7
22:38.3
have to reschedule for another day
luckily because we’re at the Pearson VUE
22:38.3
22:42.8
testing center they’re continuously
saving each one of your answers and come
22:42.8
22:46.8
to find out I only disconnected the
screen it wasn’t actually the modem or
22:46.8
22:50.8
anything doing all the thinking and he
the gentleman came right in and helped
22:50.8
22:56.5
me right away plugged it in and in come
to find out I passed the exam that’s a
22:56.5
23:01.0
fantastic story I can’t imagine what you
were thinking about when that happened
23:01.0
23:06.8
talk about a cliffhanger it was all
horrible it was horrible and devastating
23:06.8
23:12.5
I lost all skin complexion I don’t want
to relive that moment well I know the
23:12.5
23:16.6
Scaling UP! nation appreciates that story
stuff like that hopefully won’t happen
23:16.6
23:21.6
to anybody else but wow I can’t imagine
what you went through and now that
23:21.6
23:26.7
you’ve got your CWT what’s it done for
you well the most important piece of
23:26.7
23:33.5
this I mean to kind of factor in his I’m
28 now when I got my CWT I was 26 years
23:33.5
23:37.7
old I’m a younger guy in the industry
like a lot of the young professionals
23:37.7
23:41.9
out there and I don’t exactly look like
I’m 10 years older than I am
23:41.9
23:50.8
I’d say I have a baby face so going into
new customers having the CWT from AWT is
23:50.8
23:56.6
a great way to build credibility with
the customer and it also helped me
23:56.6
24:01.0
internally to help build my confidence
because when you’re going to maybe a
24:01.0
24:04.7
customer site that’s having some issues
whether you already have the business or
24:04.7
24:10.7
not when they see a 26 year old kid or
the 25 year old kid or even 22
24:10.7
24:15.2
ah because I know that’s the youngest
walk in there sometimes these guys
24:15.2
24:20.1
scratch their head and say huh how is
this guy gonna really solve my problem
24:20.1
24:25.5
and being able to inform them of the CWT
and that I had that designation was
24:25.5
24:29.7
incredibly helpful and
it helps build my confidence because I
24:29.7
24:34.0
want to convey that to the customer and
not a false sensor and overbearing sense
24:34.0
24:39.5
of confidence but just knowing that I’m
familiar with water treatment I’m
24:39.5
24:43.3
familiar with any of the issues that
they could be out there and if I’m not I
24:43.3
24:47.9
can at least leverage the resources that
are available to me to help solve your
24:47.9
24:52.5
problem that’s a great use of the CW t
so let’s roleplay a little bit I’m now
24:52.5
24:57.5
that customer and I’m a little skeptical
because my last water treater he had
24:57.5
25:01.2
more gray hair or maybe didn’t have any
hair because he’s been in the industry
25:01.2
25:07.4
for 35 years and now you come in and you
find legitimate reasons why you should
25:07.4
25:12.1
be doing the water treatment rather than
the other guy but now I’m skeptical
25:12.1
25:16.1
because you’re younger than the other
guy what would you say well what I would
25:16.1
25:22.0
say is Trace are you familiar with the
CW T and I’m sure he’d probably say no
25:22.0
25:26.0
and then we go through the motions of
saying well this is a certified water
25:26.0
25:32.6
technologist designation that requires a
rigorous exam five years experience or
25:32.6
25:37.5
equivalent and it proved as a
designation set aside for the top water
25:37.5
25:42.1
treaters in the industry
it’s administered by a WT the
25:42.1
25:46.7
association of water technologies that
is nationally recognized as the number
25:46.7
25:52.9
one Association in our industry in
having gotten that CWT designation I can
25:52.9
25:57.5
prove to you from a third party that I
am capable of solving your problems I
25:57.5
26:02.4
think that’s awesome and now you’ve
taken some doubt away from that
26:02.4
26:06.7
individual and it’s not just you saying
you know what you’re doing you’ve
26:06.7
26:09.9
referenced that third party and they can
they can look it up if they want to I
26:09.9
26:16.2
love that absolutely yeah it was it is
great to have that CWT and to be honest
26:16.2
26:19.8
with you when I first got into the
industry I think the first thing my boss
26:19.8
26:25.2
said was does your father have gray hair
oh no no he didn’t go gray until maybe
26:25.2
26:30.0
he’s probably 45 or 50 or so he goes off
I was hoping maybe you were gonna get a
26:30.0
26:33.3
little salt and pepper on top at an
early age and that would help build some
26:33.3
26:38.8
credibility and he was joking of course
but the in the industry there are a lot
26:38.8
26:41.8
of people have
here for a long time because it’s such a
26:41.8
26:47.7
great industry and sometimes customers
can be a little skeptical when their
26:47.7
26:53.7
last guy was a seasoned veteran and
here’s some new guy coming in I hear ya
26:53.7
26:58.5
I had that happen to me as well I was
too young in other people’s eyes that’s
26:58.5
27:01.6
a good thing and eventually you’re not I
can tell you that as well
27:01.6
27:06.5
but when I was considered for a WT
president that was one of the issues
27:06.5
27:11.0
that people had I was the youngest AWT
president at that time and one of my
27:11.0
27:16.6
friends jokingly gave me a can of hair
white spray paint stuff to spray in my
27:16.6
27:20.9
hair so I know that was funny I it was
even funnier that I used it and went to
27:20.9
27:24.8
go talk to people that had issues with
my age but we won’t get into that that’s
27:24.8
27:33.7
great so what’s the next milestone that
you’re going after well I just completed
27:33.7
27:40.2
a long standing milestone in my career
and that was last November I completed
27:40.2
27:45.7
my MBA in marketing so you just got your
CWT and now you just got your MBA that’s
27:45.7
27:51.2
fantastic yes thank you Trace and I’m
really taking a moment now to kind of
27:51.2
27:57.6
sit back digest the information and see
where I’d like to see my career go next
27:57.6
28:03.0
the MBA actually took right around three
years just actually probably about two
28:03.0
28:07.8
and a half or so I had a few semesters
that I took off because my wife and I
28:07.8
28:12.9
got married and we actually purchased
the house so as you can imagine the the
28:12.9
28:17.3
stress associated with planning a
wedding or I should mention the house
28:17.3
28:21.3
was definitely a fixer-upper and we did
a lot of the work ourselves I did take a
28:21.3
28:26.5
few semesters off so at this point I’m
trying to figure out which way I should
28:26.5
28:31.3
go in in my career but one really
helpful project I’ve been involved with
28:31.3
28:35.7
lately is I’ve been a part of the CRM
implementation team that that’s giving
28:35.7
28:40.2
me the opportunity to apply a lot of the
lessons I’ve learned a lot of the
28:40.2
28:45.8
material that I went through and getting
my MBA and after going through this
28:45.8
28:49.2
process which bride should take about
two or three more months until the
28:49.2
28:53.1
system is live and rolled out for the
whole organization
28:53.1
28:58.0
I think I’ll have a better idea where my
next steps may be but for this quarters
28:58.0
29:02.8
goal it’s definitely going to be CRM
implementation or I should say a
29:02.8
29:07.2
successful implementation of the CRM
program that we are working to design
29:07.2
29:12.3
Eric for those listening that don’t know
what a customer resource management tool
29:12.3
29:16.9
is do you mind explaining a little bit
about what a CRM does absolutely so
29:16.9
29:23.6
essentially this is one location in in
simple terms to to manage all of your
29:23.6
29:29.1
customer relationships in all of the
associated documentation information
29:29.1
29:35.4
application info order order info and
all the dialogue that you guys have back
29:35.4
29:40.6
and forth in one one location it’s a
central resource that’s going to be
29:40.6
29:45.4
accessible by all people throughout the
organization and what it does is
29:45.4
29:50.0
essentially help you understand your
customer better manage that relationship
29:50.0
29:56.3
that are and gather some insights from
what it is they need in how you can do a
29:56.3
30:00.4
better job helping them I know there are
people listening right now and they’re
30:00.4
30:05.5
thinking okay if I ran a call center or
we were doing some direct marketing that
30:05.5
30:10.2
would definitely make sense why company
like that would use a CRM but why is it
30:10.2
30:13.9
important in a water treatment company
to have a tool like that you know
30:13.9
30:18.8
uniquely the water treatment industry is
really interesting because you have such
30:18.8
30:24.6
a large field staff where they’re often
located in different areas if you’re in
30:24.6
30:29.6
a regional company you may have the
luxury of going to an office or easily
30:29.6
30:32.9
being able to set up a meeting and get
everyone in the field at one location
30:32.9
30:38.7
but for some large organizations as well
where they may be nationwide you have
30:38.7
30:43.7
the ability to gather all that
information access all the information
30:43.7
30:49.7
from the field and what’s going on
recently and have it one location so for
30:49.7
30:54.3
example when you’re going through
processes in your organization that may
30:54.3
30:59.3
cross over different functions such as
accounting or customer service or
30:59.3
31:04.6
Finance they’re able to access all the
information you have most importantly it
31:04.6
31:06.9
for us it would come across in customers
so
31:06.9
31:10.9
is because without the sales rep maybe
calling up someone who may be having a
31:10.9
31:16.2
billing issue or you have to process an
order differently the customer service
31:16.2
31:20.0
rep can just click on the account and
see everything that’s been happening for
31:20.0
31:25.9
that account over a given period of time
and it helps a facilitative
31:25.9
31:29.8
communication throughout the
organization so do you have to have an
31:29.8
31:37.1
MBA in order to set up a successful CRM
program absolutely I would say to set up
31:37.1
31:42.6
a CRM program all you really need is
generally a common understanding of how
31:42.6
31:47.2
you deliver value to your customer in
the processes associated with that and
31:47.2
31:53.2
then it’s an incredibly user-friendly
software or most of them are I’m
31:53.2
31:57.3
generally speaking not with any
particular software and then you can
31:57.3
32:03.2
tailor it to your individual business
needs what are some of the things that a
32:03.2
32:07.8
water-treatment owner needs to consider
if they’re saying you know what this
32:07.8
32:11.8
sounds like exactly what I need
everybody can communicate with each
32:11.8
32:15.7
other because everything’s stored in one
place but I don’t know how to get
32:15.7
32:20.9
started what should they do well the
first step anytime you’re trying to make
32:20.9
32:27.2
a change in your organization especially
something as robust as a CRM program
32:27.2
32:31.3
that’s going to be involved in every
facet of your organization is making
32:31.3
32:36.7
sure you have a culture that is going to
accept change and ensure that this
32:36.7
32:40.6
software that you’re gonna spend all
this time and money developing and
32:40.6
32:44.3
putting together and tailor and do your
specific needs is actually going to be
32:44.3
32:50.2
adopted a lot of times organizations try
to implement changes they don’t clearly
32:50.2
32:55.1
convey the value that this change could
have or they don’t set up a culture
32:55.1
33:00.6
that’s necessarily willing to change
what are some lessons learned from you
33:00.6
33:05.7
implementing a CRM program so maybe
another way to put that is what advice
33:05.7
33:09.9
can you give somebody on some of the
trials and tribulations that you’ve
33:09.9
33:14.9
already lived through the best advice I
can give is making sure you don’t
33:14.9
33:20.8
underestimate the time required to make
sure this system or software
33:20.8
33:26.8
is tailored to your specific business
and how you guys operate because this
33:26.8
33:32.8
software is offered and out of the
bottom out of the box format and it
33:32.8
33:37.9
doesn’t typically match exactly what you
guys do it’s capable of doing so but
33:37.9
33:42.8
when you start introducing a new
software and there’s all a whole new
33:42.8
33:47.2
language that it’s using and they’re
calling customers accounts and they’re
33:47.2
33:52.1
calling contacts different different
names you have to make sure that you
33:52.1
33:57.8
tailor it and invest the time upfront to
be able to for it to add value to your
33:57.8
34:01.3
business
definitely great advice now I’m curious
34:01.3
34:06.4
I’m a huge numbers guy I’m a huge
metrics guy so you’re an MBA you’re a
34:06.4
34:11.0
Water Treaty you’re out there doing
service what are some metrics that we
34:11.0
34:15.9
can attach to the service process so as
far as the service process is concerned
34:15.9
34:20.5
it’s really important to understand the
frequency that each customer is going to
34:20.5
34:25.3
receive a regular service visit and it’s
also important to understand the time it
34:25.3
34:30.7
takes to complete the service visit
itself on average per se from a service
34:30.7
34:34.5
standpoint and you probably have a fancy
name for that like TTS time to service
34:34.5
34:41.0
exactly how’d you know
of course yes you can you can have that
34:41.0
34:46.0
tied into the system and be able to
track and it really helps the plan for
34:46.0
34:50.8
individual reps if you’re a service
technician or like most of us who wear
34:50.8
34:55.0
multiple hats one day we’re a service
technician other days we’re more of a
34:55.0
34:59.8
sales role and of course we’re always
wearing our detective hat so now that
34:59.8
35:04.1
you have tracked some of these numbers
what have you seen what have you been
35:04.1
35:08.0
able to achieve because you’re looking
at things now well what we’re able to do
35:08.0
35:12.7
is identify or gain some really deep
insights within our business on
35:12.7
35:17.6
opportunities for improvement and
opportunities to improve our efficiency
35:17.6
35:23.2
as far as a metric standpoint go and I
almost want to take a step back as well
35:23.2
35:30.4
because generally when you begin the
process of adapting the software you
35:30.4
35:36.3
really go deep into the weeds of what
business processes look like because
35:36.3
35:41.3
you’re trying to map out the workflows
and let’s say you’re submitting a new
35:41.3
35:45.8
contract well who has to approve that
contract okay what are the what criteria
35:45.8
35:50.7
are they looking at for this contract is
it profitable are we losing money did
35:50.7
35:55.9
they factor in enough time for service
and the first step is is really
35:55.9
36:00.1
understanding your business processes
and understanding if you’re you’re
36:00.1
36:06.6
running those processes as effective as
possible so the exercise of beginning to
36:06.6
36:13.5
design the CRM really helps in itself
improve your business function the other
36:13.5
36:17.7
question that I’m sure people listening
to this program or thinking especially
36:17.7
36:22.6
if they’re working for somebody else oh
this is just something else that I have
36:22.6
36:28.4
to fill out this is gonna take more time
than it’s worth on the job and I know
36:28.4
36:33.2
you don’t feel that way but for those
that do what do you say to them the most
36:33.2
36:38.3
important piece to kind of overcoming
that adversity is really ensuring that
36:38.3
36:43.7
you communicate the benefits associated
with using this software it’s really
36:43.7
36:48.7
easy for someone to roll out the
software and not openly explain to the
36:48.7
36:51.9
different individuals involved that are
gonna be spending a good portion of
36:51.9
36:56.3
their already busy days oh now we’re
adding more metrics now we’re adding
36:56.3
37:00.8
more numbers but the first step is what
are we replacing what were we doing
37:00.8
37:04.1
before
where we even tracking these if we were
37:04.1
37:09.6
what system were using and how is this
information being logged when you can
37:09.6
37:14.1
tie in all the information we’re getting
from the field from customer service
37:14.1
37:20.0
from historical ordering invoices and
things of that nature when you can tie
37:20.0
37:26.0
it into one centralized system it really
has the ability to save everyone a lot
37:26.0
37:30.6
of time in the long run and help them be
more effective and efficient at how they
37:30.6
37:35.0
deliver value to the customer I’m
curious because I know you have one of
37:35.0
37:39.5
these you’ve got a dashboard that all
these metrics feed up into what are you
37:39.5
37:43.8
looking at on a regular basis to make
sure that the part of the company that
37:43.8
37:47.6
you’re concerned about is doing a good
job you can pick whichever part of the
37:47.6
37:53.8
you want to I mean I think the easy one
to go after is sales and sales revenue
37:53.8
37:59.4
is one metric that we we track and I’m
sure a lot of other companies do as well
37:59.4
38:04.6
if they like to stay in business as well
as gross margins and it’s helpful to
38:04.6
38:09.6
understand from a performance and
valuation standpoint if you have sales
38:09.6
38:14.9
reps in the field that have a target
that they’re looking to hit from a sales
38:14.9
38:20.2
manager standpoint they’re able to track
their performance over time and then dig
38:20.2
38:25.2
in as deep as they want to be able to
further evaluate how they’re doing where
38:25.2
38:29.4
they could use some improvement and
digging deeper to understand oh well
38:29.4
38:34.2
there was a blip on the radar here was
that a trend or is that just a one-off
38:34.2
38:39.2
situation okay let me look in a little
deeper and you can see exactly what was
38:39.2
38:44.1
going on with what customers were
product lines and quickly adjust over
38:44.1
38:49.2
any given period of time a lot of people
out there probably think they’re doing
38:49.2
38:53.5
that but they’re looking at lagging
metrics so how many sales were actually
38:53.5
38:58.0
closed and there’s so much that we can
do especially as a sales manager to help
38:58.0
39:03.5
people get better more productive if
they start using some leading metrics
39:03.5
39:09.0
what are some of the ones that you could
recommend they do with that so from a
39:09.0
39:12.8
leading metric standpoint I mean from
what I understand and correct me if I’m
39:12.8
39:18.5
wrong it’s more so involved in the
pipeline what type of activities are we
39:18.5
39:24.8
looking to track that we believe are
going to result with our closed sales or
39:24.8
39:30.0
our additional revenue that we’re
looking for so the CRM does a great job
39:30.0
39:34.7
at managing the pipeline and the
specific CRM that we’ve been working on
39:34.7
39:42.7
is Microsoft Dynamics so it’s a part of
the office 365 platform and the most
39:42.7
39:47.1
helpful part or the biggest advantage
I’ve seen through this is that it’s
39:47.1
39:52.7
fully integrates with Microsoft Outlook
so what I mean by that is you can
39:52.7
39:58.4
actually start logging notes setting
reminders associated with a specific
39:58.4
40:03.8
account or maybe a specific order
all through your email client and in
40:03.8
40:08.2
doing so you really don’t even have to
open up the dynamics window itself but
40:08.2
40:15.0
the metrics that we typically try to
look at is the time it takes for each
40:15.0
40:22.0
stage in the pipeline for a sales rep to
convert or disqualify a prospect or lead
40:22.0
40:24.9
yeah I love that we’re having this
conversation
40:24.9
40:28.1
you know normally on Scaling UP! we’re
talking about water treatment but you
40:28.1
40:33.9
have your MBA so it’s allowed us to take
your perspective and look at areas of
40:33.9
40:39.7
the water treatment business and kind of
have us ask ourselves what can we do on
40:39.7
40:42.9
our day to day to make things better and
then how do we track that now you
40:42.9
40:47.2
mentioned Microsoft Dynamics CRM we use
that here Blackmore enterprises I’ve
40:47.2
40:51.5
also heard of people using salesforce
there’s about probably twelve others out
40:51.5
40:55.9
there that I can’t think of right now
but pick one that you’re familiar with
40:55.9
40:59.5
if definitely you’re using other
platforms like Outlook or Microsoft
40:59.5
41:07.2
Office 365 that you might want something
that goes in to that system and look at
41:07.2
41:10.8
it that way and then figure out one what
you can afford and what’s going to be
41:10.8
41:15.8
most user-friendly to you and your
people absolutely I think that’s a big
41:15.8
41:19.3
part of making the selection upfront and
understand what’s going to fit your
41:19.3
41:23.2
needs ours is going to be used and what
are you looking to come out of
41:23.2
41:27.9
implementing this but I will say if you
are using the office suite and it sounds
41:27.9
41:29.9
like you have a lot of experience with
it as well
41:29.9
41:36.5
dynamics is is definitely a great
solution and the ability to to access my
41:36.5
41:42.2
accounts and orders just through outlook
isn’t incredibly helpful but from a
41:42.2
41:46.6
pipeline standpoint for a new business a
big part of what we were doing was
41:46.6
41:51.3
really developing what is our sales
process you know I mentioned before just
41:51.3
41:57.0
going through the implementation
procedures for your CRM it gives you a
41:57.0
42:00.9
chance to take a second look at all the
procedures that your company is doing
42:00.9
42:05.5
right now and how can we make this
better so when we were going through
42:05.5
42:10.8
each stage of our pipeline we wanted to
be able to understand well what does it
42:10.8
42:15.0
look like in discovery phase or what are
we looking to have done
42:15.0
42:20.0
in the proposal phase and other any
associated documents that we need to
42:20.0
42:23.9
have attached here or maybe forget the
attachment can we just create a form
42:23.9
42:28.8
that’s really easy for our reps to fill
out that will automatically get inputted
42:28.8
42:33.6
in here and those were all really
helpful conversations to have and it
42:33.6
42:38.8
really helped us what we believe is
going to do is is create a highly
42:38.8
42:45.6
effective team by being able to clearly
communicate exactly how we’re adding
42:45.6
42:51.3
value to the customer and exactly what
activities they need to go through to
42:51.3
42:56.0
you know what I hate saying the word
exactly trace because I feel like it
42:56.0
43:01.3
takes it turns people into robots
I should really focus on the ability to
43:01.3
43:05.5
help guide them through this procedure
well you know I’m thinking of my big
43:05.5
43:10.1
thing is checklist you know we like to
write procedures down so people do
43:10.1
43:14.6
things within the standard that we do
them in and that’s why people give us
43:14.6
43:18.9
business and we want to make sure people
uphold that standard but if you’ve had
43:18.9
43:23.3
this huge procedure somebody’s not going
to look at that out in the field so we
43:23.3
43:28.3
reduce that down to a checklist and
based on what you said and what I’m
43:28.3
43:32.1
getting to with that is there was a book
out there called the checklist manifesto
43:32.1
43:35.9
and I don’t remember the guys name but
he said that when you’re writing
43:35.9
43:42.0
procedures when you’re writing checklist
the goal is is that you make sure that
43:42.0
43:46.4
they don’t forget the stupid stuff so
they’re doing this high-tech you know
43:46.4
43:49.8
calibration or they’re doing this
troubleshooting but it’s that little
43:49.8
43:53.2
silly thing that they’re going to forget
and that’s what’s going to bite you in
43:53.2
43:56.0
the end
it’s absolutely correct and we need to
43:56.0
43:59.9
make sure that silly stuff is included
and when you’re looking at these
43:59.9
44:03.7
dashboards these different forms that
it’s at the top it’s out in their face
44:03.7
44:08.0
we can’t forget this one you can’t
proceed without adding this piece of
44:08.0
44:13.5
information selecting this drop-down or
or checking off this box and that’s a
44:13.5
44:19.3
really good point I mean having these
SOPs or or checklist which is more
44:19.3
44:23.9
applicable to this standpoint is
incredibly helpful in guiding the reps
44:23.9
44:28.4
moving forward on each one of their
opportunities that they’re pursuing I
44:28.4
44:31.7
know if the association of Water
Technologies is going to pick one of the
44:31.7
44:36.3
abstracts that I’ve submitted but one of
the papers that I’ve submitted for next
44:36.3
44:41.4
year’s convention is taking everybody
through the process that I use to write
44:41.4
44:46.0
those checklists so maybe you’ll hear me
talk about that at AWT maybe you won’t
44:46.0
44:49.9
we’ll have to see if they pick it or not
that’s great if they don’t pick it I
44:49.9
44:53.6
would love to have you forward off a
coffee because I don’t know if it’s
44:53.6
44:58.2
because the first few books I read in my
career where the e-myth and I think you
44:58.2
45:02.7
mentioned good to grade as well those
were really instilled in me moving
45:02.7
45:07.8
forward through my career and nearly
every activity that I go through when I
45:07.8
45:12.3
first started is I put together a
checklist or a standard operating
45:12.3
45:17.8
procedure something to have a living
document available for me to help make
45:17.8
45:22.0
sure that I can assist my customer and
the most effective efficient way
45:22.0
45:28.0
possible and that I always have some
type of way of documenting because as
45:28.0
45:32.0
you’ve mentioned before if it doesn’t
get written down it doesn’t happen or if
45:32.0
45:36.3
it doesn’t get documented it didn’t
happen well that’s great advice and I
45:36.3
45:40.3
feel so much better about myself because
I thought I was the only one that loved
45:40.3
45:43.3
policies and procedures but there’s
another person out there so thank you
45:43.3
45:49.2
for identifying with me I should send
you over my grocery checklist yeah
45:49.2
45:53.9
that’s that was definitely a big passion
for me you know my first job my first
45:53.9
46:01.5
month working at the company they got
acquired by a much larger manufacturing
46:01.5
46:07.2
a much larger specialty chemical company
and a lot of my first year and a half at
46:07.2
46:12.0
that position was working with these
third party consultants that corporate
46:12.0
46:18.0
had hired in going through each and
every procedure that we performed under
46:18.0
46:23.0
the different roles and understanding
how can we make an SOP out of this how
46:23.0
46:29.2
can we create repeatable results and how
are we sure that it’s going to reach the
46:29.2
46:34.0
desired effect each time and I want that
and along with those books that I had
46:34.0
46:39.3
mentioned earlier really I pulled that
through the rest of my career well I’m
46:39.3
46:42.2
gonna tell you I’m impressed to hear
that you’ve read the email
46:42.2
46:45.5
I always recommend people that are
trying to start their own company that
46:45.5
46:50.3
that’s the first book that they’ve read
and you learned that you’re a very good
46:50.3
46:55.7
technician but you really don’t know how
to be a business owner and that’s why
46:55.7
46:59.4
most businesses failed so I think it’s
awesome that you’ve already read that
46:59.4
47:04.2
thanks Trace yeah and it really helped
clarify a lot of things in real life I
47:04.2
47:08.5
mean I was looking back and growing up
my father had his own company he was a
47:08.5
47:14.2
carpenter and he ended up actually going
into the Union because he was the best
47:14.2
47:17.0
technician out there he was a
perfectionist
47:17.0
47:21.9
no one did better work than him we’ll
say and then maybe once a month he put
47:21.9
47:26.4
on his manager hat and actually sent out
some invoices will say or probably more
47:26.4
47:31.3
relevant he spoke with the other people
yet working with them and helped kind of
47:31.3
47:35.5
work them towards a common set of goals
but once in a great while he put on his
47:35.5
47:38.4
entrepreneurial hat and that was
probably the day he started his business
47:38.4
47:42.8
and I don’t know if he ever put that one
back on well this has been a great
47:42.8
47:45.9
interview we’re talking about things
that I didn’t think we were going to
47:45.9
47:49.2
talk about when we first started the
interview I didn’t think we want to be
47:49.2
47:53.5
talking about CRM but we did and I think
a lot of people in the Scaling UP! nation
47:53.5
47:57.1
are now thinking wow if I track
something I can actually make it better
47:57.1
48:01.6
and they’re tools out there that will
make that easier for me so I want to
48:01.6
48:06.4
thank you for bringing that idea to the
Scaling UP! nation and I look forward to
48:06.4
48:10.3
hearing back from people out in the
nation of how they’re using that or what
48:10.3
48:15.1
ideas that they have but with that said
I thought we could go right to the
48:15.1
48:18.3
lightning round if you’re ready for it
I’m ready for it
48:18.3
48:22.6
all right so my first question we’re
getting into the Delory and we’re going
48:22.6
48:27.5
back to the very first day you started
as a water creature you’re not going to
48:27.5
48:32.1
give yourself some advice what is that
advice the first piece of advice I would
48:32.1
48:38.1
give myself is don’t only focus on
efficiency but also factor in
48:38.1
48:44.7
effectiveness it’s great if you can do a
task faster than any one best example I
48:44.7
48:50.6
can give you is the best door-to-door
salesman is highly efficient but it’s
48:50.6
48:55.1
probably better off maybe makes a phone
call or shoots off an email if he wants
48:55.1
48:59.0
to have a bigger
on gaining new business yes something we
48:59.0
49:04.9
do here that you remind me of is we try
to be as fast as we can with our testing
49:04.9
49:08.7
procedures but who cares if we’re fast
if we’re not doing the procedures
49:08.7
49:13.4
correct and we’re getting the wrong
result so what we’ll do and I think the
49:13.4
49:17.3
guys like it but they’ve never told me
they haven’t is I’ll make up a batch in
49:17.3
49:23.0
the lab and I know exactly what that
sample is and we’ll see if they can do
49:23.0
49:26.7
it within a certain amount of time and
how accurate they are since I designed
49:26.7
49:30.6
it by weight so I don’t know if that
sounds crazy or not but that’s one of
49:30.6
49:35.6
the ways that we make sure everybody’s
keeping up on making their tests not
49:35.6
49:39.8
only quicks or not wasting time on that
but we’re not losing the effectiveness
49:39.8
49:44.1
of those tests too I think that’s great
that that follows in line with making
49:44.1
49:47.9
sure that you always have a way to
calibrate any sensor that you’re using
49:47.9
49:52.0
out in the field make sure there’s
always a check to ensure that you’re
49:52.0
49:55.6
getting the results that you believe you
are and I’m sure you’ll enjoy that I
49:55.6
50:02.3
have a procedure for doing what I just
described really I couldn’t imagine that
50:02.3
50:06.0
you would skip over that one
I figured you’d enjoy that all right so
50:06.0
50:10.4
my next question is what are the last
few books that you’ve read the last few
50:10.4
50:14.5
books that I’ve read I just completed
this one on my flight home from a
50:14.5
50:21.1
vacation was measure what matters by
John Dewar and that is all about okay
50:21.1
50:26.7
ours which is objective and key results
and it goes along with a lot of what you
50:26.7
50:31.7
said in your year-end review and setting
quarterly goals and it goes into depth
50:31.7
50:37.4
about Google and the Gates Foundation
and how do they utilize these okrs
50:37.4
50:43.2
it’s really a leadership process to set
communicate and monitor quarterly goals
50:43.2
50:48.2
that are most important to achieving the
results that they’re looking for well
50:48.2
50:52.4
I’m curious as an MBA
how many acronyms can you name so you
50:52.4
50:58.5
got ok ours KPIs what are some other
ones we need a whole nother podcast
50:58.5
51:04.2
episode is fair enough you’re getting
ready to tell me another book oh so the
51:04.2
51:08.7
other two was actually from your
recommendation million dollar maverick
51:08.7
51:11.4
from
Allen Weiss we all know about that one
51:11.4
51:13.2
you’ve mentioned it before in your
podcast
51:13.2
51:17.8
I took your recommendation I appreciate
that because like you I do use audible
51:17.8
51:23.1
all the time and I came about a few
years back and that’s with me every day
51:23.1
51:27.3
playing in my car and I really I really
liked that one that was more of a
51:27.3
51:32.3
comical book where measure what matters
at times it got a little dry and then
51:32.3
51:37.4
the third book that I read was the
advantage and you I believe have that on
51:37.4
51:40.9
your recommended book list but the
reason I read that is because my wife
51:40.9
51:44.7
actually had to read that for work as a
part of a leadership team that she was
51:44.7
51:49.5
on and those were the three most recent
that I’ve read and we mentioned a few of
51:49.5
51:52.8
my other favorites that I think your
favorites as well which is uh the e-myth
51:52.8
51:57.7
good to great and one that I just
started reading again and I tend to do
51:57.7
52:01.7
that it’s great with audible you can go
back and and brush up on a book and try
52:01.7
52:06.2
to get a new insight it’s the 10x rule
and it’s with Grant Cardone
52:06.2
52:12.4
who is definitely a little intense for
sure but once in a while you just he’s a
52:12.4
52:16.6
little intense I’ll give a fair warning
to the audience but it’s good it’s
52:16.6
52:20.9
comical and in it’s good material about
essentially it’s up to you to take
52:20.9
52:25.3
responsibility and I think that’s a
really good point to make and in the end
52:25.3
52:30.0
it’s all about your ability to figure
out what you want and how we’re gonna be
52:30.0
52:35.0
able to get it and achieve the goals
that that you set forth well said well
52:35.0
52:39.2
eventually they’re gonna make a movie
about you who plays Eric I had to reach
52:39.2
52:43.3
out to my wife for this one as well she
might just be watching a little too much
52:43.3
52:48.6
Arrested Development but I’m gonna go
with Jason Bateman I love that guy and
52:48.6
52:52.4
not the Jason Bateman from Ozark it
sometimes gets a little dark but the
52:52.4
52:56.4
Arrested Development version that’s
going to be perfect so he and I are the
52:56.4
53:01.0
same age so you could have picked me too
I’m available nobody’s ever picked me
53:01.0
53:06.5
alright last question if you could talk
to anybody throughout history who to be
53:06.5
53:11.9
with and why well my choice is someone
that’s already been said before but I
53:11.9
53:17.1
think it’s that important to have this
guy reiterated it was mentioned by Jim
53:17.1
53:23.1
waria on episode 47 but Leonardo da
Vinci it really deserves a second
53:23.1
53:27.7
look to express the significance of this
particular guy I mean he is most well
53:27.7
53:31.0
known as an artist and a painter but
he’s also an engineer architect
53:31.0
53:35.5
scientist the Venter it goes on forever
he’s an expert in all of them
53:35.5
53:41.2
and he had no formal education I mean to
be able to have a conversation with
53:41.2
53:46.9
someone who is so ahead of his time with
such unbelievable foresight would be
53:46.9
53:51.9
fantastic now the runner-up to Leonardo
da Vinci with his foresight would
53:51.9
53:56.2
probably be Colin frame talking about
the future of the industry and if we
53:56.2
54:00.0
listen to him I better learn how an
arrow works much better than I already
54:00.0
54:06.8
do and Colin will tell you that he is
ahead of his time it is a great resource
54:06.8
54:12.9
he’s awesome well Eric thank you so much
for coming on Scaling UP! h2o and sharing
54:12.9
54:17.7
your story and given us some things that
I’m pretty sure most of us haven’t
54:17.7
54:22.6
thought about and I love that you’re
talking about you’re measuring things
54:22.6
54:26.2
you’re making things better and you’ve
really given the audience handles about
54:26.2
54:30.0
what they can do in order to start doing
that so thanks so much for coming on the
54:30.0
54:33.9
show thank you for having me I really
appreciate it
54:33.9
54:38.7
as I said before I’ve been a huge fan
since the beginning and I just feel
54:38.7
54:43.3
really lucky to be able to get on the
show for Eric thanks for coming on
54:43.3
54:50.2
Scaling UP! h2o and sharing your story
and especially congratulations on your
54:50.2
54:54.7
MBA you know talk about a goal that’s
not something that happened overnight
54:54.7
55:01.9
that is something that Eric had to plan
because that changed what he did on a
55:01.9
55:06.2
daily basis folks if you don’t keep up
with classes like that they will very
55:06.2
55:12.4
quickly start to steamroller you so he
made sure that whatever he had to do to
55:12.4
55:18.0
carve out time in order to do that he
figured out what it was and he did it
55:18.0
55:23.5
now that might be easier said than done
but most people get stuck because they
55:23.5
55:29.6
never start so if that is what is
keeping you from whatever your goal is
55:29.6
55:36.3
start it well have a plan first start
your plan so many people will
55:36.3
55:39.9
create a plan or maybe they don’t even
get to that plan stuff but they never
55:39.9
55:46.0
start doing something when you do
something it’s one more thing than you
55:46.0
55:51.2
have done before and this continued that
momentum you’re not going to get an NBA
55:51.2
55:58.4
overnight but after years of him working
that plan he finally received it and
55:58.4
56:04.4
again congratulations on that that is a
great accomplishment on episode 92 I
56:04.4
56:11.2
told you about my TED talk experience
and I told you all the things that
56:11.2
56:17.9
happened in order for me to produce that
TED talk it was not I woke up one
56:17.9
56:24.0
morning I drove down to Tim Fulton’s
conference and I did that TED talk no
56:24.0
56:26.6
there was a whole bunch of stuff that
happened there
56:26.6
56:32.1
so if you haven’t listened to episode 92
you can see that there was a lot
56:32.1
56:38.0
involved and maybe that will inspire you
to do whatever you are trying to do in
56:38.0
56:42.5
that episode I talked about Michael
Phelps and we all know Michael Phelps as
56:42.5
56:50.3
the Olympic champion we know that he has
more medals than anybody else he’s got
56:50.3
56:57.6
23 gold three silver two bronze in that
episode what I reveal is what many of us
56:57.6
57:05.6
do not know about Michael Phelps is that
he was in that pool acta scene each and
57:05.6
57:11.6
every day now if we just know his
Olympic accomplishments were not taking
57:11.6
57:19.7
into account what he did every day for
years and that’s when he became a
57:19.7
57:27.2
champion was in that pool each and every
day sequentially with baby steps so
57:27.2
57:35.0
again whatever you are going to do start
and then be consistent folks I started
57:35.0
57:40.6
the show by thanking everybody for
letting other water treaters know about
57:40.6
57:45.6
the Scaling UP! h2o podcast and I’m
gonna ask you I want to end the show by
57:45.6
57:52.6
asking you this can you please when you
find a water treat let them know of the
57:52.6
57:57.6
Scaling UP!
h2o podcasts now some water treaters you
57:57.6
58:02.0
might actually have to show them what a
podcast is and then how they can get
58:02.0
58:09.9
that but if you do that we can make the
Scaling UP! nation bigger and then we can
58:09.9
58:16.1
all make the water treatment industry
better and a rising tide raises all
58:16.1
58:22.7
ships and that will benefit each and
every one of us folks I’ll see you next
58:22.7
58:25.2
week