Decision Makers

Have you ever been put on hold for what seems like hours, only to be transferred from employee to employee? Did the problem get solved to your satisfaction? Or were you left feeling frustrated at the wasted time and effort?

Custom Services strives to solve your heating, air conditioning and plumbing challenges right the first time. We do this by empowering our employees to make frontline decisions, saving you time and money.

Recently, our employees completed training to enhance their decision-making skills. With no managers present, they identified the four most  common concerns in our company. Then, they were tasked with finding creative and innovative solutions to solve these challenges. They did it!

This employee-empowerment philosophy is based on renowned Total Quality Management experts, like Peter Drucker. Drucker believes frontline employees should make decisions and solve problems, while managers should serve as guides, mentoring rather than dictating.

“Most discussions of decision making assume that only senior executives make decisions or that only senior executives’ decisions matter. This is a dangerous mistake,” Drucker writes. “Decisions are made at every level of the organization, beginning with individual professional contributors and frontline supervisors… Making good decisions is a crucial skill at every level. It needs to be taught explicitly to everyone in organizations.”

Our service technicians and customer service representatives practice these decision-making skills everyday as they address your heating, cooling and plumbing needs — effectively and efficiently. Our management team stands behind each frontline employee, offering guidance and coaching.

At Custom Services, our employees are our most valuable resource. We invest in extensive training programs to insure they have the tools and skills to provide you with quality service. We strive to solve your heating, air conditioning, and plumbing challenges right the first time.

Call us today. Our highly-trained decision-makers are ready to offer you a solution.

–Bob

Anticipating Transitions

Transitions are challenging.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “Nothing is constant but change itself.”

The paradox is not lost in business.

In any company, there are levels of transition. Management must navigate the sea of change in order to progress, grow, and achieve the next level.

Custom Services began as a grassroots, startup business. I ran the service calls and Dana, my wife, managed the office. As the company grew, we added more employees. When we hit the 1/2 million dollar revenue mark, we transitioned to a new level of operation. No longer was I simply working in the business; I was working on the business.

Our commitment to quality created rapid growth.

When Custom Services’ revenue increased from 1/2 million to 1 million, the company continued to evolve, adding managers who shared our vision. We developed strategies to anticipate the challenges ahead at each new level of revenue: 1 million, 3 million, 5 million. We managed our resources and hired more staff. We lead the employees through the transitions with clear, precise expectations.

Air Technology joined Custom Services in August. We welcomed the opportunity to grow once again.

How would we handle the transition?

First, we did our research and surrounded ourselves with people who knew industrial HVAC. We asked Kym Barger, Air Technology’s founder, to join the team. Second, we created a strategy to manage the resources and lead the employees through transition. We projected our revenue based on Air Technology’s past sales.

The synergy of the two companies is apparent in our new stream of revenue and growth. Most importantly, our new customer base is served well.

Successful leaders anticipate changes on the horizon. They are like good captains navigating ships through new waters. They are ready before the transition and anticipate the changes that are coming.

Our history of growth and our ability to transition through change makes us a dynamic operation able to excel. Transition is part of our operating structure. It is integral to our success.

–Bob

Architecture of Success

“I’m working on a business plan,” my sister said, excited about her new venture.

“You don’t need a plan at this point,” I said. “That comes later. Just keep doing what you love.”

Entrepreneurs, like my sister, often get  in “analysis paralysis.”  They spend too much time analyzing the plan and lose sight of their innovative ideas. They paralyze the creativity of the process.

Getting your ducks in a row is not as important as following your dream.

Starting a company is an exhilarating and challenging process. Many people fail before they have an opportunity to succeed. They don’t trust the direction of their dreams, and, instead, dive into the details, bogging down the passion that will make them successful entrepreneurs.

Success isn’t about having all the solutions. It is about knowing where to find the answers.

I learned early in my career that taking a chance with a dream, doing what I love, drives the entrepreneurial spirit and leads to happiness and success.

Building a successful business takes time, energy, and imagination, as my sister is discovering. It also takes a trust and a belief in a future that may not always be clear.

In my experience, the keys to business success include:

• Do what inspires you.
• Instill the love of the business into anyone you bring into the organization.
• Collaborate with people who have strengths you don’t.
• Start from where you are. All the challenges do not have to be solved.
• Build quality and consistency into the product or service.
• Address challenges as they arise. Don’t anticipate failure; envision success.
• Get in there and do it. Figure it out as you go.
• Keep the passion alive: manage from the perspective of what you love about the business.
• Be frugal. Don’t spend more than you have. Use your time, energy and imagination, rather than money, to create the company.

Each day, I put these principles into practice, though I still do not have all the answers.

Plans are important and they develop as your business grows. The architecture of success–the plan–is built on a foundation of your vision.

Stay true to your vision.

–Bob

Managing the Variables and Leading the Vision

“Management is prediction.” —W. Edwards Deming.

Custom Services, like all businesses, faces variables that often seem unpredictable and, even, unmanageable.

For example, the heating and air conditioning industry is frequently impacted by weather. When temperatures surge to unprecedented heights, like they did this summer, service calls increase exponentially. Extremes strain a company’s resources and a customer’s patience.

Many years ago, I envisioned a way to protect customers from heating and cooling failures while maximizing our company’s resources. Our Energy Savings Maintenance Agreements were born from this vision. These maintenance agreements allow us to service your heating and cooling system before a crisis hits. They are a way to build predictability into our company while providing quality service to our customers.

Our department managers analyze weather data, gauge economic conditions, and manage staff changes to predict future outcomes. Each of the five departments at Custom Services creates a three year budget based on historical data. This management guarantees technicians and products are available when you need them.

Managers evaluate cause and effect. They build the strategic plan and establish a system to manage the outcome. The better one is at predicting the future, the better the manager.

Management is different from leadership, however. While a good manager envisions the future, a good leader inspires employees, guiding them toward the company’s vision. Leadership is influence. The greater the influence, the greater the opportunity to lead. According to Deming, “A leader is a coach, not a judge.”

As a leader, I coach Custom Services’ employees. The better I understand the truth of past events, the reality of current conditions, and the plan for the future, the better I am at guiding employees toward our company’s vision.

When we know the strategic plan, we can lead employees toward the predicted outcome. We know our vision is clear when the outcome is satisfied customers and loyal employees.

–Bob

Leadership from the Bottom Up

Have you caught a Tulsa Drillers game this season? Maybe watched your favorite Major League team? Or sat in lawn chairs cheering on your family’s little outfielder or short stop?

Imagine those same games without a coach, pitcher or second baseman. What would happen if the short stop called in sick or the catcher didn’t show up?

Every person on a baseball team is critical, even the inexperienced right fielder with two left feet. A balanced, winning team is one where everyone’s skills and talents are highlighted and enhanced, where the right people are put into the right positions, where team members are committed to and invested in a common goal.

In baseball and business, there are Leaders and leaders.

The Big L’s, the CEO’s and managers, are responsible for creating the vision and charting the path for the company.

There is another group of people, equally as influential and critical to the organization: the leaders with the little L. These leaders create balance within the organization, influencing not only the winning (or losing) public image but also the internal workings of the company.

I’m reminded of the story about a new CEO who was forced to resign because of a custodian. The CEO met resistance as he attempted to extend his vision across the organization. He under-estimated the influence of the man who polished the floors and emptied the garbage. The custodian did not like the CEO’s private life he saw in the garbage can and began passing along the less-than-flattering information to others, eventually leading to the CEO stepping down from the company.

The true leader in any organization is the person with the greatest influence. It can be the receptionist making first impressions, the custodian talking to everyone, or the CEO creating the vision and mission.

At Custom Services, I strive to create excellence and quality in our organization by fostering positive leadership and encouraging our employees to have an emotional connection to our common goals. I guide employees to a new understanding of their roles, responsibilities, and commitments, personalizing the company’s goals to create quality service for our customers.

Without an emotional commitment to a common vision, employees cannot be fully engaged with the company. They are merely standing in right field chasing butterflies. Without Leadership and leadership, from both the coach and the players, the pitcher is throwing curve balls to the other team’s short stop.