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Our Home Was Under Water! (True Story)

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We have all been exposed to warranties in one way or another. Whether for a new appliance, car part, or furniture, we’ve all paid for them because of the peace of mind they provide for the consumer. But what constitutes a good warranty and why are they important to the end user? In other words, why should you make this investment and how can you trust that the provider of a service will honour their warranty? The topic is interesting because warranties are meant to provide coverage in the form of repairs or replacements in a worst-case scenario. As much as I understand the case for life insurance, fundamentally, I struggle with paying into a policy that rewards my loved ones in the event of my death (I hope this doesn’t sound irresponsible, and I have a policy just for the record). Warranties are no different. The reality is that if I’m purchasing a new vehicle that has never been driven, and in a perfect world should operate at the highest level of efficiency, why would a warranty even be discussed? It’s because the unknown is unknown to everyone and we don’t live in a perfect world, yet. But why warranties, and have some abused this form of coverage to make an extra profit? Absolutely. Some years ago, while away with the family for 2 weeks, I received an unsettling call from our local police constable back home. Our upstairs bathroom suffered a ruptured pipe that triggered a major outpouring of water that flowed from the third level in our home to the basement, damaging everything in its path. The home had to be entirely redone, and we were out of the home for a period of 6 months while the company recommended by our insurance company handled the restoration. We were told by the Project Manager that the workmanship would be covered by a life-time warranty, so we had nothing to worry about; a nice sales pitch to people who had just suffered a major loss to our possessions, memories, and comfort of life. I’ll revisit this later. So, what is a warranty and what are the benefits someone should derive from them? Without the help of AI, Chat, or My Wife, a warranty is a stamp of credibility, superior workmanship & service, and integrity. It communicates to the consumer that you not only vouch for your work, but are committed to them as a partner in good times and bad, not just for the duration of the warranty, but beyond. You are essentially betrothed to that individual/company/leader for the duration of the partnership and will act in the best interests of all parties involved. The warranty is a tangible symbol of a commitment made and should not be an excuse or tarp for poor service. (…not bad for a simple-minded individual like me! 😊) The purpose of a warranty is to keep people whole to the best of their ability. This should never be compromised. In our case, the goal should have been to restore (us) our home back to its original state with as little impact to our lives as possible. At the core of this is integrity and a promise of personal and organizational excellence. As the consumer, you should never have to worry about whether the warranty will be upheld by its provider. That’s a given. Back to my home under water. It’s 3 ½ years since the repairs were completed and we’re enjoying the benefits of a “new home” but the guarantee of life-time protection coverage from the restoration company has proven to be nothing more than words in the moment to pacify vulnerable people. Without going into much detail, it has been a struggle to get the company and Project Manager to honour the warranty, and they’ve missed a great opportunity to grow their business and rebuild a reputation already under water (pun intended). Warranties are here to stay and will continue to act as a safety net whether for a new purchase or home repair. It is impossible to guestimate whether an organization or individual will follow through as promised, but you’re obligated to question them. Probe to understand the parameters that govern coverage, and what qualifies as a disqualification for coverage. Finally, make sure to get everything in writing and endorsed by all parties. This is far too important to be left to a handshake. If you have any questions about what makes a good candidate replacement warranty, reach out to me directly. I’d also be happy to share details about our 1-year candidate guarantee. Wade carefully!

Leaning Into The Standard

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A transformation this big can feel uncomfortable for the marketplace. The answer, however, is simple—and it’s not what most people think. To call something a “comeback” implies that there was a fall; a deviation from foundational beliefs or best practices. Perhaps the nose-dive of recruitment was not an actual nose-dive, but an extended state of dormancy. Fueled by greed that promoted profit over morals. Speed ahead of efficiency. Termination instead of rehabilitation. The desperate chase for commissions and affirmation caused many to act irrationally. The result? The transactional engagements that most have become accustomed to. My competitive advantage is not really an advantage. Does anyone praise a fish for swimming or a dog for barking? No. Those are simply identifiers of a thing’s state of being. The standard is now under a light because, for years, the industry operated in the dark. Hence, the negative perception in the marketplace. Labeling the current shift as a “transformation” or “comeback” is a good PR tactic. But I view recruitment’s pivot as an awakening—a conscious reapplication of the basic principles that should have always governed the hiring process. It was always there. It just needed people willing to bring it back to the light.

Vision

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Courage stems from the leader and can transform any follower. Real courage is fueled by a vision, and without a vision, there can be no courage. How dare we reduce people to a title or job function! How dare we qualify leadership based on a title or job function! The next time you meet with a leader of an organization for coffee, ask them to articulate their vision. This is not to be confused with the organization’s vision statement. I’m referring to their own personal convictions that shape their vision, which dictates direction. A leader without a vision is blind and can only lead the blind. The vision is the spark plug and the team is the battery. What is your personal vision for your organization, team, division, or branch?

Honesty

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Good leaders choose honesty over convenience Case in point: I was not the smartest person in the room. There were 4 of us – a Mathematician/General Manager, a Manager of Technology, and the Head of Talent Acquisition. We were brainstorming a solution to an urgent problem involving a contractor who was supposed to start a new role with our client that morning. Due to circumstances beyond our control, the client decided to go with another candidate and informed us at the last minute. The goal was to mitigate the fallout and protect the reputations of everyone involved. Cue the desperate ideas, none of which were based on the truth. To them, it was more believable to cook up a story to tell the contractor. Here I was in a room with brilliance and none of the ideas seemed to stick. I listened to them go back and forth until I finally decided to speak up. My suggestion: “Why don’t we tell her the truth?” (i.e., the client wanted someone else). The idea was so simple that it caught them off guard. We ended up telling the contractor what happened, and she understood. There was no harm, no damage, and everyone—including the client—looked good. Lesson: The most elegant solutions are usually the simplest ones. That quiet, unassuming person in your meetings might be the one holding the solution that could save your reputation and time.

Leave The Room (Part 2)

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Good leaders know how to shift from logic to empathy. Case in point: after my daughter’s situation had been resolved, I decided to ask my wife for the details. Instead of sharing what I wanted to hear, she told me that I was essentially too logical for moments like that. She’s correct, and my decision to leave the room made more sense. This was not a logical moment; nothing about my daughter’s sudden mood change was logical, and Daddy’s method of problem-solving might’ve closed our daughter off to help entirely. The moment required compassion and a listening ear, and who better than my wife to help her sort through those feelings. Lesson: Adapt your approach to fit the emotional needs of the moment. An approach that worked for one situation, may not be the right method for a present-day matter.  Final Takeaway from Part 1 & 2: Stepping back allows others to exercise their strengths, and accepting your own limitations allows the right emotional response to be applied in the moment.

Leave The Room (Part 1)

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Good leaders clearly communicate the goal for every meeting and know when to exit the room to allow for unfiltered brainstorming that leads to tangible, lasting solutions. When they step back into the room, it’s to listen, mediate, and offer constructive guidance without imposing. Case in point: my 7-year-old daughter had a moment this week that climaxed into tears. Despite our efforts, we couldn’t get her to verbally express this sudden change in mood. I watched as my wife probed with questions to no avail (her frustration level was also rising). Then it dawned on me: leave the room. Turns out that my presence was hindering the flow of honest communication between my daughter and her mother. This was not my territory, and my wife was able to get to the core of the issue, and ultimately help our daughter. Lesson: Knowing when to exit is key to your success as a leader. You don’t need to be present for everything, and my departure created a runway for my wife to fully assert herself.

The Benefits Of Unity

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It was a great weekend with tremendous individual and collective performances on display during this years Jane & Finch Classic, a youth basketball tournament. All eyes were on some of the best players across Canada, and it didn’t disappoint with a finale that included a nail-biting end. My reflection last night led me to 2 key factors that separate average from highly effective teams. These lessons cross all team, industry, and seniority boundaries and will undoubtedly conclude in winning outcomes. Here is what stood out to me from the weekend: Playing to your strengths, staying in position, and coordinating across all fronts will allow your team to remain composed and execute in pivotal moments. This produces a winner every time!

My Interview with Adam Pitman – 20 Years, New Impact

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So, how does an Engineer turned Global Operations Executive go from producing wheel loaders and excavators for some of the finest construction equipment manufacturers to the toy industry? I’ll explain more in this exclusive interview… Introduction: Construction Equipment to Toys?! It takes real courage and confidence in your abilities to make such a career pivot, but Adam Pitman modeled that it can be done, and in this interview, Adam outlines how he made the leap from heavy machinery to one of the most recognizable toy manufacturers globally. The insight is valuable for anyone who has spent the majority of their career working in one industry, and has perhaps wondered what else is out there for them. It was a calculated gamble that paid off for Adam and he’s now leading an ambitious, yet achievable goal of producing 1-billion toys a year. A significant change considering the average turnaround time for a new wheel loader machine, from initial design concept to prototype usually takes six (6) to twelve (12) months, with the overall process often extending to one (1) to two (2) years. This was not as simple as submitting his resume. Adam had to mentally shift his mind, leveraging all of his transferable skills, defining & articulating his accomplishments, and demonstrating the fortitude and aptitude to pacify any concerns across the table. Many haven’t done this because they don’t believe they can, or they don’t have examples of others who have done it successfully. Adam is proof that taking the leap into an entirely new sector is not only achievable but can be very rewarding. Intrigued by Adam’s pilgrimage from a domain that he dominated to an industry that he had no prior knowledge of or expertise in, I believe his journey will resonate with engineers from all walks of life and motivate them to think outside of their box. The Interview 1. Did you proactively pursue a change of industry, or did it just fall into your lap? A bit of both, honestly. I had spent close to 20 years in the construction equipment and off-highway industry, and I was very comfortable there. I understood the products, the customers, the engineering side, and the manufacturing environment extremely well. But deep down, I also felt that if I stayed in the same industry forever, I might limit my own growth. I wanted to test myself somewhere completely different and see whether my skills and leadership style could transfer into a new environment. When the opportunity with Ferrero and KPS came along, it felt exciting, but also slightly uncomfortable — which was probably a good sign. Looking back now, it was one of the best decisions I made because it pushed me far beyond just engineering and operations and helped develop me into a much broader business leader. 2. How did you mentally and practically prepare for the change to a completely new industry? The biggest thing mentally was accepting that I would not walk in as the expert anymore. In my previous industry, I had years of experience and confidence behind me. Suddenly, I was entering a world where I had to learn new terminology, new processes, new expectations, and even a completely different business culture. I tried to approach it with curiosity instead of ego. I listened a lot, asked questions, spent time with suppliers and teams, and tried to understand why things were done a certain way before trying to change anything. Practically, I immersed myself in learning the full product lifecycle and understanding how fast-moving consumer products operate compared to heavy industry. What surprised me most was how connected everything was — engineering, marketing, licensing, quality, supply chain, operations — everyone influences the final product and customer experience. 3. What were the main challenges you encountered during the transition? The speed was probably the biggest shock initially. In construction equipment, projects can move over very long timelines. In the toy industry, everything moves incredibly fast, and the level of coordination required is huge. Another challenge was realizing that technical excellence alone is not enough. In the toy industry, you are balancing creativity, branding, cost, safety, automation, visual quality, consumer expectations, and very tight timelines all at once. Personally, there was also a challenge in rebuilding confidence in a completely new environment. When you move industries, there are moments where you question yourself because you are no longer the person with all the answers. But over time, that discomfort becomes part of the growth. 4. What was the steepest learning curve for you? Honestly, it was understanding how much complexity sits behind such a small product. From the outside, people see a small Kinder toy and think it is simple. But behind that product there are development teams, mold makers, automation, quality systems, safety regulations, supply chains, marketing approvals, licensing agreements, manufacturing partners across multiple countries, and huge production volumes. I remember realizing quite early on that although the product was physically smaller than what I worked on before, the business complexity was in many ways even greater. That was a real eye-opener for me. 5. How was your background in construction equipment design beneficial or transferable to the toy industry? At first glance, the industries look completely unrelated, but actually many of the core skills transferred really well. My engineering background taught me structured problem-solving, manufacturing discipline, supplier management, quality thinking, and how to lead teams under pressure. Those fundamentals apply almost anywhere. I also think coming from a completely different industry gave me a fresh perspective. Sometimes when you grow up entirely inside one sector, you naturally inherit the same ways of thinking. Coming from outside allowed me to challenge certain assumptions and bring a different operational mindset. Most importantly, my previous experience gave me resilience. In manufacturing and operations, problems happen every day. Learning how to stay calm, practical, and solutions-focused during pressure situations was something that transferred very strongly. 6. What advice would you offer to someone who is facing a similar decision

A Remix To The Traditional Job Description

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Conventional job descriptions don’t work, yet we keep branding them in the marketplace. Your positions go unfilled for months and the quality of candidates is far below your expectations. We’ve been marketing the wrong information. A Project Manager knows what they do. They do not need to be reminded with a list of responsibilities. We follow this up by telling them that they must have 5-10 years of experience, thereby excluding those who have 4 or 11 years of experience. We are creating a robotic marketplace of prospects who think in terms of requirements and tasks. We’re selling the position and this has not worked in an evolving marketplace that values more than what they will be doing from 8 to 4. You have failed to capture the intrinsic motivators that would compel a top performer to leave their current position and join yours. Instead of describing the perfect candidate, companies should be focused on clearly outlining what makes them an ideal destination for a top performer. It’s a shift from “what you can do for us” to “what we can do for you.” Let’s explore this deeper… The Career Brochure (Sample Profile Below) Building vehicles is what we do. Cultivating high performing professionals in a friendly environment is our passion and vision. Over the last 20 years, we’ve gone through a major organizational shift by making tangible investments in our greatest assets. We shut our doors the last Friday of every month to give our staff a well-deserved opportunity to rest and spend time with their families. Our last 17 hires have been promoted over the last 5 years which has allowed us to stay competitive and keep them motivated. We host our very own awards ceremony to honor our people with recent winners being awarded the following: “Comeback Employee Of the Year”, It’s Not My Job, But I did It Anyway”, & “Leader Of The Year.” One of the prizes was an all-inclusive trip to a resort of their choice for 5 days. We’ve established our own University to make sure our employees receive proper training and ongoing support. This is a fully paid for benefit and offered to everyone. Through this program, we’ve seen a 50% increase in productivity & retention, and a 70% reduction in product defects, representing a major increase in quality & turnaround time across our fleet. We offer “Mental Wellness Days” instead of “Sick Days”. Meaning, you are allotted (3) days a month for the entire year to take care of yourself. We want you to enjoy time away from the office while you’re healthy, not sick (this is in addition to your vacation time) Oh yeah, we also build cool vehicles! As part of that mandate, you’ll work individually and collectively with your team to accomplish the following goals over the next 2 years: Wrap Up Note that there is no mention of requirements or duties, and the goals were mentioned after conveying major company milestones & perks. Let’s stop promoting what the person will do and let’s create profiles that convey an understanding of the needs of the marketplace. This is the only way to create a winning organization that is a talent magnet. If you disagree or if you’re already doing something similar, please let me know below.

Accountability

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Good leaders hold themselves accountable. Sweeping things under the rug does not magically make issues go away, and moving dirt to another location is not real cleaning… Thankfully, I have a Wife who will call me out if I’m wrong, and I appreciate her for that… The problem can’t always be your followers… If they’re leaving, it could be that you failed to provide the direction and safety they needed… Rather than directly addressing their concerns, they were villainized for raising their concerns to begin with… This is hardly the foundation for sustainable growth that can foster future leadership… People should be taken care of at all times and your message should align to your behaviour… Any misalignment will jeopardize the integrity of your stance as a leader and create more confusion in the environment… This is precisely why recruitment cannot afford to operate transactionally… Its purpose is too important to the health of the corporation… Too many in the profession see turnover as an opportunity to backfill and cash a cheque, reducing themselves to scavengers who prey on dead corporations with terrible cultures… Recruiting for a good leader is far better than recruiting for a bad leader… I owe it to the people’s lives that I’m temporarily disrupting, and leading to what I’m selling as a “land flowing with milk & honey”, to make sure that the environment is one where they can see a progression of their career… This all starts with good leaders who create the policies, systems, and culture that facilitates career development… Anything less than this means that we’ve missed the mark and have done those in our care a disservice.