What are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of your job and why?
For 20 years, I have told my teams that we will argue about ideas but not each other. The latter can suck the life and energy out of any potentially productive engagement. To mitigate that challenge, I strive to foster environments where it is safe to vigorously debate ideas.
The most rewarding aspect of any job is when I can make a difference. Whether it’s seeing clients benefit from facility improvements I supported or simply bringing a smile to a colleague to make their day just a tad better, it’s all rewarding to me.
Who do you look up to or admire in business and why?
I look up to leaders who have to make unpopular decisions, or even decisions that might hurt business, because of moral factors that make it the right thing to do. I have also been in that spot, taking flak because of a tough decision that aligned with my moral compass. For leaders of an organization, all of that accountability rests on them. It can make for tough days but sticking to a set of values has so many downstream benefits.
What has been the high point of your career so far?
There are several, such as smoothly transitioning operations for an entire portfolio to a new owner. Or achieving Energy Star certification for several blocks of buildings on our Capitol Square. Or retrofitting an iconic but energy-guzzling building on our Capitol Square and achieving LEED certification because of it. My most recent high point was completing a multimillion dollar investment by Verizon into an in-building cellular system to deliver robust coverage to tenants. However, I am rarely satisfied with myself and I do not dwell on past accomplishments. To consider past high points, for me, is to suggest that everything forthcoming is a denouement. I believe my best days are still ahead.
Thinking back on your career, what advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
I have a hard time remembering what my 21-year-old self was like, but I have a sense that I had harder opinions about a range of things, including what I could or could not do. I think that created needless self-boundaries and may have made things tougher than they needed to be. However, I am not one to armchair quarterback the day after. I have no regrets. So my message to my younger self might simply be, “keep doing the right thing, for the right reasons.”
What would you say are the best things about living and working in Dane County?
I love that it is a big small-town. Or a small big-town. We are large enough to attract many of the events and amenities that a large city has to offer, yet we are still small enough to enjoy the pace and familiarity of a small town. I can bike downtown for farmers markets or a concert in 25 minutes, and I will probably see someone I know. In minutes, I can reach farm roads and access miles of countryside road biking.
Do you have any secret talents or abilities that people would be surprised to discover?
I wish I had something exciting like juggling while riding a unicycle. My talents were mostly born out of necessity, which is probably typical. Generally, I am good at fixing all kinds of things, but I had to grow that skill, which was born from necessity of having to fix something that I could not afford to buy new. When an appliance breaks these days, it often is not financially feasible to fix them, but I take them apart and try anyway. My philosophy? It is already broken, I cannot break it further, so there is only an upside to trying! My last fix was on my 16-year-old daughter’s hand-me-down car after a fender bender. The car was already virtually worthless, but it was safe and it worked. The air bags did not release, so I tried my hand at auto-body repair. Now, 10 feet away, you would not be able to tell!
What are your guilty pleasures?
Watching Formula 1 and getting a touch too “into it.” It started with the lockdown, when my daughters and I got into the Formula 1: Drive to Survive series on Netflix. It is important to note that we are not a sports family. We play sports, but don’t much care to watch. However, we got hooked on Formula 1. Those on-board race cameras are dynamite! We couldn’t wait for the release of the next season, so now we watch F1TV to see all of the practices, qualifying races, and final races. If the teams have a week off, the weekend just isn’t as fun.
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