The Changing of the Guard and the Generational Sea Change

By: Murray Corey

My wife and I had the recent pleasure of attending the NWCB fall board meeting in downtown Seattle, WA. Occupy Wall Street protesters were there too, walking the streets, a sign of the ominous times we live in.

The NWCB meeting was accentuated by the presence of both the incoming and the outgoing executive directors, Mark Eisenmann and Bob Drury, respectively. Once in awhile there is someone who might be considered an industry icon, and for our industry that is Bob Drury. As most of you will know by now, Bob is retiring after 38 years at the helm, and the NWCB has hired a new executive director. As it is for any company undergoing changes at the top, the future rests with a new generation of leaders whose collective task it is to feel the pulse of the membership—setting the ship on a steady course which resonates and is relevant to that membership.

Back in the day it was crucial that Bob travel by car out to all the areas of the north west in both Canada and the US to meet people face to face and gather with small groups to share their common experiences. Through these meetings with Bob (synonymous with the Bureau) the members always knew that other wall and ceiling companies shared common problems and new ideas were being shared for the mutual benefit of all. Members could put a face to a name and get a firm handshake that furthered their understanding that someone actually cared about their issues.

The respect for Bob, and his character, carried much of the weight for what would constitute the organization’s success.

While Mark will most certainly try to meet everyone face to face as he starts his new job, he will also have to embrace the technology of the day and use it skillfully to the organization’s best advantage. Finding and engaging the next generation in a meaningful discourse to promote our mutual business interests will be his biggest challenge.

During our meetings, as we went over the vision statements and goals of the organization, it was clear to me that these have not changed materially over the years – that is to say the core reasons for the bureau’s existence remains true to the sentiments of the founders. The wall and ceiling industry, working through the bureau, has made every effort to be recognized for the value of the work this trade brings to the project. So while the objectives remain similar, what has really changed is the way we communicate, mainly as a result of and by the use of the technologies we have embraced. In this very process the technology may have changed us.

The digital world requires us to provide an instant response to every email. If you aren’t tweeting, following, blogging, or browsing, then you just aren’t with it. Some would say we are slaves to the technology. On the other hand, I tell people that my Blackberry gives me my freedom because it allows me to stray from my office without missing a click.

For many of our member companies the recurring theme remains the whole question of succession. This is especially poignant when you look at some of the companies that are the product of three or four generations. I have spoken with many of the principals of these companies and often they say that they are not quite sure who will be taking over the family business.

They find themselves asking if this will possibly be the end of the line for their companies. They feel maybe they have to sell outside the family, or even go out of business, or possibly morph into some kind of different business.

The next generation isn’t just looking for work. They are looking for a meaningful experience that meets their needs with a balance between work and play. The other notion I hear repeated is that the younger generation just doesn’t share the same work ethic as the older generation. In a way, as an ageing baby boomer, I envy the youth somewhat for not allowing themselves to be shackled to a job the way we were. Either way, it bears remembering that your young-uns are a product of your own success. It is after all the responsibility of our industry to make itself attractive enough to the next generation to interest them in pursuing a wall and ceiling career.

Here in BC there is a rouge tidal wave going through the industry, a kind of tsunami pushing its way through the wall and ceiling business—a marketplace characterized by profitless contractors who have come onto the scene with prices that appear on the surface to defy logic.

In the end they will either completely change our business or they will wither and die as they cannot survive for long without a reasonable return on their investment. In this market system, the GC takes the lowest price, even if the dollar values quoted are insufficient to pay the base cost for the time and materials of the project. He then shops around to be sure it’s the very very lowest possible price. I guess the idea in this business model is to then work your way back up from the low base price through change orders, or try re-negotiating the price when you run out of money well before the job is complete. In any case it leaves the responsible contractor out in the cold. What’s missing from this picture is any kind of predictable tendering process with rules and basic ethical business practices for both the buyers and the sellers. I only mention this again as it sure would discourage me if I was thinking about getting into the family business or starting a new business in such a climate.

Times like these tend to bring out both the worst and the best in us. At the end of the day, I believe that it will be the responsible, ethical, financially sound companies that will still be here to do the wall and ceiling scope of work. Those that are in it for the long haul will support their trades in getting certified; they will want to put something back into the industry by being active in the association. They will support best practices as laid out in such publications as the AWCC Standards and Specifications, and they will stand behind their finished work. It is just as the NWCB’s new mantra says: “Building to a Higher Standard.”

We wish Bob all the best in his retirement and Mark and the rest of the NWCB staff and board members all the best as we all work together navigating our way through the changing of the guard and the generational sea change.