Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
Earlier this year, I read a Wall Street Journal article titled “The Best Small-Business Advice I Ever Got.” It made me reflect on advice I have received over my lifetime—not just for business, but my life overall. I have been blessed with a host of wonderful mentors and teachers. In this “Uncle Russ,” I pass on a few of the most memorable insights I have received over the years. In most cases, they are simple and straightforward, and the depth of their meaning became apparent to me over time.
Go all In, Son. I played baseball in high school. As a sophomore, I excelled on the junior varsity team. Midway through the year, a starter on the varsity squad was suspended for academic reasons. I was promoted with the intention that I would immediately start in place of the suspended player. Throw in the fact that the team was undefeated and ranked number one in the state, and I had an immediate confidence crisis. I was deathly afraid that I would make a mistake, so my play was timid and unproductive. It was most apparent with my lack of aggressiveness in the batter’s box. Coach Reed pulled me aside before an at-bat during my third game. He looked me in the eye and said, “You cannot stand in the batter’s box doing nothing and hope to get on base. Go all in, son—and swing the [dang] bat!”
OK. So, no fairy tale ending to the story on that day. I did not slug a homerun or even a base hit, but I did go down swinging, and success did come later as I stayed aggressive through the remainder of the season, which, by the way, resulted in a state championship. How often do we miss out on success because our fear of making a mistake or failing is stronger than our desire to win or succeed.
Do your homework [dummy]. Arithmetic was easy, but I struggled with math. Eighth-grade geometry required the memorization of proofs and theorems. It meant that I had to do something outside of the classroom. That was a novel concept to me. I had always been able to slide by in my classes without doing homework. This did not work for geometry. I failed several quizzes, as well as my first test. No surprise that my mom was unhappy with me. I tried to deflect her unhappiness by blaming it on my teacher, the lousy textbook, and finally, that it was obvious I was not cut out for math. She unilaterally dismissed all my arguments and arranged for a meeting with my teacher. My dad came along—uh oh. Actually, I do not remember what was said in the meeting, but I do remember what happened when we got to our car. As I opened the door to the rear seat, my dad pushed it shut. He turned me around. Facing him, he let me know plainly that my only job was to listen. There was going to be no back talk or excuses from me. It was easy to see from his demeanor that it would be foolish not to comply.
He moved in closer with his face just a few inches from mine, and in a firm voice, he whispered, “You do not succeed by skipping the work, young man. I am only going to say this one time. DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Now, get your butt in the car.”
The admonition has served me well. When I think about my career, most failures came when I did not do my homework and tried to “slide by” with a minimum amount of preparation. It is a fool’s folly to think we can succeed without a strong effort to get ready for whatever is coming.
Do the right thing. Early in my career, I had a mentor (Milt) who worked with me as I learned about the business of fire and life safety. I was struggling with solving a problem for a customer. Strictly following the code would satisfy the AHJ, but in my mind, it did not result in good fire protection. I solicited Milt’s input. He listened while I debated with myself about what I should do. Finally, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Russ, it is not about doing things the right way. It is about doing the right thing.” I have applied that advice many times when faced with life’s paradoxes.
Milt’s admonition has made it easy to choose the right path. I am not saying that the path is easy, but making the correct choice means we can go forward with a clear conscience and confidence in our decision.
Be on time, every time. Contractors, engineers, architects, and others in the construction world are notorious for being late. The justification we use is that we must be absolutely accurate in all we do. I took this to heart as a young sprinkler layout technician. I wanted my working plans to be perfect in every way. I rationalized any missed deadlines by producing “accurate and one hundred percent complete” working drawings. One day, our field superintendent took me to lunch. We were a signatory company. He reminded me that our installation crews were made up of highly qualified and well-compensated fitters. He emphasized the term “fitter.” He instructed me that while it is important to deliver complete and accurate installation drawings, my penchant for perfection was causing delays in the field. He taught me about the importance of schedules. Our system piping had to be installed during the right “window” of the construction process. To miss created a myriad of problems and challenges. He implored me to deliver my drawings “on time, every time” as it was a key part of a successful project. He pointed out that a “less-than-perfect” drawing delivered on time will make for a successful job. He stressed that his “fitters” do not need me to cut the inspector’s test piping; they will make it fit. He finished with, “Russ, get the big stuff correct, deliver it to me on time, and we will win every time.” Can’t say it any better than that.
There is no doubt that each of you has similar meaningful mentors. Take a moment, as I did after reading the WSJ article, to reflect on the advice you have received over your lives. I had forgotten some of what I had been told until I consciously tried to bring them back. They can be wonderful reminders and give us a chance to incorporate them once again into our lives. As another mentor stated to me, “Russ, I do not expect you to incorporate everything I suggest, but I do expect you to give it consideration.” What is the point of seeking help only to ignore it?
Think about it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Russell B. Leavitt, CFPS, SET, is executive chairman and board member of Telgian Holdings, Inc. Leavitt’s Telgian roots can be traced to the genesis of the company. In 1990, he co-founded Fire Design Group, which merged with Tomes, Van Rickley, and Associates (TVA) in 1991. He subsequently served in numerous executive positions, including TVA Fire and Life Safety President, Managing Member of Fire Materials Group, LLC, and CEO of Telgian. Today, Leavitt serves as the Executive Chairman for Telgian Holdings, Inc., as well as the Chairman of Telgian Fire Safety and Telgian Engineering & Consulting.
Leavitt is active in numerous trade and professional associations and holds several leadership positions. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors as Immediate Past Chair of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), he has served as the Chair of the NFPA 13 Technical Committee for Fire Sprinkler System Discharge Criteria and continues to serve as a Principal Member. He is also a Principal Member of the NFPA Technical Committee for Installation and a Principal Member of NFPA 3 and NFPA 4. Leavitt also represents NFPA 13 on the Technical Committee for NFPA 909 (Code for the Protection of Cultural Resource Properties) and 914 (Code for the Protection of Historic Structures).
Throughout his career, he has authored numerous articles and training guides, including the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) Beginning Inspector Training Program and the AFSA Online Hydraulics Training Program. In addition, he is a major contributor to several NFPA Handbooks and served as the subject matter expert for numerous NFPA live and online training programs.
Leavitt shares his more than 40 years of experience in the fire protection industry by conducting training presentations for many professional and industry organizations including the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), NFPA, and AFSA.
In 2013, he received the AFSA Henry S. Parmelee Award for dedication to the professional advancement of the fire sprinkler industry and improvement of fire safety through automatic sprinklers. He is also the recipient of the NFPA Standards Council Special Achievement Award in 2018 for his leadership of the task group which completely reorganized NFPA 13 for the 2019 edition.
Leavitt is a Level IV NICET certified technician and Certified Fire Protection Specialist who holds fire protection contracting licenses in multiple states. He is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.