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Asst. Project Engineer Chassidy Bermudez and Project Manager Shaun Boughton join me to discuss our core value program and the story that earned Shaun a Golden Hammer win.

Transcript

Richie: Hello Shaun and Chassidy, thank you for joining me. Welcome to the podcast, Building People. I'm Richie McNamara, your host. Chassidy, you're an assistant project engineer here at C.E. Floyd, and Shaun you're a project manager.
Thank you both for being here today. So this episode is going to be a little different than the ones I've done in the past. We're going to be talking about our core value program and your specific core value story. Our core value recognition program is run by the marketing team and allows CEFamily members to nominate their peers for representing and embodying our core values. Pop quiz, can you name all five of our core values?

Chassidy: Service Above All Else, Prepare for Success...

Shaun: Never shirk. Work hard, play hard... Number five?

Richie: Firm but Fair.

Chassidy: That's the hardest for me. That's the one I'm still working on.

Richie: Let's move into the exciting part of this episode. So at our quarterly All Hands meeting, we always honor one outstanding core value story to receive the prestigious Golden Hammer Award. And at this last all-hands meeting, Shaun you were given the golden hammer, and Chassidy, you nominated Shaun for the Work Hard / Play Hard core value. Do you want to tell us the story of why you nominated him?

Chassidy: Yeah, definitely. So in December, I was feeling, like, really down and frustrated because I didn't have, like, the will to be into the gym. It's something I've been passionate about for years, and I just didn't want to be in there and I couldn't figure out why. So Shaun always has taken an interest since I got hired. So it's always like, how are you doing here? You know, where are you headed and how good do you feel here? Of course at C.E. Floyd, but other things, like how are you doing in general? I just kind of let them know how I was feeling. And then one day I was just like, Yeah, I really need to get into a different gym and start taking fitness classes. And that day he told me to come see his gym. And I'm like, Oh, okay. 
And so he's like, follow me, I'm going to the gym right now. And I'm like, Yes, sir. We head over, and it was a really nice place. It had the classes that I wanted which helped get my head in the game. And actually, when I got in there, I started weight training again because everyone there is a really serious weight trainer, and I felt like that's what I needed.
It was like I had graduated from my old one, and it was just time for a transition. I didn't know that. So that was pretty cool. I got in there and then we would catch up every couple of weeks like, how are you doing? How are you liking it? I think he was really surprised that I joined right away and...

Shaun: There have been other inquiries. You were the first to actually take action.

Chassidy: I think we're alike in that aspect. We're like a thousand or nothing. And then January came around and we had a six-week challenge. And so we ended up joining the six-week challenge, which was pretty cool. And it created this like friendly competition and it was just, it was just sort of like motivating each other, like, hey, drink more water. Have you been able to get in there? And it wasn't really like judgment, it was more or less like, okay, well I'm going to try to get in there because I'm off, you know, you can do it too. And it was funny, too, because there were prizes for the winner.
So there was a little competition, but I think we wanted to win against our best selves. So we just kept pushing each other forward.
As we know, Shaun gets nominated for core values a lot. He's always working hard, working hard, working hard. But I was at a place where I was super anxious, I was super overwhelmed, and I needed this to sort of like focus on myself. That way I could be stronger here, so I could be strong for my family, and in all other aspects. And just seeing him able to do that, which I know wasn't easy for him to make that time for himself and really push himself to do that. I was really proud of him. And then it let me know that it was okay for me to do that, for me to carve out a time for myself. Seeing that was like, was like really great for me. 

Richie: Shaun, how do you feel our core value program resonates with you? Specifically, the Work Hard / Play Hard core value.

Shaun: You know, I've dedicated a lot of my personal time to self-improvement. And I remember when, you know, we read the book Traction and we started implementing this whole structure of our core values, our mission statement. And a lot of people kind of our first responses were, what is all this? We were kind of seeing the change coming, and naturally, I believe we were all just kind of hesitant towards that change, but as time went on, we all really jumped on board.
It's been a couple of years now, and we've seen just everybody get excited about it. We implement it in part of our department meetings and our all-hands meetings, and I don't know, the more time goes by, the more I identify with it. Naturally, I don't have core values, right? So I feel like, as we implement these core values and practice them and see each other, you know, demonstrating those core values, I'm identifying more and more each day with our core values. Which also makes me feel like I'm a better fit here and I'm included. I think it's a very important program, and I'm sure other companies are doing it, and if not, they really ought to be doing it because it was the foundation of building our culture of who we are.

Chassidy: Do you feel like it's easy for you to always implement that, or do you feel like you struggle with any one of them more than others?

Shaun: When I first started here, it's been eight years. My first project was at Mystic. So I'd be up every day at 5:30 and I was on site by 6:30. Being fresh out of school, I really wanted to push myself and, you know, earn my keep, so I would be out there 10 to 12-hour days. Then I had an hour-long commute back, so I was certainly working hard, and I didn't really know anything else. I just knew how to work. And as the years have gone by, I've learned to work just as hard. But now a little more efficient and more effective. I'm blocking out time for activities and vacations and pre-planning my vacations every year.

Chassidy: Because you also got nominated for your trip to Mexico, right? Would you consider that, like, even though you were volunteering, would you consider that maybe also Play Hard too because it was so fulfilling?

Shaun: Oh, yeah. Oh yeah. Definitely so. Anybody in construction right now can tell you that we're busy, and it's easy to talk ourselves out of taking care of ourselves outside of work or taking time and taking rest. So I think it was in a department meeting one day we came up with this idea every January, February, start planning your trips.
So I've gotten better at doing that. I can say, Oh, I'm too busy at work, I can't go. But if we work a little harder the week before, take the week off and travel, and then just make it up when we come back... It's easy to implement.
Little things day to day, like blocking out time in my schedule to go to the gym... Every Sunday night I map out my week and say, okay, here's my meeting days time, box my schedule, here are the times I'm at the gym, and nine times out of ten I commit to myself and go to the gym. Planning is definitely key. 

Chassidy: With your trip to Mexico and making that time for the gym, you come back so refreshed, more fulfilled, and ready to attack with so much more energy. It's almost like you get to the point when you're working so hard, you feel like you're not even operating at the full capacity that you can. Like you're not even able to put your best foot forward. So it's almost better that you step back, reevaluate, build yourself up, and then come back that much stronger. So, yeah, I definitely agree, and I'm proud of you!

Shaun: You too.

Richie: It's funny, we're talking about Work Hard / Play Hard, but in that, we're describing Prepare for Success.

Shaun: Prepare to Work Hard / Play Hard.

Richie: Yes, exactly. I also want to add that included in this core value nomination, Jeff Palmer, noted that you are doing a great job with your projects. The Food Bank and the Bradley both ran very smoothly.

Shaun: One thing I had written down is that we all know how to work hard on projects. And if you've been in the industry for the last two years and you're still here, it's because you're passionate about what you do. It's been a really chaotic and tough industry to be in, and I'm sure other industries are just as impacted as well. I just realized at one point that I need to take the time for myself because I'm going to burn out if I don't. And, you know, we do a lot of stuff internally, too, like the C.E. Floyd ski day, winter party, and dragon boat racing. It builds our community here where we can build these bonds and friendships and encourage each other to be our best selves. And as Chassidy said, rejuvenate yourself to come back to work, to do a better job, and go to war.

Chassidy: The transition of seeing how Shaun began the challenge where he was like, you know, how much can you really do in six weeks? Even if he might have felt that way in the beginning, he still went full force and gave it his all, just like he does everything else. He won third place in the challenge. Seeing that was pretty awesome. 

Shaun: I think you said it when I got the golden hammer, I've always identified most with Service Above All Else. I'll do anything for the client, right? And I probably need the most improvement in Work Hard / Play Hard. So when I first got the nomination, I was very surprised, and it didn't hit me right away. Slowly, as the weeks went on, I realized it has much more importance and significance now because that's probably the area that I needed to most improve.