The Most Important Role I Have Isn't My Job Title

I've had a lot of titles throughout my career.

Employee. Trainer. Manager. Business owner. Leader.

But there's one title that means more to me than any of them:

Dad.

I'm the father of a daughter named Piper, who is currently pursuing her education to become a physician assistant.

Watching your child work toward a professional career of her own gives you a different perspective on success.

I've spent more than three decades building my own career. I've worked my way through different positions, learned from people who came before me, made mistakes, accepted responsibility, and continued learning.

Now I get to watch the next generation do the same thing in her own way.

Piper's journey reminds me that success isn't something we simply hand to our children. We try to give them the foundation to build it themselves.

Work ethic.

Perseverance.

Compassion.

Responsibility.

The willingness to keep learning.

Those are values that matter regardless of what career someone chooses.

I've spent my career in business and the skilled trades. Piper is pursuing a career in healthcare. Our professional paths couldn't be much more different, but the underlying principles are remarkably similar.

You have to care about the people you're serving.

You have to keep learning.

You have to accept responsibility.

And you have to understand that the work you do can make a difference in someone else's life.

Being a father has also changed the way I think about leadership.

I don't just think about what I'm building today.

I think about what I'm demonstrating for the people who are watching.

That's one of the reasons I want this website to be more than a résumé.

I want it to be a place where I can share what I've learned about business, leadership, the skilled trades, community, and life — while continuing to learn from the people around me.

I'm proud of the career I've built.

But I'm especially proud of watching my daughter build her own future.

And if there's one thing I hope she takes from watching me, it's simple:

Work hard. Treat people right. Keep learning. And leave things better than you found them.

That's a standard worth carrying into any profession — and into life.