Page 12 - Graypvine August 2022
P. 12
Field put into things happens
Focus and happens well! These
same things are also what
make it extremely difficult.
A Lot of times, there are
Mike Adams has been with the Gray Ohio Valley so many variables that can
Office for 16 years now, and remembers how he complicate the most simple
“pretty much landed here directly out of college and of decisions. It turns into
on a whim.” a juggling act sometimes Mike Adams
“I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil and all you can do is try Manager, Field Operations
engineering, and I had worked construction and keep all the balls in the
through high school and college and always air without dropping them. Sometimes you succeed
enjoyed the gratification of working with my hands, and sometimes you don’t.”
problem solving, and seeing immediate results from Mike says that one of the biggest challenges in his
12 a hard days work,” Mike said. career is dealing with failure.
Over his years at Gray, Mike has been in many “Whether it’s dropping one of the balls you're
positions: Assistant Site Manager, Site Manager, juggling, the wrong decision, installing something
Assistant Project Manager, Project Manager, and incorrectly, not communicating well enough; it
now Manager of Field Operations. is hard to fail,” he said. “The one thing I have
learned and I am still learning is how to fail well.
I think sometimes we put pressure on ourselves
“I think sometimes we put to hit perfection and this can blind us of the real
pressure on ourselves to hit expectations that our leaders actually put on us.
I know this is not a singular event; however, this
perfection and this can blind is a difficult thing when it comes to competitive,
us of the real expectations that driven people.
our leaders actually put on us. I “I have a friend who played major league baseball
and one of things he said caught me by surprise;
know this is not a singular event; he said that the people who get called up to
however, this is a difficult thing the “Big Show” are a dime a dozen and most of
them don’t last long. But the people that stay are
when it comes to competitive, unique. He said the best players are the ones that
driven people.” correct the mistakes they make the quickest. They
recognize their mistake, make adjustments, and
move forward.
“I enjoy what I do because of the challenges “I started my career with a seasoned Project
that come with it,” said Mike. “I find a great sense Manager that once told me that if I am not making
of achievement when I am able to bring order to mistakes then I am not doing anything. This
disorder. This is an every day, every hour challenge has taught me to be calculated, conservative,
that we all deal with. We deal with it with safety, knowledgeable but willing to be wrong and willing
quality, time, drawings, trades, materials, costs, to make errors. To learn from these mistakes, don’t
schedules, emotions (ours and other peoples), dwell too long, have grace for yourself, do not focus
personalities, and more. It is fun when all your on what you cannot control, and don’t repeat the
effort, all the investment, all the work that gets same mistake.”
