How to Swallow Your Pride and Ask for Help - with Houston Enlow
The skilled trades industry used to be every man for himself, but times are charging.
Today, it’s all about teamwork.
In this era of a technical and mechanical revolution, both the older and newer generations have valuable knowledge they can share to help their fellow worker and the industry grow.
In our most recent episode of TPSW, host Michael Peatrowsky sits down with industrial maintenance technician, Houston Enlow. Together they discuss the value of asking questions, sharing knowledge and working together to improve your ability to get the job done right.
As men in the skilled trades industry, we don’t need to be embarrassed to admit that we may need some help in certain areas of our craft.
Every question that goes unasked is an opportunity missed to learn and gain new skills.
Learn more about how you can improve your skills AND your character in our latest episode.
Main Takeaways:
Being a Jack of all trades is better for general maintenance technicians.
Having maintenance teams increases the amount of ways you can fix a problem.
You can’t be prepared for everything—there will always be new problems to solve.
A willingness to help and teach one another will make the trades industry better.
Timecodes:
00:00–04:14 |How Houston got education and experience at the same time
04:15–08:32 |Gaining certification and the value in asking questions
08:33–11:27 |Things you should know when planning your trades career
11:28-14:59 |How the older generation can help improve the trades industry
Quotes:
“If you’re an overall maintenance technician, it’s better to be a Jack of all trades, because you’ll typically run into a little bit of everything.” – Houston Enlow, Industrial Maintenance Technician
“The more people you have looking at one problem, the more possibilities you’re going to have on how to fix it.” – Houston Enlow, Industrial Maintenance Technician
“There’s no way to completely learn every aspect of your job. There will always be something new that’s going to happen. You may study for three or four years and know exactly how to fix a certain machine, and there will always be something new and random that will pop up that you will have to work out.” – Houston Enlow, Industrial Maintenance Technician
“The older generation of mechanics don’t want to train the young guys because they’re scared they’re going to take their jobs. But then they wonder why there aren’t any young guys in the field, and it’s because they don’t want to help them learn.” – Michael Peatrowsky, Director of Operations at Skillwork