Blue Dog Cranes is true success!
GENUINE VS PERCEIVED
Most people look at the companies with the biggest cranes, biggest contracts, government work, flashy offices and assume that’s what success looks like.
I don’t.
In terms of building substantial wealth for my family, we’re still working on it. We’re still learning, improving and fine-tuning the business every year.
The money takes time.
Success, to me, is something else entirely, and my company has it in spades.
The Values I Was Raised With
My parents taught me a simple lesson: if you’re going to do something, give it everything you’ve got.
The difference between going through the motions and giving 110% isn’t as big as people think.
You’re already doing the work. You may as well do it properly.
I’ve carried that mindset through my whole life.
Finding What I Was Meant to Do
I wasn’t the smartest kid at school. I wasn’t the best athlete. I was never the standout.
Then I found cranes.
For whatever reason, it just made sense to me.
Planning lifts, operating machinery, reading a site, positioning equipment, reversing trailers, seeing problems before they happen.
My brain was wired for it.
For the first time in my life, I found something I knew I could do exceptionally well. So while the work site had lunch I sat in the crane burning fuel and catching swings. Doing things smoother and faster. Every day for years I practiced. I still do.
This changed my expectations.
A good crane operator doesn’t need three attempts to work out where the crane should have gone. A good operator studies the job, thinks ahead and gets it right the first time.
That’s not arrogance.
That’s professionalism.
The same applies to business.
What Success Actually Looks Like
Success isn’t having the biggest company.
Success is having a reputation that can’t be bought.
It’s doing something I said I would do.
If I shake your hand, that’s the deal.
I don’t owe people money.
I don’t make promises I can’t keep.
I don’t tell people what they want to hear.
And I don’t pretend to like people for the sake of making a dollar.
Character Over Theatre
That last one seems rare these days.
I watch businesses spend years tearing strips off each other behind closed doors, then sit beside each other at conferences, smile for photos and act like best mates because there’s money on the table.
That’s not business.
That’s theatre.
I’d rather spend my time with people I genuinely respect, and when I’m not doing that, you’ll find me with family.
The people around me are there because they want to be, and because I want them there. This goes for subcontractors, staff and customers alike!
The Success I ACTUALLY WANT
That’s success.
The fact that nobody can truthfully say I ripped them off, refused to honour my word, or failed to stand behind a commitment I made – that’s success.
The fact that my staff know exactly where they stand with me – that’s success.
The fact that my kids are learning the same values – that’s success.
Will we continue building wealth?
Absolutely.
But wealth is a result, not a measure.
The money takes time.
Character takes a lifetime.
And when it’s all said and done, I’d rather be remembered for the strength of my word than the size of the crane sitting in my yard.