Something More - A servant leader's journey from enlisted coast guardsman to electrical tradesman to executive of the largest entertainment facilities in the world.

Welcome to Inspiring People and Places, where we interview national leaders in the architectural, engineering, construction, and development industry in an effort to educate, innovate, and inspire industry professionals to disrupt the status quo, improve their project teams, and store public and private investments more effectively. I'm your host, BJ Kramer, president and CEO of MCFA. Allow me to introduce today's guest. Hey, everybody. Vijay Kramer here.

I am really excited for our next guest. We are continuing our, our honoring of veterans that have transitioned from what I would call the DOD to the AEC, Department of Defense, or in this case, Department of Transportation and Department of Homeland Security. We've got a Coastie joining us. But what I'm most excited about here is we we do a, I think, a pretty good job of... As as a whole and as a community in the AEC serving the junior military officers and the senior officers.

But I think that there's a lot of opportunity we could be serving our junior enlisted ranks. So today's guest is a very, very good friend, but also an an unbelievable example of somebody who transitioned from being a junior enlisted man to a career trajectory that you'll get to hear about, but is currently the vice president of operations for the New Orleans Convention Center, but has held roles at the Georgia Dome, was the executive in charge of Mercedes Benz Stadium. And he is the guy that when something goes wrong, which hopefully it doesn't, but when something goes wrong such as the Georgia Dome crisis at the Super Bowl couple years back, the blackout, he's the guy that's having heart attack. Luckily, he's never had that, but we'll get to talk about, you know, the the VP of operations in a in a mega hospitality or event space. So join me in welcoming the show, Adam Straight.

Adam, so good to see you.

So good to see you, my friend. I gotta correct you, though. That that Super Bowl snafu happened in New Orleans, not at

the That's right. I said Georgia Dome. Right. Right.

I Super Dome.

Super Dome.

But I felt for every single one of them, and we still... We talk about those, that night, to this day. It's funny you mentioned that. So

I'm excited to jump in. We start every show, given a little bit of a of a background and career path, where you came from, how you ended up, you know, what you do in the DOD or or in your case, the Coast Guard, and then a little bit about your transition story and your career trajectory since then. I'm gonna put all cards on the table. Adam and I go back maybe fifteen, sixteen years. He is a very, very close friend of mine.

I have the honor of being his son's godfather. So this is this is a continuation of a thousand conversations we've had on many occasions over many drinks. So I think it's gonna be a great show. So with that, as far back as you wanna go, that that impacted you going into the Coast Guard originally and then the transition from there?

Sure. Again, thanks for thanks for having me. It's great to see you and great to continue our our conversation that is perpetual, so I look forward to it. I guess it all started back in the early part of 1977 when my mom and dad had a vision of creating something superior. And then that didn't happen, so they had me.

So I won't go back that far. I... I'm from a small town in in West Virginia originally. Loved it there. It was...

You never forget where you come from, and those are my roots. But when I hit 18, I couldn't get out soon enough. Not that it was a bad place. I just I just knew that there was something more out there. And as as I talked to you today, that'll be a common theme.

There's there's something more. And I'm never I'm never afraid to to chase that that more. So I got out. I joined the military, the Department of Transportation at that time. I don't think I ever had the honor of serving under the Department of Homeland Security because I well, actively because I got out in 2000.

But... So join the join the Coast Guard. I actually had to recruit myself because a kid from small town West Virginia, you you only get the top four. Right? Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines.

I actually had to to call the recruiter in in Pittsburgh about an hour, hour and a half away north and ask them about it and, you know, kind of, you know, research it myself. So I was a I was a pretty easy find. I I I should I should go after their commission at some point. But... So got out when I was 18.

Got out of West Virginia, that was. You know, went to basic. I had no idea what to expect. A funny story, you know, and it... It's...

You'll also probably start to link things together as my my story progresses. But PJ knows that I'm a I'm a hot sauce guy. I could... Everything needs hot sauce on it. And, typically, when you go to boot camp at age 18, you you you don't know what to expect, and and you're worried about, you know, what it's gonna be like and how you're gonna how you're gonna make it through.

I was really... Yes. I had those concerns, but I was really concerned about how I was gonna eat that food without hot sauce. I I honestly was. So the first time we hit the the the galley, the mess hall, I saw a bottle of hot sauce on the table with the green top and come to find out that's crystal hot sauce from New Orleans, Louisiana And Uh-huh.

Today, the irony of that. Anyway, the hot sauce made me... It helped me through boot camp. But in all seriousness, probably the best decision of my life for many reasons was to was to go and search out for something something more, something opportunity, you know, amazing opportunity, and, you know, it can guide you wherever you really want... Wanna go.

You create that path for yourself. But... So I spent five years active in in the Coast Guard and then four years in active reserve in in Virginia Beach. My five years in the Coast Guard, I mean, it it ranged from... I spent two years stationed in the Virginia Beach area, Yorktown, Little Creek, and then three years in Key West with some solid solid duty there.

Yeah. Tough tough action.

Yeah. When when I was in the military, the the coast guard was so small. I don't know if it's the... Well, it probably is, unfortunately, the the the same fact today that there's more people in the NYPD than there is in the entire coast guard. So that meant you gotta do a lot of things, a lot of different things.

So when I was waiting for school, we had a we had a program called striking. And I know your brother and sister are probably familiar with that. But, unfortunately, I don't think it it exists today because I have a nephew in the in the Coast Guard out in California. And, basically, what that is is on the job training. So it...

The the Coast Guard being so small, they allowed you to do a number of things. Unlike the the army or navy, you go to a school and that's it. That's your thing. That's that's that's the only thing you're focused on, and that's that's that's what you're gonna do forever how long you're you're you're enlisted. So...

But I got to do a lot. I got to do boarding patrol and search and rescue. I got to do a a number of things. But what I what I latched on to my first station was the the chief and I had a a a very good relationship, and he was the chief electrician. So I said, you know, if I'm gonna get anything, I'm gonna get it.

I'm gonna get a trade out of this. And I I grabbed on to him and said, teach me everything you know. And from that point on, I'd... You know, I I learned that skill. I I went on to do other things in the Coast Guard.

It was a short career, but it was very, very meaningful for me in in a number of ways and helped me get to where I am today, not only from a... Just having that as my... And on my resume as a background, but from a from a mindset point of view.

Talk to us a little bit. You you come out of the coast guard. As you're getting out, you you were smart enough or thoughtful enough about, you know, hey. Give me a trade. I gotta have something I take with me.

How did you start searching for where to apply that skill, and and where did you land?

Sure. So, regionally, I kinda wanted to stay, in the in the Northeast or or or buy home, because at that point, I'm still, you know, 23 years old. Still have friends. I wanna be close to family. So I was I was in a relationship with a girl when I got out, and she lived in in Maryland.

So Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia area. So I kinda just, you know, focused right in, laser focused on on that area, given it a large metropolitan area, a lot of opportunity, but, you know, a three and a half, four hour drive from from friends and family. So I moved back home for a very, very short time and then, you know, applied in places around the the, I guess, the Delmarva area. Places from Brink Security, from, you know, construction electrician, from building bathrooms, I mean, electrician to to to build bathroom, just whatever I could use the skill that I had. Really, the only trade that that I had.

So I I really put my my eggs in one basket there, but I did that work for a while. I did construction work, and I did whatever I needed to because I was going back and forth from West Virginia to to to DC area about three times a week driving, you know, making day trips for interviews and did... Doing whatever I needed to do just to to get work. But I finally landed in in Maryland, and I worked for a small bathroom company for about six months. Learned another trade there.

Learned some carpentry work. Learned some tile skills, and just became a sponge of... Just like I did in the Coast Guard. Whatever whatever's... Whatever I'm willing to or whatever or whoever's willing to teach me, I'm willing to learn.

So did that for a little bit. I finally got a lead at the University of Maryland in their electrical shop at their College Park campus. Interviewed for that. Got the job as an entry level electrician, bottom of the bottom of the rung. And the the funny story about how I got into the business I am today, I was sitting there about two weeks in, and this is right around two thousand, two thousand one when Maryland was really good at both football and basketball.

And my boss at the time, he goes, hey. Do you like do you like sports? And I said, well, you know, yeah. I like sports. It's great, especially, you know, collegiate sports.

He goes, okay. Well, do do you like overtime? I'm like, even better. Give it... You know, I'm I'm I'm I'm there for one reason.

It's to make a lot of money, to do a lot of work, and to learn a lot of things and to go to night school, you know, all top to... You know, on top of that. So those are the two... The the the two things that got me in this business because at that point, all the athletic events use the university on a work order system to support their events. So, again, I didn't know anything about setting up press conferences.

I didn't know anyone's thinking about setting up scoreboards. I didn't know anything about doing the the the entertainment... Sports entertainment business, But I said yes, and I was willing to learn and, again, be a sponge. And did that for a while, became the only one that did that. My boss and I, we were the, you know, the the dynamic duo that would would, you know, hook up men's basketball game at Cole Fieldhouse and then a football game the next day and then a field hockey game then a softball game.

We used to say... Or at least I used to say Maryland had 27 sports and one atom. And I was I was going back and forth and, you know, supporting those events. But, again, it was it was it was important to be that guy and to be that person that people relied on and to know those skills and to, you know, to sharpen those skills throughout the throughout the time that I was there. I spent eleven years there, again, from electrician one level all the way to director of of all of their athletic facilities.

So, you know, if you wanna put you wanna put that on a on a progression track, that's a that's a that's a pretty unique story. But that tells you that it is possible, and it's possible with with hard work, open mind, and, you know, just the just the willingness to to learn and sponge.

So I I wanna highlight some things there because, one, it was it was basically you took the opportunity when it knocked, and then every opportunity that you got when it was offered to you, you took it. You you learned from it. Yeah. You made some overtime money, but you were just in the hustle absorbing. And in doing that, moving up the ladder at a pretty young age, despite having spent some time in in the military, you, you know, you took the the school of hard knocks there in that, you know, junior electrician position and culminated as, you know, basically senior staff in the facility side of the athletic department and then talk to us.

From there, you go to Georgia World Congress Center. Roles, responsibilities at Georgia World Congress Center.

Yep. So, again, everything happens for a reason in all of my positions that I've held. I say all of them. I've really only worked for three companies, but a long tenure with with those three. Driving to work one day from from Baltimore.

And, again, I'd been there eleven years, and it was about time. You know, I wasn't being challenged like I'd like to be challenged by my by my leader. Just kinda let me let me run the ship. And that's good on on one hand, but that's... That that can be a bad thing on the other because, you know, personality like me, I I I like to I like to keep improving and keep being challenged and never be comfortable.

So I was driving into work one day, and I just wasn't feeling it. I wasn't feeling it. There was traffic, and and I'd I'd put some applications out there previously for, like, four or five, six months. But I said to myself, you know what? I'm not I'm not gonna go to work today.

I'm just gonna go... I'm a turn around. I'm a go home, and I'm take an I'm a take an Adam day. And that's the autonomy that I had. Right?

Which, again, was was the problem. It's... You know, it it was it was my decision to make. It wasn't necessarily anyone else's. And I don't like that.

It makes me it makes me kind of comfortable, but uncomfortably comfortable. But I did. I got off. I turned around. I I I swear to you, you know, five minutes later, I got a call from a recruiter that read my application for the Georgia Dome in that very moment and said, hey.

We'd like to invite you down for an interview. And I'm like, what what is going on? What what are you what are you doing up there? Good lord. So took that, ended up getting the position.

What brought me to Georgia was to run the day to day operations, the director of facility operations at the Georgia Dome, was a huge step up in in in my career. It was one venue at that at that point, and I was in charge of a lot, you know, in charge of a campus campus structure within higher education. But the the brevity of of the dome was just, you know, expansive, and it was it was world class. It was it was the NFL. It was much much bigger and and brighter events, so I could not not take it.

So went to Georgia. Got the got the offer of the Georgia Dome the day after my wife passed the Maryland bar. So that was a whole other... Well, you've heard that story many times.

Yeah. Yeah.

But I just told her I'm just making her more marketable because she ended up taking the Georgia bar, she passed that as well. Well. So ended up in Georgia and really just kinda dove in dove in there. Did I ever expect to run a large stadium facility of of that magnitude? It was always a goal of mine.

Did I know how? I don't know. But I didn't say no. Right?

Yeah.

And that's that's my point. It's... I'm... The willingness. And it...

It's always... You'll never hear me say, no. I'm not gonna do that. I'm not I'm not willing to learn to do that because that's how you that's how you get places. It's about it's about what you know, who you know, and and and and how you know it.

So went there just eyes wide open. Mhmm. Again, sponging. Developed a pretty good leadership role within within that organization. Did the Georgia Dome for a few years.

We decided to build the Mercedes Benz Stadium literally 10 foot six inches away from the the Georgia Dome while we were operating it. And and my my leadership put me as the executive in charge and owner's representative for that project. Again, have ever been a a executive charge or an owner's rep?

I remember when you got the project.

Yeah. Exactly. But but I'm not there to say no. I'm I'm I'm saying yes. I'll take that on.

I'll take that responsibility. Learned a lot of things, a great a great deal of things within that project. A couple of them, I I learned how not to be a a good owner's rep... Representative. But I...

Then I learned how to be a great owner's representative that has serviced me well in the in the roles that I've I've taken after that.

I I I wanna point that out. So how not to be? I mean, I I think we get this highlighted a lot in military. Like, you can you can learn as much from the bad leaders as you can from the good leaders. And then from both a leadership standpoint and a followership standpoint, allowing people to take risks and allowing people to to be uncomfortable to grow and to to make mistakes and and fail a little bit because that's what...

How we all learn. Right? You have to be Right. So it's it's a great leadership lesson, but it's also a great individual growth lesson in, you know, you have to be willing to take those risks. You have to be in an organization that makes it, maybe not comfortable to fail, but but not, not crucify you if you fail or make mistakes.

So you... That career culminates or or that stint culminates with what in Georgia? As... Was the executive in charge of the Mercedes Benz Stadium your your last official role?

No. So so that grew into... I was offered a job with the falcons to to run the day to day at the Mercedes Benz Stadium. Did a lot of soul searching. Did a lot of did a lot of thinking around that one, decided not to go that route.

I was offered a position at the authority, Georgia World Congressman Authority, to stay with them after the demolition of the dome. That was my other project associated with the with the new build. So build the new and then tear down tear down the old. But with that, they made me the... Again, another project executive of creating a project and program management division, our first ever project management division within the authority.

Everything used to be controlled by the engineering department and, you know, kinda one off project managers here and there. So to really... To to to really focus on the need for a a single department to handle all the big projects that we were undertaking at that that point, it was not only the the build, which was, you know, pretty much a singular project for the authority. It was me and reporting back to leadership. We had a lot of parking decks going up.

We had talks of a hotel. We had a lot of interior, you know, renovations going on. So some some group to lead all those functions. So I created that from the ground up. Then another opportunity came to lead the the entire operation for the for the congress center authority.

So the whole campus, which included the convention center, which is the third largest convention center in the country. Mercedes Benz Stadium still being that liaison because the the authority was the owner of that asset while the Falcons managed it. All the grounds associated around campus and then Centennial Olympic Park. So, again, I jumped on that opportunity, accepted that role as senior director of of campus operations. Did that for about two years and then, again, having another bad day in the office.

I think I think my feet were up up on the desk like this, and, you know, I was like this with my head. And I got a call from recruiter that I had not put in a... An application in. A recruiter looking to see if I was interested in in, you know, next step in my career, And it gave me two options. This was one of them.

And I I said, I... You know what? I think I think I might be I might be willing to pursue that. So here

we bring... That brings you to today. What all falls under your responsibility? What do you have going on?

A quick little fun fact. I think, you know, I was at your... I was in your kitchen the night I declined this opportunity for the first time. So, again, I did a lot of soul searching, and and, you know, Allison and I... Things see...

Things aren't just Adam's decision at that point like they were earlier in my career of, yes. I'll go do the I'll go chase that. I'll go do that. Whatever it takes. It takes a lot more feedback and, you know, a lot more, you know, conversations around, you know, how that's gonna affect us moving forward.

So, anyway, my roles and responsibilities. So VP of ops, chief operating officer, number two in charge. We have a president in our structure, and then three in the C Suite. So I'm... At the C Suite, I oversee, god, I think, nine or 10 departments, emergency management, capital projects, facility operations, event operations, food and beverage, sustainability, facility management, public safety.

I might be missing a couple. About 350 total under under my responsibility on a day to day, certainly on an event that that gets into the thousands. But oversee all event activity in the building, oversee all facility maintenance and all capital improvements. In charge of... Currently in charge of the $557,000,000 investment we're making in our facility inside and out, and then the the over $1,000,000,000 master development plan that we have in what we're calling the upriver side of our of our grounds, of our campus.

So we're gonna save that project because that sounds like an inspiring place, over $1,500,000,000 investment in the in the entire campus, if you will. We'll save that for maybe its own episode because New Orleans has a lot to share, and we had a... We recently had Richmond highlighted in all the secret treasures in Richmond. So I'm gonna move to kind of a a leadership. I mean, you hit on a number of lessons learned and themes, but, you know, what I really want you to hit on is what did you learn as as an enlisted person and...

That you have taken with you and the opportunities that you've seen in this industry? And and I say the industry, architect, engineering, construction industry, but then inside of that, you have entertainment and sports, which I think from the outside looking in, everybody looks as is fun and sexy. I've seen the hard side of that, which is every night game that you're at and every Saturday game that you're at and Sunday games. So I know that there's, you know, pluses and minuses to to all sides, but leadership lessons or or lessons learned in the in the enlisted experience that you've applied through your career.

Yeah. You know, as cliche as it might sound, it it it all goes back to the core values. And those are what... That's what's instilled in you in day one. And those core values in in the coast guard are honor, respect, devotion to duty.

And that has really stuck with me from the moment I saw it because that's that's why that's why I enlisted to to get some of that to get some of that embodied into me so I could use that energy elsewhere. Right? So the honor... If if you're if you're in my crew, you're you're never getting out because, you know, I honor that and, you know, I cherish that. And, you know, I take that very, very seriously and honorable in everything that I do because I know that what I do touches so many other people and and places.

So it's it's really a combination of of of that, the respect I have for others, the respect I have for my team, our staff members. I'm a servant leader. I I truly am. I I tell this to to all my my folks that that are new to the industry and, you know, when we have a when we have a a company wide function. I I truly am here for them.

So my my entire role... And I don't know when I discovered this. Certainly wasn't, you know, the first night in in boot camp. But as my career as my career progressed, it was, you know, what is my function in life? What what am I here?

What is my purpose? Why am I here on Earth? And what I found was I enjoy seeing the best person or human that others can be, and I enjoy making them the best possible version of themselves. So when when I... When I'm in front of, you know, a director or when I'm in front of a custodian or when I'm in front of an electrician, I'm always asking them, what can I do to help you?

Where do you wanna be? What do you wanna do? Because if you if you remember, that that question was asked of me, and that's how I got into the place that I am. So I never wanna lose sight of all it takes is conversation to change someone's life. Right?

So it's understanding them and understanding where you can fit in and, you know, how how best motivated that makes you or how best motivated you can make them in in whatever they wanna do. So that's really the the devotion of duty devotion to duty side of it. Devoted to everyone that I really come in contact with that I have the honor to lead.

I think that's awesome. Inspiring People and Places is brought to you by MCFA. MCFA is a CVE verified, service disabled, veteran owned small business. At MCFA, our why is to inspire people in places through project leadership. We provide planning, strategy, program management, and construction management support services to a wide variety of public and private sector clients.

Easier, maybe maybe not. More of a q and a now. Starting with favorite quote.

Oh, man. I got a bunch of quotes. Here's one that I'm pretty sure that I that I quoted, and I just wrote it down the other day. And it it speaks to our conversation, and then I'll share the other two because they're good too. It's not what you were taught.

It's what you have learned. And that just goes to our conversation of you get an opportunity and someone's teaching you how to do something, that doesn't mean anything if you don't wanna learn it. If you don't wanna if you if you don't wanna put the time in to understand what you're being taught to learn it, then it doesn't mean anything. Right? This one's good.

This kinda speaks to the world today, unfortunately. Good times create weak people. Weak people create bad thing times. Bad times create strong people. Strong people create good times.

So, hopefully, we're on the the upswing of that, and we can get some strong people to to to create some good times.

I I... Go ahead. You have one more?

I got another one. Alright.

I wanted to comment on that. I I think that quote is, you know, when you look at society at large, you can you can become, I don't know, a little pessimistic about where where we may be. But I think when you're a leader inside of an organization and you own roles and responsibilities that can influence, you know, you get to change that. And and I Right. The first time I heard that quote, I'm like, Where are we going as a country?

Blah blah blah blah blah. I'm like, wait. I can't control that. I can control what... You know, control the controllables.

What's my blast radius around me as a leader, whether that's as a husband, father, businessperson? And that made me more introspective, not as to what are the leaders doing out there, but what am I doing as a leader in here.

Yeah. The pandemic taught taught us all a lot. It taught it taught us as an organization a lot. We were actually one of the few companies, at least in my industry, to not lay off a single person through the pandemic. We we paid everyone.

That's awesome.

Throughout that time, we didn't have any events. We didn't have any business coming in. We were hospital for the state, and then we were a mass vaccination site once those were available. But it it created something special within our group that that we're seeing the fruits of that that labor now. It's it's the it's the honor to the company.

It's the respect of of leadership, and it's... That continues to the devotion of of their duties. Absolutely. Kinda, you know, twofold there. So the last one, it's a it's a it's a local quote.

Little Louis Armstrong. If lots if lots more of us loved each other, then we'd solve lots more problems. And then, man, this world would be a gasser. So that really speaks to kinda what we're going through too, unfortunately. You know, it's it's all about loving each other and treating each other with respect, and I just wish there was a lot more of that out there.

Amen. Must read book.

You know, I don't know. I got a lot of books. I got a lot of books over here. But you know what? I got one yesterday.

I was at a summit, a local summit for construction and engineering. It was a it was a core customer summit. One of our... One of my clients now on on the renovation brought me in to give the perspective of of of the customer and what the expectation should be. So I haven't...

I I just kinda opened it up last night, but it's called the six six types of working genius. You familiar?

Patrick Lencioni. I just downloaded it. I I can't make the recommendation yet. I just downloaded it on Audible. I'm, like, two chapters in.

Nice. Nice. And it Yeah. I'll talk about the notes afterwards.

The six geniuses. So I'm, I'm excited to to read that one.

And because you brought it up, in in kind of the navigation, the call of leadership, what I what I... The the reason I was interested in the book was, I've always paid attention to personality profiles and Colby tests and strength finders and and been reflective of my strengths and and also been curious about, like, how do other people perform in different roles and responsibilities? But it really comes down to there's all sorts of different geniuses inside of our organizations. And us as leaders, our job is to tap into that and to help others become the best version of themselves. Right.

Back to that leadership coaching mindset. So, we'll have to compare notes, and and I'll probably make that recommendation on our blog here after

we finish it. You know, that's that's one of the lessons I give to to my directors. I have about 10 directors that report to me. And, you know, whether it's in conversation or whether it's in, you know, evaluations or or whatever, it... It's all about the personalities.

Right? You think you think all 10 of my directors are the same? Yeah. That's never gonna happen. So what I tell them is, you know, find their love language.

Everyone everyone has a love language. Right? Everyone loves... Everyone likes to be spoken to a certain way. So you find that language.

That's that's the way that you treat those people, and that's their really... That's, I guess, that's what I'm gonna find out, but that's probably their inner genius.

So there's another one, five five languages of appreciation in the workplace. Gary Chapman, who wrote five love languages, you know, in marriage, but he he wrote one applying it to the workplace. So we'll make that recommendation out to everybody, because I agree. Leadership's a relationship, and unless you can speak somebody else's love language and really understand what makes them tick Yep. Pretty difficult to build the relationship.

Alright. I'm really curious on this one. Dead or alive, if you could hang out with three people for a day, who would they be, and what would you do?

Oh, man. So the the ultimate would be, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ and to be able to walk a path with with him and just to understand, you know, I guess I call myself a sponge. How could we not sponge off of that guy? Right? Mean, I don't make...

I I don't wanna make this religious, but, I mean, he's the creator and, you know, everything that we that we can learn and and have learned. And the reason we're here is... I mean, if you don't choose him... I don't know. So another one would probably be George Washington.

And I say that because a lot of the things politically now, and I'm not making... Man, I'm talking about the two worst things you can talk about, religion and politics. You're in a

safe space.

Yeah. But we're

on the we're on the deck.

You know, with what we're going through now and and and all the the variations of what our founding fathers may have meant or didn't mean or didn't mean, you know, I... I'd really like to understand from the source, you know, what what was the vision? What was the vision of of of two hundred years from from then? So, yeah, George Washington's one of them. Man, I don't know the third one.

That's a tough one. Maybe I'd say my grandpa because I never met him. And I never had a grandpa growing up. And, you know, I see I see Allison with her grandpa, and I see my kids with their grandpa. And just to have that that person in your life seems really, really special to me.

Yeah. And I know you you got it going, man. You got the... One of the largest families I've ever seen. One of that.

But, yeah, maybe maybe just to experience a grandpa just for even one day.

Yeah. That's powerful. Alright. Last one. Legacy.

What do want on your tombstone? How do you wanna be remembered?

Adam Straight. I mean, I don't wanna say influential or good leader or anything like that, but... And I don't wanna be known for a a a one thing. So I guess it would write Adam was there for you. And you meaning whatever.

Whatever, whoever. It's just... I mean, that's... Again, I don't wanna harp on it, but that... That's my calling.

It's it's to to make people better, and that's what I enjoy to do.

So speaking of making people better, you get to close us out with with anything you wanna share, but I I really... My hope is that this this reaches some junior enlisted that are, you know, contemplating their next step and figuring out what's... What else is out there in the world. So I I would love your message to be directed at the, you know, 21 year old or 22 year old or or 25 year old junior enlisted Adam Straight and and his peers, about, you know, your message to them.

Sure. I'll first lead off by by kinda telling you something. You're exhausting in in the best way possible. I don't know how you do it, Vijay, but you're an inspiration. You have so many balls in the air, and you you you you knock it out of the park with with each and every one of them.

So thank you for being you. Thank you for being a friend. Certainly, thank you for being Silas' godfather. It's a pleasure to to know you and Nat, and, you know, we'll we'll have those beers and cheers soon at another time. But...

So Thank you. What I would say what I would say to to any of those folks that, you know, they're in in early twenties or, you know, it doesn't really matter what age you are. It... You know, wherever you're at in your career, if you're if you're entry level or if you're looking for something else, it's never to say no. It's...

If you get an opportunity, take it. If you don't know how to do it, learn it. Learn it on the job. Learn it. I I I hate to say fake it till you make it, and that's certainly not not the way to to to approach it.

But, you know, I I I subscribe to the seventy thirty rule. If I'm 70% in, we're going for Leave the 30 leave the 30, you know, off to the side there because it's never gonna be it's never gonna be perfect. So just a lot of hard work. That's what I tell everyone. I get I get a lot of I'm a mentor to to some...

In the industry. And, you know, over the past few years, that that mentorship or the... At least the mentees have changed dramatically. And, you know, that's generational. Absolutely.

And it's how do I get to be Adam Straight COO or vice president or whatever? And I start rolling down the the list of, you know, things that you should you should look out for and things that you should do. And they're like, well, no. Like, how do I do that next year? I'm like, like, that...

That's not that's not how it works. And so it's a lot of hard work. It's never saying no. It's always willing to take a chance. It's putting yourself out there, letting people hold your hand along the way.

You'll learn a lot of leadership skills that way. I'll walk you to the ledge. I'll never let you fall. Yeah. But we all learn we all learn that way.

At least I learn that way the best with with those types of situations and scenarios. So anyone searching for that next step or that evolution in their career, it really is just that easy. It's that simple. It's take a chance. Do it.

If you get an opportunity, say yes.

There's always something more. Right?

There's always something more.

The... You talking about that and and, you know, I'm not somebody that's gonna say there's laziness or there's... Every every generation is called the next generation or or whatever. There's there's something missing. They don't...

They're not as old school as we were, blah blah blah. I'm not I'm not gonna say that, but your your comment made me think of a John Maxwell quote, and I don't know the whole thing off the top of my head, but it was basically somebody comes up to him after a after a speaking engagement, and they say, I wanna do what you do. And he said, are you willing to do what I did? Because if you don't do what I did, you can't do what I do. Exactly.

And I I do think that I have to remind myself that... Or Natalie has to remind me often, don't be in a rush. Right? Enjoy the journey and and and be present to to take it all in and absorb and be the sponge. Adam, it was awesome having you.

I

Yeah, man.

Love your experience. I love you as a role model and and really think that a lot of people can benefit from this. So I'm gonna I'm gonna close this out by saying this. Everybody out there, you know, if if you're former military and and and, you know, whether you're a general officer in o six or in o three, o four, you know, that's that's a lot of our audience and our our network and and I'll call it the the mafia, the engineering mafia in the army, kind of looks out for each other. But I think we're doing a disservice to our junior enlisted, and I think we're missing a huge population of talented leaders that are core value aligned because, like Adam talked about, they went through the boot camp.

They they they they got that, whether they had it before or they got it through boot camp or their experience in the military, whether it's it's the Coast Guard or or the army core values, loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, personal courage. They really are the same across DOD. And how great would our industry be if we brought those core values and unlocked that talent into our infrastructure, into our engineering community, into our construction community, and how much better are the cultures of our public and private organizations with those core values leading them? So I encourage you to to reach out. Go mentor a junior enlisted that's trying to get it out.

Share this share this podcast with them if you think they can get value, and and maybe it's just the first seed planted for them considering a career in our industry that we know has a labor gap. And and if we're gonna rebuild our country's infrastructure, we're gonna continue to maintain our our infrastructure and and our communities. We need that talent. So, take this as a call to action. Reach out to a junior enlisted that's...

That that you think might be a worthy candidate for our industry. And if we can help them at MCFA, please put them in touch. So thank you. Thank you, Adam. And until next time, everybody.

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