Within An Inch …
One day last week I was on the phone and talking with a friend and the subject of “The AirTight Creed” arose. The Creed is a document: A collection of values and principles that my company, AirTight Mechanical, together with my wife, formed back in 1999, worked hard to operate around and to help guide our decisions. You can find a copy of it here: -> https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:fed66311-c9de-42e6-9592-b86da7cc731b
A couple of the foundational believes are: Be dedicated in the Battle Against Mediocrity, another is: Be disciplined and Educate yourself and Others as you can. These were and are intended to not be fluffy or cheesy, they are meant to provide a barometer on how we were and are delivering to those that count on us, and even greater, how we are delivering against our own internal creed.
The conversation with my friend was on leadership, mentoring, and all those topics that I find so, so important in 2026 as we work to get the next generation of skilled workers exposed to even the general knowledge of what the trades are, how to get started, and the associated work that goes with doing that. We finished with our chat, said our goodbyes, and then the rest of the normal stuff of that day followed and flowed on, as normal.
The following morning, I was made aware of a situation on a job site that was important and fluid. This job is 3,000 miles or so from my home office, so I was observing and listening from that distance, as it unfolded. This isn’t any typical job, it is a very visible job within the mission critical, data center world, a world that I find truly fascinating from a science perspective and from a “how in the world can we get this done” perspective.
If you want to understand the gist of it, just picture this site being in California, with lots of big names within today’s headlines being involved, a sophisticated installation of some very smart and expensive electronics, a unique building for it to live in, and fortunately, some very dedicated folks working to bring this thing to life.
The sequence of events that morning unfolded like this. Hey, the parts that were delivered are the wrong size. What? Yes, they are four inches, and we need the three-inch size of that particular part … can someone source them locally? That was almost a non-starter type question, simply based upon where this site is located and what is not around there.
So, a horse race, the chase for two of these items that were shipped wrong, began. All the local sources, all the “surely they will have its” were tried, could a driver be sent, etc. All options were on the table. To make matters even more vexed was the fact that one of the folks on site that needed theses parts was set to fly to Europe the next day, so the pressure got ratcheted up a notch or three.
All options of where these parts would normally be sourced by a mechanical contractor came up dry. The thing that happened next was truly art. The thought of who else, meaning, what other industry would need these type parts … Hmmm. A brilliant thought is exactly what that turned out to be. The adjacent industry supplier was located as close to the site-in-need as possible …. 104 miles away. Getting said parts out to the site was going to be a pickle, just due to distance, access to the site, etc. Who could expedite such a thing, again, a Hmmm washed over the process. A medical courier! They understand what Now Means and will do it with extreme care, meaning crushing it in regard to details … This wasn’t HIPPA-related but was super important and probably more important in many eyes.
Again, the forces sprung into action, found a medical courier that was able to accept the challenge. The team at the courier company responded with the sense of urgency that was hoped for … They rock and rolled, they did truly understand what Now meant. The sense of urgency was also communicated to, heard, and continued at the supplier who had the parts as well. As in, we will go put our hands on them versus relying on what the electronic inventory indicated type of urgency and care … The “computer said,” they had only two in stock, the same number that were needed 104 miles away. Never a great feeling … And they actually had them.
In summary, all turned out well. The parts arrived, the job moved forward, and the gentleman made his way back to Europe … All in a timely fashion.
Therefore, you may ask, “What does all that have to do with the AirTight Creed?” It has a lot to do with it. Within the Creed, there are several bulleted items that apply to this situation and really prove that by executing at a certain level, you, me, anyone and everyone can make excellent things happen.
The first one that I felt was impactful was: Take One Extra Step in all things you set out to do, then another, Understand how critical and Important each of our roles are to the Mission, and then to round it out, Overcome adversity, Never BEcome Complacent.
After all of these years, watching, listening, and participating in the real world, things happen … Things will always happen.
We need to be mindful of, it isn’t what happens that people remember, it is how you handled that diversity, the challenge, the holy crap moment that will stand out, both for them as they see you execute and for you.
For them, their problem(s) gets solved … For you, it is a catalyst, a catalyst to keep gettin’ after it and making things better for all those you interact with.
Until Next Time, Stay Percipient
G
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