Page 462 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong
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 CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING 101
In the summer of 2001, Duane Jr. started working
as a trainee mechanic in the BCP shop. Over the next several years, he worked his way through a num-
ber of Peterson shops until he graduated from the University of Oregon in 2007. But the summer he spent in the BCP shop was especially instructive. As a kid, you have to earn your way up the ladder. And if you’re the boss’s kid, that means working harder and getting dirtier than everyone else to prove that you belong—on your own merits. In the BCP shop during that period, there was one seasoned technician who liked to dish out his own brand of teasing and testing to anyone he felt needed it, which basically meant everyone.
After three months of taunting and harassment towards just about everyone in the shop, Duane Jr. had had enough. On the last day of summer before returning to high school, he drove down to the
local grocery store and bought two whole fish—ten pounds-worth—head, skin, bones, and all. After loos- ening up the wrapper, he stuck it under the seat of that technician’s field truck and went back to work.
A few days later, the tech started complaining to anyone who would listen. And then he found it, that now-ripe fish baked onto the floor of his service truck. And he was mad! He peeled the fish off the floorboard while everyone in the shop was laughing. No one would fess up so he took his best guess, and that night put the fish in that tech’s toolbox. The next day that guy passed the fish onto another tech who passed it on to another until it had traded toolboxes several times. About a week later, Joe finally figured out who had punked him. When Duane Jr. returned for work the following summer, he and Joe had a good laugh, and a new respect and understanding between each other.
“One of the things that tickles me about Duane Jr. is that he fully embraces the custom fab aspect of our business,” says aunt, Eileen Grafton—from Peterson’s third generation. “Custom fab is one of the things that sets us apart from everyone else. It’s our edge within the Caterpillar dealer network. And it lost its way for a while, but he’s bringing it back. He’s reconnecting us to our roots as innova- tors within the industry.”
So far, Duane Jr.’s favorite project has been the Antarctic Challengers, partly because it was such a success. “I really hope we get the opportunity to do that again. We had a strong team. We made some really good friends and deep relationships. And we proved that Peterson can do anything we set our minds to. Very few dealers could have ac- complished what we did from a quality and time- line standpoint. And the customer acknowledged that.” At one point, an outsider said it would be impossible to get done. Joe Frati, the project man- ager, knows better. “That’s one thing you don’t tell the Doyles—that something can’t be done—be- cause then it’s not about making money anymore. It’s about showing people that we can do it. And we did.”
BUILDING THE NEXT LEADERSHIP TEAM
As Duane Jr. reached the higher rungs of the man- agement ladder, he began looking at the future he wanted to build and the team he would need to accomplish it. He started looking at Peterson’s succession plan—who was due to retire over the next several years, who would replace them, and who needed more seasoning. In effect, he started developing his own bench—Team 4.0. “We have a succession plan and I’m very fortunate to have Erin to help,” says Duane Jr. “At some point, we’ll have to find replacements for key people like Jeff [Goggin, COO] when they retire. Right now, the next group is starting to develop and come up through the company. And that’s very important for continuity.”
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