The Real Harris: Meet Clint Hadley

Tell us about your background. How did you get your start in construction/service/BAS? What drew you to the industry?

“I have a B.S. degree in Construction Management at Weber State.  I got my job at Harris while I was going to school, 14 years ago.  When I was in high school, I worked at a grocery store and they had old freezers that went down all the time and I would frequently call to get them serviced.  Getting to know the techs and seeing how they fixed stuff got me interested in the mechanical trade.”

What drew you to Harris? What makes you stay?

“I knew very little about Harris when I interviewed for my job.  In fact, I was very surprised to hear Utah had a nation-wide mechanical company.  Being able to work at a company that traveled and completed large complex projects sparked my interest and I was happy to come aboard.  I stay because of the challenge and the great rewards that come from seeing projects, from the pursuit phase to completion. And I love the people.”

What do you enjoy about working at Harris?

“The people! I really enjoy working with our group in estimating.  We have genuine friendships with each other and will do anything for one another.  It’s a good feeling to know you work in a group where everyone has each other’s backs and there is a true respect for one another.  I also cherish the relationships I have with many other people throughout Harris.”

What is the best part about your position?

“I like experiencing the pursuit of cool projects from all around the country.”

What are some of the main responsibilities and initiatives that you lead?

“I manage the estimating department for the National Group, where I make sure our team produces accurate estimates, keeping stringent deadlines, and help maintain a competitive advantage through cost saving ideas that adds overall value to the costumer.  I also sit on the Estimating focus group for all of Harris where I help develop and keep standard estimating processes throughout the company.”

Focus is important. How do you handle external factors that affect the business? How do you prevent yourself from over or under reacting?

“As an estimator it’s important not to get too high or too low. Like a batter in baseball, if we win 25-30% of the time we are doing good and that means losing most of the time and that can be hard.  We must have short term memory loss on the lost pursuits and be good at celebrating the wins.”

Looking ahead, what are some of the biggest opportunities for Harris? Business challenges?

“Global warming and global warming.”

What are you passionate about at work? What inspires you or motivates you?

“Winning pursuits!”

What traits do you think are important for someone in your role to be successful?

“I try and always us the words “us” and “we” instead of “me” and “I” and I don’t get to worked up about being in a leadership role with the company.  It doesn’t make me more important or better than anyone, it just means I have different job responsibilities within our team.”

What keeps you up at night?

“Being too low or too high in cost on an estimate because of a big mistake.  Starting a movie too late does it too.”

How do you like to re-charge?

“Doing something fun!  Most any sports games, camping, fishing, concerts, a good movie, spending time with my family, whatever to get my mind off serious things and enjoy myself for a little while.”

What are you most proud of at Harris?

“Employee health and wellbeing is #1.”

What is one thing Harris employees wouldn’t know about you?

“I have a daughter with Down Syndrome. Her name is Bailey, and she is my whole world, and I would be lost without her.”

What do you wish the public knew about Harris?

“It’s a great company! We are hiring for multiple positions so send in your resume today!”