The Real Harris: Meet Ross Nelson

Tell us about your background. How did you get your start in the construction/service/BAS business?

As I was nearing graduation, my Dad was working as a facility manager and Harris had completed a chiller replacement project in his building.  He encouraged me to send my resume over and I flew to St. Paul, interviewed, and started a few days after my graduation.

What drew you to Harris? What makes you stay?

I was the odd engineer who knew at graduation that I didn’t want to sit behind a desk all the time and enjoyed helping clients solve problems.  Most of my time at Harris has had me focused in an area that I find fun and challenging.  I stay for the people, though!

What do you enjoy about working at Harris (what about the company itself made you want to work here)?

My favorite part of working at Harris is the relationships I’ve built with team members from across our company.  Every time I visit an office it is so fun to reconnect with people.  I also enjoy the clients we have the opportunity to work with and build long-lasting relationships with.

What is the best part about your position (the day-to-day, people, a special project you were involved with)?

The best part of my position is spending time with our clients, helping the team win their work and being a part of solving our client’s issues.  I believe our team has the technical skillset to solve any problem our client may have and I enjoy being a part of that process.

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

In my role, a person needs to be versatile – each day is different and switches from being with customers, leading a sales team, being strategic in project pursuits, helping with technical solutions, reviewing pricing and proposals, identifying and positioning ourselves to utilize Challenger, working to resolve vendor and client issues and helping our other team members be successful.  Flexibility is key!

What are your main responsibilities and initiatives that you lead?

I am currently responsible for leading our project sales team for our St. Paul Service + Building Automation teams.  I also lead our Building Automation Project Sales Peer Group, facilitate Leadership Fundamentals 101, am assisting our Service + Building Automation in strategic planning efforts, am on the OneHarris Business Development Peer Group, and serve on the Steering and Programming + Collaboration committees for the Building Intelligence Group – Twin Cities.

What are you passionate about at work?

I am passionate about building our business to position ourselves where we are critical to our client’s success.  If we are working at our highest level with our clients, we are instrumental in their success and that makes us both “sticky” and essential for them.

How do you like to re-charge?

I have been through work seasons that have been fun and fulfilling, and others that have frankly been exhausting and frustrating.  Through that, I have learned about myself and have built intentional breaks in my year.  In each of those breaks, we end up traveling and spending time in nature, with most of those being in National Parks or wilderness areas.

What keeps you up at night?

Not a lot – I usually fall asleep well. Sleeping in, is a different story. Often, if I wake up early, it is the events of the next day that start to roll around in my mind as I process and prepare.

What are you most proud of at Harris?

I am most proud of the people I’ve seen grow around me and how they have excelled.  It is rewarding to have played a small part in that growth!

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

As of Summer 2023 my family and I have visited 48 National parks and more than 175 National Park Sites across the US since 2015.  If you have questions about any of them, just ask – I enjoy helping others plan trips too!

What drew you to this industry?

It was mostly accidental as I didn’t know anything about it.  I knew I wanted to do something more rewarding than the work I was doing in R&D on oil seals and gaskets for the auto industry

What do you wish the public knew about Harris?

How we enable our clients to be successful and how meaningful our work can be.  We build and maintain facilities that are important and impactful to society – hospitals, medical manufacturing, generator manufacturers, food processing plants.

What inspires you? What motivates you?

In StrengthsFinder my top 5 are Learner, Achiever, Input, Individualization, and Maximizer.  Being built that way I’m inspired by those ahead of me in a lot of areas and gain that by reading a lot of books, articles and listening to podcasts.    I’m mostly self-motivated because I want to be a part of something, and that requires getting things done.