Erin Scott: Make Sure Your Voice is Heard.

INTRO:
Erin Scott is the Chief Operating Officer-US Inspections at ATIS. Erin joined the elevator industry after being a Naval fighter pilot and aviation maintenance duty officer in the US Military and quickly found her niche. Erin is passionate about learning as much as possible and knows the value of asking questions. Although she wondered if she was in the right place at first, Erin found many people who were as eager to teach as she was to learn. Erin loves the industry and loves being connected with those who are solving problems and making the magic happen.

SUMMARY:

Career path from military to elevator industry.

– Erin Scott found her niche in the elevator industry after leaving the military, where she had a strong support network.
– Erin is passionate about learning and values asking questions, finding many eager teachers in the industry.

Career transition from military to civilian life, with a focus on Erin’s experience in aviation and elevator maintenance.

– Erin describes her experience in the military, including being an F-18 pilot, and how it translates to the elevator industry.
– Erin explains how her training in aviation management and maintenance applies to her work in the elevator industry, highlighting the similarities between the two fields.
– Erin found a job that felt like home, with a team aspect that translated from military to civilian life.
– Erin considered working for airlines but found a better fit with Otis.

Transitioning from military to civilian life and career in the elevator industry.

– Erin discusses challenges of transitioning from military to civilian life, including adapting to new work environment and hierarchy.
– Erin describes how civilian work culture differs from military structure, with mechanics having more autonomy and fixed work hours.
– Erin shares her experience working in the elevator industry, highlighting the importance of understanding the value of the service provided to buildings and the challenges of proving one’s knowledge and expertise in the field.
– Erin describes her first job as a territory manager, where she had to learn about elevator systems and mechanics, and how she was able to gain the trust of her team by showing genuine interest and asking questions.

Learning elevator industry, challenges in first year, and building trust with customers.

– Erin built trust with customers by explaining system upgrades and delays.
– Trust established in one territory helped cement role in customer relationships.
– Matthew Allred shares his experience transitioning from the aviation industry to the elevator industry, finding it challenging at first but eventually enjoying the balance and variety of the new role.
– Erin describes the first year of the transition as a “dance,” with many moving parts to balance and learn, but eventually feeling confident in the new role.

Mentorship and career growth in the tech industry.

– Erin credits Dorothy Monahan as a long-term influencer who started in the industry as an admin clerk and became a leader in the field.
– Erin mentions mentors who helped her navigate challenges in her career, including Dan Tripp and Bobby Campbell.

Gender diversity in a male-dominated industry.

– Former Director of Field Operations for the Americas, Otis, created a safe space for women in the field and started an employee resource group called “Forward” to network and recruit other women into the industry.
– Erin discusses the importance of mentorship and networking for women in a male-dominated industry.
– Erin shares experiences of feeling isolated and alone as a woman in a male-dominated field, but also finding a strong support network and speaking up when necessary.

Gender bias in the workplace and a humorous anecdote about a pregnant woman delivering a repair box in Boston.

– Erin shares experiences of gender bias in the workplace, including being assumed to be on the sales side based on gender.
– Erin emphasizes the importance of allyship and listening to marginalized voices in creating a more inclusive environment.
– Matthew Allred shares a humorous anecdote about Erin delivering a small parts box to a mechanic in Boston while pregnant.

Career change and industry experiences.

– Erin and Matthew Allred share laughs over the absurdity of the situation and Erin’s resourcefulness in handling it.
– Erin tells a humorous story about her boss carrying a heavy box across a park, elbowing other mechanics, and being the subject of a running joke among industry peers.
– Erin shifted careers in October, leaving Otis for Adas’ inspections department.
– Erin felt removed from making an impact at Otis, seeking a change that would allow her to “make a difference each day.”

TRANSCRIPT:
Erin Scott 0:00
How I’ve always known it. So for me it, you know, I thought it was normal for most people like, you know, but that’s how it started, you know, in the military, you know, so. But I also have been fortunate that I have just had a very strong support network, and but there are days that you definitely feel like alone and isolated. But I think the key is finding the people who you know value you and are there to help make build you up versus break you down. And I think the key that has made me who I am is also knowing that sometimes you have to work a little bit harder to be able to make sure that your voice is heard and not being afraid to speak up and call people out when your voice when they don’t value what you’re saying to the same degree as your male counterparts at the table.

Matthew Allred 1:15
Hello and welcome to the elevator careers podcast sponsored by the Allred group. I am your host. Matt Allred, in this podcast, we talk to the people whose lives and careers are dedicated to the vertical transportation industry to inform and share lessons learned, building upon the foundation of those who have gone before to inspire the next generation of elevator careers. Today, our guest is Aaron Scott, Chief Operating Officer us inspections at OTIS. Erin joined the elevator industry after being a naval fighter pilot and aviation maintenance duty officer in the US military, and quickly found her niche. Erin is passionate about learning as much as possible, and knows the value of asking questions, although she wondered if she was in the right place. At first, Erin found many people who were as eager to teach as she was to learn. Erin loves the industry and loves being connected with those who are solving problems and making the magic happen. Erin, welcome to the show.

Erin Scott 2:16
Thank you, Matt, glad to be here today.

Matthew Allred 2:19
Thank you. I’m excited to be able to talk with you again. It’s always a privilege, and it’s fun to talk about your career. You have a pretty unique just, just background and everything, and so I’d love to have just start off with you telling us a little bit. How about how you got started in the elevator industry?

Erin Scott 2:37
Yeah. Thanks. So about 15 years ago, I was coming out of the military, and I went through Bradley Morris, which is a military recruiting company, and I said, I did all of this stuff, you know, in the military, and how does it translate into civilian speak? And I was met with a great team there that helped me, you know, translate that, you know, all the stuff that I did into civilian language. And they put me with several different companies to interview with, one of which was, happened to be Otis Elevator. And I was like, oh, elevators. Like, what does that even mean? You know, I didn’t even know, you know, what the elevator business would entail. And of all the different companies that I interviewed with, it was actually the one that I immediately fell in love with, and it truly translated, you know, the most, with what I had done in, you know, in the military.

Matthew Allred 3:37
Let’s talk for just a minute about your military career, you said, you know you were coming out 15 years ago. What? What? What were you doing in the military? What was kind of your specialty?

Erin Scott 3:48
Yeah, so I had gone to Auburn University, majored in aviation management there, and had come got my commission through the ROTC program and went through the flights program, through the Navy, became an F 18 pilot, did that for a few years before I got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that took me out of the cockpit.

Matthew Allred 4:11
What you’re telling me, though, is you they could have made Top Gun about you.

Erin Scott 4:17
Maybe that’s awesome. Yeah, you know, I had a long way to go to get, you know, to that caliber, but definitely was on the journey. So I remember, you know, not being able to fly anymore, and then saying, you know, well, I still have a long commitment, you know, to my service obligation. So now what and I converted over to be an aviation maintenance officer. So, you know, poetic justice, I guess, now running squad, you know, a squadron of maintainers now fixing everything that I used to break. And so with that, it was really, you know, the same type of concept in terms of routine. Maintenance, you know, scheduled maintenance, but then also adapting to repairs on on the fly. No pun intended, I guess, but in terms of, you know, things break, and how you going to fix it, and how you’re

Matthew Allred 5:13
high risk, right? I mean, if you don’t fix your airplane, if you don’t maintain it, you’ve got a lot at stake in the same with with an elevator, right? If somebody gets hurt, if something falls, if something very similar in that regard, yeah,

Erin Scott 5:25
actually, exactly that. And you know, the life safety aspect, you know of it. And not only that, a lot of the systems and fundamentals that you know between, you know, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, you know, electronics, you know, all of it tied, you know, together conceptually the same way. So the fundamental training that I had in the aviation industry, you know, translated into, you know, the elevator industry, code and all obviously you had to learn that more vertical plane versus three dimensional. But it really built the foundation. And, you know, Bradley Morris, like nailed it, you know, when they put me in front of, you know, and it could have been any other majors, but, you know, sitting there with Otis, having the need, it really was like the perfect job.

Matthew Allred 6:18
what clicked for you first? I mean, you said you said you fell in love. It almost sounds like, like, right from the beginning, like from from the handshake on, it’s like, click, what? What was it that really, yeah,

Erin Scott 6:32
so my husband was a federal agent, and it was hard for us, you know, starting a family, to co locate and also make sure that somebody was always home for dinner. So when it we were trying to decide what was next as a family, one of us needed to hang it up. And so the decision was for me to do that. So in that transition, it was, how am I going to find a job that was still satisfying, still use the skill sets that I had built, you know, that still made me feel like I was part of that team aspect. And I remember sitting in, you know, the series of interviews, you know, through the, you know, that process with Otis and everybody that I met emphatically like smiled when they talked about, like, their journey through the pipeline. And in each interview, it was like, Hi, I’m so and so. I’ve been here 20 years. Then it was like, progressive. Then the next room was like, I’m such and such. I’ve been here 30 years, you know, even meeting people that have been there 40 and 45 years. So coming out of a military environment, where most people, a lot of people, spend 25-30, years in that environment, you grow and you build, and it’s a family and it’s a team. To see that translate into the civilian world, where I just thought people bounced between jobs and that you would never find that team aspect, that family, you know, concept where everybody was kind of in it together, to still win it together. It really just felt like home. And that was just a really important aspect when I was looking for like that next chapter, yeah.

Matthew Allred 8:20
What was it? I mean, I guess just to look, you know, just kind of straight across, it almost seems like coming out of, especially with the degree in aviation management, I said, I think you said, and then to go into flying. Was, was there some thoughts that, hey, I should just go straight into working for one of the airlines, or an airline manufacturer or something like that.

Erin Scott 8:43
Yeah, I looked at a lot of that too. For a lot of the airlines. You know, maintenance is done at night. So that was like another piece with the family. I have had big dreams of getting back into the aviation industry, but then again, it was still, who’s going to be home at night, you know, to feed the kids and all, you know. So it was a tough, you know, there’s now a mortality piece, as you start to have children to wear before, it’s all about lighting my hair on fire and, you know, not worrying about, you know, what happens at the end of the day. So there was a lot, you know, that had changed, you know. So, you know, I still, you know, dabble in it, you know, from time to time, but to make it a career, and a lot changed after 9/11 with the industry, you know, and where, like, the path had charted, you know. And so, you know, so I needed more of a grounded job, and so I knew that I had enough, like knowledge and stuff that I built in that industry to be successful, you know, and use that in anything that was still hands on and that still served, you know, that greater public population, you know. Whether it’s flying, you know, families from here to there, or cargo from here to there, mail from here to there. Now I’m just transporting people in a different medium, you know. So it’s still the same kind of concept, just a little bit slower.

Matthew Allred 10:15
Yeah, is it scary to transition out of the military? I imagine it’s just, I don’t know how long you were in there, but, but that’s a big shift. Like you said, where to live, right? Try to co locate with with your husband’s job. I mean, what were some of the difficulties of that transition?

Erin Scott 10:33
Well, first, learning how to get dressed every day, not, you know, not, not just having somebody tell you what to wear. But no, it was. It was definitely different, because, you know, first, you know, you live in an acronym world, you know. So it’s breaking down the barriers of that and learning to speak, you know, civilian speak again, which I was grateful for. The elevator industry to have just as many acronyms. And then it’s also shifting the mindset of, you know, that hierarchy of you do what you’re told based on rank structure. And, you know, sometimes it’s just, you know, it’s a no question to ask, kind of business where now you’re in an environment where you’re asking mechanics to go do something, and they don’t necessarily have to do it your way, you know, anymore, because, you know, we’re, you know, not in that government, you know, structure and stuff. So there was, you know, a little bit of that, you know, mental mind shift of we work fixed hours. You know, in the civilian world, where, you know, in the military, you work until you know the job’s done. So, you know, there was a little bit of like that kind of transition, but the end of the day, you know, the fundamentals, you know, were all there. And the neat part too, I found in the elevator industry was everybody still felt like whether you were an apprentice with three days of experience, a mechanic with three years of experience, you know, or that seasoned adjuster with 30 years everybody you know, puts the same amount of effort into getting the job done so because they understand the value of what that service that they’re providing to the building, you know, means,

Matthew Allred 12:34
yeah, yeah. So, so started with Otis, and they, they, you know, throw in your job, what like, like, your first, you know, interaction with, with a customer, or, or what, you know, maybe a memorable experience where you were in that, in that role,

Erin Scott 12:52
yeah, so I started in the Boston area, and, you know, obviously, didn’t really look the part. There weren’t many women in the office structure up here. I grew up down south, so though i i thought i long since lost my accent, clearly to the people up here. I hadn’t, you know, so they’re like, she doesn’t look the same, she doesn’t talk the same, you know. And who is she, you know, telling us that there’s a problem with our elevator. Like, clearly she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. So to then have to break down that I did have some kind of knowledge to systems and things like that, you know. And they’re like, Yeah, prove it. Well, I can’t prove it in this industry, but let me tell you what I know about hydraulics from my last like, line of work, and you would watch their whole face, like, pale, and be like, Oh, well, maybe you do know something you know. So it was having to really, like, you know, not only talk the talk, but like, kind of prove it, you know, like, as you know, like a test. But I was very blessed when I came here. I was a territory manager, which means I was did both ops and sales in my first job, because I was put at a college campus so very contained, very, you know, like rigid, like contract, where it wasn’t a lot of, like sales opportunity, so you didn’t need, like, a dedicated sales person, and so I had six mechanics who really just took the time after they learned that my questions weren’t questioning them, but it was questioned that I just wanted to learn and understand the business and how elevators worked, and the difference between, you Know, a basic basement drum versus, you know, you know, like an overhead machine, and why different things you know, were set up different ways. And once they realized it was more for my own knowledge base, they then just made it their mission to teach me all that they could to pass that take a

Matthew Allred 14:58
little while to to kind of. Build that trust, and they’re probably looking at you, going, Who’s this lady, and why should we listen to her?

Erin Scott 15:07
Yeah,it took several cups of coffee and donuts along the journey and but, yeah, it did. It took several, you know, months of just building that trust that, you know, it was truly for my, you know, benefit, because I couldn’t be that liaison between them and the customer to interface and to talk to the customer about why something may truly take the added day, or why, you know, we needed to upgrade a certain component, if I couldn’t talk about the system or explain why it was important to the value of the building, and once they realized that that’s the piece, you know of, you know, the middle man, that I needed to be that bridge for them, so that I could be the umbrella or The protector of what they needed, you know, and getting the job done right the first way, or buying that extra time you know, of why we needed to shut down the sister car and you know, things like that. Once, like you said, it took several months, and once we broke that down, then I was in but then when I moved to the next territory, which was more of a high rise market, it started all over again. So, you know, so then it was the same, you know, process of, you know, here I am with donuts. And, you know, here come the series of new questions. And, you know, but again, once the trust was built, and once they realized that it was more just so that I could be, that, you know, that gap, you know, you know, bridge that gap between them and the customer, so that we could be the best, you know, resource for the writing public. You know, it really seeded, you know, that team aspect, so we were stronger and better for it, and it really also cemented our role in a lot of our customer relationships too, because they knew we were very transparent and we would lay it all out on the table, you know. And that nothing, you know, we weren’t adding, you know, the numbers, you know, just, you know, for added time, stuff like that,

Matthew Allred 17:30
yeah, what? How long before you it really, you know, the industry clicked and you and you were saying, Yes, I made the right decision. You know, this, this is going to work for me.

Erin Scott 17:42
I will tell you this first, that first year was tough, you know, I was back to feeling like, you know, drinking through, you know, out of the fire hose, like, Man, I thought I was kind of, you know, pretty smart person there for a while. And, you know, now I feel like I’m back in kindergarten. You know, I from work at, you know, be 730 and I’m falling asleep on the couch. But, you know, after the first, you know, eight or nine months, I’m like, Alright, like, I think I’m really going to enjoy this. You know, then it started to get things started to click. And then by 18 months, I felt like, I’ve got this, you know, I knew it was the right for me. But then it felt like, you know, not only was I on the bike with the training wheels, but and we had lifted the training wheels up enough that, like, you’re like, getting the balance that I felt like, now we could finally take them off, you know. But that first, you know, for anybody, and people, even you know, who had a like, strong skill set to transition over first, first 18 months is Rocky, because it’s not only are you learning the systems and and you know, no two elevators are the same, the needs of the customers are never, you know, exactly synonymous even with the building right next door. But you’re also balancing the budget, and, you know, how do you put your labor hours in, you know, to a formula like in an office. And you’re battling, you know, the service line of business against the new equipment line of business, you know, so there’s so many Dine, you know, like pieces to the puzzle that you’re dealing with over the course of that, you know, first year that when one thing feels really easy, it means you’re probably dropping the ball on something else, you know. So it does take a while. We used to call it the dance, you know. So, you know, once you start realizing that you’re not stepping on somebody’s toes is really, you know, and you perfect the art of the dances when it really gets fun. And now, you know, you just feel like, okay, throw something else at me. You don’t. Let’s see how we do and, and that’s where I. Felt like now it was kind of like you asked about, like, the transition from the aviation industry. It felt like a flight schedule. You know, now you day, you’ve got a plan.

Matthew Allred 20:10
You get excited about it, right?

Erin Scott 20:12
Yeah, maybe you get to the end of the day with your plan. Maybe you make it to lunch, maybe, maybe you don’t even make it through the first cup of coffee. But how do you then adapt and overcome? How do you, you know, then transition and shift and still, you know, do everything you needed to do, not only for yourself, but the customer, you know, and all of that. And then, how does that then shift from Monday through Friday to get to the end of the week? And you know, did you get all the checks that you know in the box? And I just, I love that kind of like those challenges.

Matthew Allred 20:47
Who are some of your big mentors, especially in those rocky first months? You know, who could you look to and say, oh my gosh, I don’t know if I’m going to get through this.

Erin Scott 20:58
Yeah, so I had several, you know, really good mentors along my journey, and I think, you know, they’re the ones that you can see, and then over time, you learn that you’ve got, like, those silent like people that are advocating for you, you know, behind the scenes. So, you know, in the beginning of my career, I had, you know, a guy named Dan Tripp who was a regional engineer who, you know, he just would take me out, and if it took an hour to teach me something, or if it took eight, he had the patience of an ox, like he would just take all the time in the world. And he never was too busy to answer the phone. You know, when I called for like, a question, you know, I had this kid, you know, Bobby Campbell. And I say kid, because, you know, he always points out that I’m older, but you know, we’re still close to this day. But he was on the sales side, so he always taught me, like, you know, the power the sale, you know, and so you know, and how that ops, you know, sales alignment, you know, would work. But then you know, in terms of, like, my long term career, dot Monahan, she was probably my biggest influencer. She started in the industry many years before me, but she started up in Maine as an admin clerk, and just like watch what was going on in the industry. And then said, I think I’d like to do that. And then went out into the field. Back at the day, Otis had a program where you could go and shadow it as like a field apprentice, but for 18 months, and then come back as a supervisor. So she did that to learn about, you know, the program, and then worked her way all the way up to the Director of Field Operations for the Americas, until she just retired this year. And she was a big proponent, you know, and a big played a huge role in my career, but she was big into also creating a safe space for a lot of our field employees and members of the IUC, because a lot of our sisters in the field work in unions that maybe they’re the only one. So it was her goal was to help, and we started an employee resource group called forward, where we could unite and help those women network across the country, where they could find other women, just to at least, you know, like, have as a resource and a friend, so that you know, if they’re in a union, that maybe they never, you know, don’t have other women you know, that they could just, you know, like, reach out and, you know, have a resource and go to training seminars together and things like that. So, and also, it was a way to recruit other women into the industry, because they make up less than 1% of the IUC.

Matthew Allred 24:07
Is it really that low? Less than one?

Erin Scott 24:09
Yeah, Otis, you know, was one of the ones that had the highest, you know, numbers. You know, I don’t know what the numbers are, you know, presently, but, yeah, it’s, it’s not a lot, so um, so that was a big resource for me. Brian Fry. He was um, amazing. He was an engineer who came into the field ops online. He never what ran a PNL, but um, just was really good with the numbers and um systems. And so he helped me a lot in terms of just product upgrades and things like that. So, but yeah, and I think the biggest that they both taught me, though, was not only how they groomed and helped me, but how to turn around and give it back to somebody. And always. Making sure that you’re looking in succession planning for who’s going to come behind you, and making sure that you’re speaking at the table for somebody else.

Matthew Allred 25:11
Sorry, you you spoke a little bit about, you know, the women and the group and the networking. And what is it like, you know, being a woman in a male dominated industry, especially like you say, to be less than 1% and to, you know, what was, I guess, the most difficult thing about that

Erin Scott 25:28
for me, how I’ve always known it. So for me it, you know, I thought it was normal for most people, like, you know, but that’s how it started, you know, in the military, you know so, but I also have been fortunate that I have just had a very strong support network and um, but there are days that You definitely feel like alone and isolated. But I think the key is finding the people who you know value you and are there to help make build you up versus break you down. And I think the key that has made me who I am is also knowing that sometimes you have to look work a little bit harder to be able to make sure that your voice is heard and not being afraid to speak up and call people out when your voice when They don’t value what you’re saying to the same degree as your male counterparts at the table, um,

Matthew Allred 26:48
might be even, even extra courage, right? Courage up, up and above what, what might be normal. It’s like, no, you gotta, you gotta be even stronger to just stand up and say, No, I will be heard.

Erin Scott 27:00
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, I saw it a lot, both back and flying, you know, but also a lot with even our customer base here, like in the Boston area, like my sales counterparts, for the most part, were males, and we would walk into a business meeting, and, you know, they would turn to the male, you know, and be like, so can you tell me what’s wrong with my elevator? And I remember one guy’s like, No, dude, I’m just the money guy. Like, I don’t even know how an elevator works. Like, you have to talk to her. And the facilities manager was like, wait, what? You know, he couldn’t even fathom, like, what was being said, you know. So it’s funny, like, you know, even at this day and age with all the things that we’ve talked about, that, like, the whole concept of, like, unconscious bias still exists, that when you walk into a room, people just automatically assume that, you know, one way or another, you know, the woman’s going to be at the sales side, you know, and the male is going to be, you know, on the operation side. So it just always, we would always get, you know, a good laugh. And I was pregnant twice, like, while at Otis, and you know, you’d waddle in, you know, you know, with your big old belly and stuff like that. And people just be like, seriously, like, this is a lady like that you were talking about, that’s coming to fix the elevator. And you’re like, Yeah, that’s me, you know. So, um, you know, even pregnant, you know, you can still do your job around here these days, you know. So, but like I said, I’ve also been in situations where I’ve just been very blessed with the teams that have been around me, you know, and the people, but and it probably just helps, but I do have a stronger personality that does speak up, but not everybody you know in the industry has been that lucky, and I’ve known really smart women that haven’t felt that supported, that have left you know, and that you know, and I see that, but you know,

Matthew Allred 29:15
all the more reason than to have have that that mentorship and that networking group to say, hey, it’s It’s okay to raise your voice. It’s okay to stand up and be heard, because your opinion does matter, and what you’re seeing, you know, maybe no one else is seeing it. And so, you know, it’s important to let people know

Erin Scott 29:34
In a lot of those groups, it’s important, you know, like, people think, oh, you know, like, it’s a Girls Club, but, and it’s really not like, you know, most of our membership in those clubs, you know, was typically 50% male, because it’s about having allyship, you know, and it’s about having, you know, men in the group too, that you know, are willing to say, you know, what you’re doing is not right, like, you know, stop and listen what she said. Is saying, you know, has value at the table just as much as what I say as well, you know. So that allyship, you know, sometimes is what as, as a as important, if not more, as just being a member. You know

Matthew Allred 30:13
Absolutely. so you mentioned this in our previous conversation. I wondered if you would be willing to tell me the story about the box in Boston.

Erin Scott 30:22
Oh yeah. So, um, when I was a supervisor down in Boston, if you’re not familiar with the city, it’s a very small, like, geographic footprint in terms of, like, major Lake City. So I had 10 mechanics down there, and it was all walking routes, because a if you’ve ever tried to park there, it’s just not even worth the headache. But B, you know, just the time it takes, it’s not even worth it. So when I worked down there, I did try to get all the parts like shipped direct to the buildings that they were needed. But from time to time, they would show up at our little satellite office down there. So I remember one day that, like, I got a board showed up at like, our little satellite office, and I called the mechanic, and I was like, Hey, bud. Like, sorry, but your board showed up at the office. Do you want to come get it? And he was like, Yeah, boss, sorry, I don’t have a van. And I’m like, Well, yeah, none of us do, because it’s walking roots. And he’s like, Yeah, can’t come get it. So like, Okay, well, I’ll bring it to you. And he’s like, okay, so I waited till lunch time. It was close to the summer, so it was warm for Boston. I mentioned I had been pregnant, you know, a couple times there, and so I was about eight months pregnant, and in Boston, there’s a little park in the middle of the city, and we laugh, because every day, all the union mechanics from all the companies flock to the park and eat lunch together. And we call it the union meeting. And so I walk through the union meeting, but I take that board, which was small. I mean, it wasn’t any bigger than, probably, like, you know, a half a loaf of bread, but I put a giant box, and I put that giant box on my stomach, you know, and waddle through the park, and it looks really like, heavy. And, like, all these mechanics start looking like, and they’re, you see them like, elbowing each other. You know, the Fuji guy elbows, you know, the company guy, you know. And you see the daisy chain down to, like, the oldest guys, well, my little green shirts, like, jump up. And they’re like, Boss, what are you doing? Like, why are you carrying that box? Like, you’re gonna drop the baby, like, right here in the park, and like, Oh yeah, well, I’m carrying the board to your buddy because he wouldn’t come pick it up, because it accidentally got delivered, you know, to the satellite office. And they’re like, wait, what? Why wouldn’t he pick it up? I’m like, because he doesn’t have a van. And they’re like, Well, none of us do. And I’m like, I know, and it accidentally got, you know, sent to my, you know, building instead of his, and they, like, grabbed that box and that everybody around, like, heard the whole story. And by the end of the day, my little buddy, like, got so much flack for the fact that, like, you know, you know that he wouldn’t come pick up this, you know, what they all thought was this massive part, which, you know, jokes on him. It was, you know, teeny and weighed like nothing. But my guys, like, grabbed that box and stormed across, you know, to his building. And, you know, so needless to say, he picked everything up that accidentally got delivered thereafter, and still never received a van.

Matthew Allred 33:45
I love that that is, that is hilarious. I mean, to me, it shows you kind of playing their game, but, but in a way that that you’re like, Okay, you know, like I said, he came and got his parts that he needed to from, from there on and then on, and just but being able to to kind of play in a fun way, right, to me, it’s, it’s just hilarious, and then see him come to your to your rescue, yeah,

Erin Scott 34:09
yeah, the rest of them were just horrified. And, like, that was early in my tenure, like, in that territory, and for years after, I mean, it’s still the running joke. Like, if we you know, the the industry, you know, is not that big, and so, and I still live in the area, so if we all have beers, you know, and bump into each other, inevitably, that story comes up, and it’s like Legend amongst people from the other companies. Like, remember that time your boss walked across the park, you know, like pregnant, and they all still talk about it, you know, because none of the companies had vans, so it’s like, you know, but you have to sometimes, you know, push back and, you know, just make a point when they’re trying to play.

Matthew Allred 34:58
some awesome. I love that. Thank you. So obviously, you you made a career change. What was it about a year in the last year, right?

Erin Scott 35:09
Yeah, just about five months ago, at the start of October, I made a shift.

Matthew Allred 35:14
What led you to kind of taking that your career in a different direction?

Erin Scott 35:19
Yeah, I really though I still probably bleed green if you were to, like, slice me open. I never thought that I would leave Otis. I love the company, but I was growing, you know, through the company, and about four or five years ago, another one of my mentors, Jim Cummings, had made a comment that, you know, he had passed on applying for a job because it took him a step further away from the field, and I didn’t understand what he meant until I was In this last role, and I felt further and further removed from making like affecting change and like making a difference each day. You know, I liked what I was doing, but it was more shifting towards just broader strategy, running numbers, you know, like looking at data and big picture stuff, which all still has value, but I wasn’t solving, you know, like, immediate, like, problems where you like, oh, I put out a fire, you know. And like, save the world today. And over the summer, I mentioned, you know, like my husband was in law enforcement, and we had, you know, a situation with a fellow, you know, like law like, a fellow, one of his colleagues, that, you know, just like, hit close to home, and it really put into perspective, like life and like, what are we trying to get out of, like, life and our careers and and all? And it just was kind of the shake up I needed to say. I needed to go back to being, you know, like me, you know, needed, and being able to make a difference in what I do every day, and feeling, you know, valued, and part of the, you know, the overall equation. And Atis was looking, you know, for somebody in their inspections department, and I just decided maybe I’ll take the call. And I talked to Dave Estes, you know, who was their chief people officer, and honestly, it was back to everything you asked me about how I felt when I first interviewed with like Otis, you know, just that whole feeling of family and value and, you know, people staying with the company for a long time, and I just decided to take the leap of faith, and it was a hard decision. So, you know, it’s exciting and scary and you know, it’s everything you want, but there was a whole lot of tears. Like, in the process to it, I’m like, wait, like, if this is what I want, like, why am I so sad? You know about making, you know the change at the same time, but in the end, it was right for us as a family and me in my career, and hopefully for Atis in my journey and stuff. So I started back at the start of October, and as their Chief Operating Officer for US inspections, um, and working with Chip Smith and the team over there.

Matthew Allred 38:43
very cool. So, so looking back on these, these 15 years, what would you say is one of the most important or significant things that you’ve learned while being in the elevator industry,

Erin Scott 38:57
I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned is that it’s okay to be humble and not always to have the answers. There’s a lot of big decisions that need to get made on a daily basis, you know. And when you think about our industry and the decisions that need to get made, you know, it’s not just about the price of, you know, do we replace the machine? Do we switch it over to a mod? The bigger decision is, you know, what does it mean for the writing public, but also, what does it mean for what I’m asking, you know, my field guys to do? Because sometimes the bigger decision, you know, comes into, what is the risk value that I’m putting, you know, my guys, you know, in. Harm’s way, you know, relative to the job that I’m asking, you know, for. So, you know, shutting down sister cars, highway, high rise, you know, rope jobs, overtime repairs when they work during the day, you know. So there’s a life safety component, not just to what you know, the service we provide, you know, to the riding public, but the work that goes in to, you know, ensuring that everything we do to get that elevator to be compliant, you know, it, you know, is done correctly. And so for me, in assessing all of that, that humbleness of making sure that I’ve asked all the right questions along the way and that I don’t when in doubt, that I, you know, go to the resources or the code book to make sure that I’ve dotted all the I’s and crossed all the T’s. I think is the biggest thing that I’ve learned is that it’s okay to phone a friend to make sure that somebody else, just, like, listens when you, you know, have that big decision to make, to say, Hey, I just want to talk this through, you know, to make sure that, like, I didn’t miss something, you know, before I go present this or go down, you know, a certain path, because there’s a lot riding on each and every one of us. You know, before we walk away, the system may be simple, you know, in terms of, you know, it goes up, it goes down, but there’s a lot that can happen once those doors close.

Matthew Allred 41:38
Absolutely, yeah, thank you. So as we get toward the end here, last question I want to ask is, what advice would you give to somebody who’s starting out brand new, you know, maybe they’re coming off a college campus, or maybe they’re coming out of the military like you? What would you say to them?

Erin Scott 41:55
I would say, pick a job in this industry. You won’t regret it. And then I would say, just expose yourself to as much of the industry as possible. I went through and most of my career well, all my career has been on the service side, so didn’t dabble in the new equipment or mod in any of my roles. But whenever I had free time or capacity. I did go out with somebody in that line of business to learn more about it, to understand how it fed onto my side. And then I would just say, Make the most of it like I think it’s just, you know, buildings aren’t going away. The industry is not going away. And I just, I think that there’s so much that can be gained from it. And you don’t, despite what you may hear, you don’t have to have family members that were already in the industry to join. I didn’t come from the normal like nepotism mold, and I’ve survived it for 15 years. They didn’t cut me out of the circle. So I just think it is a great line of work. And I just think the people are amazing, and we bounce between companies, but at the end of the day, kind of like the military. It is a very small industry, and chances are you’re going to run into your friends again, or maybe your enemies. But you know, your paths are going to, you know, cross and stuff like that. But it’s neat to drive down a road, you know, and look at a skyline and say, I was a part of that, you know, high rise building. Or, I saved somebody, you know, out of, you know, the blind voice way over here. Or, you know, we put in a chair lift at, you know, this veterans home so that, you know, somebody returning for more, like, had the option, you know, to still, you know, get upstairs, you know, at their house, you know? So there’s, it’s just neat to know that you make a difference that in an industry that most people don’t even think about, they just push the button and go,

Matthew Allred 44:11
absolutely. Erin, thank you so much for your time today. It’s a pleasure to to interview and and I appreciate your Yeah, you being with me. Oh,

Erin Scott 44:21
thank you so much. It was a joy. And hopefully, you know, hopefully something I said resonates with somebody, and know that they find as much joy in the industry as I have

Matthew Allred 44:33
Well, good luck to you as you continue to to make a difference in the industry and in the world.

Erin Scott 44:39
Thank you so much, Matt,

Matthew Allred 44:40
thank you for listening to the elevator careers podcast, sponsored by the Allred group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting. You can check us out online at elevatorcareers.net please subscribe and until next time, stay safe.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai