The Agony and Torment of a Hydraulics Go-To Guy

The hydraulics Go-To GuyEvery successful company depends on the Go-To Guy.

The Go-To Guy is that rare person in a company who can always be relied on to come through.

Companies desperately need Go-To Guys. Without one or more of them, they fail.

And it’s not easy for a Go-To Guy to escape from his company. Because he usually feels trapped by his own misplaced loyalty.

Consider this story from Gregg, one of our members from NY State, and a tormented Go-To Guy:

“Although I’m not a degree-ed engineer, I play one at work. And the degree-ed engineers often refer to me for assistance. Basically, I have been around a while, learned a few things and always wondered about a lot more.

We have one semi-retired guy that has driven us to the point of recognition and a college ‘kid’ that’s pretty bright. And me, the guy that made this whole thing possible 20 years ago because I believed hydraulics was the future.

Now I’m sitting in my own waste because I don’t understand things I should. And I foresee losing ‘the man’ and a huge gap before the kid is anywhere near him. I need to be the crack filler. I need to get ‘up to speed’ for me, not the boss, not because I’m loud and proud.

I’m a phone guy, first line of defense. The one that should know but might not? We’re talking oh so basic manure spreader, live floor, dump and low-boy type stuff. Push pull cylinders, motor loads, Commercial and Gresen valves, load sense, variable and fixed displacement. Not rocket science. No black-box magic.

I need to understand valves, symbols, jargon, circuits, what to and not to do. Again, primarily all mobile, some ag and industrial equipment, or anything on wheels.

Although my current employer won’t find much reason to increase my salary for enhancing myself, I feel the urge to do so. Just to help people better, more often, on a wider scale. And even after 30 years with this company, I doubt I’ll get reimbursed, but which of your programs would you recommend for a guy like me?”

First of all, let there be no doubt that Gregg is THE Go-To Guy at this company.

The mark of a Go-To Guy is he sees what needs to be done, and then HE does it:

“I foresee losing ‘the man’ and a huge gap before the kid is anywhere near him. I need to be the crack filler. I need to get ‘up to speed’ for me, not the boss…”

Gregg hasn’t got his boss’s boot on his neck. He’s just anticipated what’s coming and he’s trying to figure out how HE is going to bridge the gap.

With no real expectation of much help from his employer.

As a former Go-To Guy myself, I KNOW how isolated and lonely these sorts of burdens can make you feel. You can’t delegate the responsibility away. And chances are, you can’t even share the burden with anyone else. It’s yours. You end up owning it. Like it or not.

But guys like Gregg don’t HAVE to operate in isolation. In fact, over the past 4 years I’ve brought together a large community of Go-To Guys.

A community that currently numbers 1,431 active members from all parts of the globe.

It’s called ‘Hydraulics Pro Club’.

It’s where Gregg belongs.

And if any part of Gregg’s story resonates with YOU, it’s where you belong too.

So come in from the cold. Join your compadres in the hydraulics Go-To Guy community here, today.

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