Accelerate Magazine July 2020

WAUKESHA COUNTY BUSINESS ALLIANCE, INC. | WAUKESHA.ORG Tell us a little bit about yourself. I am a lucky man; I have been married to my wife for 19 years and we have four beautiful children. I was born in Illinois, raised in Wisconsin, a Packers fan of course, and we currently live in the Town of Raymond. I am also a Marine Corps Veteran. Why/when did you decide to get involved with construction? After completing four years in the Marine Corps, I was uncertain about what I wanted to do as a career. My father worked for a construction company out of Roselle, Illinois and he asked if I wanted to become a laborer for them as I tried to decide my future. I accepted the offer and worked for them for eight years. After that, my career was figured out and I continued in construction. What led you to your current career path? Many people paved the road to allow me to be where I am at today. Opportunities were provided and the willingness to go after them is a key reason for my success. Listening when I needed to listen and speaking when it was appropriate helped pave the way for my career. Throughout the entire process, I have always thrived on learning which has led me to my current Superintendent role with VJS. What is the hardest part about being in construction? It’s always moving, sometimes in the right direction and sometimes in the wrong direction. Maintaining the course with the day-to-day activities is a great challenge. What’s your favorite part about your job? People! Construction is far more than just building buildings. A team of people from different backgrounds, viewpoints, and characteristics that build relationships, driven to accomplish a set of goals, is always rewarding. The result often sets a record of experiences that bond you together for far longer than the time it took to build the building or complete the goal. That is a reward that keeps paying as time continues. What would you say to someone who wants to get involved with construction? There are times when you must be flexible and times when you must be rigid. Experience will determine which one you use. There are multiple aspects of construction. Figure out what makes you tick. Is it hands-on, is it more cerebral or is it both? There are apprenticeships and internships that are designed to help you figure this all out. The main objective is to always be engaged. The world is moving fast, and the world needs fast movers. There is very little that can be done as an individual; team ownership is needed. Where do you see yourself going in the future? I want to be used to my maximum potential, never getting complacent. As I stated prior, with the way construction continues to move at a fast pace, I want to be ahead of the pace, being in the front and setting the processes, methods and techniques. I am not a fan of “that’s the way we always did it”mentality. I want to be a game changer! • SPOTLIGHT ON THE TRADES RYAN NIEGOCKI Superintendent VJS Construction 26