Before you hear it from anyone else, I will explain my recent decision to resign from the board of the Alliance for Environmental Sustainability or AES as many call it. To explain, I must go back a year or two, back to when I was considering the board position.
When this entire Hybrid Homes thing blew up, there were several people and organizations that not only helped me to grow the company, but also, hopped on for a ride. I trusted several people enough to tell them my entire game plan for Hybrid Homes, thinking that they were people that would continue to help me grow my business. Unfortunately, it did not work out that way. A few of these people actually took what I told them and gave that information to a budding start up company that then tried all they could do to crush Hybrid Homes. I naturally saw this as a threat and had to take a defensive posture. It was tough to see these couple of people who I trusted and loved as family, jump ship and side with these two idiots, who would heckle me at many of the events that I would show up to. I decided, at the time, that I would just keep doing what I was doing and, even thou people I trusted joined forces with that company, I would not stop believing in my core beliefs. I never thought that being a leader was so political, but it is, believe me, it is! This was a tough time for me, I saw someone I trusted so much join forces with them, and that hurt me really bad. I decided to confront the two guys who started the company to tell them a few secrets I knew, because I could see that they were heading for a fall. Well, to save ink, they did fail, but after wiping out their bank accounts and that of their investors. They were two very crafty, bad people. One of whom is in a leadership position now with a very important organization in West Michigan. I could not believe my eyes and ears when I learned that this person got the position that he did. But, that is for another blog.
OK, moving on. As their company failed, the people who jumped ship to help the 'titanic' out (that is what I call that other company that failed), started telling others that they were experts in different fields that related to what I was a part of. I saw them showing up everywhere, and speaking about topics that I used to speak about. Instantly, I saw this as bad, so I started excepting different positions around the State to keep them from getting the positions. I felt that I created these monsters, and now, I had to do whatever I had to do to keep them out of leadership positions.
Stop for a moment! Can you see what was happening? I lost focus of being a leader, and switched gears to being a defender. This gear change would set the stage for a year and a half time frame, where I was focused on defending myself and a few others from people who didn't even matter. Around that time, I also became focused on keeping the sub-contractors I was using busy because they made me feel so good. They let me know daily how important I was and also that my efforts were feeding 22 families. Stop! I did it again. Do you see any talk of being a sustainable builder in there? Me neither!
Make no mistake, I learned about the building science during that time frame, so much so, that I built the most energy efficient house ever tested in Michigan. I also, along with the team, turned out some incredibly energy efficient homes that will be around for generations to come. I learned so much, and continue to do so, that I am excited to do what I do....sometimes. As I mentioned above, I have been talking about these issues with my core group trying to decide what went wrong, and more importantly, how do I make sure I do not lose focus again.
The AES approached me a few years ago about sitting on their board, and I turned them down after repeated requests. Finally, early in 2009, I accepted the nomination and joined the board of the AES. I discussed how I wanted that position so that I could reach more people with my message. We discussed speaking opportunities, building groups, and other 'neat' things that I was fired up to be a part of. I told the board that I was busy and that my passion was being on the front lines, leading the change and that there were going to be meetings that I would not be able to make it to. I made it to a few months worth of meetings before I recognized that Hybrid Homes was in dire straits.
If I was going to salvage Hybrid Homes, I was going to have to get back out onto the front lines. Because I was so focused on getting those sub-contractors work, before I went back out onto the job, I took every job I could. This turned out to be a bad idea, as I did not weed out the projects that would cause the company to lose money or get itself into a bad position. Over the last 9 months, it has been one battle after another. I, along with my core group, have been able to keep moving forward, all while I am refocusing on my true passions in life. I have hand selected jobs for the future that coincide with my vision and my passion with regards to sustainable building. All other jobs, I feel in my heart that the homeowners will be able to find builders now who can help them with their green projects.
As the end of 2009 approached, I presented a number of scenarios to my core group that all had to do with the growth of Hybrid Homes and the continued presentation of my overall message. You will notice the introduction of the HD video that we have been shooting and posting on Vimeo and Facebook. This was the result of one of the scenarios we came up with. As a group, we determined that video would reach more people than talking to 5 or 6 people here and there. Although the grass roots approach is very important to me and the cause, we felt video would be a better avenue, and it has turned out to be a hit. We have had nearly 10,000 views each on most of our videos and the numbers grow by the day.
Another decision that the group had to make, was what I was to do with my time. I told them that I was making people upset because I could not make it to their meetings. That is when one of them yelled 'STOP!'. I was doing it again, I was focusing on making people happy instead of my passion in life. I have been told by many, that I need to delegate more, so that I can make it to their meetings. This statement looks weird when I write it out. I need to change the way I do things to make them happy? Gosh, that just doesn't sound right. Luckily, I have my core group now. Together, we decided that I was going to take all of 2010 to refocus on my passions, my schedule, and to get things back on track with Hybrid Homes. Don't take this the wrong way, Hybrid Homes was never close to going out of business, but, if we would not have pulled the plug when we did on a few things, things would have been even trickier to deal with. As part of my refocusing, we decided that I needed to resign any duties that were not part of Hybrid Homes. This included the board position at the AES. While this was a good opportunity, I need to find my passion again and grow my company before I can help another organization grow theirs. That is the main reason why I resigned my board position at the AES. When I write my book, I will seek to explain my decision more then.
I see greatness coming out of this entire episode in my life. I see things so clear now! Part of the decision to refocus, includes me starting a speaking tour to work in accordance with the videos of the Earth Shelter project and living a sustainable life. The speaking tour starts in Mt. Pleasant at Central Michigan University within the next month. After that, we are focusing on colleges and universities and will develop a training program for other builders to follow. I will post more later of when and where the speaking tour will take place. If you are connected with a University or college in any way, and can help us get into that school to speak, please email me at adam_bearup@yahoo.com to discuss this more.
To further my refocusing period, we have decided to not participate in any home shows in 2010, unless it is to speak or present. We have had great success at the different events that we had booths in. I loved being in the atrium at the DeVos Place this past Spring! I spoke with a mentor of mine who stated that a company usually will get a booth to show their potential customers that they are still in business. This is why we were in the Atrium at the DeVos Place, to show everyone that we weathered this Economic Storm and, although we took on some water, we were still solid and moving forward. The decision to not have a booth at any home shows in 2010 is not based on money, it is based on refocusing. A home show is a good way to put your name out there as a potential option to a probable customer. My experience has been, that the truly passionate 'probables' will find us. This is not a statement from the ego, it is just how things work. The Earth Shelter Project was the result of a homeowner who heard about us and tracked me down.
For those people who pay close attention to what I do, do not be alarmed, be happy! By some grace, I recognized that I needed to refocus, I have made steps towards that, and I am so happy to see things as clear as I do now. I have put serious effort into closing the lose ends that are left from our past projects and things are looking up for 2010. I will begin assembling the information for a book that will cover building science and comparing the differences between several building styles. This information will be available to anyone and will seek to answer the main questions I get asked, "Which form of building is better or more energy efficient? Which way of building gives the best return for the money invested?" and so much more!
Please see my decisions as a way for me to refocus. I am excited about these decisions and for the future. The fire is once again running through my veins and I could not be happier with how things are unfolding for 2010.
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