Guest & Owner of Four Winds Masonry & Chimney, Anthony Valerio Valeria
Today on The Chimney & Fireplace Success Network, Jerry and Sheryl welcome Anthony Valerio Valeria, the owner of Four Winds Masonry & Chimney in Rochester NY. Anthony, Sheryl and Jerry will talk about how to build and maintain culture in your business.
The Chimney and Fireplace Success Network is a weekly podcast brought to you by the CVC Success Group and hosted by industry expert, Jerry Isenhour. Each week you will find new presentations to assist business owners and managers in turning their business dreams into their business realities.
Video Transcript
LET’S TALK CULTURE AND HOW TO BUILD IT IN YOUR COMPANY
Jerry Isenhour.: Well good evening, and we really appreciate you joining us this evening on this special broadcast with a really special guest that we’re going to have on tonight. Because tonight is going to be, we’re going to be talking about culture.
We’re going to be talking about culture, amongst your company. And we’ve got a great guest that has really built a fantastic culture, and he’s going to share with you some of the processes. Sheryl, anything you would share with this guest before we go to the intro music?
Sheryl Isenhour: No. Basically, I’ve known Anthony for a while now, and I know they have a great culture in their business. And I’m looking forward to sharing it.
Jerry I.: That’s it. So we’ll be back in just a minute, we’ll have our special guest on, I’ll introduce him to you. And we can tell a little bit about ourselves, and we’ll get started in tonight’s subject matter. So, stick around, we’ll be right back.
Jerry I.: So, see, now we’re back, we appreciate everybody being with us tonight here, on this special edition of the chimney and fireplace success network. We’re coming to you on a Monday evening, and we’re hoping it will be a pretty good crowd coming in. Looks like we’ve got a good audience already building up for you.
So our guest tonight as a gentleman that I’ve known for a while. Actually, he’s a client of mine. So whenever we talk about the culture that he’s built and he’s building, I know it’s specifically what he’s doing, how he’s doing it.
And he’s really impressed me over the time that I’ve got to know the guy. So his name is Anthony Valerio, and his company is Four Winds masonry and chimney. And it’s located up in New York state., and in a town by the name of Rochester. Which is really up north, which gives challenges. Sheryl, is there anything you would add about Anthony before we get started tonight?
Sheryl: I think he’s a good example for the other people that may be watching. He has taken a company and added a great culture to it. And as we all know, that’s a good percentage of what makes for good hiring.
Jerry I.: That’s it. So Anthony, how are you doing tonight brother? You want to tell our listeners a little bit about how you got in the chimney business, how long you’ve been in it? And let’s start right there, what your background is.
Anthony Valerio.: Yes, doing good, thanks for having me, Jerry, and Sheryl. So yes, I’m a fourth-generation at this, at what I do with chimney work.
And so I learned from my uncle, my dad, grandpa and I grew up about an hour from where I’m at now in the Finger Lakes. I started the business in February 2018 and went at it with a vengeance, and we’ve been rocking it since then. So I’ve built a pretty good group of guys and women that just give their all.
Jerry I.: So Julie then, she’s telling you hello, she’s one of our clients also and she’s in the mastermind group with us that you’re in there Anthony. So it’s good to have her. She’s also a lady that has a great culture within her company, he’s done a lot of culture exercises, those type of things.
So Anthony, let’s talk a minute. So when we say the word culture, what does culture mean to you in your company?
Anthony V.: So I took that in the beginning, and I figured that was the driving force, driving force for the business. Like it was like a tangible good. Like I knew if I invested in culture with whoever was working here and for myself, that I would see a return at the bottom line.
And culture is the reason why we do it. For us, it was we wanted to raise the bar in the chimney industry in our area. One, as a local business, but two, specific to the chimney industry too.
So today we talk about culture of the business model which includes the culture of your workforce!
Jerry I.: Got you. So Sheryl, what would be the thing that you would ask because you’ve dealt with Anthony, you’ve known him pretty well.
Had a lot of calls with him, that type stuff. Attended this SWOT meeting virtually. What kind of questions would you ask Anthony about his culture?
Sheryl: Well Anthony, when you got started with your culture, what was the most driving factor in the area of culture? What took you to lead in forward?
Anthony V.: Well, we had to identify core values first, that was like the first thing that we did. And we knew the root, the base was good will, that was the most important core value that we had, and that’s what we drove at home with.
We show that, and just that we show up to work to do the right thing, because it is the right thing, not because you’re getting told to do it.
A part of growing your culture is holding an annual SWOT meeting.
Jerry I.: Well Anthony, one of the things that really impressed me about you was that like a lot of other clients that I have. Whenever I discuss with you the need to have a SWOT meeting, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, and threats, you were all into this.
Not only that, during the SWOT meeting you sat there you observed, you listened intently to your people. So what makes you, I mean you’re a break maker kind of, that’s a pretty hard area to grow up and I’m pretty sure.
You probably came up the traditional way daddy, your granddaddy taught you how to make it, it was probably a pretty rough time as a young man on you. So how did you come up that a culture-driven organization was what Anthony Valerio wanted to run?
Anthony V.: I mean I just wanted purpose, I wanted the experience to be more for myself individually, I wanted a business just that meant something to me, to my family, to the people that worked here. I wanted just pride in the business.
And so that was a big part of it. And the guys, everyone that just came on just took to it. You know they bought into the dream early on, and they knew with each milestone, every desk that we got, every addition to the business was celebrated within the company as a victory, as a success.
Your workforce, your people must buy into the culture and live it.
Sheryl: Well Anthony, I’ve watched your people, they all seem to buy into the feelings that you have, the culture that you have. And I’m sure that your mission statement is one that’s quite incredible. And they just seem to be such a close-knit group.
Anthony V.: Yes.
Sheryl: I mean when you get a new hire in, do they fit in very quickly? Do you notice them coming in? But because you’ve got a good culture, do they seem to fit right in without having to stagger around and find out where they need to be?
Anthony V.: Yes, for the most part, they do. I mean the one thing that we do a great job is celebrating those victories and success. So throughout the day, when a new hire comes on, it’s good job, good job, good job we build on that.
And that’s what I did in the beginning with the guys when it was me and them out in the field. And then as we’ve grown, they’ve taken that same approach.
And that’s a compliment I hear all the time, is one of the roofers that we work with just said man, your guys all day long, good job with that, good job with that, good job with that. I was looking around, and I wanted somebody to say good job to me. And that they rock it, so they rock it.
Jerry I.: Yes. Well Anthony, here’s one question from me. When I did your original analysis when you contracted me to visit with you for a couple of days. One of the things that I pulled out was no offense, your warehouse was in pretty bad shape, would you agree with that?
Anthony V.: Oh yes.
A part of the culture is the condition of the warehouse and the implementation of the Kanban system of inventory management.
Jerry I.: But what happened from there is we talked and I explained to you a lean system called Kanban, of organization of your warehouse. Well, then I came back about six months later, and you had accomplished this and it was like walking into a completely different warehouse.
Now to do this, you had to get buy-in from your people. So this also showed how they bought into where you were going with. So how did you implement the lean Kanban system in your warehouse organization?
Anthony V.: Yes. So one big thing, because we’re new, we started in 2018. So it’s a new position for me, so each as we grow in the business, not only is it new for me, it’s new for the people that are with me too, it’s like uncharted territory.
And so one big thing that we have here is ever forward, keep driving it forward. Keep improving, being good with where you’re at, but knowing that you want to do more, you want to learn more and that’s what we do with that system, with the inventory system.
We took that, we made it our own, we identified potential roadblocks that we were going to have, our strengths, our weaknesses and we built on that. And the joy, the success is seeing that in them, in their faces.
Once the system is moving and it’s rocking, it goes back to that encouragement good job, good job, good job and it just keeps the train going.
Jerry I.: Yes. I’m not sure who Barbara Lisa VanDemortel is, but she said so very proud of you Anthony. Is that one of your relatives, or who just added the comment on there?
Anthony V.: That’s a proud mama right there.
Jerry I.: There you go, that’s good. She needs to be really proud of you, brother. Sheryl, your turn, you ask the next question.
Sheryl: Well, I want to give you a good job there, you did a good job for your mom, okay?
Anthony V.: Thanks.
Did you learn of the need of culture from someone, or did it simply evolve?
Sheryl: I like the statement you made ever forward, we don’t hear that very often. Did it just evolve? Or did you hear it from someone and take it as your own? Or did you put that place marker in?
Anthony V.: Yes. So I heard it from someone, it was in the beginning when I first opened, and I was watching like all these encouragement kind of videos, get you pumped up. And one was about ever forward, always marching forward.
And always trying to just do things better, do things right. And that was it for us. I mean, you know, we wanted that, we wanted to be the best in our area, be the best on any given service that we’re giving the customer. And we take that ever-forward model, and we apply it to that, and drive that home.
Investment in your team with training is a part of building the culture.
Jerry I.: Yes. So Anthony one of the things that I’ve noticed about you, is you invest into your people. I mean right before I did your original analysis, I think you had sent four of your men to Indianapolis to the CSI chimney sweeping school.
And then you also are very much into the use of our online learning platform, and getting your guys to train. So how do you get them bought into the training that you’re needing them to do, to increase their skill sets? Which what’s your secret formula for that?
Anthony V.: You know, so it ties into the rest. You know, I think identifying the core values of a company helps lay that out.
And really making, training important is, that’s like the tradition and the ritual. So if we make being a professional one of our core values, the traditional ritual is the work that we put in, to show that professionalism is one of our core values.
And I guess I wanted things, I took my job as the one that was supposed to lead culture, what do I want the employee to experience? And I wanted to ruin my employees for other employers. I wanted our place to be the benchmark of what it’s like to work for an awesome place.
I wanted people to love working here. And when you can create that momentum, training is just, that’s one more notch in the pallet, just keeps it going and it feeds right into it.
Sheryl: Well Anthony, we’ve talked a lot about work, okay. And being a mom also, and watching your mom watch here. Do you all have the time, I know you work a lot. Do you have time for the camaraderie of afterhours things ever?
Anthony V.: Yes, so that’s important. I think we always say, we wish we had more time and that’s a common thing for sure. But next weekend, we have an employee golf event that we’re all going to. It’s for childhood cancer, so it benefits the kids of course.
But also, it’s fun to do stuff outside of work. And I try to, even in the golf cart, pair two people with each other that don’t always get to see each other, so they can build a relationship. And that’s important, that’s what creates the bond, is the laughs and the memories and looking back and seeing that.
Jerry I.: Well, you know Anthony, one of the things is by working with you as I do from a coaching relationship, you share with me a lot of your thoughts, a lot of your inner thoughts, those type of things. And it’s such a way that I get to understand you.
And one of the thoughts that you shared with me was, that you didn’t want your guys in the field to have to work six days a week, 70 some hours a week just to make a living. Part of your dream was to make a business where those guys would be able to have time with their families, to have personal time to pursue what they like.
What puts that into you? Because I think Sheryl would agree, that’s a pretty unusual trait in an employer. Usually, an employer is trying to drive people, drive people, drive people, and your process is you don’t want to drive them. So what’s your base on that? Why do you feel that way?
A part of our culture is we want a workplace where people have time for their families.
Anthony V.: So I’ll condense that one down it. You’re right, the top of my success plan from day one was to have a place that worked 45 to 50 hours a week, 50 in the busy time, but an average at 45. So employees had time for family, time for the reasons that we work.
Our loved ones, whatever they want to do. And for me, it came from just hard knocks so growing up my family worked a lot, that was what we took a lot of pride in. And most of the memories that I had were with the men in my family were out on a roof, on a chimney, doing chimney work, or anything masonry-related, those were the experiences that I had.
And I wanted more, I wanted more for my family and I wanted more for the people that worked here. It’s got to be fair, we all got to eat from the same pie, same way, same thing, so that’s what I wanted.
Sheryl: So Anthony, what’s some of the advice that you give your employees in such a good culture? The advice that takes them to the next level, which ultimately takes you to the next level?
Anthony V.: Yes. So I think at any time when you’re in a leadership position, I’ve taken pride that I’ve never had to come down with punitive this is my company, and this is how, and this, this, this and me. I try to always refer to the business as us and we.
And so that’s a big part of it. And I would say that’s one of the bigger driving forces is that we’re always looking to work as a team to solve things together as a team. And so always making that important. As the owner of the company, it’s important to identify strengths and weaknesses.
I mean I need to tell the guys that this is what I’m good at, this is what I struggle with. So, they see it in me the ever forward, and that’s what we instill in others.
One of the things that makes a great culture is an employer that listens to his people.
Jerry I.: Got you. Anthony, also one of the things that makes a culture is an employer that listens to his people. And from what I’ve got, let me ask you this. If you were to make a bad hire, we’ll say someone came into your company and they did not mesh.
Are they going to be part of that process and come to you and say, Anthony, this guy is really good at laying brick, he’s really good?
But I don’t want to work with him, I am miserable around this guy. This guy just drives me up a wall. Is that guy going to have a future working for Four Winds?
Anthony V.: No, and that’s already been tried, tested, proven. So we’ve had guys come in, true journeyman masons that could lay brick faster than I can, and just great bricklayers.
But I found that I would much rather take somebody, a dishwasher, I mean that’s a case in point a dishwasher with no construction experience, but has the right drive, the right mindset, buys into that culture, I’ll take that person any day of the week.
Sheryl: So Anthony, you know what I do for a living. So a lot of my things is all about communication, and communication and culture go hand in hand in my book.
And it looks like out of a lot of the employers that I see, you have less of a communication gap of anyone I’ve ever seen.
Personal relationships improved because of how much we focus on communication here.
Anthony V.: I’ve had employees tell me that their personal relationships improved because of how much we focus on communication here.
We do, we pound that home, and that goes into the core values all that, you know communication, that’s the vehicle that we talk about how we’re feeling, how we’re doing, encourage others.
I mean what we say in meetings, that’s the tradition and the ritual, and we put that into practice every single morning, during our morning meeting and communication is how we do it together.
Jerry I.: Yes. Now Anthony so people know, you recently became a father for the second time I believe. You got one daughter, you’ve got one son, the daughter’s the oldest one. Met the daughter, not met the son yet, but I met the daughter one times up there. I met your wife Laura, but you are committed to a family for, you want your family to really go somewhere, you want your family to be happy.
So Laura is a stay-at-home mom, which means that the earning that all goes down on Anthony. But I think this is showing things to your people of how much you care about family, and do you think that this is carrying over into your employees, where they’re seeing how important it is to have this type of relationship with their families?
One of my driving forces. And I share that excitement with the employees.
Anthony V.: Yes, 100%. I mean 100%, and we talk about that, and since the beginning. I mean because of the communication that we have, I told them the reason why I do this, for my family to take care of my family, support my families, my wife, my children, provide a good life.
And that’s what I wanted, though that was a new thing for me, that was my goal, one of my driving forces. And I share that excitement with the employees, with the guys. Share those things with them, and they’ve talked about that. How it was inspiring for them.
And now I’m seeing it where it’s the people coming up behind the first core group of guys, first round of employees. I’m starting to see the ripple effect of them taking that and teaching it to them too directly.
Your company, and yourself, are extremely open and transparent with your team members.
Sheryl: Another thing I see Anthony, is your company is extremely transparent, the open door policy. I doubt any of your employees would have any trouble coming to your office and speaking with you because they don’t look like they would get that reprimand, they would get a pat on the back.
And even if they were doing incorrectly, I think you would talk to them and explain to them what was wrong instead of just you’re fine.
Anthony V.: Oh yes, I mean that’s when I’m so culture, I wanted this to be the house of second chances for people. And I wanted to be able to just make the mistakes and learn from them. And we talk about that weekly, how it’s okay to make mistakes. If you’re consistently making them, we identify that. So, we talk about that every single week, and yes.
You cannot eat an elephant all at one time, you must take it one bite at a time.
Jerry I.: Okay. And Anthony, one of the things is like I said, I’ve done a lot of assessments for people, on-site analysis, write-up reports do all kinds of things, and I give you a pretty long list of stuff. Would you agree stuff that you got to work on?
There’s a lot of pages probably about 80-90 pages in that report when you get it. You’re probably sitting back saying oh god, what am I going to do? And I have to tell people, hey, you can’t eat an elephant at one time.
But the thing is after doing the assessment, was you made some tremendous inroads from that point. In fact, I brought Donovan’s comment back up, because Donovan was actually up there, did a week of training with you guys.
But we had quite a few things on there, and there were things to do. And what I’m seeing happening, it was like one of the things that really impressed me was, the first time I was visiting with you, you had us all crammed in this little bitty room with this table, and you wanted me to do a little training with them.
And we did, and we went through Aaron’s fires, and how to install Aaron’s fire there in that classroom. But I also said Anthony, we really need a training center, we need a room where you can meet with these people. And then when I come back, what did I find? I found you had this room that you had completely built out and it was set up, and we were having a SWOT meeting in a room that could seat all your people comfortably.
And not only that, we were actually able to tune outsiders in such as Brandi was on there, Steve Hall, your CFO, Sheryl was in that SWOT meeting. Virtually, even though I was the only one there with you during that period of time. So what drove you to do this?
Because these are the things that you are doing, that’s showing your men how important this culture is to Anthony’s. So again, what drove you to do this? Like I said like Donovan put up, it was cleaned up two weeks later when he was there. What is your driving force, Anthony? What’s making you do this?
We have a bona fide training center now, it’s a part of the culture.
Anthony V.: It was a bona fide training center now.
Jerry I.: Yes.
Anthony V.: It goes back to the ever-forward thing I mean, and making the employee experience better here. So that they feel invested in.
So that room is called the Bull’s Den, we messed up the words. And just to tell you what it’s like, and this should be symbolic is, so-called the bulls down as a joke, but it just stuck that night. We had just finished building that room, we tore down a center wall, got rid of the ceiling, the Bluetooth speakers.
I mean we hooked it up. And so that night when we were all done, we were laughing around, calling it the bulls den. The guys went and had a wooden sign made for that, like a plaque for it, and that’s the heart that goes into it.
And we did that because we wanted just to raise the bar, to raise the bar as a company, locally and within our industry too. We wanted to, if we’re going to say training is an important thing here, how do we show that? Invest money into something tangible, something here.
Jerry I.: Yes.
Sheryl: Well Anthony, what I’m hearing here is you had a pretty high bar, to begin with. And you and you brought your gentleman and ladies into that bar level. And then it looks like they took it and ran with it.
So, it’s probably a lot easier now on you, because now you have all, as Jerry calls it, the buy-in, the communication, the friendships, and the camaraderie that many companies just strive for and never reach.
The culture is a system, it’s a strategic priority.
Anthony V.: Yes. So it is now, it’s a system. The culture is a system, it’s a strategic priority, so we’ve made it a strategic priority, so it’s a system that runs that goes.
My job has now become it feels like sometimes just to maintain it, to make tweaks along the way, but the guys are also accountable enough too to make that. Even if I’m not involved, if they see something that’s for the greater good, they know to make those changes.
Jerry I.: Right. Well, Anthony, also another thing that impressed me, you saw that your office staff is a pretty young, and what I mean by young, they don’t have a lot of experience in this industry, your sister Maria’s in there.
But they’re doing a great job, but at the same time, you saw where they needed some help. You saw where you were implementing service type, which is a really tough software to implement. And what you did is you reached out even further, and you have connected up, and Brandi Biswell one of our coaches is now working with your office staff and doing that.
So whenever you contracted with Brandi to start providing her services for the office staff, what was the end goal of doing this? Why did you reach out and say hey Brandi, I need you to work with this, because that came right into completion of the SWOT meeting.
Anthony V.: Yes. So putting my money where my mouth is. I mean we had the SWOT meeting, we identified one of our weaknesses, and that was in the office at that time.
And there was only so much I could do, and also no one wanted to bow out gracefully if someone else has better systems than I do, better resources, to get a better result, and that’s why Brandi came on.
We identified the office as a weakness, the action, the intervention was getting with Brandi and having her work with the girls in front, and they’ve been rocking it. We’ve had great results, so great results.
Sheryl: Well, I’ve watched you come a long way in a short time. And I just want to say I admire you for that. And like you said, you put your money where your mouth is. But the thing about it, your guys and ladies all follow within your steps.
And like you said, they take it home. The families are falling in your steps. Did you have an idea when you started this adventure that you would touch so many lives with the culture that you provide?
It’s an awesome feeling, and I’m really grateful that I can experience that.
Anthony V.: No, I didn’t know it was going to quite be like this. So it’s an awesome feeling, and I’m really grateful that I can experience that.
Because I mean everybody that achieves the goals that they want in life that works here, being able to be a part of that is one of the best feelings that you’re just going to get in life. Is to be the vehicle or help somebody achieve the same goals in life that you may have, or that are important to them.
Jerry I.: Got you. Well, brother, you are coming on like I said, I’ve known you less than a year since we had our initial phone call, and you’ve done a phenomenal move in that period of time. And to hear you talk about your people, and what you need.
There’s no ready, you go ready, aim and you fire the gun. You see that something’s needed, you pull the trigger. I mean when we look at it, I’m bringing Jared’s comment back up so people will know Jared has been doing some.
He has been doing videos, photographs, social media for you for quite a while. And like I said, Jared recognized this also. One of the things that I see is whenever you have any training going on, and like I said Stuart Karanovich from Chimneysaver was there doing a Priorfire training.
Everybody that comes in there Anthony talks about what a super crew of guys you got.
And after he left, I gave Stuart a call, I asked: well, what did you think of Anthony’s crew? And everybody that comes in there Anthony talks about what a super crew of guys you got, how everybody’s got their heads so screwed on so straight, I think was also such a high compliment.
But a lot of people don’t realize they’re looking only for experienced people, and you’ve taken a guy like I can remember in the SWOT meeting, and I don’t remember his name, so I hope I don’t offend anybody.
But you talked about this guy you used to cook pizzas for a living, and you said he was a better brick mason than you are now. How do you get the kind of results Anthony?
Anthony V.: Just believing in that dream and that culture. And that’s one of the examples of somebody coming in with no construction experience but has the right attitude and mindset.
Nate worked in the pizza industry for years and came in, and he was one of those early on guys like the core group in the beginning, and we worked along the way, we put in the work, we tested, got results.
Complimented each other, praised each other, built each other up, and then just kept driving with that, driving with that, driving with that. And Nate has taken that, and Randall, all the guys have been talking about me.
Jerry I.: Yes. Well also Brandon, I know Brandon has more or less taken over from the educational aspect. Brandon contacts me about the classes, signing classes, what classes people need to go with, those kinds of things. So how did you get Brandon inspired, what was the secret of inspiring Brandon?
Anthony V.: So when I talk about like the core group, I refer to like the first three guys that came to work here, that was Nate, Brandan, and Vinnie. And so Brandon is the longest-running employee. And Brandon really embodies the culture, all the guys do, everyone’s got their strengths and weaknesses, and Brandon does really well with emotion.
I mean he says what he means, and when he talks about something, he’s passionate about, it encourages people, you could see that. He has that kind of effect, and so I saw that with him. I knew that would be a good fit for him, to help encourage and grow and grow and grow. And so, he took that on, and he’s doing it, so he’s doing good.
It’s still in its early stage, but he’s definitely the right man for the job. Vinnie, he’s the other one. Vinnie has really taking on that chief operations officer role. He is the daily operation, the grind, the grind, the grind, very reliable.
Vinnie’s much more type A than I am. Much more organized, systems. And so he does a really good job at executing those, he was in the military, so those are his strengths. You know I’m more type B, I like the overall picture, driving the culture, driving the emotion, the feeling of the company.
Jerry I.: Okay. So, anything, that gentleman I just flashed this comment up, his name is Tom Ginn and he does what I do in other industries, he’s a Dave Proctor, coach, and some other things I’ve appeared on his podcasts.
But I’m sure that Tom will be a person that would congratulate you on the way you have built a culture within the blue-collar ranks of America. And let Sheryl ask the next question, and then we’re going to get ready. I got one last question after that for you.
Sheryl: I have more of a statement Anthony, I’ve watched and I’ve listened and I’ve learned from you. And believe me, I have learned some things tonight from you.
But I’ve always been taught that good begats good, which means you come from a good heart, a good place. And it looks like you are taking these young gentlemen into the same realm that you are.
Anthony V.: Thanks, Sheryl.
What are you looking for in people to add to your team?
Jerry I.: Okay. So Anthony here’s my last question for you. Let’s just say that there’s a young man or a young lady sitting here in Rochester, New York, and they’re looking to learn a skill.
They know nothing about chimneys, they have never touched a brick before. What are you looking for in people to add to your team?
What’s the driving force to say hey, welcome aboard. We will train you, we will turn you into a skilled tradesman. What are those things you look for in people that say this is the person that can do this?
We want the attitude of ever forward with our people.
Anthony V.: So we want the attitude of ever forward, right? If you could put that into someone’s attitude, that’s what we look for. We want the people that come in, that are just hungry, that are hungry to move, to get a career in life.
To take the next step, to provide for a family, to start thinking about a family. Because we talk about those things here. And so that’s usually the biggest, is I want somebody that wants to grow, that wants to improve. I don’t want the person that feels like they have hit the point in life that they’re not going to go any higher.
There’s always room to grow, always room for improvement. And I want the individual that is up for that challenge. And we say that we can provide a great employee experience, that we can make this an awesome place for someone to work. You know where you’re believed in, where you’re built, your strengths are built upon.
Where you feel invested in. And we have fun doing it. One big thing is we try to lighten up sometimes, we take the work very seriously, that’s part of our core. But we don’t take ourselves too seriously all the time. I think being able to have a laugh, be human, those are the important things.
What you are building is Emotional Intelligence.
Jerry I.: Yes. Well, Anthony, one of the things like I said, believe it or not, I’m actually writing an article that’ll be in next month’s sweeping magazine, based on culture. And this is something that I think you’re building there, and it’s called emotional intelligence.
And this is something that you probably did not grow up with in the trades when you learned to be it. But I’m gauging that you’re a person and Sheryl, I’m going to ask you, do you see that Anthony. He is a person with tremendous emotional intelligence, to understand his people.
Would you agree with that? And Anthony, I don’t know who this is, but somebody just said you’re beautiful. So hey, how about that one right there, man. I don’t know who that was because they didn’t identify themselves. So, Sheryl?
Between the head and the heart, I think you have carried your people to a different level.
Sheryl: Yes, I do agree. And I do understand that you’re beautiful, you’re beautiful from the inside out Anthony, and you have built that all the way in. Between the head and the heart, I think you have carried your people to a different level.
Jerry I.: Yes. That’s who that was, that that was our friend Jason Toomey. How about that? So Jason said you’re beautiful and all that kind of stuff, so how about that? So Anthony, if there is that young person in the Rochester, New York market area.
Or if somebody in another part of the country wanted to move to Rochester. How would they get in touch to get the guidance of Anthony Valerio and work on Anthony’s team? How do they get in touch with you Anthony?
Anthony V.: So first, our website www.FourWindsmasonryandchimney.com, that’s probably the easiest way. Our Facebook page, another super-easy way to get a hold of us. We will pay to relocate, a moving bonus, signing bonus. And then phone number 585-727-1174.
Jerry I.: Right. So if you’re in that market area, hey, look Anthony up. So, Anthony, before we in this interview tonight. Is there anything you would want to add to this to tell people how to build, to have what Anthony has in their companies?
What’s your secret sauce? Is it working for breakfast? Is it the way your mother raised you? What is it that gives Anthony the secret sauce that he truly, and I can verify this, truly cares about his people?
Anthony V.: It’s a beautiful wife, and loving family, that’s what does it. So it’s just a genuineness, right? What I want to put out in the world and being genuine. I think that’s the base, the emotional intelligence part. My wife will probably disagree with you on that one. But I do have heart for what I do.
Jerry I.: Well, your mother just said you better give her some credit, Anthony. Or she may be sitting outside your office a little bit, may paddle your butt like she did when you was little. What do you think?
Anthony V.: She’s already texting me.
Jerry I.: She’s already texting you? What’s she telling you?
Anthony V.: No, she didn’t text me.
Jerry I.: Okay. So Anthony, I really appreciate you joining us tonight. Sheryl, did he share some good information with us?
Sheryl: He did some excellent information. And I don’t know anyone that hears this, that will not at least retain some of it. So Anthony, you hopefully have touched a lot of people tonight.
Jerry I.: Right. And Barbara, I’ve never met you, next time I’m up. Anthony, you tell your mama that I’m there, I’d love to meet her. But I think that you did a miraculous job, a wonderful job with this young man. Knowing what I know about him, and Anthony’s been very forward with me.
I know a lot about Anthony’s life, you did a great job. Also right there Anthony that’s Julie Dent, and Sheryl will tell you that you’ve never met Julie. That is a person that’s really into culture in their company, and she’s thanking you for sharing your story with them this night, okay.
So now your mom’s back for sure, thank you. So Anthony, next time I’m in Rochester, you tell your mom I’m there because I want to meet this lady that actually raised you. Is that fair, brother?
Anthony V.: She’ll be here.
Jerry I.: She’ll be there. Okay brother, well listen, folks, we appreciate you joining us tonight for this episode of the chimney and fireplace success network. This show is brought to you by CVC success group, and we do this for one reason and one reason alone.
That is to share people like Anthony and others so you can learn from them and put the tips, put the tactics to work in your company.
So appreciate you joining us, taking this evening out of your lives and we’ll see you down the road on a future episode of the chimney and fireplace success network. Talk to you later.