Tom Birchard

Lead MRO business for MSC. Passion for leadership and believe it all starts with highly engaged teams. Tweets and Newsletter on business, health, and family

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

I just joined Twitter a few wks ago and it’s admittedly a bit overwhelming. Here goes with my 1st post…I currently lead a 250+ person service team and it strikes me there are some underappreciated leadership lessons that are more important now than ever. Here are 5 of them 👇

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

@MikeBotkin_ Let's catch up soon! @MikeBotkin_

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

@MikeBotkin_ 1. Single brand...power in being able to pour all your focus into single brand. Also I suspect more durable long-term
2. Operator back to corp life...turned volume down on things that used to seem like big deal & rattle me. Low tolerance for BS, able to operate at different pace

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

Sample Bias - when some members of a population are systematically more likely to be selected in a sample than others

Good example of this discussed at business dinner last night. One of my team members is 6'6, and he was commenting on how often he runs into someone taller than him out and about...not very often at all

This got me thinking, how many people in the world are 7+ feet tall? Below is what I found

At first I was shocked by this. Having grown up playing and watching basketball, I naively assumed the number had to be much greater than this

But this is Sample Bias. When I then got to thinking how often I'd be living my daily life, and see a 7 footer, it dawned on me how extremely rare it really is

Many other instances of Sample Bias, and something to keep in mind as your initial reaction may be way off

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

A former manager used the phrase "Revenue is the Magic Eraser"

And in that business and with the structure of our P&L, it absolutely was. If we were dramatically growing, everything else tended to take care of itself

This just got me thinking that every business, at any given point in time, probably has 1-2 metrics that if you're driving them, performance will follow

While it's important to consider how to balance different metrics (i.e. revenue, gross margin, and inventory), I also think it's important not to overcomplicate things. Easy to get caught in "analysis paralysis" and often driving extreme energy towards the metric or two that's most important for your business will deliver the intended results

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving." - Albert Einstein

Thought of this 6AM Sunday morning while tempted to turn on the news until the kids woke up after the truly unfortunate events of Saturday

But opted for the gym instead💪🏋️‍♂️

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

It's hilarious what little kids get excited about

We signed Rory up for tee-ball. He's been talking all week about getting a glove

There's a part in this "If You Give a Dog a Donut" book where the dog gets a glove & plays baseball, so I hear about it reading every night too😂

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

Congratulated a team member on a work anniversary earlier this week

Prompted them to share how when they took the job 7 yrs ago, they never envisioned it turning into a CAREER

Reminder of what really matters & that our team members are a critical stakeholder, not just investors

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

Two of the best things I've done for my mental health lately...

1) Removing all social media from phone (X, LinkedIn, Facebook)
2) Using app called One Sec to force me to pause & take a long breath before opening up email on my phone. Often stops me from compulsively checking!

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

@Tyler_Van_Acker Thanks for the post here Tyler, look forward to making all of these part of my routine!

I'm 40 yrs old, pretty fit, have never had knee pain. But since reintroducing squats to my workout routine I'm experiencing some knee pain. Would you guess these help eliminate that?

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

Major learning for me as a parent with young kids is during play, to let them lead

The most fun, and often hysterical, times don't come from when I say "let's go play basketball" but instead from letting their natural curiosity & creativity take hold & going wherever that leads

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

@joelcox @davedodson307 It's a good one, he has some good articles out there too.
I think I first heard him on @aebridgeman's podcast

"The Effective Manager" is another good one that's well researched and gets pretty tactical on people management

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

In his excellent book "The Manager's Handbook", @davedodson307 lays out 5 must-have skills for leaders

One is "Setting & Adhering to Priorities"

This is so important, because the tendency is to chase shiny objects which dilutes impact & execution of those critical priorities

An annual budget and goal-setting process, along with a way to measure (leading & lagging KPIs) is critical

The larger the organization, the more cross-functional collaboration needs to occur to ensure effective cascading of the high-level goals and alignment of the priorities within different functional teams

This process is hard and takes time, but you shouldn't take shortcuts because you want a high confidence that the priorities you establish will allow you to achieve the goals set. There may be a need to deviate from those plans midyear, but this shouldn't be taken lightly and every effort should be made to execute on the plans that were thoughtfully laid out

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

A quote to start the week👇

"Comparison is the death of joy." - Mark Twain

Don't waste time & energy comparing yourself to those around you. This includes social media

Instead...look inside, find your purpose & write it down, and try to live in alignment with that

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

Here's the podcast - https://t.co/r7UgxgjlXc

You can also find the book by just searching "Good Energy" by Casey Means

Highly recommend both to anyone interested in living a long and vibrant life

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

I've always prioritized health & fitness and am constantly trying to learn more that I can apply

Much seems redundant or doesn't resonate

Kevin Rose's interview with @CaseyMeansMD was EXCELLENT! Prompted me to pickup her book "Good Energy" which I'm also really enjoying

Link👇

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

MSC's mission statement is to be the best industrial supplier in the world as measured by our associates, customers, owners, and suppliers

Super important to run decisions through this filter and ensure we're keeping a healthy balancing vs. overbiasing for any given stakeholder

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

@fariavalue @drgurner I happen to be reading “The Courage to be Disliked” which is based on Adler’s theories. Super easy read

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

Amazing how low the bar is set in many areas for follow through, clear communication, and even basic responsiveness

Silver lining is if you can deliver on these, either personally or as a company, you can really stand out

It’s not complicated, master these basic behaviors!

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

@SMBfella Yup and Steve Richman who was leading Milwaukee under the umbrella of TTI just stepped into that role

Not a ton of change yet but it’s still pretty fresh

[Tom Birchard @birchard_tom]

Spent the day with one of our key suppliers, Milwaukee Tool

Quite the conference room, but the tour was one of the best I’ve been on

Their tag line is “Nothing but Heavy Duty” and it shows with the rigorous testing they put their products through. Very impressive