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Issue link: http://airportbusiness.epubxp.com/i/604359
GROUND CLUTTER Ralph Hood Certified Speaking Professional; Member, Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame 12 airportbusiness November 2015 T his issue includes the annu- al Airport Business list of 40 up-and-comers under 40 years old in our industry. It also marks the first year that Airport Business has partnered with Airports Consultants Council, who provided three judg- es, to help select the 2015 winners. Many thanks to Carol Lurie, principal and senior planner for VHB; Laddie Irion, senior vice president, National Aviation Market Sector Leader for HNTB Corporation; and Courtney Beamon, president of Delta Airport Consultants; for your judging assis- tance. We couldn't have done it with- out you! Don't you wish you could have picked the winners out ahead of time and hired them a few years ago? Don't you wish you could pick out the people who will be on the list five to 10 years from now? On the first day of my first job straight out of college with a Fortune 500 compa- ny, I asked my new boss—Dean—a lot of questions about future opportunities for advancement. Dean answered the ques- tions politely, but then explained some- thing that I've never forgotten. "Ralph," he said, "the best way to get a promotion with this company is to do a great job on your current job. We hired you to sell our products. Do that job well and promotions will take care of themselves." As I write this column, I do not have any idea who will be on the 40 Under 40 list this year. But I can describe them. They will be 40 people who have each done an exceptionally good job performing their assigned duties. Each has excelled at his/her current job! For you employers, that's the best way to pick future 40 Under 40 winners (let's call them FFUFs). Look for employees excelling at what you hired them to do. FFUFs will be people who show up a few minutes early, ready to go to work. They will always be hunting for things to do for the company. They will be cooper- ative. They will follow the rules. They will be dependable and reliable. And, if you give them an additional area of responsi- bility they will see it as opportunity rather than as imposition. They will have high ethics, be scrupulously honest, and will be devoted to customer satisfaction. And they will want to work for companies that share these characteristics. Employers will quickly learn to ask for FFUFs' opinions on problems and ideas, and will listen carefully to their answers. These people are likely to be well known, influential and trusted by others. If the employer has a new program, process or goal coming out that will affect his/her employees, it may be wise to run it by the FFUF in advance. Explain the details carefully. Get the FFUF's opinion. If the FFUF sees problems, listen. It will pay off. Congratulations to the 40 Under 40 for 2015. The industry appreciates you. 40 Under 40— Who Knew? Wouldn't it be nice if we knew who was going to make this list before we made hiring decisions?