"Resilience means having the passion and desire to continue no matter how the climate around you changes"
David Indursky was raised in the business. He interned every summer at ENCON starting in high school and experienced every single job, learning from the ground up. David feels incredibly fortunate to be in a generational business. David came on full-time in 1993 and worked his way up to president.
He’s most thankful for having an incredible working relationship with his father Marty – who founded ENCON in 1968 – for over 26 years which is rare for generational family businesses. David’s vision is for ENCON to continue to lead the industry over the next 50 years, both in the use of technology, growing the team, and working with customers who appreciate the value of partnering with ENCON. “I give so much credit to our team and am really proud of their work and the degree of complex projects they have completed,” says David. “Some of our top performers have been with the company for over 40 years.”
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Table of Contents
Tell us a little bit about your current projects. What exciting milestone would you like to share with our readers? (Don’t hesitate to delve into your achievements, they will inspire the audience)
David Indursky: The exciting milestone is that ENCON is growing, and that growth is fueling many opportunities for our younger staff to grow and evolve. Our growth has allowed the younger team members to grow in their leadership roles and explore new business paths. It’s exciting to see new opportunities become available for them as the company expands.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
David Indursky: When starting your career journey, the hardest part is you don’t know what you don’t know. When I first joined our decades-old family business, there were a lot of changes happening internally. I was put in situations that I didn’t belong in because of my inexperience; however, I had no choice but to learn every day and prioritize what needed to be accomplished. I never considered giving up.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
David Indursky: There’s so much more to running a business than what an entrepreneur is actually making or selling. One of my favorite business books is The E Myth, which gives the example of a woman who wanted to start a bakery because she was the best baker. The book says that just because you know how to bake, that doesn’t mean you are the best businessperson.
You may be the best at your craft; however, the decisions you make as a business leader are different from making or creating a product you’re selling. There’s a huge learning curve when it comes to understanding the ins and outs of the financial, human resources, and legal aspects of running a business. Learning to run a business is so much greater than just the craft at hand.
Resilience is critical in critical times like the ones we are going through now. How would you define resilience?
David Indursky: Resilience means having the passion and desire to continue no matter how the climate around you changes. Some days will be very hard, and your desire and perseverance to continue on no matter what will help you rise to the top. Remember the good moments and business highs so that when you’re powering through a bad experience, you have the drive to keep going. Don’t dwell on the bad for too long. Instead, digest, learn from it and move on.
In your opinion, what makes your company stand out from the competition?
David Indursky: With over 50 years of experience, I can genuinely say that ENCON can – and will – deliver the impossible. We’ve grown tremendously in our capabilities throughout the last 20+ years since I became president. We’ve tackled a wide array of complex projects.
One example is our work at Gateway. We had a very tight window to turn around one of the most significant projects at ENCON; I call them “weekend wonders,” meaning you start the job on Friday night, and it needs to be completed by Monday morning. We had about 60 employees on-site, and we successfully installed a 195-ton custom air handler on the rooftop penthouse, replacing the old unit from 1985. Twenty years ago, we couldn’t have even dreamed of completing a project of that magnitude.
Today, we’ve gotten very good at how to plan and how to deliver successfully.
Delegating is part of being a great leader, but what have you found helpful to get your managers to become valiant leaders as well?
David Indursky: I am constantly reminding my managers and leadership team that they need the right people on their team to grow and succeed. Part of that means having tough conversations along the way. Sometimes people fail, and you need to educate them and encourage them to learn from their mistakes.
What have you learned about personal branding that you wish you had known earlier in your career?
David Indursky: Through personal branding, I’ve learned that by being known locally as a leader, industry expert, and best-in-class business, my heightened persona helps attract new business relationships, resulting in company-wide growth.
I’ve also learned to associate with people with similar values as you build your brand so that you can work with companies you like, trust, and value – it makes for healthier business relationships.
What’s your favorite leadership style and why?
David Indursky: I have a hands-off approach to leadership. Ronald Reagan once said, “Trust, but verify.” I trust that my employees will do the right thing. However, they need to be held accountable and measured, and if not, there must be some ramifications. Accountability is key.
What advice would you give to our younger readers that want to become entrepreneurs?
David Indursky: My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is you must have the desire for the risk associated with running a business; the rewards only come when you take risks. And you’re willing to go out and be told no many, many times. Be ok failing and getting back up. If your name’s on the front of the check, you have no choice but to get back up. You’ve got to be willing to take risks and work harder and longer than you can ever imagine because it’s your name and reputation on the line.
What’s your favorite “business” quote and how has it affected your business decisions?
David Indursky: There’s an underlying mantra in our company: ‘Failure is not an option’. We are committed to staying on the job until it gets done. When you look at everything, you’ve got to complete your task and do the right thing for your customers, your internal team, and sometimes that means deviating from the plan to make sure you complete your mission.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank David Indursky for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with David Indursky or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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