“I don’t give a damn about any other job. I only care about the one I’m on.”
I started at Bouten in 1983. I was twenty-three years old. My grandmother’s neighbor, he was a union laborer, and he was on the hospital project in Chewelah. I’d done odd jobs for him when I was a kid—he didn’t have a son of his own—and he evidently liked me enough to recommend me. So that’s how I got started. I walked on to that hospital jobsite and became a laborer.
I worked with Dave Clausen for about three months on that project, and when he got transferred to the ONB Financial Center job in Spokane, he said to Ron Stack—a Bouten legend, by the way—he said, “Ron, you need to hire that kid in Chewelah and bring him down here.” When Stack told me that, he also told me that Clausen never said a good thing about anybody.
But it’s because I had to earn my way. I was tired of not having a steady job. It’s all I wanted. So I’m doing whatever the boss asks. I’m paying attention. And the whole time these guys are busting me: “I don’t know Jimmie, they’re going to start laying off. I know I’m going to the next job, but I don’t know about you. You better pick it up.”
See, you’ve got to be self-motivated right out of the chute. When you come in, you’re not expected to know anything. So you got to watch, right? You pay attention. If you don’t know what else to do, you can always clean. I wasn’t the biggest guy, but I could fetch and tote and I learned to anticipate. Somebody asked me once, “How do you get on steady in construction?” Well, whoever your immediate supervisor is, you make him think he can’t do anything without you, and you’ll always have a job.
And you gotta remember that people are the most important thing in everything we do. That means communicating. Listening. Building relationships. I mean, look, things and stuff are great—but if you had all the things in the world and you didn’t have anybody to share ’em with, they’re no fun.
There’s a little psychology involved, I guess. My whole career has been about getting people to do what they’re supposed to do without them getting pissed at me about it. Right? It’s about communication and respect more than anything. I mean, obviously they work hand in hand, but a lot of what I’m talking about is those interpersonal relations; about having respect for each other. You’re as important as anybody else in this job. If you don’t get your stuff done, it holds everybody and everything up. We’re a giant team all aiming for the same goal. Just like the world itself, we need to understand each other—we need to communicate.
Looking back on forty-two years, all I can say is what a long, strange trip it’s been. I know there’s been times where Bouten questioned me, and there’s been times I’ve questioned Bouten. But I mean, that’s family. So I just appreciate the fact that I was able to learn my trade and apply it. To become the craftsman that I am today. To work for a company that encourages growth and education, and where the focus is always people. Bouten created an environment that fit what I needed. I mean, I didn’t know I needed it—I say the same about meeting my wife, by the way—but I did.
