More than pipes and wires

Lex Smuts was my first manager in Purchasing. Coming to SDG&E from Sears Corporate Headquarters in Chicago and United Airlines, he was short on utility experience but long on leadership skills. He asked us to think about how we conducted ourselves professionally; to look honestly at what was good and what could be better; to develop our skills.  He gave us permission to ask “What if…….?”

Lex told us that Procurement Professionals had to be like Caesar’s Wife: above question and reproach in all that we do.  That was the first lesson I learned in my Procurement career. And the most important.   

My dad served in two (almost three) hot wars and one Cold War during his 30 years in the US Navy. Half of those years he led teams of well-trained sailors who maintained the Navy’s arsenal of nuclear weapons. They were known as “Dragon Keepers.” He and his men performed inspection trips out in the fleet and at forward locations, ensuring that those men were properly trained in the maintenance and, God forbid, deployment of the dragons in their keep.

He retired a senior Warrant Officer. And many of the men he commanded ended their own naval careers outranking him. That was a point of pride for Dad. He taught, “Give your men the best possible training, the best tools and the best support you have. And then get out of their way and let them do their job.”

Dad said a leader takes responsibility for the team’s actions when times are tough, and he makes sure the team gets all the credit when things go well.

Everything I ev ... Read more »

In the early ‘80s I helped purchase brand new baby blue Ford Pintos for the SDG&E fleet. And they were cutting edge! Pool cars were supposed to be white, but when the Postal Service cancelled an order of blue Pintos after their manufacture, it was too good a deal for us to pass up.

Oh, they were “cutting edge” because they had heaters. No, not air conditioning: regular old heaters. Before that purchase, pool cars didn’t come equipped with heaters because it added to the cost of the vehicle – and it was San Diego, after all. But from that point on, they all had heaters. AM radios came later.

If you’re driving an SDG&E pool car in comfort right now, please put down your electronic device. And you’re welcome!