record_id: 2eef8b3e-f83d-8187-bf6f-fd5aa148cc03
created_time: 2026-01-20T14:34:00.000Z
title: 01-19 Interview: Taylor Rees - Director of Operations Candidate in Manufacturing, Logistics, and Construction
source_url: /

[TRANSCRIPTION]
Speaker 1 00:07:01
How are you? Good afternoon. Good afternoon. How are you? Very good. Very good. Thank you so much for re-accommodating your schedule last Friday. It was super crazy for me, but thank you so much for, making the time to with me today. No problem. How's your week going so far? So far so good.
Speaker 2 00:07:22
Have you been applying to many jobs today? Applying? No. So I'm employed, so, but I am. What for me, I'm actually trying to get, so I work for a family company right now, so I got asked to come in. Hey, can you come in and help us? And I've been doing that for, you know, three and a half years now, and it's like, okay, I think I've done what, you know, I did what I needed to do. What happens when you work for a family company? I grew up.
Speaker 2 00:08:00
yeah i grew up working for my father and uh that was so it's one of those things where it's like it's it's great because you learn you learn how to run a business from the mindset of the entrepreneur you get special training but later on in life when you're doing it say you know it's my cousin technically but he's like my brother and it's like oh i i never quite understood you were this way you know you're a completely different person so it is harder to maintain your personality.
Speaker 1 00:08:34
believe me i understand, do you think again that we have alternatives you can always always know your career no matter the companies you've been working for there's always a new beginning and that's why we're here so thank you so much for trusting in in reaching out to us, help you find a new position. I'll be sharing to you where we are right now in terms of my company situation, but.
Speaker 1 00:09:05
I will be very, very, uh, just you hopefully to find, um, to find you a new job. I actually just placed a direct operation. That's what you do. That's your background, director of operation. I just placed one last month at the beginning of, which honestly I didn't thought it will be happening because, you know, it's towards the end of the year and companies are just waiting until the next year to see their finances.
Speaker 1 00:09:35
And the, well, just to, to budget all their costs. It was a very, uh, almost, uh, when was the offer? A hundred and fifty, which I'll be asking you, what is your, your first seller expectations, but I want you to know that we place those positions. It's not a stand for a year, but we can definitely do that.
Speaker 1 00:10:05
And that's the reason I wanted to connect with you, because believe me, when the time comes, I always reach out. Regardless if you have a job or not, I always like to reach out to my network first just to see if you might be open to do a change in your career or position. And I love to do more headhunting part than finding candidates that we've been without a job for a long time, because most likely what happens is they say yes to whatever we offer, because they want a job.
Speaker 1 00:10:44
It's not like they're very happy. Let's see how this works, and we'll go from there.
Speaker 2 00:10:50
Sounds good.
Speaker 1 00:10:52
I've been with my company for... eight years however we're doing so many changes internally we have multiple divisions because we operate in boston we're a nationwide company so i cannot just provide you with jobs here in california if something comes in texas pennsylvania boston wherever it comes if you're open too, i can definitely uh offer you that which also makes you have sections and more options on your end but um we are here in california got a different company also nationwide so i'm finding.
Speaker 1 00:11:34
kind of where i'm going to land in terms of my new kind of like my new territory to stay right right what changes but because i have yes but because i have so many decisions, um i think i'll be continuing helping with these titles which are the executive.
Speaker 1 00:12:05
Sure.
Speaker 1 00:12:37
I think I'd like to hear you out, I mean, I know the family factor is probably the main reason you're looking for another job. Can you please detail very briefly your career, what you specialize on? We do all types of companies, but our friends are the logistics, warehouse, distributions and manufacturing, so we work with a lot of money, and we want to target right now in our portfolio, if we haven't worked ever with AI companies, maybe if you are interested in changing also your career, your industry, we can also target some.
Speaker 1 00:13:30
Please feel free to share whatever you feel comfortable with, I'll be taking notes in case you see me dragging things, but I would like to hear, what is your company, or your perfect position, or where would you like to land in your next position. 
Speaker 2 00:13:48
So, well here, let me just tell you my background first, and as I... started out with i grew up working for a family company i grew up working for my father so at at eight years old i was driving forklifts to give you an idea of you know so i come from a a trucking background and i worked with with him until i was about 22. so i got all of my, you know that's where i got my introduction to management my i ran warehouses it was always.
Speaker 2 00:14:18
you know you you go out there you work harder than everybody else because you're my son and you represent me and so and so there's this um well i think the most beneficial, thing that i that i took from that without you know trying to give you my life story is, number one when i was working for him not i i get this i get to see the everything was mine it was it was literally it was it was ours and so everything we were doing we were.
Speaker 2 00:14:49
it had an impact. I've been able to take that ownership aspect to every, everywhere I've gone, where it's like, no, this is, this is mine. This is not, I'm not here for a paycheck. I'm here to own this. And so when you give it to me, when you give it to me, I'm going to treat it like it's mine. I'm going to build it for you. Um, and, um, but then I also got, I also learned how to look at it, not as a manager, but you know, I, it was always the, you know, my father's always saying,
Speaker 2 00:15:19
okay, come back to the hill so you can see the whole forest, you know, come back to the hills. And so all of my learning, all of my experiences kind of come out of that. So I've kind of been able to do a slingshot ever since there. Um, obviously when you, when you work for your, for family, nobody really wants to give you a chance because did you get it because of who you are or did you get it because you earned it? Um, and so. And so when he sold his company, I kind of had to rebuild myself, and I took that as an opportunity to go get my education.
Speaker 2 00:15:51
And so I went to work for, it's United now, but Mayflower, United Van Lines, I'm not sure if you're familiar with them. That's where I got back into trucking and whatnot. And I used that as a way to just kind of build my way up, because nobody's going to give you a terminal manager spot at 22, 23 years old. So as I did that, I worked my way into Reconserve, and that's really where the bones of my career come from. I started there as their transportation manager,
Speaker 2 00:16:23
and they were having so many problems that... They're an interesting company because they use their transportation as their raw material collection. And so that's their inventory stream and their raw material stream. And then they manufacture it. So they're picking up bakery waste. And then they dry it out, they grind it up, and then they send it out as a finished ingredient that goes into feed for cattle. So when they have poor service there, they're actually shutting down bakeries because the bakeries are taking their waste and throwing it into these containment systems that they're providing for them.
Speaker 2 00:17:10
so you imagine they can't throw it into the trash because all you know a big company like free delay or mission foods or any of them you shut them down and they're they're pretty upset um because they don't really care about you you're the trash guy um so i came in because they could not figure out how to um how to they couldn't find a transportation sorry a transportation guy i'm gonna get some water uh that could figure this whole system out and i remember in the interview i said oh all you.
Speaker 2 00:17:40
need is a pivot table and and the guy said okay and and he ended up being my boss and a good friend later and he's like hey so after the interview so what's up what's a pivot table and uh so i showed him i ended up coming up with a program for them where we could anticipate the needs of every single customer and without getting a call we could pick up right when they needed it so all of a sudden, All the overtime went down. Our labor force went down. I think I was able to take overtime down by.
Speaker 2 00:18:15
40%. Their labor force down by 25% within a year. And then I expanded the coverage to 24 seven. So now we're picking up whenever they needed us to, and we were able to, and then I basically created a computer system that automatically determined all of this for them. So that way I didn't have to, constantly being on Excel spreadsheet, importing, exporting, whatnot. This system is out now nationwide with that company. So they still use it today. But after a year of doing this with them,
Speaker 2 00:18:50
I was bored because it was fixed. I didn't have anything to do. So I made a deal with my boss, and I said, Hey, you like to play solitaire. i don't know how to do the manufacturing deal why don't you teach it to me and i'll do your job for you and you can continue to play solitaire now i'm being a little bit facetious but not so much um and uh so he taught me how to plant work and whatnot i partnered with um the head of maintenance and we kind of went around and we had this little deal where hey teach me the ins and.
Speaker 2 00:19:23
outs of the actual machinery so i can understand it and i'll help you with ideas and how to approach things um and next thing you know i'm uh he leaves i took over his position, he got a promotion into the hardest plans of the company and uh next thing you know um. his stuff is tanking and they come to me my new boss says hey how come uh he did such a good job with with the la plant and how come he's not doing such a great job with stockton.
Speaker 2 00:19:55
We have some suspicions, and I said, well, I'm not going to throw the guy under the bus, but, you know, ever since I started doing this, it's been doing well. You know, I'll let you take it from there. And with them, I actually, you're in L.A., right? Are you very familiar with UCLA? Yes, we're called Merleford, yeah. So are you familiar with UCLA very much? So there's several buildings, there's several buildings that have the name Meyer Luskin on them.
Speaker 2 00:20:26
It's the Luskin Center for Medicine, the Luskin Center for this. Meyer Luskin was the owner of this company, so he became my mentor. Now, the guy is literally 100 years old and shows up to work every day still. So he took me under his wing and just kind of kept on expanding my role, expanding my role because their corporate was in Santa Monica. I was in LA. And so it was easy. We just have lunch every three, six months or something like that. And that role expanded to the Ontario branch. And then they said, Hey, can you take over for our sister company and help make them better? And all was well. And, and then he brought in his son and the son, I think the best way I've heard it described.
Speaker 2 00:21:16
Saw me as competition. I proposed that they shut down the, the LA plant and move all the operations to Ontario. I didn't know this, but he proposed the exact opposite. And I found out later that, that Meyer Luskin had actually said, Hey, why what why are you proposing this look at braden's plan it's so much more you know so.
Speaker 2 00:21:46
much better you need to start thinking like him and then he had and then he promoted him to president and that was kind of the end of my career there. so um in fact since i've left there they've gone through six replacements of me and uh i was making a million dollars a year for them profit and they they've been losing a million dollars a year.
Speaker 2 00:22:17
since um so um but there was a good time there was so i left there just basically saying hey you know what you guys told me i'd have advancement you guys told me um, And so I've been effectively the regional manager, meaning you guys send me out every time you have a problem, I go fix it. You tell them to report to me, but they don't, you know, but you won't give me the title and you won't give me the bump. Well, we just need you to get this guy's approval as soon as you have my, as soon as my son gives you his blessing or, and it's like, well, you know.
Speaker 2 00:22:52
So I left and next thing I know, I found myself at home during COVID with my three little boys at the time. And it was like, well, what do I do here? So I decided I was going to try to dabble in a, this, this idea that I had for, for a side business. And so that's where Sirtis came up. And that was me. That was, I was trying to see if I could come up with something where I was able to develop products that had demand for, demand and sell them online.
Speaker 2 00:23:29
And I was pretty darn successful with it, but the way that the economy started affecting shipping and whatnot, but, I mean, I was designing it, I was sourcing it, I was finding manufacturers for it, I was doing quality checks on it, and then I would essentially market it and sell it. And, you know, the first year I think I had $700,000 in sales, the second year I had $1.2 million in sales, and that was just from, hey, I'm going to learn this, and I'm going to go tackle it,
Speaker 2 00:24:00
and when I started seeing the economy shifting and whatnot, my profit margins were going down, I said, you know what, this is a bit too risky, I got a call from my cousin, and he said, hey, you know, I've got my company, my pool construction company, and so at Triune, Triune Pools is building... The nicest, literally, I'm not exaggerating, the nicest pools probably in the world, at least in Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 00:24:40
So we are, to give you an idea, last week I was at the theaters of Walmart's house, you know, working on their pool. We, I'm going to, you know, I could start dropping names of all the different people that, you know, where we are building million-dollar-plus pools, sometimes up to four million-dollar pools. And the interesting thing there was, so he wanted to scale. He said, hey, you're an ops guy, I keep on hearing all your stories, help me scale.
Speaker 2 00:25:15
And I said, okay, well, how's your team? You know, do you have, how's your culture, how's your team? It's great. It's great. We just need somebody to make our processes redundant. And it was not great. And so, well, they didn't have a good culture. They didn't have, they were doing stuff, but they weren't doing it well. And so as I sifted through everything, it was like, well, you say that you want to do it this way.
Speaker 2 00:25:50
Yeah, but that's not the way that you're doing it. Sure it is. No, that's what they're showing you that they're doing. But if you look, you know, and here's, so I was able to look at this. And so we systematically went through everything. We ended up completely revitalizing the team, meaning we got rid of everybody. And I was able, yeah, well, I mean, I always try to save it. You know, the first thing you got to ask is, how's our culture?
Speaker 2 00:26:21
And sometimes it's our fault, right? We created a poor culture. And so they don't understand what the standard is. And, um, but, but if it's not me and it's not education, sometimes it's education. Oh, he's trying hard. Um, he wants to do well. He's a good guy, but he doesn't know why he's failing because he doesn't understand what he's doing because you gave him a list of nine steps to remember and he keeps on doing it in different orders, but he doesn't know what those nine steps, why those nine steps.
Speaker 2 00:26:52
are there. Um, so there was different problems like that, that we started running into, but ultimately the lead, um, the lead saw me as a threat when I came in and just kind of, and it was, of course it, they're all family, right? So the leads, number two is his brother and then you got cousins and then you got, um, you know, you, you've got the sister-in-law's cousin, you got this and he, every, he got sons and, and so as soon as I went to town or started.
Speaker 2 00:27:27
Running into problems with the lead, I ran into problems with everybody. And so we said, okay, well, the lead's got to go, but you guys are all fine. I'm talking a little bit too much, but we were able to basically revitalize that entire team. And the cool part about that is it came along at the same time as when I was looking at the pipeline of jobs that we had upcoming. Because of COVID, we had this huge gap. And so it's like, well, how do we keep these guys busy?
Speaker 2 00:27:59
Well, I actually think that they're going to leave. So, and your sales cycle is two and a half years. So we've got two and a half years to essentially ride this wave. But I think if we can time it right, we're going to have an attrition rate that we can match our sales rate. And then when you start spinning up, I'll start spinning up. And so we use that as a way to... Let the people that didn't want to be part of our system be part of a different system.
Speaker 2 00:28:34
And then we used that time to develop our team, develop our processes, our systems, so on and so forth. So now we were operating at $160 per square foot. We're just finishing one today at $90 a square foot. Our target was $100. And I'm still, we're looking at the next pool going, okay, here's how we're going to change the next one. And so we've been able to not only do that in a way where now we have a system,
Speaker 2 00:29:06
so we have quizzes that come out every week where the guys on their phones just answer 10 little questions. Hey, what is this product all about? Why are we doing it? They can talk with each other. It's open-node. And they can go back and forth with each other. Now they really understand what they're doing. And we're bringing people up through the ranks. So we actually don't hire installers outside. We bring everybody in as a helper, and we bring them up, and they're able to go. I think what's also very important with this, with what we were able to do,
Speaker 2 00:29:37
what I did, honestly, was to say, okay, you have this one rate. You charge $100 per square foot of tile. But you install it four different ways. And one way is much harder than the other way. But you're grading them. You're charging the customer. You're doing everything the same way. And then you're not even tracking it. So how do we know that we're doing a good job? And so we changed the way that we budget.
Speaker 2 00:30:08
We changed the way that we estimate and, therefore, budget. And now we're able to actually align stuff so we can go, hey, you know. We can actually, without a doubt, where you actually, as the employee, believe me that this was a good job here. I am doing good work here. Whereas before, I'd say, oh, you're going too slow, and you'd go, yeah, but, and I'd just point to a number, and I'd go, yeah, but you just need to move faster, right? No, this is something you buy into, we buy into, everybody, you know, we've changed up the tools, all that stuff.
Speaker 2 00:30:44
I'm talking too much, but I kind of start getting passionate about it.
Speaker 1 00:30:47
No, no, thank you for making me kind of understand where you are in the industry.
Speaker 2 00:30:54
So, right, so, I mean, the nice thing is, is that where we're at now, if you go to any other tile company, they're going to say, no, you need a master. And here, we've got everything systematized in a way where I can grab anybody that... feels comfortable picking up standard tile tools that wants to do a good job and i can plug them into a system in the seven instead of having to pay you know some ungodly number for a tile guy.
Speaker 2 00:31:28
who's considered an artist um we run people through this system and they're doing every single time better work than the guys that have been doing this for 20 years and the reason why is because you know they had they had measuring tools i'm not sure how familiar you are but you know they'll use the lasers to get to where they need to be and they didn't realize that a, laser is only accurate for the first 12 feet so they shoot at 60 feet and you know and these guys.
Speaker 2 00:31:60
these guys are the ones that have been doing it forever i who am i i don't do construction, but i'll learn it and i'll i'll look at i'll look at each one of our tools and i'll go hey we're missing why are we missing, And then I'll start coming up with systems to go, let's understand why we missed. I know you tried for it. We didn't get there. We have to look at that every time we fail in that way. It's not something that's an opportunity for education. It's an opportunity to grow. But if we want to put our blinders on, it's not going to work.
Speaker 2 00:32:31
And please don't test me on this. But when we found ourselves with just about nobody, I had no English speakers. So my family's from Argentina, but I never learned Spanish because my mom doesn't speak Spanish. But my dad grew up in Argentina, and my grandparents' first language is Spanish. And so I know enough to hear it and whatnot.
Speaker 2 00:33:05
You know, but I was able to trek my way through that to where the reason why I say, please don't, you know, test me on this is because I have to understand how you talk first before I have a good ear for you. And then my Spanish, although I have, I know enough words to communicate what I need to communicate. But, you know, I've done a pretty good job of, we'll call it Spanglish.
Speaker 2 00:33:36
So maybe, maybe that's the way it's, it's one of those things. Like I, I, I don't want to put it on there because, so here's the thing too, is my father never let me say a, a, a Spanish word without the accent. So my accent is actually really good. The words or that my, my tense is not so much. So when I speak, at least my initial go. It's usually pretty good where somebody wants to respond to me, and I'm like, whoa.
Speaker 2 00:34:06
That's way too fast for me. So, yeah.
Speaker 1 00:34:41
You will find out, especially in any industry, you'll find English speakers only for people that speak multiple languages. So, what is it that you're looking for? Is it a factor of being with your... Is it the lack of... I don't know, like being able to make your own decisions because you have to talk to your family in a way they don't talk to you, or what is that. 
Speaker 2 00:35:36
Each one of the jobs I've left, I've been asked to come back, except for this last one because it's personal, and each place they said, well, you know, we don't really understand what Brayden does, but ever since he came here, everything's gotten better, and then about four or six months later, they go... hey wait a minute things are falling apart what happened um like their guys know what they're doing and everything but what you know and when i left this last company um my my uh good friend.
Speaker 2 00:36:13
actually took over for me and he's like you know what i love going to your place all you guys know what they're doing i just have to come alongside of them and go how's it going what do you need from me and that was the key right um i've been able to teach everybody to do what they they, understand their job and they understand why they're doing what they're doing so all they really need every once in a while is to be appreciated and to be and to be shown a little bit of love um i knew that if i didn't show up every two weeks or so and say hi how are you.
Speaker 2 00:36:45
you know um that thing started falling apart because they were constantly sending me to different um locations um and so my point is is that, I've always been able to develop teams really well, and that's what I enjoy doing. I enjoy developing teams. I enjoy working with people and creating. I had a guy today tell me that he essentially needs a 30% raise. And I said, you know, I can't get you that, right? He's like, I know you can't get me that. But I know that. And by the way, this is this is my non English speaker, who I'm teaching English and he's teaching Spanish.
Speaker 2 00:37:27
And he's like, I know, I know you can't get me that. But, you know, but I need something. And I said, Well, why don't you just go, you know, you've got your fiance, you just brought her here to California, why don't you just go to the other place? I mean, I don't want you to go but and he goes, to be honest with you, I, I don't want to leave here. You trust me. We've got everywhere else I go. I don't like the people. The people here are good. And we just have good people. And I said, we didn't just get good people. I did that.
Speaker 2 00:37:57
You need to understand. I intentionally choose people that will work with in this environment. And then we teach them. And each person I brought in, you didn't like. Do you remember that? And yeah, but now they're good. It's like, exactly. Because we're finding the right person and then we're training them. But really, if you want good money, you need to learn from me how to do that. So I want to, I like chaos. And I like people.
Speaker 2 00:38:30
You do? I do. So I'm an ADHD guy.
Speaker 1 00:38:35
And you're absolutely right. I think that's the story of every director. And if you're in operations, you have to be involved in every single department. You have to deal with the people. And you have to start from the very basic. If you're in the manufacturing, you have to start from your line, produce from your raw materials. And where is that at? Shipping, receiving, warehouse. And go from there. And a lot of people that I've been interviewing, they like to have senior or executive positions,
Speaker 1 00:39:07
but they don't like the dirty work. And that's not the same in this industry. And I'm not saying that it's dirty, but, you know.
Speaker 2 00:39:15
No, I understand.
Speaker 1 00:39:16
You have to be involved into every single department, every single level. And have humbleness in your personality of, like, yes, I am a director, title, person in this company. To be accessible for everyone, no matter who they are. to find like a lot of like room to improve your company your operations your uh productivity your.
Speaker 1 00:39:49
quality control of your services whatever it is right but i i i hear you and i i agree with you.
Speaker 2 00:39:56
a hundred percent right right and so to answer your question what do i want right and that's the long-winded wind up um i i want something like that but i also ever it's been extremely difficult for me to find um to to actually get picked get to get chosen everybody says brayden we really like you we really like what you're talking about but we're looking for industry experience and and i come from a niche manufacturing segment that nobody knows about and so um that tends to be the thing that i need to overcome and i don't know how to overcome that.
Speaker 2 00:40:35
without you, taking a, maybe taking a hit, whether it be monetarily or positionally to, you know, to be able to get myself into a company that I can grow in. And, and to me, and you're the recruiter, you're, you know, this stuff better than I do, but as I've been looking, that's, that's the con that the consistent feedback that I'm getting. And so I would love a director of ops role, a VC, a VP of ops role, but.
Speaker 2 00:41:07
I have not been successful at doing that and so I think what I need to do is find a place that I can invest in that is willing to maybe the right words or take a chance on me and whether it even if it was a smaller role where I could grow myself in where I can show them like hey I understand this give me give me the lower end of your salary range as long as it's my my rock bottom is 140. 40. um so um I I think I'm I think my I'm worth at least 200 but but uh you know.
Speaker 2 00:41:44
what's that you're open to negotiate I'm right and and I you know if you said if you told me today that you've got a position that goes from 150 to 200 I'd say, I'd probably and this is a thought that came to my head I'd probably say look, If your question with me is experience and start me at 150 and let's put the other, let's put the other stuff on the back end on a, on a, you know, on a bonus or something. And if I don't earn it, I don't earn it. I'm happy to put my, put my money where my mouth is.
Speaker 1 00:42:17
And that's what I do, right? And that's why I like to have conversations. I call them conversation because this is not an interview for any specific position, right? I want to know you better and see what you're looking for. Like, what are your negotiables? What are you willing to, I don't know, maybe you're open to relocate or maybe you're not, or maybe you're, you're looking for a very specific, which a lot of the cases that limits you to find a job because you just don't want to go down. You don't, you're not open to negotiate.
Speaker 1 00:42:49
Location, salary, time, that's maybe important for the company, right? So, but just to give you the, the, the. Exactly what you're saying is what happened with this person that I played last month. Looking for a director, this person had a lot of experience in operations, and that's that in point, too, right? Based on this beautiful resume that I'm seeing, maybe we can try to find a position where you can start, but you'll grow, and eventually that's where you get a director.
Speaker 1 00:43:27
They really like this candidate. They offer not a director, but something different. But it will be the point for them to see performance, to validate the background that she comes from, the experience, and also for the candidate as well, like, okay, is this something that I would like to continue to do with? Is this a company? Because, you know, even though you apply, you interview, you're fascinated with the company culture, with concepts, like...
Speaker 1 00:43:58
things that you like from position or company it's very different when you start work the reality that you see and normally that happens in three six months where you're starting to see the uh the negative things like the issues but i think it all depends again on each candidate like, where you want to find yourself and whatever what type of score what type of executive level you.
Speaker 1 00:44:30
want to be sharing ideas with or or partner with because at the end of the day that's a partnership, and um again i wanted to meet with you just to find out the details i your resume says that you're in your bolita just for you to know we cover all southern california with physical, clients companies that we have a portfolio but we also do business in texas we also do business in pennsylvania i have a lot of network in my in my linkedin where again if you're not desperately.
Speaker 1 00:45:04
looking for a job it might take a time right to find good options but i will send them to you as soon as they come based on what you told me hey braven i have this position available look at it let me know what you think and if you're open to make an interview that's how i normally work or unless you're very looking for something specific and we forget that i will reach out to.
Speaker 3 00:45:31
you on the position which again it makes it more harder for them you know it's very very complex, if you allow me to to give a recommendation it's always better just to not move until you have, how long it might take to, you know, I've been very lucky, like many others, it might take a while to find something, and I know salary is always, you know, a reason why I continue working for companies, but what do you think, any other things that I should be looking around, I'd be focusing on your, on your, oh, my other question that I have for you, you're meeting different companies, construction now, distribution center, logistics, what's your protect, what's the company that you feel like, this is my.
Speaker 1 00:46:26
industry, and this is where I want to continue working, or maybe you're open to explore a new one, so, you know, I'm, obviously, I'm in construction now, and, and I go. 
Speaker 2 00:46:41
It would have to be really interesting because, you know, construction, honestly, I find that, I want to give a reason why I don't. It is my biggest fight in working at this company is telling, and by the way, you know, his understanding or his knowledge level, he's got an MBA and everything, is greater than everybody else.
Speaker 2 00:47:13
And I can't get him to understand basic concepts about leadership and management. And I feel like, you know, I feel like anywhere I was to go into construction, very likely, unless it was like really interesting, it would have to be like a unique. unique manager set or owner or something like that but I but I feel like yeah he.
Speaker 2 00:47:46
would have fired me a long time ago if I wasn't his cousin and I would have left a long time ago if if I wasn't it you know because but now he's starting to see oh wait why is it that you don't have to watch your guys all the time and everybody else does right why is it the stuff that you take over runs itself and why is it now you know why are your numbers coming down and everybody else's are going up and but he sees the difference but he doesn't understand it and I've told him why but he doesn't understand it because he doesn't believe.
Speaker 2 00:48:16
it and so what it's a long-winded way to say I'm not sure construction is ready for me but or I'm ready for construction maybe that's that I love manufacturing I love the idea of creating things I'm very I'm very adaptable I'm I think I, understand, you, I don't know it's this innate understanding when I look at processes I just kind of especially manufacturing I just I see it and I understand it um I don't it's just how my mind works um.
Speaker 2 00:48:52
so if you said dream job where would you be I'd say put me in some sort of aerospace defense, manufacturing thing they wouldn't give me the job that I want but I'd take a lower one and those guys get paid more anyway so that would work um because I think that stuff the precision that it takes to do that kind of stuff is is amazing um so I would love that but ultimately um ultimately I don't really have because everything's a process so I don't really have a huge um I I want to be.
Speaker 2 00:49:27
able to partner with somebody on an idea hey we want to accomplish this goal and um, So, you know, I don't have an industry in mind per se You know, my background is in manufacturing It's in a waste it's in food waste and not necessarily food and so those kind of go hand in hand But it's another level. So Basically, it's the difference between animal consumption and human consumption and while I have I'm familiar with certifications for both.
Speaker 2 00:50:04
The pasta guys liked me because of that but I've never done pasta if you if you know what I mean So but it's another level of certifications that I'm familiar with, and so No, I'm I'm just kind of I think the biggest thing I'm looking for is is somewhere where I can either I, Want to grow in it or grow it? That's too big.
Speaker 1 00:50:37
I'm sure many of you have heard from the owner, maybe, or even the company. His name is Bache. He's the owner of Victoria's Garden, but he also...
Speaker 2 00:50:51
I'm familiar with the name, nothing beyond that.
Speaker 1 00:50:55
Waste resource technology is one of their initiatives, and they collect trash. I think it's waste management, but I'm just thinking, I like your time, just thinking about people aren't always looking and open to meet with new talent. I'm not saying we have something open, but we can just start. I wish it's also something brave that we do. Even though we don't have any particular position, we always like to share candidates like you.
Speaker 1 00:51:32
to our... I drive a lot.
Speaker 2 00:52:18
Yeah, I mean, especially anybody that lives in Southern California wants something as close to a home as possible. So there's my disclaimer, right? But currently I'm driving an hour, hour and a half. You know, and then the way I've worked that into my plan is I said, Hey, listen, you know, when you need me, I'll stay for whatever, but I'm still going to pick up my kids at three o'clock and then I'll be back on my laptop, you know, for whatever else you need. So obviously I, you know, I do whatever I need to do.
Speaker 2 00:52:53
My kids won't need to be picked up very much longer, but so I'm willing to commute to, to, if I need to, that's, that's fine. I'm literally in the, in my truck for three hours a day. You know, that's a, that's an easy number. Um, I, you know, that being said, um, as far as relocations concerned, um, my wife has said, Hey, you know, we can relocate. I'd prefer not to, but if you're going to relocate me, I'm not working. And so, um, and she's a successful sales person.
Speaker 2 00:53:26
What's that? oh yeah she's uh and actually she's a regional um she's a regional manager for a resinous uh, flooring company so she basically it's epoxy flooring so she said hey you know it's easy in the southwest it's easy because that's my territory so um but uh i used to want to move really really bad because it's california and who doesn't want to leave california um i've since left that idea because i think we're you know my my oldest is going into high school next year and.
Speaker 2 00:53:59
so it's starting to become like no i can't do anything for a while and um.
Speaker 1 00:54:05
and again this is just helping me to identify the job that you're looking for and the job, because it's not about writing when it comes to, Location, salary, responsibility, and especially with your family, you have to think about all the changes that might come with relocating, right? I know how that is, so believe me. I understand if it's closer, and if it's in your Bolivia, that would be perfect. That would be the perfect...
Speaker 2 00:54:35
Right, but at the same time, to be honest with you, if you said, Hey, Brayden, I don't think you could pass this up, and it's in, you know, hopefully you never say Minnesota, but here we are, right? You have to look at this opportunity in Minnesota and go, hey, you know, honey, let's look at this, and what do you think. 
Speaker 1 00:54:55
I can see that, yeah. Okay, and in terms of a site, if you're looking into a company site, you like to work in nationwide companies, very well structured, with tons of employees, or you're just probably another number. I don't want family.
Speaker 2 00:55:48
It doesn't really matter. I'll say this from your perspective. Um, if you look at my resume, I tend to, um, I tend to probably be under in the, I'm, it's probably, it would probably be easier for you to sell me to somebody that's like 50 and under or something like that, or somewhere in around that range. Personally, I don't think that matters as much because everything's an aspect of scale, right? Um, so, um, you know, I, I got turned down for a job.
Speaker 2 00:56:22
Um, it's day, you're everything we want, but you don't have the experience. And, and, uh, you've never done 57 people before. And I said, I don't understand. You've got five locations. You have 10 people at each location and a manager overseeing each one of those. Yes. So it's not 57 direct reports. It's five. Well, yes, but you know, and it's. To me, I would look, and so she said, no, they asked me, you know, direct, and I'm sorry, we're not having this conversation anymore. And it was like, oh, okay. You know, that was weird. But my point is, is that when I really think of myself as a developer, and in fact, I think that that's the only way to be true. I can be the boss that you run to every time, and I need to make all your decisions for you, but that's not helping you.
Speaker 2 00:57:23
And so, you know, for instance, the last company I left, both of the people that I, that worked for me have doubled their income based off of what I've taught them and the positions that they've gotten because of that. And I view it as, so, you know, so they had, they were my directs, and then they had directs underneath them. And so I'm answering your question by saying it really doesn't matter because if you give me a thousand employees, there's going to be a hierarchy that goes up.
Speaker 2 00:57:56
And I'm really only responsible for these guys and for my direct reports. And those are the people that I'm going to be really kind of trying to help make them successful so that way they can move up, whether it be with me or somebody else. Now, I don't think you could sell me to a company with a thousand employees. But it really is the same in many ways. It's just more numbers and, you know, you've got to compartmentalize, you know, a little bit differently, which, again, I love chaos.
Speaker 2 00:58:27
So that's fine. So I don't think so. So I'm an ADHD guy. And so I love the chaos. I get into more trouble when everything's smooth. So. You know, it's just the way that my mind works. I make better decisions when things are flying, so I always keep myself busy for that reason.
Speaker 1 00:58:55
To people. We've been hearing about that. Yeah. Well, I think that's everything on my end, Brayden. I think I got what I need from your experience. I mean, you have a very good resume, very numerical, which is something that normally companies like to see. You are still employed. It's not like you have a gap.
Speaker 3 00:59:18
Right.
Speaker 1 00:59:19
No gaps. So I think we have a lot of time to send you a resume and get you a position. Again, I currently don't have anything open. Believe me, I'll be reaching out maybe next week while everything here at work in my company is established. who do i belong to because i have some non-compete with my with the company that i'm able to reach out to my.
Speaker 1 00:59:51
to all my contacts right now but that would be just a moment so um but um i'll be sending you the the website the company i mentioned to you just for you to look at them maybe you know them maybe i don't know have an interaction with them in the past and, uh pleasure with you knowing more about your background, what you're looking for and and hopefully i can help you finding your next your next well likewise i enjoyed the.
Speaker 2 01:00:21
conversation and uh i look forward to working with you and and i think i'm on the same page as you just you know here we are we're networking we're trying to get to you know seeing if we can help each other.
Speaker 1 01:00:32
out um it is and that's the best way right now to find jobs applying to jobs. posted yesterday so it's very difficult but not impossible that's what we specialize so hopefully.
Speaker 2 01:00:49
we can do that with you but thank you so much for your time again thank you you have a great day and have a wonderful week you do the same take care bye.
Speaker 2 01:01:44
Hey, Lewis, this is Braden with Triune. I called in earlier about that Simpson pressure washer. Can we get a bit of earbud from your guys? Yeah. Okay. All right. Yeah, I mean, that's... What? Um, I don't know. How's that? I mean, if you, if there was a way to make that work or have it done first thing in the morning, that would be much, much better. But, you know, I can't, I don't know.
Speaker 2 01:02:19
Great. Thanks, Lewis. All right. Bye.

[AI_SUMMARY]
Taylor Rees has extensive experience in operations management across various sectors, including logistics and manufacturing. He began his career in a family trucking business, later progressing through roles at United Van Lines and Reconserve, where he implemented significant operational improvements. After a brief entrepreneurial venture, he worked at Triune Pools, where he revitalized team culture and reduced costs. He seeks a Director of Operations role, preferably in manufacturing or logistics, with a target salary of $150k–$200k, and is open to relocation for compelling opportunities. His strengths include a strong ownership mentality, data-driven operations, and effective team development.