Leadership Spotlight: 10 Questions for Ed Dahlgren
1. Over the years, you’ve seen Gilbert grow, evolve, and eventually join the Legence family. Was there a moment that really stood out to you as a milestone—something that marked a new chapter for both the company and for you personally?
As a really little Eddie Dahlgren in the early 90’s, my annual salary review was way overdue. I gathered enough gumption to charge into Dan Gilbert’s office and demand a raise. Gilbert Mechanical was barely making ends meet and our conversation was very short. “Your revenue and profit does not warrant a raise, said Dan Gilbert.” The day of a simplistic, obvious, and embarrassing epiphany. The connections between value received, my career and compensation were made. We had four pipefitters at the time and half did service work. While other Gilbert employees ran forward with capital projects, I committed myself to service and special projects and never looked back.
2. Having been a part of acquisitions in the past, what’s the most important lesson you’ve learned during that kind of transition?
Gilbert has been acquired four times during my tenure. The first was GroupMac (that eventually turned into Encompass) in 2001. The acquisition was not painful, but the concept was not well thought out. The ending WAS painful. Encompass’s weakness was exposed during the dotcom bust, forcing it (us) to declare bankruptcy. Chaos often presents opportunities. We bought Gilbert from the bankruptcy court. I had to scrape together every dollar that I had.
Almost 20 years later, we were purchased in early 2020 by our first PE group. It was a bit of a shock. The challenges were magnified by COVID 19 and an on-boarding process that was still being perfected. Big breath of fresh air when we sold to Blackstone in December of the same year but also cause for more distraction. The lion’s share of this first year ”shock” was absorbed by the accounting side of Gilbert. First lesson learned, I should have advocated much harder for additional accounting support during the acquisition(s). It was an unfair workload on that team. Second lesson learned, hope for, wish for, and/or pick a professional organization with good leadership to purchase you. Seems that we got that right this time around!
3. You’ve moved through many roles at Gilbert, from project manager to president. What’s the most valuable lesson or piece of advice you’d share about growing within a company and advancing your career?
First and foremost, commit to your company and show them what you can do. Stay grounded and humble on your way up! If you have an opportunity to help a field worker do a team lift, do it. Respect everyone from the shop-sweeper-summer-intern-dude to CEO Jeff Sprau. In the end, we are all equal and striving towards the same goal. AND…put your head down and keep working, seldom does one advance or have success while coasting!
4. If someone shadowed you for a day, what would they be most surprised to learn?
What is the president doing in a boiler room, on a roof, on a ladder looking above the lay-in ceiling? Why is his shirt dirty? I can’t help it; it’s where I belong.
5. What’s one everyday habit—big or small—that helps you keep perspective when things get hectic?
I often talk with fellow employees about the “schooling effect”. The big hungry northern pike comes upon a large school of tasty minnows. She dives in and comes out with nothing because her concentration was on ALL instead of just ONE. We all must multitask but finishing specific tasks one at a time increases the size of your “done pile.” For me, that results in a good feeling.
6. With your years of experience working on various projects across sectors, what kind of work still gets you genuinely excited?
I get excited for our capital project side when Gilbert is trusted with a design-build medical building/surgery center or other extremely difficult project. It accentuates our high-end abilities in engineering/design, project management, fabrication and field craftsmanship. It makes me feel like we can do any complex project, and I truly believe we can! All that said, if it was all about me, I most enjoy “crane day” on a big equipment replacement project.
7. Can you share a project experience that pushed you to grow and helped shape how you lead others today?
My very first significant HVAC maintenance contract sale was to a local church. I completed my equipment survey, developed a maintenance plan, and presented it to the church grounds committee. We went over every detail of the agreement, made requested changes, went over every detail, made requested changes, repeat, repeat… This was in the days before word processing where white-out and typewriters made contracts. I wanted to pull my hair out, but I stuck it out. The contract is still in place 34 years later. Customer service and relationship building trumps all!
8. Gilbert recently branched out into the data center market. What’s the big takeaway from stepping into this rapidly evolving sector?
It’s a chicken or the egg paradox. I KNOW Gilbert can handle a data center build but we needed more data center projects to showcase our expertise. This is the first of four phases at this site. We must perform in the first phase to move to the next. Not much new here, we always have self-imposed pressure to perform!
9. Your Hawaiian shirts are legendary. Tell us the origin story.
My oldest son Alex Dahlgren works for Gilbert Mechanical and excels at his job. He and I like island (Hawaiian) shirts. We started wearing them to family events and eventually brought the concept to work about five years ago. It caught on, with guidelines: wear your island shirt on Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Extra credit is received for Fridays out of that date range. Beyond the fact that we all look GREAT in our shirts, it’s a fun employee connection. We have photo evidence of Ryan Seithel’s participation which aligns with our long-term goal of going corporate-wide! My wife Michelle, is nice enough to procure shirts to supplement our employees’ wardrobes.
10. Spending time snowmobiling in Michigan sounds like a great way to recharge. Are snow sports your go-to, or do you enjoy other kinds of outdoor activities too?
I was an avid snowmobiler in my younger years and a proud driver of an Arctic Cat El-Tigre 4000. After a 30+ year hiatus, our family is getting back into it. Oh boy, have snowmobiles evolved! My Skidoo MXZ 850 is said to go 125 miles per hour. It’s not likely that I will go that fast, but the power is fun. Snowbound nature along with the thrill of acceleration, are indeed an excellent way to recharge. As a Minnesotan, adaptation to winter activities is a must. I have lots of hours logged at the ice-rink as a player & coach, snowboarding, fishing/darkhouse spearing on frozen lakes, and a whole lot of snow shoveling. When it all thaws, my family makes a beeline to the lakes and rivers. Ever seen a 58-year-old wake surfing?... You’re not missing much!
