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Todd Reed: Welcome to Keeping the Lights On. I'm your host, Todd Reid, and on this podcast I connect with the owners and pros who design, build, and maintain our electrical communications and industrial world to explore best ways forward. I'm excited to have Tahira Ali, executive Director of Industry Innovation with the National Electrical Contractors Association, or Nika Tahira is a highly skilled technology strategist with more than 19 years of r and d and product design experience.

Her current role, Tahira gathers insights from end users, industry experts, and tech providers to deliver awareness, education, and implementation strategies. Her work empowers the construction community to leverage technical innovations and industry trends to overdrive process productivity and market share.

In addition to her passion for driving new solutions, Tahira is deeply committed to expanding and empowering all voices within [00:01:00] technical industries, and has been honored to work closely with many affinity and mentorship groups to advocate and elevate all members of the workforce. In this episode, we are going to talk about why innovation and construction is so important, the challenges in adopting innovation in this space, and get a few ideas on how a business can start to move innovation from a buzzword to one that means practical solutions and results.

Let's get into the show. start each episode by celebrating the foods that fuel our cruise, and it's something that's common everywhere. you know, as I interview guests, uh, a lot of people are working remotely now and in different situations. So I or one of my guests were to come visit you in the Atlanta area.

Where would you share an amazing lunch or dinner with us?

Tauhira Ali: Oh my gosh, Todd, there's so many delicious places to eat in Atlanta and the, the irony is a lot of people ask me for Atlanta recommendations. And since I grew up here and then moved away when I was a teenager [00:02:00] and only recently came back, a lot of these restaurants and these, urban city centers didn't even exist.

When I last lived here, or I certainly couldn't afford to eat there, but one place that um, that I would definitely take you on the Atlanta Eatery tour would be a restaurant called Jerusalem Bakery. And this, this place is, uh, it's, there's a couple different locations, so it's, you know, a chain of two, but it's a really, really cool spot where you can go and get kind of a Mediterranean Arab, uh, fusion.

as the name implies, it actually started as a, a one counter bakery back. You know, back in my day when I used to live here the first time when I grew up, uh, in Atlanta.

Todd Reed: what would you, uh, order or suggest I get.

Tauhira Ali: Well, I think, again, when it comes to food, more is better. Uh, but what I like about Jerusalem bakery is they, they do a lot. They'll do, uh, you know, everything from like calzones and pizzas all the way to kebabs and, uh, falafel and I would. Set you up with [00:03:00] the spicy chicken kafta, which is a kind of like a chicken kebab.

Um, or since we're family, I would probably get us a, like a mixed grill plate. And that way you could have, you know, the, the Mediterranean rice, the taboo salad, the hummus, the pita bread, and all the, uh, delicious, uh, meat that you could eat. And one of the things that you know, you and I have chatted about offline is the fact that, uh, as a proud Muslim.

Who just loves to eat. Um, I'm a big fan of, of this particular restaurant also because it's halal. So you get, uh, a little bit of, of diversity and background and, and backstory in addition to delicious food.

Todd Reed: You didn't bring this up and I don't know if you're interested in this sort of thing, but, you know, I like dessert. So is there a dessert there you'd recommend, or, I mean, it's a bakery for Creon out loud.

Tauhira Ali: So the interesting thing, and it's actually, it's set up, it's like a really big restaurant and then it's a super cool like ethnic, uh, grocery store, um, that's attached. So it's extra cool cause you can get all sorts of things to take home, but they [00:04:00] actually have this huge counter where they hand make baklava and Turkish delight.

And I have to say, as someone who isn't generally a fan of Turkish delight, uh, I'm very snobby about it. The only Turkish delight that I truly appreciate is from Turkey. Or from Jerusalem Bakery. So I would happily take you to uh, get you some Turkish delight and some Bava.

Todd Reed: Yeah, . That's right. All right, so, well, that's great. I appreciate that. So let, let's, um, Let's get down to the, the topic we wanna really focus on today.

And, you know, in order to stay in business for 40 years, I think that's how long I, I, I looked it up for that, um, Jerusalem Bakery and Terrain remaining relevant and really to, to stay around that long for restaurants. There's been some growth, you know, the owners and employees had to embrace some ideas that were at one point to them considered innovative.

And I don't know that space that well, but I'm sure they could, if they were on the show, they could just list all kinds of things that they need to, needed to, and have need to innovate on. Well, similarly, there are hundreds of construction companies, not just electrical contractors who [00:05:00] you and I spend most of our, you know, time with, but all trades, you know, struggling to stay relevant today and, you know, set up for future success.

And some of the challenges we hear consistently are around job site, technology, workforce, managing costs, prefab, bim, and more. you know, in fact I just, um, my wife who's kind of in the business as well, shared a New York Times op-ed piece. And I just wanna read the, the headline to you cause it's very scary.

Uh, the story construction tells about America's economy is disturbing. Uh, so I started reading and I just shared that with you, so I, I know you haven't read that one yet, as I read through it, I can almost guarantee you, me, and many of the people we deal with, probably roll our eyes a little bit, only because we've been talking about this for years.

not because we don't agree with it necessarily, but it's a, a subject and basically it's focused around all those things I just told you about, and especially minority involvement, you know, workforce development, safety, and, you know, definitely productivity. So it was interesting to see that it's, and it's starting to get, catch the eye of, you know, not just construction.

and so that's why I think this [00:06:00] story is relevant, not just for construction people who listen to our cast, but also those owners of buildings, municipalities, well anyway, so they're interested in new ideas and wanna be innovative, right? But after hearing for years that they need to improve, you know, embrace innovation, I think they've kind of numb to a bit, you know, to what that even means.

you heard about it for years. So let me just ask you this question finally. Why do companies struggle with true innovation?

Tauhira Ali: Ooh. That is a, uh, a powerful question, and I think, you know, like you said, we've, we've seen many in op-ed. That addresses this or, or challenges the, the industry that we are, representing here today, and I think a lot of it has to do with kind of a misconception of what innovation needs to be, right?

People think, oh, it's gotta be a widget, or it's gotta be a, you know, a new piece of software or it's, you know, it's, it's this, AI chat bot. But at the end of its core innovation is really taking an idea that is new to your company. And applying it in real time where you're at in a way that [00:07:00] can lead to measurable, sustainable change.

And you hope that change is positive, but sometimes you get a, uh, a net neutral or a negative change. But the whole idea is using innovation to fail forward, using innovation to continue to, uh, just grow and develop. And in, in some ways, I would say that construction is the prime. Example, it's the perfect test bed for innovation because every single project is a prototype.

Every single building that you're working on, every single, uh, renovation that's being done is unlike any other. So in a way, you could look at it and say, oh, construction isn't, you know, applying like AI, robotics the same way that maybe manufacturing or, uh, other industries might. But you could also look at it and say, , well, every single thing, every day done by, uh, the leaders in, in, in our contracting companies is innovative.

Todd Reed: I think one of the things that, [00:08:00] um, you come across in your, in your role, you, you start to find out that maybe, one of the things that people maybe struggle with is they don't un have maybe a grasp of some of the basics, you know, like SWOT analysis or things like that.

Um, can you touch on that a little bit?

Tauhira Ali: Yeah, absolutely. And I, I think, you know, as, as you mentioned, we're gonna get into some of the, the nuts and bolts here, but one of the things. I think it's pervasive across all industries, but certainly, I've seen a lot, because my experience has been focused in construction is you go to these conferences, you go to, you know, you, you read, you read an article, you read a book, you watch a webinar, you listen to a podcast, you get these cool ideas, and part of the challenge is that there's no accountability.

Either for yourself or, you know, from a peer-to-peer standpoint to take it home and pay it forward. and, and you and I have chatted about this, I've, led workshops before where we've talked about a SWOT analysis, for example. And I'll ask the group, you know, how many of you have used a sw, you [00:09:00] know, how many of you know what a SWOT analysis is?

And pretty much like at this point, like you're getting like 90, 95% of the rooms raising their hand. And then you start getting into the nuts and bolts and having. Go through the exercise and, and some people won't even mention, you know, a strength or a weakness or an opportunity or threat in those words.

Or when you probe into, you know, how many of you who've actually used this in your company and while they know what it is, they haven't, you know, taken the moment to almost, you know, rather than working in the company, work on the company and apply this sort of a strategy to their business to see what if I.

20 minutes in my executive, uh, committee meeting, or if I spent, you know, half an hour during our strategic planning meeting, just doing a SWAT on one area of the business, what would we find? And so it's, it's, it's one of those things, like you said, it's, the fundamental basics. It's not only having access to them, which I think we've made huge [00:10:00] strides in, in the, you know, past like 5, 10, 15 years.

But it's also how do you bring those basics back home? And that's something that you and I have discussed in the past. You know, innovation, it's, it's, it's absolutely a sport. It's absolutely a dance, it's an engagement and it's not a spectator sport. It's a team sport. It's something that you, you kind of have to bring your team along with you for, for the ride.

Todd Reed: that. Yeah. We'll come back to that 10 team sport, uh, situation here. So I, I kind of mentioned based on that article, Challenges that I would like you to kind of maybe touch on since you deal with electrical contractors primarily. Um, and, uh, well, I guess I should say ECS, mechanical and, uh, I think plumbing as well, right?

Uh, you touch on those, but but you spend a lot of time with ECS and electrical contractors. so can you maybe tell some of the challenges facing them that are requiring them to innovate? Maybe a little bit more detail on.

Tauhira Ali: Absolutely. Absolutely. So again, you know, we, we talked about the fact that. Every job site is, you know, a [00:11:00] whole new project. You have all sorts of vulnerabilities. My, my, some of my early background is from manufacturing, and so I know what it's like to apply machine learning, to use computer vision to put a robot down on a, on a factory floor.

You try thinking of how to do that on the ever shifting terrain of a construction site. It's a whole different animal. But even beyond that, you know, there. Things that you've already had conversations on your podcast about the whole, the supply chain, the, uh, nuances that go into, you know, design, bid build or design build projects or, the owners and the regulations and the, um, the, the, the shared destiny that you have when you are a subcontractor, specialty contractor, working for a general contractor.

And, you know, it may be, let's say it's a government project, so there's d. Stipulations. there's all these variables that come together in this perfect storm that make it challenging, but also make it a really powerful test bed for [00:12:00] looking at new, innovative ideas and looking at new ways to solve problems.

But again, you have to be, strong and confident in your practice to approach it. It's almost like, and this is from someone who's never surfed in their life. It's almost like how I hypothetically imagine surfing would be If you are crouched on your board and you're shaky and you're not really sure what's going to hit to happen, any wave will will knock you over.

But if you have that balance, if you have that confidence, if you lean. That gravitational pull, you're going to have a different experience. Again, maybe not me, I would drown, someone who surfs. and again, it goes back to, you know, we have to look at innovation as not necessarily a nice to have or a, a nice keyword or a nice way to win jobs, but as an essential part of the oxygen, part of the, the lifeline of, construction projects.

Todd Reed: I mean, ec, you know, electrical contractors. Are not alone in finding innovation, messy or, you know, a challenge.

They, they experience the same thing. [00:13:00] so you touched on a couple things, but uh, maybe a little bit. how do they need to start thinking about it? And also maybe a little bit about the resiliency and, um, that each building is really a prototype,

Tauhira Ali: Absolutely. And I think, you know, you hit the nail on the head with that, that resiliency, that ability to bounce back and it's, it's especially important. And, you know, I'm someone who, uh, with the background that I've, I've had the blessing to have in my career being an inventor, working on prototypes.

You know, half the time you design something, you have no idea if it's gonna work. whether it was a physical tool or it was an app, I was basically 98% share that I was going to, uh, hit abject failure and, and everything would just fall apart. And then somehow or other you'd patch it up into a tool that.

Um, you know, a wrench that turned a, a saw that would, saw a drill that would drill, or an app that would somehow manage to use Bluetooth technology. When Bluetooth technology was in its infancy. And again, the whole idea is that you take one step at a [00:14:00] time and you try to build something that's usable and you get it to minimum viable product, right?

You get it to just enough to drive the convers. . And then from there you do a little bit of tests, but you have to be able to then learn from that test. You have to be able to measure something. You can't improve what you're not measuring, so that measurability is huge. You can't just, take a, a, a headset, a VR headset, or a exoskeleton and throw it on a job site, right?

You wanna go with intention and you want to take it out to a job site where maybe there is a lot of heavy lifting or overhead work. And say, Hey, I want you to try this out for a week. Make it time bound. Right? Give someone a a time period. I want three people on this site to try this out. if it's all right, what I'm gonna do is I'm just gonna text you one question.

Every other day to get some feedback. So it's, it's about gathering that data. It's about, I wish I could call myself a perfectionist. I would love to think that I do anything perfect enough to be a perfectionist. But as [00:15:00] someone who, who always wants their work to be done, well, I can fall into this habit too.

And I know a lot of others, whether it's through speed or it's through not having enough time, or it is through perfection's tendencies, they don't want to. to share something or deploy it until it's perfect. Until it's just right. the problem that you have with that is if you wait until it's perfect, the time will pass and you know, you really only get.

One shot to build that deployment, to make that first impression. But you can make that first impression in incremental ways. And I think that's a really, really powerful thing, right? Is just take that first step, make some small change. Whether it's, you know, you don't have to a automatically apply, uh, machine learning and AI to your job site.

Maybe, you know, you don't even have to go totally paperless. Maybe the first step is, Hey, for my tool, cri. We're gonna try this system where everybody calls in their tool requests or everybody emails in, or, you know, you know what, maybe the big [00:16:00] monumental change for, the company is going to be to use Excel calendars.

I think that's another thing too, is people think, oh, innovation has to be, you know, the latest and greatest. And it, it really just has to be something that will make a change to your company, to your business, or to you person.

Todd Reed: Yeah, I'm gonna be, um, it's on the calendar to talk to someone about what Small to medium. Actors can look at their, what we call the tech stack, the companies call that. So what technology are they using? We're gonna kind of get into some of that. So that's, uh, really cool that you're bringing that up. And, uh, I'll add that to my questions.

I'm gonna ask them, uh, as we. As I talk with him, so look forward to that kind of flesh out this conversation with a little bit more detail. So, we've talked about the challenges and electoral contractors, I mean, building owners, they, they, you know, they're familiar with a lot of these challenges you've mentioned, so as they try to innovate, they're facing these challenges and you've been focused on the last couple years in developing a couple of initiatives, um, that are focused on helping contractors move from, you know, innovation being like that buzzword How do you move that from a buzzword to [00:17:00] practical application? if you can start with the Innovation Institute, um, you know, like just the description, what it is.

Tauhira Ali: What we've done with this program, it's been, it's been really incredible. We're, uh, actually about to start our third and fourth cohorts, but it's basically, it's a one year program, and what we do is by design, we, we keep these cohorts very small.

It's about 10 people, so roughly the size of, you know, a a, an intimate peer group. And everyone who comes into the institute is, is nominated. They come. Um, nominated by a executive, uh, within their company. And we bring in everyone from, you know, young project managers in their early twenties, all the way up to part owners of companies who are very, very seasoned and are very, very, um, good at and technically savvy at what they do.

And everyone who's in the program is given. Training. They're given expertise. They're taught to look at innovation. Again, not just from one lens, but look at it from how do you be innovative in your hiring? How do you be innovative in your [00:18:00] succession planning, your recruitment, your technology stack? Sure.

But also how do you apply innovation in that principle of, of piloting at all levels? And what's really cool is that, Every single candidate in the program we do, we, we have one-on-one coaching for them. They have, uh, a lot of peer, uh, in peer-to-peer interaction. Uh, but everything that they do is customized towards a Capstone project.

So every candidate within the program has a project that they wanna work on, and it could range from. Setting up a training program to setting up a service department to setting up, prefab or BIM VDC practice to, uh, how do you elevate or improve, you know, the processes in your IT help desk.

So, um, you know, it's everything from the tech side to the development side to just, again, you know, what does your company. And also how can you use the experiences you already have or the experiences you want to gain to bring [00:19:00] people together, to apply innovation, to create solutions that that address the problems that your company's going through.

So it's a really cool thing because you know, they get together, they get to learn. But to the point that you and I were talking about before, It's not just, Hey, let me learn something in an echo chamber, and then I go back home and I'm just swarmed with things to do When I, I, I never get to come up for air, much less touch that, you know, that tote bag that I got from that convention or from that event I went to.

Uh, but it's instead you're taking the things you're learning and you're applying them, you're applying them, and you're failing. You're applying them and you're successful. And then, You know, course correcting and trying again, you're bringing people in, so, so again, the whole idea from your point about a team sport is that no one in the Innovation Institute is ever working in an echo chamber.

They have their cohort, they have their coaches, but also like, let's say you're deploying new software or you're deploying, you know, a new. Workflow process for how Estimating's done or how labor is managed, or how your inventory is managed. [00:20:00] You, one of the first things we, we coach on, the first things we teach people is consider who's gonna be affected, who are the people down the line who are going to have to live with the choices that you made because you went to a conference or you met with the sales rep and, and how do you make sure that their voice is heard?

Because at the end of the day, those are gonna be the people who make or break that application and, and, and allow you to, to truly. Find success with a solution or we'll help you understand that it's not the right one, but Oh, that's okay because you learned some things that help you converge upon what will become correct.

Todd Reed: I mean, of course designing the program that goes over like basically a year, give or take, kind of really allows you to spend that time, that quality time. And I know you guys touch base virtually. You all get together in person a couple times, uh, you know, and during the project I had the honor of being able to sit in during one of those sessions and it was pretty cool.

And you could tell. I felt like an outsider, cuz you could tell that those 10 really had connections already and they were only together for maybe six months of and they, they already made [00:21:00] those connections that, you know, were gonna last throughout their career.

um, and they were sharing cool ideas. I think you mentioned, uh, some other things that have come out of these like joint ventures and some other things.

Tauhira Ali: Absolutely. And that's what's been really, really powerful, right? Is I am very much a, an academic at heart. And, um, and so for me, you know, I, I, I, I sat there and I churned with my team on how do we develop the best program and the resources and the instructors and the, the book list and all these things and what's been.

Incredible. It has been, the connections has been the best part, right? Every time the groups get together, uh, which we get together four times a year for each cohort they meet in a city where they get to, tour an innovative lab, they get to, to see a job site, talk with or go through a contractor shop, what's been really, really powerful again, We're recruiting for the, um, the next two cohorts.

Uh, one which will start in April and one which will start in August for the Innovation Institute. But of the two cohorts that have since graduated, uh, we've had about seven people who have been [00:22:00] promoted into. Either executive or vice president roles within their companies. Again, I can't take credit for the fact that these are just amazing leaders, but what's been really powerful is, you know, we've had cases where someone went from being just like a doer to becoming an executive, becoming a leader.

And as you can imagine, that's a, a huge honor, but it's also very overwhelming. So to be able to. Others in their cohort who are already at that vice presidential level, right? Already at that C-suite or that executive level that they can reach out to has been really powerful because it gives them a chance to get mentorship directly and in a confidential way from someone who has lived through this.

But isn't necessarily, you know, in their backyard or in their company. And as you've mentioned, we've had, uh, a handful of, of companies from the institute, uh, join forces and work on different joint ventures together, the actual work, you know, actual, uh, project work. We've had them. Uh, they'll ping each other when they're looking for equipment, see if they can use their connections to help each other [00:23:00] with, equipment rental.

And One of the things that I think is the coolest is, again, we don't limit it and say, oh, you have to be a certain level of executive, or you have to have a certain level of experience. you know, we, we do admissions based on strength of nomination, strength of what, uh, folks say or, or, or are willing to advocate for their teams.

But it's incredible because, When you have these young, uh, rising stars in their companies and they're looking to understand what the future holds for them. Now they have these mentors who are, leading other companies that they can learn from and ask candid questions for, but also those people who are running these other companies, you know, we all have workforce challenges.

We all are looking to staff up with great people, and now they have direct lines to. Folks who are the age, the demographic of the people that they're trying to target so they can, can help understand, and they can talk with them about, you know, what, what are you looking for? What are your friends looking for?

And so even just from a, a culture standpoint, again, [00:24:00] you know, talk about innovation and the, the beauty of a test bed. This has been a, a really great exercise, a really great, uh, way for, building, lasting, community ties.

Todd Reed: You mentioned this being a team sport and so you've got electrical contractors who are working together. really construction on a site is huge event happening with 17 plus trades, Totally different companies, totally different, you know, thought processes and how they work and what's important to them.

bringing that together is, I think one of the reasons that it's been so disturbing and a challenge like that op-ed piece talked about. and it's very easy for them to work in their own silos. so Nika, um, and a couple of other organizations have put together a, a gathering, uh, to work through some of these issues.

Maybe you could touch a little bit on, I think you call it the MEP innovation Conference.

Tauhira Ali: Absolutely. the MEP Innovation Conference, which we're actually fresh, fresh off of the 2023 event, um, it is a, a passion project, um, a community builder between new. [00:25:00] Nika. So the, um, the Electrical contractor's union, ncaa, which is the Mechanical Contractor's Union and mna, which is the Sheet Metal Contractor's Union.

this incredible opportunity, that really started, uh, actually it spun out from the c used to have a technology conference uh, we took that and, and the passion. Um, and the candor and rigor that that brought to the industry. And we, we said, you know, uh, why don't we join forces? So myself and Sean McGuire, who is, uh, essentially me, but better at the Mechanical Contractors Association and Mark Tarini from, um, smack now from the Sheet Metal Association, we got together and we started scheming about how do we.

All of these giants of the specialty trades of the subcontractors together so that they can bridge their differences. They can start to learn and they can start to create alliances, not just to work on projects together, but also on these shared pains, on these shared [00:26:00] challenges that they're all facing.

And I was very, Very blessed because prior to my, my role at Nika, I was in a position where I did get to see firsthand what mechanical contractors, what sheet metal contractors, what electrical contractors were going through. And so for me as a third party, I was able to, to learn from them and recognize that a lot of those challenges that are faced by, you know, one trade.

Around project coordination and getting that priority time on site, or, um, how do you manage the data or how do you, dial in your estimates? All of those things are actually commonalities across so many different subcontractors. So giving them that platform to, to start to come together and, and address these problems and tackle them head on and come united in a way to, to, you know, roll up their sleeves with the general contractor and, and come and with the owners and come to the table.

To be as strong as they can is is has been an incredible, incredible passion and incredible journey for.

Todd Reed: Yeah, it sounds like [00:27:00] it's a, it's a great opportunity just to like, in a candid environment, to kind of just share some of those things. And I think, I assume you bring in some of the people that are really down in the weeds making the decisions and innovating at each of their, with their firms to kind of talk to each other about.

I mean, I think what's important is they learn from each other. Like, okay, so why do you do it that way? You know? And they can kind of like, oh, okay, makes sense, cuz I usually get mad at you for doing it that way, but now I get it. But now how do we, you know, work through those hurdles? So that's pretty cool.

what do you hope the construction landscape looks like? the lessons learned from these two different conferences really start to take hold. So, I don't know, two years, five years into the future, kind of What's your vision for like, for what this might.

Tauhira Ali: Well, I think one thing that's, that's really powerful, and, and you, you kind of alluded to it, Todd, is that so much of the M MEP innovation conference is similar to the institute. It's a for us by us kind of situation. So you have, um, at M MEP innovation, uh, we had about, 65 sessions and every single session panel workshop was, [00:28:00] you know, brought forth by our contractors, brought forth by our community.

And our contractors and leaders within the industry are the ones who actually not just. Come up with these sessions or come up with these topics, but they elevate them, they prioritize them, and they oftentimes are the speakers. We don't do a lot of, I think we had four or five paid speakers for the entire event.

It was all, uh, you know, contractors, it was all case studies. It was all, here's what I've done in the situation, what do you do? Kind of discussions and, and round tables you know, to me, what I look for and what I hope for in this industry is again, Creating an army of innovators is, is phenomenal.

Creating an army of pioneers is incredible. Uh, having people who are able to immediately know what's going on with, you know, the latest chat, G G P T, or uh, spot ro rover dogs, or, what's happening in construction. Robotics, that's amazing. But again, none of it matters if you, Bringing it back home.

And you're not building, not just your team, but [00:29:00] who's gonna replace you, who's going to take and expand. And so to me, what looks like success is the folks who are coming to these shows now, they're all doers in. 2, 5, 10, 15 years, they're gonna be the leaders. They're gonna be the ones, ones running their company.

So what are they doing to, uh, weave innovation into the fabrics of their companies, but what are they also doing to set up success for that next generation? Those workers that are coming in, how are they looking at technology from the lens of it is, you know, not just a a, a cool widget or a cool demo, but it is an essential to, to getting the job.

Todd Reed: One reason I wanted to have, uh, to hear her on here is that she and I worked with together on a various variety of projects before I was doing this podcast what really I like about Tierra, one of three things. There's many things, but I'll just limit it to three cuz we are running outta time here.

But is your, your caring spirit. Um, you have a lot of energy and you have a lot of passion for what you do. And so I always feel energized after talking to you. So I wanted to share [00:30:00] that energy with, uh, the listener base. I do wanna stop, you know, close this conversation out by kind of refocusing in on, so why, why do you do what you do?

What motivates you to do this day in and day out

Tauhira Ali: Oh my gosh. Well, you were, you were talking to, uh, the mother of a six month old. energy is, is, is not, uh, something that I think I have in, in spades at the moment, but I think what I do have, I get this from, from those around me, yourself included, Todd, is, is passion, it's so incredible.

And I've never, in my life, and again, I've worked through many different industries and I've met many incredible experts and specialists, but the heart. That the people in the construction industry have, the, the tenacity and the ability to truly create the fabric of our lives is, is just incredible. To see what they have done and see what they continue to do.

And you only have to, you know, look as far as, um, any sort of, power outage or a storm or, you know, anything to do with, [00:31:00] plumbing or see how, you know, how a, you know, how hospital is heated. I live in the south, so, you know, catch us around summertime and nothing is working without air conditioning.

And so it's just, it's incredible to see just the, the rigor. That is involved with not just these complex problems, these complex systems, but creating the way for these systems to succeed when the technology hasn't been updated, when the infrastructure isn't as, you know, shiny and pristine as a brand new factory.

to go back to, to that article you were referencing it, it just, I think it's incredible to see. Construction really has evolved. And does that mean like, oh no, we, we don't sit on our laurels? Absolutely not. But again, you know, what drives me is the people and the opportunity and how willing everyone is.

Again, I go back to that team sport analogy because when you work together to tackle these problems, it just, it changes everything.

Todd Reed: Tahira again, um, It's been great to have you on the [00:32:00] show and we'll talk to you next time.

Tauhira Ali: Absolutely. Thanks so much, Todd.

Todd Reed: That was my conversation with Tahira Ali, executive Director of Industry Innovation with the National Electrical Contractors Association, or Nika. You can connect with Tahira and what she is working on by heading to the links in the show notes. Now, here's what it stood out to me about this conversation.

One, innovation doesn't have to mean huge earthshattering changes in technology. It can mean incremental changes that even move the needle one. second. Innovation is a team sport. Do, don't go that this alone either. Find others in your company to help, but even better, maybe reach out to others in your field where you can share ideas and work through challenges together.

For example, maybe create a pure group within, uh, an association to, to help you branch out of your comfort zones. If you enjoyed this episode, you can help us grow this show by subscribing and leaving a five star rating in your favorite podcast. Thanks for listening to this episode of Keeping the Lights On.

We'll see you next time.[00:33:00]