I knew a tech when I was just starting who was hands down, no questions asked, the best technician at the company I worked.

EVERYONE, we are talking over 60 techs… we all knew it.

His name was Mike Gilford.

Being the little brown-nosing ladder climber I was, I made a complete study of Mike and found three things about him.

1. He read stuff. When a new product came out, he would read up on it, data tags, product data, bulletins, etc.
2. He didn't talk much. There was no need. He proved what he knew by what he did more than what he said.
3. This is the big one. I am confident that this is the trait that made him who he was. He was humble, willing to be wrong, and willing to learn.

Let that sink in a minute.

Sure, Mike had an ego, as we all do. He didn't like being corrected, and he wanted to do things right.

But…

He never let his ego get in the way of growing and learning

If you had something to share that would benefit him and others, he kept an open mind and was willing to accept it.

That's a hard pill to swallow.

I knew Mike when I was in my early twenties. I went a long time without seeing him, about 12 years, but I vividly remember the things he taught me. The last time I saw him was when we bumped into each other at an ACCA meeting. Sure enough, he was still the same guy.

I still want to be like Mike.

—Bryan

P.S. – On the extreme end of the humility spectrum, we can get into impostor syndrome territory. If you want to read about impostor syndrome, click HERE or listen to our podcast episode about it.