Funny thing about symmetry – you never know it’s going to happen until the moment it actually does, and then all of a sudden, you say things like “Well, how about that? That was very symmetrical.” Which is pretty much what happened when I heard from “Go Build Alabama.”
“Go Build Alabama” is a website built to champion Skilled Labor. It’s funded by the construction industry and the state of Alabama, and similar in many ways to mikeroweWORKS. I know this because the organizers told me as much when they first called a few months ago to tell me they had used mrW as a resource to build out this initiative.
That was very flattering, though not necessarily symmetrical.
Then they asked if I’d be interested in speaking out on their behalf in some commercials. Naturally, I said yes. The goals of mikeroweWORKS are more or less identical to those of Go Build Alabama, and I was shooting the following week in Mississippi, which put me in the neighborhood.
That was serendipitous, but not really symmetrical.
Then, I learned that Go Build Alabama was planning to launch on Labor Day, 2010 – exactly two years after I officially announced mikeroweWORKS.
Now that was symmetrical.
And here’s the part I’m most pleased about. After learning that I was speaking on behalf of this project, my partners at Caterpillar called to see if there was anything they could do to help get the word out in Alabama. Cat has an obvious interest in everything related to skilled trades, so I was happy to introduce them to the people at Go Build, and they have begun to help with the campaign. And that is a very cool thing.
mikeroweWORKS – a modest site built mostly by fans of a TV show about hard work – has connected a state-wide, non-profit initiative with the largest manufacturer of construction equipment in the world. The results are undeniable. More and more people will come to know the importance of skilled labor, and that has always been the point.
At first, I thought mrW might work as a kind of call-to-arms. I still think it ultimately will. But right now, it’s showing real potential as an adhesive – a connective tissue between dozens of organizations like Go Build Alabama and those companies that rely heavily upon a skilled workforce. If those two forces can come together in Alabama, it can happen everywhere. And when it does, mrW just might play a modest role.
And that’s the kind of symmetry I’m talking about…
-Mike
Great thing here. Mike partnering with the entire State of Alabama. Kudos all around.
HOpe every State just gets in line and signs up. I hear Alaska is next.
Great message and good job!
I like your idea of connective tissue Mike. You hatched a plan two years ago and not only did it grow, but the areas surrounding it are now growing.
So should I think of you as a little bit of germinated wheat, an acorn, a peach pit, or a brown bacteria cell? At any rate, add it to the resume.
Kathy
GO Crimson Tide and GO Alabama.
More important – GO BUILD.
WHOOT!
Another wonderful result brought about by your humble “little” site. Thanks Mike!!
I for one am proud of Mike for bringing notice to our Veterans. Thank You to all that have been part of the semmetry. The Generals, Lots of training programs for the people coming back home in mrW, Cub Cadet with an awsome program and Mike for getting the word out there.
Thanks,
Lisa
Symmetry is a beautiful thing.
I know you have people working behind the scenes, mods (bless their hearts) and others we don’t even know about. A special hat tip to them too.
“People with great gifts are easy to find, but symmetrical and balanced ones never.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Fortunately Mike you are one of the “symmetrical and balanced ones”.
Keep up the great work and happy 2nd to MRW
I want Mike to know that he’s my hero. Sticking to his guns and doing everything that his status and successes will allow him to to help other people. I wish more people had his mentality. I was sitting in Afghanistan wishing I could watch his show because he’s always lifting people’s spirits, including mine. Hopefully I can do something to return the favor and help with this Build Alabama thing.
Great site great idea. I was raised in a blue collar family of Iron Workers and railroad men, so naturally, that comprised my life up until age 35. A bad economy “forced” me to go to college (I’m a fellow Essex CC grad. After many years and countless college classes (I work at a university) I’ve found that the experience that I draw on the most, is the hands on work of the construction field. It’s experience that I would not trade for any amount of college credit. Keep up the good work Mike!!!