Did you know that if you and your friends were asked to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar, the average of your guesses would likely be the correct amount? This phenomenon is called the wisdom of the crowds in psychology.
Nick understands the underlying mechanics of this principle. With an absolute obsession with teamwork, Nick is determined to help his peers succeed.
By cultivating a network of successful people, Nick is creating not only creating a legacy—he’s raising the average. Because of his compassion for others, Nick will likely succeed along with those he cares for.
With his team behind him, Nick is the tide that raises all boats.
—
Nick came to England Logistics in 2019 as a load planner. After demonstrating an impressive understanding of the industry, Nick was promoted to account manager in January of 2021.
—
EL: Can you tell me about your current position and the responsibilities you’ve got going on?
Nick: I am a logistics manager, and I’ve been with England Logistics for about four and a half years.
As I’ve made my way through the ranks, my duties have entailed a lot of client interaction and face-to-face conversations. Essentially, my job entails a large amount of load planning.
In Querétaro, Mexico, we currently have three load planners. I largely delegate most of their daily tasks to them, though there are different clientele-based things. With my counterpart, Allen, the other account manager, we just make sure that all the book of business loads are planned daily. We plan loads two weeks out, so it’s just maintaining that portion of the business and understanding if any hiccups come up with the supplier’s distribution centers.
EL: You describe your responsibilities so nonchalantly, but it sounds like many hats are required to be in your position.
Nick: Especially during COVID, there were many hats given to all of us. Dipping into those different business areas has been nice to broaden my horizons.
That describes much of what I do from a high level.
EL: There’s a lot of implied versatility in what you’ve described. Like you said: You wear many hats. How have you kept your head up with so much weight? What has your progression looked like?
Nick: My progression started with my undergrad at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. England Logistics was the first step in my career as a load planner, which is the first step to progressing in supply chain management. I feel like I’ve succeeded by asking as many questions as possible, not being afraid to be uncomfortable, and receiving support from my team.
We’ve had some newcomers come and others that have left, but for the relative part, our core team has stayed together for the four and a half years that I’ve been here. I’ve tried to learn from different sectors and lean into what I’ve learned.
Ultimately, what’s most important is just learning about the client. It’s just been a matter of utilizing our resources. The solution is not always obvious, but being able to ask questions to the right people has expanded our horizons.
The more you retain about the business, the more you’ll understand why you’re doing what you’re doing.
EL: It’s interesting to hear about the diversity of skill sets necessary to accomplish what you do. I’m curious, was your educational background supply chain centric? Or more of a general business approach?
Nick: My undergrad up to my second year was comprised of my generals.
Once I dove into what I would do, I went to Grand Valley Business School. I quickly understood that supply chain was something that I was more interested in than accounting or finance or other disciplines of that nature.
I was attracted by the job security at first. But yes, my education was very supply chain centric.
EL: Were there other appeals for you aside from job security? It’s interesting to see where you’ve landed; I’d love to understand better how you started.
Nick: I knew that I didn’t want a general business degree as I wanted a way to specialize myself.
At first, I didn’t know a lot about the supply chain, but what interested me was all the moving pieces. Interestingly, every business has its own goals, and the supply chain passes information between all these corporations effectively and efficiently.
Additionally, you also have the operation side of things. The world of 3PLs differs from a warehouse, but they are incumbent on a supply chain, right?
I am a big sports guy that is very team-centric. I aim to win, but I need a team of other people with that same mindset.
So, from a business standpoint, being so sports-centric, it was cool to see a series of teams that work collaboratively to make the supply chain happen. From the distribution centers to the stores to the end user, it’s interesting to see how every product comes to be.
EL: If a team is your primary appeal, you’re certainly in the right industry and company.
You’ve given me some excellent context regarding how you’ve acclimated professionally. I would love to hear more on the personal side of things. What are some things you like to do outside of work?
Nick: Family is essential to me. My brother and sister both live in Michigan.
I’m close enough with my best friend that it’s almost like I’m also an uncle to his kids. I have eight nieces and nephews, and I was the baby in my family.
So those guys keep me busy. Like I said, I’m also a sports enthusiast, so anything sports is always my go-to. About nine years ago, I picked up golf because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to run up and down the basketball court when I was 40 years old. I love doing golf trips and things of that nature.
I’m outdoorsy too. I enjoy skiing and have been to Salt Lake skiing at Snowbird and Park City.
EL: You’ve got good taste. You’ve talked about how much teamwork is an essential element of how you experience fulfillment. I’d love you to elaborate on that and tell me what drives you.
Nick: It usually takes multiple people performing at a high level to complete a common goal. My goal is to be the best version of myself, not only for myself but also for the people counting on me.
Maintaining drive can be challenging, however. Some days you’re ready to rock’n’roll! On other days, it’s tough to even get out of bed. On those days when it’s tough, that team-centric ideology of coming to work and knowing you have support at work helps.
Even when things are hard in my personal life, I know I can rely on my team.
By being accountable, I can also stay responsible for others, too. If you don’t complete your task, you’re now affecting somebody else to not be able to complete their task, right?
So that’s my biggest drive: Be the best version of myself wherever I work and whatever my name is on, make sure I do my best.
There will probably be some errors along the way, but learning from those mistakes and maintaining that as a whole is a big part of understanding business and moving forward.
EL: There’s so much drive in what you’re describing. That’s been a common theme throughout this exchange.
It’s been fantastic to hear about your ambitions. With all that you are seeking to be, when are you happiest? Or when do you feel that you’ve succeeded, given that you want so badly to improve?
Nick: So for me, that happiness could be in many different forms.
My biggest thing is recognizing small wins. The daily grind can leave the small victories in the dust. You get so caught up in what you’re doing daily that you may not even recognize that you’re doing well.
What I like to do and what keeps me driven is celebrating those wins. As we talk about team-centric behavior, you want to celebrate what you’re doing to succeed for yourself and what the team is doing to grow.
If that gets lost in the daily grind, you can lose a sense of what you are doing. Of course, that goes into the England Logistics culture of celebrating those tiny successes.
Enough small wins eventually make for huge victories. Small wins can help the significant achievements seem more attainable.
From that point, it’s about honing in on what you’re doing and why you are doing it.
EL: We need to get you a mascot suit and make you the face for our company philosophy. I’m hearing so much of your ideals echoing what we strive for culturally.
I think diffusing your vision has helped you attain success. Things seem to be going great for you professionally. I’d love to hear a little about what your idea is for the future.
Nick: I’m 28 years old, so I have a lot of career left and things to learn. Anything I do, I want to do it to the best of my ability. I’ve thought quite a bit about my 5 to 10-year plan. This was my first career job out of college.
What I’ve learned most within England Logistics is to understand my why.
I’ve learned that I’m pretty good at managing people.
There are all sorts of different things that you can go into the engineering side of the supply chain, which deals a lot more with reporting and pivot tables and items of that nature. Maybe that’s in my future, but realistically my 5 to 10-year plan is to become more of a manager.
Load planning is at the minor level of work. I then have been able to go into management roles, and so at this point, I’ve understood that I’m pretty good at management. I just want to continue growing my knowledge of managing people.
And that’s really what I see myself doing. Wherever that may be, within logistics or supply chain, I want to be a team leader. I want to be the kind of leader that celebrates and creates a commonality of goals. I want to help my team make the very most of themselves.
EL: I love that vision for the future because I think it will inevitably bring yourself and others success, especially given your ambition.
What’s even more exciting is the residual fruits and legacy you leave among people when meaningful leadership is your emphasis.
—
We’re on the search for more senior account managers. If this interview resonated with you, apply at this link: https://www.englandlogistics.com/search-all-available-jobs/