Training and Development Manager, Goodman Manufacturing Company, L.P.

When you learn the value of discipline and teamwork at a young age, you can successfully take on life’s challenges and reach unimaginable goals. Luckily for Goodman Manufacturing, John Cruz put these values to work on the front lines in Desert Storm and in his more than two-decade career at Goodman.

We recently sat down with John, Goodman’s Training and Development Manager, to talk about his service as a U.S. Marine, his passion for mixed martial arts, and how his greatest professional challenge became one of his proudest professional accomplishments. 

What was your first job?

“I joined the Marines immediately after graduating high school. College was in the back of my mind, but I wanted to see the world first. I started off as a logistics chief, but I ended up with a job that handled disciplinary issues. How I got that role, I don’t know! We would try to break the bad habits that new Marines brought with them into the Marine Corps. I like to say that people have different “levels of awareness” because their values, beliefs, and habits are all different depending on how they were raised. It was my job to help people work through those.”

“When Desert Storm broke out, I was given the option to continue my job as a security guard at the State Department in Quantico, VA or go fight for my country. As a Marine, you jump at the opportunity to use your skills. I ended up going to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait over those 18 months of being deployed. Over my six years of active duty, I was able to travel throughout the United States and Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, the Middle East, and many other countries.”

What did you learn from the Marine Corps?

“The Marine Corps taught me the value of discipline. I had to wake up every morning and meet specific challenges. There were days when I worked in the desert or in the jungle when I didn’t want to get up. The environment was hot, and I was tired. But I had to get up, get moving and get the job done. That’s what Marines do!”

“I also learned the importance of teamwork. You don’t succeed in the military by doing things by yourself. You always need someone else to teach you the necessary skills required to reach your goals. Eventually, I was the one in charge of motivating others to get the job done.”

“To me, you need those same values to be successful in manufacturing. Working in the HVAC industry is tough — you have to have discipline. It can be hot, processes can be interrupted for a variety of reasons, or a key person on the line may be having a bad day or absent. Like in the Marine Corps, you have to work through those challenges. If you are the Group leader, you have to create the environment of teamwork and trust to support those around you.”

Where did your career take you after the Marine Corp?

“After the Marine Corps, I worked for a few oil and gas companies as an offshore contractor. My wife was still in the Marine Corps, so we were separated a lot. I did that for a couple of years, and when my wife got out of the Marine Corps, she said, “Here are five companies that are hiring and you are going to apply to each one of them!” We wanted to settle down in one place. Of course, I applied to the jobs and Goodman was the first one to call me back. I took the job and am still here almost 23 years later!”

What has been your greatest professional challenge? 

“After 23 years, I have seen many “peak” seasons in heating and cooling manufacturing. My most challenging year was the summer of 2014. Many highly skilled employees retired that season. We had to fill vacant positions and train new employees quickly. Meanwhile, the demand for air conditioners that summer was really, really high. We had to turn on every assembly line in the building, even for the 2nd shift employees. At one point during that peak season, I needed more supervisors. So in addition to filling the skilled positions, I had to back fill supervisors while maintaining my connection with assembly line team leads. I tried to keep them motivated and create an atmosphere of teamwork."
  
“Unlike previous seasons, the demand just kept coming. It ran all the way until the end of the year. But since we remained disciplined, pushed ourselves to train new employees, and stuck to our plan, everything eventually clicked.”

“As I look back, what was the worst scenario at the beginning of the season became the most glorifying in the end. The leadership team grew the employees, and we became a team. It all came down to teamwork. Working through the tough time made our accomplishments even more gratifying. The hard work paid off.”

What does your typical day look like?

“As the Training and Development Manager, my job is two-fold.  Every other week, I conduct leadership training where we teach about company policies, culture, safety, and quality.  In the end, it’s about following standard work and improving our processes. We want our leaders to identify issues quickly and make adjustments to the process when necessary.”

“On the odd week, I focus on helping my team train and develop new training modules that happen in the dojos. A dojo is a training classroom where we transfer skills knowledge from experienced individuals to someone that doesn’t have those skills yet.”

What do you do for fun? 

“In the Marines, I was trained in hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. When I got out of the military, I competed in “Jeet Kun Do” (which was created by Bruce Lee) and mixed martial arts. I would go to local tournaments, and the winner would receive a cash prize. I competed in these events before there was a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) in place. Some of the people I competed against eventually went onto the UFC.”

“Now that I have kids, I get involved in their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I help them learn new techniques, and I enjoy when they get excited about it. It’s like passing down my knowledge to my kids. They are finding joy in something that I enjoyed, and that’s fun.”

Tell me about one of your most memorable moments.

“It has to be when my wife told me she was pregnant. We tried to have a child for ten years, but it didn’t happen. I finally gave up on the idea. But one day she said we were having a baby, and I was shocked. Finding out that I would be a father was a gift. My son, Brandon (9), is named after Bruce Lee’s son. My daughter’s name is Genesis (7) because she was a new beginning in my life.”

If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would you choose?

“Napoleon Hill. He spent his lifetime studying successful people and why they were successful. He wrote the book, “Think and Grow Rich.” He interviewed Andrew Carnegie, Rockefeller, JP Morgan, Henry Ford, and many others icons that we learn about in history class. Someone that studied so many successful people would have a lot of stories! What ingredients made them different? Hill’s books say that anyone can be successful if he or she has a burning desire and are determined and take action. I would love to pick his brain on the specific characteristics of certain people and what made them thrive.”