Scan this to watch Media 1 Wrap This’ YouTube episode, “A Day at the Shop in the Fabrication Department.”
IN HONOR OF MY partner Rick Ream being featured in Sign Confidential on the back page of this very issue (see page here), this column is dedicated to our 22-year partnership. (Be sure to check him out — after you read my article, of course!)
We cannot recollect exactly how “I’m the Show. He’s the Go” saying came to be. Someone said it about us, years ago, and we’ve been using it ever since. And in our particular relationship, there could not be a better way to describe us.
I’m the one who tells all the amazing stories. All Rick has to do is make sure those stories come true! Personally, I think my part of the deal is much harder, but don’t tell Rick — he may disagree. Probably violently, so let’s just keep that part to ourselves, cool?
But what does that saying really mean to us as a company, and what are some of the things that make a great partnership?
Well, let’s break it down a little bit more. “I’m the Show” sums me up perfectly. And I ain’t scared to admit it. I’m the consummate sales guy, the big talker. The guy who writes the articles, gives the speeches, rallies the troops, convinces the banks and sweet talks the clients. The visionary who steers the direction of this entire company. And I’ve been doing that for my whole, 38-year career. And while all that is vastly important, it really is absolute garbage if we cannot back up what I sell.
Rick’s favorite phrase is “You told them we could do what?!” (…or maybe his favorite is “How do we drink? We drink like vikings!” Yeah, that’s probably his #1 favorite, but you get the idea…) So, I promise a lot of things that I really have no clue how we’re gonna make happen. This is where “He’s the Go” enters. I pitch my latest promise and Rick knocks it out the park!
If I didn’t have a Rick, I’d be lost as to how anything would physically be made. If he didn’t have a Dale, he’d never have sold anything in the first place! So, there’s this amazing balance between our two skill sets. But just having that balance is not enough. The critical thing is that each of us recognizes who is better at what, and we both stay in our respective lanes. For example, he manages the fabricators and installers. I manage the wrappers and painters. Every time I get too deep into how something should be done, Rick tells me, “Go sell something.” And I do. And he wouldn’t dare to boss my painters.
But it even goes beyond that. To have a truly great partnership, you must trust your partner implicitly. I’m talking more than simply the trust not to empty the bank account one day and never be seen again. I’m saying you both (or however many partners there are) have to know that each of you would say the same thing to a client, an employee, a vendor, etc. Of course, I’m a lot funnier than Rick, so we don’t “say” it the same way, but I know when we talk about Media 1, we both have the same message. We have common goals and visions for the company. We manage differently. One of us takes a lot more vacations than the other… But overall, we know that we are a team that respects, relies and trusts the other. No Doubt.