Pitching in

We have been in Verona, Italy, for Progetto Fuoco 2018. There were lots of impressive stoves and pellet boilers of course, but I wanted to write about something more human that I was particularly impressed with that happened on one of the stands.

Progetto Fuoco is the biggest stove show in Europe where all the big wood stove and pellet stove manufacturers come to exhibit, as well as chimney manufacturers, fuel manufacturers and people selling controls and all the extras you might think of. We meet up with existing suppliers to work on upcoming collaborative projects which might span anything from 6 months to 3-4 years, as well as making new connections of course.

Some manufacturers spend a fortune on their stands some of which have few actual products on them – there can be an element to these shows of being impressive, a show of strength, or at least showing that you still exist as a company. That sometimes translates to how a company is organised too – you can sometimes clearly see a 'class system' in operation.

I was meeting up with our contact at a stove manufacturer's stand. I was also due to meet up with his new boss as there had been a bit of a shuffle around. Their stand looked great, and thankfully not just designed to impress, it also had substance. I saw someone sweeping up and went over, said hello, introduced myself as did he. I asked if our contact was free and he guided me over.

Later on the same sweeping chap came over and offered us something to drink. I had been drinking just water all day (which I tend to do at these shows – no point blunting the brain when you have important discussions ahead) so he gave me some water and poured our contact some wine. By now it was around 5pm and I felt it was okay at that point so I changed my mind. I walked over to the sweeping chap and asked if I could actually have some. He said yes, no problem, and apologised if he had missed pouring me some. I said I had simply changed my mind, that he had asked me, thanks. The wine was jolly nice by the way in case you were wondering.

Having opened a bottle and poured me some wine sweeping chap then came over and sat down with us, and our contact introduced his new boss.

First of all I was lucky in that I always try to treat people with respect regardless of who they are based on their merit as a human. That's not me trying to big myself up, but it is me trying to encourage other people to do the same. It is of course a more honourable way to act, but looked at cynically you have no idea who anyone is, nor what they will be to you in the future. Good relations inside and between organisations (and elsewhere) work at all levels – from the person in accounts, the one answering the phone, the boss, the one driving the forklift in the warehouse, to the chap sweeping – they are all key to the healthy functioning of the process.

Secondly, and the main point of this article: there were a couple of things going on there that impressed me. The main one was the natural humility in which the new boss (or should that be sweeping chap?) was acting. He was not subservient, nor was he domineering. No task seemed beneath him and he did not seem to have a hierarchical agenda, nor a chip on his shoulder. It was also a great way for him to observe our interactions and see how his team performed (and I suspect a way for him to see quickly where he might be able to help to facilitate growth and development in his team). As a result you could clearly see he had won his team's respect (and mine).

In my book that showed true confidence and good leadership. I made a point of telling him so.

Who am I?

I am Sune Nightingale. I help to run Firepower (trade-only) and Stovesonline (retail and trade). We specialise in wood stoves, wood pellet stoves, wood pellet boilers, commercial log gasification boilers, industrial wood pellet boilers, thermal stores and lots more. I grew up in a house heated by wood, I live in houses heated by wood. We are proud to have a seat on the HETAS Technical Committee where we contribute to improving safety standards. We like to innovate, experiment and improve. We push for cleaner burning in our own stoves, for example the Opus 70 low emission stove, which has particulate emissions 80% under the strict limits set for Defra Exempt status.