TRAILBLAZER
Mike Elliott
Passionate, driven, principled: successful
By Kim Biggar
With more than 45 years of experience in the pile driving
equipment business, Mike Elliott is passionate
about his work. “I owe the industry a lot,” he said, and
while that may be true, it’s also certainly true that he has given it a
lot. Since 1972 – when he realized, shortly after graduating from
college with a B.S. in education, that he didn’t want to be a teacher
– Elliott has enjoyed a progressive career in providing and servicing
foundation construction machinery.
After deciding not to teach, “I needed a job,” said Elliott. He
reached out to a friend who worked for a pile equipment distributor
in St. Louis, Mo., landed a job as a clerk and began to shape his
course in a very different field.
Elliott moved into sales and, in 1978, joined a company in
Jacksonville, Fla., eventually becoming branch manager. When, in
1987, his employer chose to pull out of Jacksonville, Elliott and two
partners bought the operation in that location, calling their business
Pile Equipment. While one of the partners passed away in the
late 1990s, Elliott remained a co-owner with Mark Rutland until
August 2015, when Equipment Corporation of America (ECA)
purchased Pile Equipment. Both Elliott and Rutland joined ECA
as part of the acquisition. Elliott is now a VP with ECA, working
as branch manager at the company’s Jacksonville office, one of
Maksym Chornii/123rf.com www.piledrivers.org PILEDRIVER | 99
seven offices in the U.S. and Canada.
Principle-conscious approach to business
While Elliott is a self-described risk taker in business, it seems he
has not risked his reputation. One of the mentors in his career,
Dick Nelson, emphasized that principles don’t change, even when
facts and conditions do. Holding onto that precept throughout his
career led to his success, says Elliott.
The principles that guide his decisions in business flow from
the notion that one should treat others as one wants to be treated.
That means being fair and open – to employees, employers, suppliers
and customers – being trustworthy and trusting, and trying
always to do the right thing.
Elliott also believes in working hard, setting and achieving
goals, excelling in the projects he takes on and lifelong learning.
Importantly, he also maintains a positive attitude. “There’s
nothing we can control other than our attitude,” he said, noting
that change is rapid and increasing – in technologies, culture and
expectations. “You can count on change; embrace the idea of it,
adapt to it and do what you can to make the best of it,” he said.
Choosing to have a “good outlook” – toward change, among other
things – helps ensure more-positive outcomes, even if only in how
the outcomes are perceived.
Elliott has a few more pieces of advice, derived from his career
experience. “Don’t waste time,” he said, “do something you love.”
Elliott himself has clearly loved his work in the pile driving equipment
industry. “I wouldn’t change anything,” he says.
Having a passion for and enjoying your work also makes it
easier to strive for excellence, another pursuit Elliott advocates. If
nothing else, that approach makes work more engaging.
In the same vein, he recommends surrounding oneself with
successful, positive people who motivate and inspire.
/123rf.com
/www.piledrivers.org
