By Ashley Reyes
The SEMA Future Leaders Network (FLN) has named Garrick Vanderwal, development engineer at Diode Dynamics, as the network's newest spotlight member.
Get to know Vanderwal in his interview with SEMA News below.
SEMA News: What is the best advice you have ever received?
Garrick Vanderwal: Henry Ford once said, "Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs." I apply this to my life both professionally and personally. Whenever I am overwhelmed with a project or task and my anxiety is telling me that it's too much for me to handle and I can't possibly complete this, I find myself thinking of this quote. It helps me stop looking at the challenge as a mountain and focus on the hill directly in front of me. Eventually, enough hills conquered, and I'll find myself at the top of the mountain.
SN: What keeps you in the industry?
GV: I think the standard answer would be my interest in cars/trucks but the more I think about it, the more I realize that is what got me started. What keeps me here is much more deep. The culture of this industry is not something you find very often. Most people don't wake up excited to go to work; I genuinely do. This has sewn in me an emotional investment. This passion for Diode Dynamics and its success is what drives me every day.
There was a time in my life when I would come home after working a dead-end job contemplating what TV show I was going to watch or what video game I was going to waste my evening on. Anything to disassociate myself from my reality because I dreaded going back the next day. Today, I don't ever feel like I need to be disassociated. When my co-workers became my best friends and my hard work is genuinely recognized/received, everything just changed.
My relationship with my wife is better, my attitude is better and my energy is higher. Just overall my quality of life is better. This feeling of self-worth has changed my outlook on life. That's what keeps me in the industry.
SN: Where can you be found on a Saturday?
GV: Saturdays I am usually in "dad" mode taking my kids down to the local racetrack to spectate the dragsters or drift cars. On other days, we may be exploring the fire roads of rural Missouri, looking for creeks that we can cool off in during the hot summer days.
SN: How do you prepare for an important meeting?
GV: If I am directing the meeting, I'll prepare by creating a presentation with visuals to aid in the message or discussion I am trying to convey. I prepare bullet points to keep the discussion on track and concise. If I am a participant in the discussion, I will prepare by having an organized digital notebook ready to record key points. Organization is key, so whether I'm managing the discussion or participating in the discussion, having a system in place to take notes with the ability to quickly reference and find those notes in the future is crucial.
SN: If you could go to lunch with one industry leader, living or dead, who would it be?
GV: I would like to have lunch with Mike Sweers, CTO of Toyota North America. Having a first-hand glimpse into the research and development process at Toyota and an understanding of the path their development team uses to validate new products would be invaluable to my own career path.
Fill out an FLN member spotlight form to be eligible to be featured on FLN's social media, SEMA News and FLN member updates.