The Good, the Bad, the Strange

A look at 20 years of memorable moments

Twenty years or two decades — I think I’ll stick with 20 years —two decades makes me sound too old. Last year, 2023, marked my 20th anniversary working for Statius. When I started, I was young, I was impressionable, and Mark Woods took advantage, luring me away from my engineering background — no, only joking. Some people will know I already knew about Statius prior to working for them. I’d used Statius as part of my previous role to help implement a quality and environmental management system, working with the infamous Brian Lacey and Nick Posener, who remains a friend today.

My first interview was conducted by Mark and Jim Moon, a true double act, a real good cop/good cop situation, as neither had planned beforehand and, therefore, had forgotten the bad cop role. And as anyone who has been subject to a Matt and Mark interview will attest, the Statius interview is like nothing you have ever experienced: We believe in people and team, not just letters after your name.

Don’t worry, I won’t be giving you a year-by-year account of my time at Statius, but I would like to share with you some memorable moments through the last 20 years.

Day one working with Statius was spent on sales visits. This was before Teams (for the younger readers, yes, there was a time before Teams). Mark picked me up in the wee hours as we had two visits to undertake. Off we went down to sunny Dorset to visit what I discovered would be my first of many, many lift companies — Dorset Lifts. Well, after a successful visit and the gathering of what at the time I thought as an absolute pile of information, we set off for No. 2. A visit to — yep, you guessed it — another lift company wanting ISO 9001, this time with a twist. This was Phoenix Lifting Systems based in Old Sarum (near Salisbury). They did and still do engineering stuffs. I was like a pig in the proverbial. I’m glad to say we won both contracts (I take all the credit), and I still work with Phoenix.

Early on in my Statius career, I got married and invited the Statius massive to the evening do. I had not at this point bore witness to the spectacle that is Mark’s dancing, a most impressive thing. Mark has the ability to move each part of his body completely out of sequence to any rhythm of the music, listening, I am sure, to his inner rhythm. Over the years at various drunken Christmas parties (always post-Christmas as we aren’t organised) and at the annual Biz X conference, we have strutted our stuff, often with a Statius client in tow for good measure (Kay).

Twenty years is a long time, and there have been ups and downs. During the last financial crisis but one (I lose count), we had an annual January planning day; it was the first day back of the new year. By the end of the day, it was clear that things weren’t going well, with a number of clients deciding to either close their doors or scale back significantly. After soldiering on for months, Mark made the hard decision to downsize, and for 18 months, we walked the wilderness just myself and Mark, remembering every few weeks to call each other. That was a tough time, but I’m glad to say Statius got through it.

I’m also glad to say there have been significantly more good times than bad, some real professional highlights, such as Apex Lifts being the first lift company in the U.K. to achieve a full IMS 9001, 14001, 18001. I have worked with the mining giants of Rio Tinto and Anglo American, and have also worked on a Welsh hillside farm for a small disposal company employing three people. No two days are the same!

In 2022, Mark and myself went into business together and purchased a consultancy operating in Scotland: M-Tek Management Services Ltd. (Check out the website; I’ll plug it for all its worth; I have no shame). This has meant that I have spent a considerable amount of time away from home, and whilst I put pen to paper, well dictate to word, I would like to say a big “thank you” to my wife for all the love and support. You rock. I wouldn’t be able to do it without you.

For me, the last 20 years have been not only about the wonderful clients (most of them are) but also about the people — the good, the bad and the strange. I have had the pleasure of meeting some real characters, from a consultant who split his trousers and had the client stitch them up in the office, to having to be stuck in the car on a closed M25 for 5 h with two rail auditors.

Hard work pays off — so after 20 years there was no gold watch, but a promotion! I am now operations director. This means working twice as hard for half the money, but with great power comes great responsibility (a wise man once said that; well, Spiderman’s uncle Ben or was it the French author Voltaire?). This new role will see me taking a further step toward jettisoning Mark from Statius and world domination. All joking aside, I do take seriously the trust Mark and Statius have put in me, and I plan on working hard and smart, driving Statius forward. I will still be customer facing as I enjoy meeting and working with the clients, but will just need to do less of it — but not too much less, I hope.

I could go on for ages but, as I’m not on the clock and this isn’t billable, I shall bring the last 20 years to a close with one final thought: Thank you to Mark and Nicky (Mark’s long-suffering wife). Over the last 20 years, Statius has become family; here’s to the next 20.