#Duckumentary - Adam Morse

What is your favorite EDA value, and why?

To choose just one value is hard for me. The values, and the people behind those values, were a large factor in my decision to join EDA. I really love “Live Proactively”. It’s about being intentional in all that you do and that you are in control of your destiny. For me, it speaks to living with a purpose every day and being planful with how you approach your life, relationships, career etc.

Can you briefly explain what you do for EDA?

As the Chief Operations Officer, I am responsible for the entire business lifecycle from estimating/bidding to project completion for all EDA business lines and operating areas. I will be leading the operations and estimating leadership teams to win projects and then to deliver them on-time, on-budget and continuously striving to exceed the customers’ expectations.

What’s the most effective way to give and receive feedback?

In my experience, many people associate feedback with negative behavior and therefore they tend to focus on only improvement opportunities. I believe that for feedback to be effective, there needs to be both positive and improvement feedback. That way you are clearly calling out the behaviors and actions you want someone to sustain as well as areas for improvement. If feedback is approached from a place of caring for the success of the individual, then feedback will generally be received as a positive. Feedback is a gift….

How do you get the best out of different personality types?

I truly believe that having many different types of people on a team is essential to high performance. A team needs to have different experiences, personalities, insights, etc., to develop strategic plans and solve complex business problems. I believe the best way to get the best out of a diverse team is to give the right amount of autonomy to everyone with general operating guardrails, that way everyone can be their own independent person and operate cohesively as a team within the guardrails.

What is the most beautiful place you have been to?

I have been fortunate to visit a few beautiful places: Monterosso, Italy – Positano, Italy, with my favorite being Santorini, Greece. My wife and I went there for a week in September 2019, and we want to go back. It was a beautiful mix of cliffs with gorgeous ocean views, small white terraced cities on one side of the island and a great European beach town on the other side.

What does a perfect vacation look like to you?

I love to travel, and I love to take vacations. I consider them two very different experiences, especially when you have younger children (Guy – 6 and Vivian 10). At this stage of our lives, I prefer to vacation as a family, but we add a little travel element as well. We love the beach and can spend hours lying on the sand and in the water and it doesn’t matter what beach we go to – that’s the vacation part. To add in a little bit of travel and adventure, every spring since the kids were little, we have chosen a different beach and resort between Florida and the Caribbean for a week’s getaway. Some places were great, and some were ok, but they all had a great beach!