Join us in celebrating Clayton Derby’s 30-year WEST anniversary!
Over the last 30 years, Clayton’s most memorable moments have always involved working with our incredible teammates. From standing on Foote Creek Rim with Jamey Eddy before a wind farm construction, to countless trips with Shay Howlin and Dale Strickland, and working in Cody, Wyoming with Greg Johnson, it’s the people who made these experiences unforgettable.
Clayton is most proud of his role in bringing many team members to WEST and helping them grow. It’s been incredibly rewarding for him to see some of his best friendships develop within our team and to be part of building and continuing to grow our amazing team.
While the foundation of WEST has remained consistent, several aspects have evolved over the years. Our client base has shifted to focus on the renewable industry, including wind and solar. We’ve also become more strategic in our growth, focusing on transmission, international work, and varied services. Our technology and administrative structure have advanced to support our expansion. Despite these changes, our Mission Statement and Core Principles continue to guide us.
Clayton’s vision is to continue promoting a company where we all want to work, by living and achieving our Mission Statement and Core Principles. For young professionals entering the environmental consulting field, Clayton’s advice is to ask questions, embrace opportunities, and enjoy your current role while preparing for future growth.
Can you share some of the most memorable moments from your journey with the company?
I have had so many incredible experiences during my years with WEST. As I look back over the past 30 years what really stands out as memorable always involves working with one or more of our teammates. It wasn’t about an event or a location, it was the people that made it memorable. Thinking back, some of the more memorable moments are quite odd as to why they stand out, but I think it drives home the point that it was the people that made these memorable. In no particular order, here are some of my most memorable events:
- Standing on Foote Creek Rim with Jamey Eddy the day before they were to start construction of the wind farm, recognizing that no one would ever see that same view again, or at least not in our lifetimes. It was a brief moment, and it taught me to recognize and treasure moments with friends.
- Traveling back and forth to central Nebraska with Shay Howlin and/or Dale Strickland, for what was likely hundreds of times over the course of many years. There is nothing particularly scenic about that drive and the work was not wildly exciting, but the memories made along the road are etched in my mind.
- Many weeks of working in Cody, Wyoming, with Greg Johnson on several different projects across multiple years. Yes, Cody is a great place to visit with some lovely scenery while working near Yellowstone but learning so much about field work from Greg is what really stands out.
- Traveling to the Dominican Republic with Rosa Palmer for a project is another one where, yes, the scenery was delightful and the work interesting, but it was experiencing the location, eating at a colorful and rustic fishing village along the coast with Rosa and the client, getting to know a local on the flight from Miami, the hospitality of the locals, and all the other personalities that made the trip memorable.
- Working some crazy hours, days, weeks, and months with the likes of Troy Rintz, Kurt Flaig, Elizabeth Lack, Kenton Taylor, Klarissa Lawrence, Ann Dahl, Terri Thorn, and many others across numerous individual pipelines. I cannot say that these were “fun,” but they do fall into the category of most memorable! Lots of individual and crazy stories that stretch across those thousands of miles of pipeline that the crews completed.
- The spring and summer of 2020 were ones for memory books. The pandemic hit us with full force in mid-March with all offices closing, travel suspended (vacant airports for those that did travel), masks, social distancing, and all the other items that are still painfully clear. Additionally, we had the horrible loss of Ben Petterson to the fatal helicopter accident at the very end of March. Then in May the world watched as George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis and the impacts that this had on our Golden Valley office, the entire company, and across the world. Again, the events themselves are as tragic as they are memorable, but what stands out was how these events brought together the WEST team; how the entire company rallied together to make sure all were safe and included. Everyone took a bit of extra time with each other. Looking back, we came together as a team during those events, and I wish that we could keep and grow those sentiments of strong team relationships without the tragedies that triggered them.
I can honestly say that after 30 years; I have zero issues getting out of bed and every day I look forward to coming to work. I have been truly blessed to have all these memories because of the team that we have had and continue to grow. I look forward to the next memorable moment!
What achievements are you most proud of during your tenure?
While I have had many individual achievements over my career that I am proud of, the one that I am most proud of is my part, however large or small, in the role I played in bringing many team members to WEST. I cannot and will not take full credit for these team members, but even if I had some small involvement in bringing them to WEST and helping them grow makes me proud. Some of my best friends have joined WEST and some of my best friendships have grown from within our WEST Team. I am most proud of the team we have built and continue to build.
How has the company evolved over the past three decades?
You would think that this would be an easy question, but I have struggled with the same basic question for years when asked. Typically, when someone asks me what has evolved (more often it is asked as how the company has “changed”), it is done with a sense of fondness for the yesteryears, a sense of what may have been lost. I have a hard time with that sentiment as I believe that the foundation of WEST, the things that really matter, have been consistent. Maybe what has evolved is how we convey these foundational principles or how we live them together?
Setting that aside, what are some of the items that have evolved? A short list includes:
- Our client base has evolved from largely state and federal research contracts to largely centered on the private renewable industry. Even this shift has had some evolution from being primarily wind to now including a growing proportion of solar.
- Our client base continues to evolve to be more purposely focused on transmission, international work, regional diversification, varied services, and other aspects.
- Our technology has evolved tremendously over the past 30 years, but that is true for everyone. In the early years, we had ONE dial up internet line for the entire company. We had ONE laptop that was called the “luggable,” given its impressive size and weight. We now have an entire IT department, who knows how many laptops, crazy fast internet that is never fast enough, and vast amounts of storage on premise as well as cloud based. What we can do with all this data and information, and the company’s combined talent, is tremendous.
- One area that many people point to that has evolved or changed over the years is our “bureaucracy.” At some level, this is accurate in that we did not start out with an administrative structure; we had no CEO, no ET, no SMT, no TL, no Practice Groups, paper timecards, limited means of communication, no formal training program, no P/I or H/S departments, etc. However, the structure and processes have evolved to meet our company growth, information expansion, speed of business, and overall societal and technological advancements. All the functions were always needed, they were just being met by different means given the times and technology.
While these evolutions may result in changes or modifications in our day-to-day work lives, what they have not done is change the “why” of WEST. Our Mission Statement and Core Principles have not shifted but have been refined to better reflect who we are. We have always strived to provide quality client deliverables, find original solutions using scientifically defensible solutions, collaborate as team members in a respectful manner, and improve every day.
What is your vision for the company’s future?
My vision is actually quite simple: continue to promote a company in which I and others want to work together in living and achieving our Mission Statement and Core Principles. I am confident that if we maintain that focus, the company will continue to prosper. I am not tied to any targeted growth of revenue or staff count, those are simply reflections of the type of company we are and the market available to us. We can decide to add services or expand into new regions, and if we provide those new services in new regions while adhering to our Mission Statement and Core Principles, we have a high chance of success and growth. If we lose ourselves and become selfish, or lack attention to quality deliverables, or we do not treat each other with respect, no matter what services we hope to provide we will ultimately fail as a company. Our founders, Dale and Lyman, stated that they started the company to be a place that they wanted to work and in doing so would be a place that others wanted to work. If we keep our focus on our Mission Statement and Core Principles, we can continue to be that place where we all want to work.
What advice would you give to young professionals entering the environmental consulting field?
Several aspiring environmental consulting professionals have asked me this over the years. The answers may have varied, but they generally fall somewhere into, or include pieces of the following three items, depending on the person and where they were in their career journey.
First, ask questions! EVERYONE at WEST is happy to engage. You have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues with individuals that have been in this industry for many decades, take advantage of it. Learn from us, do not emulate us, but learn from us to make what you do better than we ever have done before.
Second, when opportunity knocks, open the door and see what it is. Take opportunities presented and be open to change. I am not saying to take every opportunity presented to you but be open to hearing what it is and explore the options. I am in a position now as CEO that I never imagined or desired to be, but I absolutely love the opportunity. I certainly never thought of being a CEO when I was in my college Ecology class, I went into wildlife to be outside and not around people! But I was open to opportunities along my path that took me in a direction I would have never dreamt of. Along your journey, be self-reflective and ask yourself hard questions about what you want and why. You may be surprised at the answers and where it leads you as opportunities are presented.
Last, enjoy wherever you are in the moment, don’t be too quick to jump to what you think will be the next great thing. This may seem counterintuitive to the point above, but I believe they go hand-in-hand. While you are looking for or waiting for an opportunity to knock, enjoy what you are doing in the present. When I was a field technician, I thoroughly enjoyed the many aspects of field work and did not long to be a project manager. But when I did become a project manager, I worked to be the best project manager that I could be. Take the time to learn what each experience and position along the journey has to offer and apply it to the next one.