One of the things I love most about hosting the HVAC R&D Podcast is that every once in a while, a conversation stops being about the guests sitting across the table.
It starts making me think about myself.
Listen to the full Episode 188 here – https://rhydonatzenhoffer.substack.com/p/the-legacy-we-leave-a-fathers-day
Going into Episode 188, I expected to spend an hour talking with the next generation of HG Home Services. Keith E. Flores —better known to many in the HVAC world as “HVAC God”—has been on the show several times, so I assumed this show, which became partially a Father’s Day conversation, would mostly be about what it was like growing up with a larger-than-life personality as your dad.
That’s not what happened.
Somewhere during the conversation, I quit hearing stories about Keith.
I started hearing the results of them.
As his oldest children Cole Flores and Corinne Flores answered questions, something quietly became obvious. They didn’t spend much time talking about lessons their dad sat them down to teach. Instead, they kept sharing moments they had witnessed growing up. It reminded me that whether we’re raising kids, mentoring apprentices, leading a service department, or building a company culture, people are learning from us long before they’re listening to us.
That realization stayed with me long after we stopped recording and made me reflect so much on the conversation as well as on my own experiences of watching my father, Joe “Cajun Joe” Atzenhoffer as I grew up in an HVAC business just as they have.
The Lessons They Never Knew They Were Learning
One of the first stories Corinne shared seemed almost insignificant, until you looked deeper in to what she was recounting. She talked about being three or four years old, sitting outside while her dad cleaned out his work truck after another long day. It wasn’t a planned lesson. It was simply what he did every evening.
That story probably lasted less than a minute during the episode.
But I haven’t stopped thinking about it.
She doesn’t remember a motivational speech. She remembers consistency. She remembers watching someone finish the day the right way, even when nobody else was paying attention.
Legacy rarely begins with what we say.
It begins with what we repeatedly do.
Kids notice things we don’t think they’re paying attention to. They notice whether you complain, whether you cut corners, whether you keep our word, and whether you treat people with respect. Long before they understand business, they’re learning what integrity looks like simply by watching it lived out every day.
It’s Rare to Have Your Dad Be Your Mentor
Near the end of the conversation, Corinne said something I immediately underlined in my notes.
“It’s rare to have your dad also your mentor.”
Then she followed it up with something that honestly says more about Keith than any compliment someone else could have given him.
“My dad and my mom are truly my best friends… I know how rare it is.”
Think about that for a minute.
You can build a successful business. You can build a recognizable brand. You can build a social media following. But if your kids grow up and still genuinely want your advice… if they still call you their best friend… you’ve built something far more valuable than a company.
As someone who also grew up in a family HVAC business, that resonated with me. I know firsthand how blurry the line between work and home can become. Some families thrive in that environment. Others struggle under the weight of it.
Listening to Cole and Corinne reminded me that the difference usually isn’t the business.
It’s the example.
Building Leaders, Not Copies
It may seem like the norm for siblings, but it also stood out to me how different Cole and Corinne are from one another, but how much that allows them to now compliment each other as they grow.
Cole has this calm, analytical way of approaching leadership. He talked about raising expectations, hiring for attitude, and teaching people how to think instead of simply what to do. One point that really stuck with me was his belief that he’d rather hire someone with the right personality and teach them HVAC than hire someone with years of experience who already has the wrong habits.
That isn’t lowering the standard.
It’s raising it.
Technical skills can be taught.
Character is much harder to build.
Corinne approaches leadership from a completely different direction. She’s passionate about culture, communication, and creating an environment where people actually enjoy coming to work. When I asked her about training office staff, her answer wasn’t wrapped in corporate language or complicated systems.
“If someone’s calling in and you don’t know the answer… don’t give them some BS answer.”
I laughed when she said it.
But she’s right.
In a world where everyone feels pressure to sound like the expert, honesty still builds trust faster than pretending to know everything.
Whether you’re behind a service van, a parts counter, or a front desk, customers don’t expect perfection.
They expect authenticity.
Closing Reflection
When I hit stop on the recorder, I wasn’t thinking about social media, company growth, or even HVAC anymore. I kept thinking about influence.
We spend a lot of time in this industry asking how we’re going to prepare the next generation. We talk about training programs, apprenticeships, leadership development, and workforce shortages. Those conversations matter. But after spending time with Cole and Corinne, I found myself asking a different question.
What are they watching us do today?
Because one day they probably won’t remember every piece of advice we gave them. They’ll remember how we handled pressure, how we treated people, whether we kept our word, and whether our actions consistently matched what we said we believed.
Listening to Cole and Corinne, I never got the impression they were describing a perfect father. They were describing someone who was consistently present. Someone who worked hard, invested in people, laughed with his family, and lived the values he wanted to pass on. That’s a much harder thing to fake, and it’s probably why it left such an impression on them.
I think that’s what legacy really is.
It isn’t built through one defining speech or one unforgettable moment. It’s built through thousands of ordinary moments that nobody else thinks are important at the time. Cleaning out the work truck after a long day. Taking time to answer a question. Showing up when your family needs you. Choosing integrity when nobody would know the difference.
Those are the moments that shape people.
Those are the moments they carry with them.
They were always watching.
And when I walked away from Episode 188, I couldn’t help but ask myself one simple question:
Who might be watching me?
Stay grounded. Keep grinding.
Ramblin’ Rhyno, out. Peace Y’all.
Want to hear the full conversation? Episode 188 with Cole and Corinne Flores is about much more than growing up in a family HVAC business. It’s a conversation about mentorship, family, leadership, culture, and the kind of legacy that’s built one ordinary day at a time. If today’s reflection resonated with you, I think you’ll enjoy hearing how we got there together.
Listen to the full Episode 188 here – https://rhydonatzenhoffer.substack.com/p/the-legacy-we-leave-a-fathers-day
Remember, you’re part of something bigger.
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