20 Under 40: Brian Krueger

Mr. Krueger said that his son is the reason he gets out of bed in the morning “at about five in the morning” and, at this point in his life, he usually wakes up ahead of his alarm to “try to attack the day head-on.” The unexpected things that happen throughout his week add a greater sense of purpose to his days.

“Every day seems to be completely different,” he said. “There’s always something new that pops up unexpectedly.”

Mr. Krueger finds his job enjoyable because of the sense of purpose and fulfillment that he gets as projects come across his desk. He likes to work with his coworkers and “see it go from just an idea to seeing it being constructed.”

“I enjoy getting to collaborate with them and sometimes teach,” he added. “I’m always excited to share knowledge with people.”

Mr. Krueger said the friendships he made in the north country when he was younger and his dad was in the military were some of the biggest reasons he decided to return to the area. He lived in Wisconsin for a while while going to school, and then transferred to SUNY Alfred before his wife brought him back to the area.

Mr. Krueger believes that local communities can do more to retain young people, rather than them moving away in search of better opportunities, by improving themselves. His firm, he said, “finds ourselves asking the same thing for potential employees.”

“A lot has to do with entertainment and making people aware of what’s out there,” he said. “I learned a lot of Watertown’s history and what people don’t really know, and when people find out, they’re just shocked.”

Mr. Krueger believes that capitalizing on the history of Watertown and the surrounding areas “could be a big draw,” but that the north country needs to question how it can compete with larger cities that have more to offer in terms of entertainment and proximity to places.

He said he received the best advice for his professional life and personal improvements from his wife, but his dad gave him some of the best advice to develop his career. The best advice he ever followed was, “act like a sponge, soak everything up – good, bad, wrong, right – and from there develop how you want to present yourself. Make your own way based on things that you learn from everyone else and other peoples’ actions, and how they have effects on other people and their lives.”

Mr. Krueger said that one of the biggest myths he has heard in business is more money makes poor work environments better when, in fact, it is only a band-aid on a larger issue.

“Oftentimes, it is the more lucrative option, but if the cause of the issue is not addressed then the solution is only temporary and will create a vicious cycle,” he said. “There needs to be open means of communication in order to address these challenges proactively.”

When asked who he would change places with for a day, Mr. Krueger paused before answering that he would like to see the world from his son’s perspective.

“Watching him grow and learn with his sense of wonder and amazement is something to envy. We were all at that stage in life at one point and, sadly, it passes too quickly,” he said. “We hear it growing up too often that we should live in the moment, but stubbornly, we are so eager to get to the next thing in life that we forget until it’s too late.”