Ep 151 Jenny Kerr Schroen & Chris Eccleston

First-time authors Chris Eccleston and Jenny Kerr Schroen have worked on many fresh ideas together at Delmarva Veteran Builders (DVB), a commercial construction firm, and realized they shared a long-time dream to write a children’s book. Basing their concept on DVB’s tagline, “Grit Leads to Greatness,” they devised an epic adventure book to show both parents and children that construction is heroic. Once the story was written, Chris and Jenny spent most of 2022 meeting with pioneers and thought leaders of the industry, learning more about what was being done to address the immense labor deficit. They figured they were onto something when they began hearing from not just national construction organizations, but also people outside of the industry who shared stories of how the workforce shortage affected them personally. Chris and Jenny quickly realized that one group or construction affiliation was not going to solve this. It was going to take a global effort to introduce a new generation to the trades. They hope their book, “Grit Leads to Greatness”, can be used as a tool to help bring together people from all walks of life to conquer an issue that impacts all of humanity.

Time Stamps :

📌[8:27]How Chris & Jenny have visualized their core values via graphics

📌[10:00]Operation Grit, Be Fresh, Ignite Potentional, Do Epic Shit

📌[10:25]Military Truck is a key fixture in their brand

📌[16:19]Check out Delmar Veteran Builders Company https://www.delmarvaveteranbuilders.com/

📌[17:43]500,000 worker shortage in the construction industry

📌[26:48]Teach people how to give again...

📌[28:17]Monthly Training for their teams on leadership, technical experience, and safety

📌[29:19]Prioritizing the "Stop and Teach" movement

📌[30:32]Stop and share your why

📌[31:23]"Death by Meeting" by Pat Lencioni https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49040.Death_by_Meeting

📌[35:40]Using the theme of Grit Leads to Greatness in more than business but also inspiring children to think about themselves and talk to themselves in the face of adversity.

📌[37:11]Bridging the trades and classrooms....

📌[39:02]You want to be a leader, go be a leader.

📌[46:56]The importance of leaning into your growth mindset

📌[56:22]What inspired you as a kid?

📌[56:32]When was the last time you "played"?

📌[56:48]How can you incorporate "play" into your teams?

📌[1:01:19]Systems Homework: Check out their book Grit Leads to Greatness and order some copies for your local school https://www.gritleadstogreatness.com/

📌[1:01:42]People Homework: Build in creative space & play time to your schedule

📌[1:02:37]Read: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/100467.Small_Giants

📌[1:03:12]Write a 2030 vision for your company

📌[1:03:25]Look at your core values with a fresh perspective

📌[1:03:42]People Homework: Are you being flexible with your team

Quote of the Day

“Greatness is where people use their abilities and experiences to change the world”. - Grit Leads to Greatness

⇩ Resources ⇩

✯ Jenny Kerr Schroen: www.gritleadstogreatness.com

✯ Chris Eccleston : www.delmarvaveteranbuilders.com

✯Tay Meroni (Marketing) with Pure Pressure Washing

✯Meaghan Likes (Finances) with Bookkeeping Academy Online, Likes Accounting Company & Jeff Likes Clean Windows & Gutters

✯Michelle Myers (Systems) with Pink Callers

✯Martha Woodward (People) with The Pay for Performance Expert, Quality Driven Software & Dusting Divas