The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

How to develop joint ventures and collaborative relationships as a diverse contractor, how to maintain culture in an organization and Monroe's approach to giving back to his local community. In this episode, I interview Monroe Barnes, President of MBJ Consultants in Cincinnati, OH, which provides construction management and facilities management services to clients in the midwest and California. Click here to learn more about LeanPlanner from Newforma Here are some of the questions I asked, and Monroe's responses: How important is the culture of an organization, and does it affect the impact the bottom line?[Monroe] Our culture is to service the customer, service the customer more, then service the customer again. The customer is our friend. If you don't service your customer and don't do a good job, it definitely impacts the bottom line. We drive a culture of taking care of each other, on the job and outside the job. If you get in trouble outside of work, it is going to affect your ability to do a good job at work. What are some things you do to reinforce culture?[Monroe] I've had to remind some of my apprentices that the way they look and carry themselves is a reflection of the company. I try to make my people understand that they should carry themselves in a way that it looks like they care about themselves and about the company. When you think of a successful construction company, what are the measuring sticks you use?[Monroe] Companies have to make money to be successful, but they also need to impact their community. Part of your success is to help those who can't help themselves, or need to find kids that have had tough starts, are underprivileged and bring them into the company so they can grow up and have families, and their kids can grow up in a normal atmosphere. Then all of a sudden we break this poverty mode. Success goes a lot further than just creatinga project on time. I think it's the lives in your organization that you affect, and the community. What are the challenges to people trying to make the jump out of poverty?A lot of the young men we may hire, nobody has ever demanded anything out of them. I have one guy who practically raised himself. They've never seen anyone get up and go to work every day, or buy groceries, or buy new cars. Some of these kids are sheltered within their community, often surrounded by people who would rather sell drugs or steal than get a job. What are some of the common mistakes you see construction business owners make?[Monroe] Sometimes we spend too much time on the paper documents, and on how you build buildings. I wish I had learned more about the business side; the financial side, cost projections, what is the bank looking for, what is the bonding company looking for? I spent too much time on just the plans and specs of the projects while the business thought process was suffering, and dragging down our business. What are some practical things you do to focus on the business and not just the projects.[Monroe] At the end of the day, my job is to manage the risk of the company. In order to do that, you need to have data. If you are gathering data, and keep seeing the same mistake coming up, you can hone in on it, and figure out how to mitigate that problem. Using data to help you mitigate your risks is very important. Click here to learn more about LeanPlanner from Newforma Listen to the rest of the interview to hear Monroe's advice on how to develop joint venture partnerships with large contractors and a variety of other topics. How you can get in touch with Monroe www.mbjconsultants.commbarnes@mbjconsultants.com Want more content and insider information like this? Click here to join The Construction Leading Edge Nation

This episode of The Construction Leading Edge podcast (press and hold on this link) is an interview with Jim Johnson, President and CEO of GE Johnson Construction Company in Colorado Springs, CO. The company was founded in 1967 and made the 2015 ENR Top 100 Green Building Contractors list. Here are a few of the topics we cover in the interview: How important is the culture of an organization and how does it impact the bottom line? [Jim] Our culture is more important than the bottom line, and our culture is not for sale. We believe if we manage our culture, the bottom line will take care of itself. Our company has decided that we don't want to be a compliance department. We believe if we reinforce and keep promoting our culture, the policy manual will take care of itself. What is your philosophy and approach when it comes to leading people? [Jim] I am a believer that you really have to develop your own style of leadership. It's really hard to be someone who you aren't wired like. I set out on a quest to inventory my own skill sets and develop my own leadership style. During the course of that, I realized that there are people are better at the finances and better at preconstruction than me. My collaborative style was by me admitting, "I don't have all the answers." Most of the time, my employees have the answers. I'm smarter when other people are helping me think. What is your advice for people who want to develop their leadership skills? [Jim] I would listen. When I was growing up there were different people who I identified with leadership, and I would listen to those people. I would also be honest and genuine with yourself. There are different places to try your leadership skills. They don't have to be in the workplace. Take some risks, try some different things and be willing to get feedback. What are some of the mistakes you see construction business owners making? [Jim] People often forget this is a business. Sometimes the best person to deal with the complexities is not your sister-in-law. You need to decide whether you want to surround yourself with talent or family members. The most talented project engineers and superintendents may not be the right people to run the business. Be willing to take advice from attorneys, accountants and bonding companies. It is an evolving business and one person can't do it all in more...it's just to complex and too fast. Listen to the entire interview to learn about the importance of transparency in leadership and what Jim calls, "the speed of trust." Resources mentioned in this episode Bid Ocean - You can get bid opportunities for the type of work you do in the markets you serve, delivered to your email inbox. Archisnapper - Avoid contract disputes and justify your requests for schedule extension by creating regular reports for your projects. This app would have saved a project I took over $67,000 in liquidated damages. I use this app every week. Join the Construction Leading Edge Nation to get insider access to the stuff I am working on. Click here to show some love and leave a review on iTunes.

In this episode of The Construction Leading Edge Podcast (www.constructionleadingedge.com) we will be covering... Construction Technology You Probably Didn't Know Existed Press and hold on this link to go to the full show notes James Benham is CEO of JBKnowledge (www.jbknowledge.com), who advises and consults 700 construction companies on technology. He also speaks all over the country on trends that his firm identifies as coming up. Some of the most exciting technologies being developed today according to James are: Computer Vision - Interior 3D Scanning Drones 3D Printing Augmented and Virtual Reality Real time applications that allow for synchronicity between jobsite and office We also talk about a few other topics, including: - Common mistakes contractors make when it comes to technology, and some recommendations to avoid them. - The importance of mobile devices. - The basics of where to start if you don't know what to do first. - The importance of data security, and how most contractors are at risk. How you can connect with James JamesBenham.com - James' personal site @jamesmbenham - Twitter JBKnowledge.com - Corporate website This episode is sponsored by... Archisnapper - A slick app for creating jobsite inspection reports, preconstruction photo reports, etc. If you are uploading pictures from your phone and sticking them in a Word document...you need to sign up for a free trial of Archisnapper. Tsheets - The best mobile time tracking and reporting app on the planet. Check them out...sign up for a free trial.

In this episode of The Construction Leading Edge Podcast (www.constructionleadingedge.com) we will be covering... The Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Dealing With Conflict At Work Press and hold on this link to go to the full show notes Out of the total list of 41 Mistakes that I put together, here are the Top 10 I covered in the podcast Click here to download the complete list of 41 Mistakes to Avoid.. #2 Not recognizing the cost of unresolved conflict – According to Daniel Dana, author of a book on conflict resolution, “Unresolved interpersonal conflict in the workplace is one of the largest reducible productivity costs, yet it is the least identified.” #3 Avoiding conflict – A recent survey found that 35% of managers would rather jump out of a plane than deal with conflict. 27% would rather shave their head for charity, and 8% would rather eat bugs. #10 Using anger – Don’t respond to issues when you are angry or upset. Many people use anger to fuel them to overcome their fear of confrontation. #13 - The Avalanche – Don’t let issues pile up over time until you unload like an avalanche, wiping out everything in your path. #14 - Speculating about motives – You can judge facts, but you can only speculate/guess why someone did something. You know what happens when you ASSUME. #23 - The "Go-Between".... Listen to the podcast to hear about the rest or just click here to download the complete list of 41 Mistakes to Avoid When Dealing With Conflict At Work. Other resources mentioned in this podcast Archisnapper - Slick app for preparing jobsite inspection reports, preconstruction photos, and any report that requires you to insert pictures and text into a Word or Google Doc. Tsheets - The best mobile time tracking app I have ever used.

This is The Construction Leading Edge podcast (www.constructionleadingedge.com), my name is Todd Dawalt, and my job is to help you grow your leadership skills, grow your business and grow your income. Need help with daily reports? Sign up for a free 15 day trial of Raken In this episode, I interview Chris Fussell. He is the Chief Growth Officer at McChrystal Group. He's an author of the New York Times bestseller, Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement in a Complex World. Chris was commissioned as a Naval Officer in 1997, and spent the next 15 years on US Navy SEAL Teams, leading SEAL elements in combat zones around the globe, including Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. A few years ago, Chris left the Naval Special Warfare Development Group to join the McChrystal Group. They are a leadership and management consultancy composed of a mix of folks from the military, academic, business, and technology sectors. Their consultants specialize in transforming stagnant and siloed organizations into cohesive, adaptable “teams of teams”. In a nutshell, in this interview you will learn about how the military special operations leadership had to change their approach during the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan and how the principles they developed apply to business today. You will learn about distributed networks, what empowered execution is and how to create a shared consciousness. Sign up for a free 15 day trial of Raken: The #1 Construction App for Daily Reporting Here's how you can learn more about and connect with Chris: His book: Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement in a Complex WorldThe McChrystal Group - www.crosslead.comTwitter - @fussellchris Chris' articles:The biggest career lesson this Navy SEAL learned in Iraq - Fortune Magazine Why Special Ops Stopped Relying So Much on Top-Down Leadership - Harvard Business Review

Todd Dawalt here from The Construction Leading Edge (www.constructionleadingedge.com). If you lead a business, department or a project, you're probably busy, there's always work to do, you could always use more customers, and every part of your operation can be optimized to be more efficient. A lot of people think that when they need to get more results, speed things up, increase profit, etc. the answer is simply to do more, work more, hire more people, or just work harder. Wrong. The reality? In business, almost every activity is a waste of time. Want to learn the principle that will help you increase output while decreasing input? It's the same principle used by Warren Buffett and the guy who invented shorthand. Listen on.

Welcome to another episode of the Construction Leading Edge podcast. My name is Todd Dawalt, and today is going to be a little different. I’m going to start with a story. It was August 2014, and I had spent two or three hours preparing for this meeting. I was nervous because this meeting would determine the future of my job. When it was time, I drove a few miles to the Applebees where we agreed to meet, and I had a knot in my stomach. This was going to be one of the most difficult, and important conversations of my life. You see, I was meeting with the owner of the company I worked for to confront him about some things, and frankly I didn’t know if I would have a job when it was over. This episode is all about Unresolved Conflict and how to improve your conflict resolution skills. According to Daniel Dana, author of a book on conflict resolution, “Research suggests that unresolved interpersonal conflict in the workplace is one of the largest reducible productivity costs, yet it is the least identified.” A NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) report says, Interpersonal conflict on the job is identified as one of the top occupational job stressors strongly linked to a reduction in worker psychological and physical health. [FREE PDF GUIDE]Cheat sheet you can use to have that "tough conversation" with an employee, sub...even the boss. Click here to go to the show notes on www.constructionleadingedge.com/030 Click here to go

Welcome to episode #29 of The Construction Leading Edge Podcast (www.constructionleadingedge.com) where my job is to help you grow your leadership skills, grow your business and grow your income. This episode is part 2 of The Construction Business Accelerator program, where I will be going deep into specific strategies and tactics that I used to double revenue and triple profits at a construction company I ran for about three and a half years. Today's episode is about Leveraging Your Labor Force Key points include the following: The importance of showing your team "what winning looks like." What transparency will do for your organization. Two of the biggest motivators that don't cost anything. How to grow your people along the delegation spectrum. One of Nemoto's "Ten Principles of Leadership" that most managers don't follow. Want to get insider information and stay connected with this stuff? Click here to join the Construction Leading Edge nation - or go to www.constructionleadingedge.com/nation.

www.constructionleadingedge.com Welcome to The Construction Leading Edge Podcast, where my job is to help you grow your leadership skills, grow your construction business and grow your income. In this episode I interview Dan Conery, VP of Business Development with Newforma, a company that develops software for the construction industry. We talk about advice for millennials, how contractors should approach innovation, why Dan is jealous of the people he sells software to, and some great sales and business development advice. If you need help keeping a scattered project team working together, click here to download a free resource guide from Newforma or go to www.newforma.com/constructionleadingedge Click here to join the Construction Leading Edge Nation and get insider access to the stuff we are working on.

Welcome to episode 27 of The Construction Leading Edge podcast www.constructionleadingedge.com Click here to download a free resource guide from Mallorie's team - "WHERE WE'RE HEADED: Construction Technology Trends for 2015"