The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

Welcome to Episode 26 of The Construction Leading Edge podcast. My name is Todd Dawalt and my job is to provide the tools and resources you need to grow you leadership skills, grow your construction business and grow your income. Today’s episode is an interview with Cesar Abeid, the host of The Construction Industry Podcastand The Project Management For The Masses Podcast He is also the author of an upcoming book, Project Management For You. You can find connect with Cesar at www.cesarabeid.com and learn more about all the great work he is doing for construction and project management pros. Here are some of the resources mentioned in this podcast: David Allen – www.GettingThingsDone.com Susanne Madsen – www.PowerofProjectLeadership.com Dorie Clark – www.dorieclark.com/stand-out Remontech – If you need a construction jobsite monitoring camera, connect with Cesar atwww.RemonTech.com

Welcome to Episode 25 of the Construction Leading Edge podcast. My name is Todd Dawalt and my goal is to provide the tools and resources to grow your leadership skills, grow your business and grow your income. Free online training for contractors: How to get out of cash crunch mode and upgrade your profit margins. 5 simple strategies I used to get out of the vise-like grip of poor cash flow, while doubling a construction business in a few years. In this episode I share practical strategies for contractors that are part of the Construction Business Accelerator Program. This episode focuses on how to eliminate “ticket starvation,” and make sure to get paid for 100% of the work you do. Is your company doing work for free? Listen to this podcast to learn how to make sure you avoid “ticket starvation.”

Welcome to Episode 24 of the Construction Leading Edge podcast. My name is Todd Dawalt and my goal is to provide the tools and resources to grow your leadership skills, grow your business and grow your income. Free online training for contractors: How to get out of cash crunch mode and upgrade your profit margins. 5 simple strategies I used to get out of the vise-like grip of poor cash flow, while doubling a construction business in a few years. This episode is an interview with Nick Baucom, a former Marine who had to close down his construction business, but rebounded to start a successful business a few years later. In this episode Nick talks about: How saying, “No” is very freeing. Learning to be comfortable in the “fog of war,” and how to be decisive in spite of combat. “Discomfort means something is being done.” Nick’s advice for anyone considering starting a business More resources from Nick Baucom Nick’s book – On The Move: A Marine’s Guide to Entrepreneurial Success Washington Post Article about Nick and his business Articles Nick has written in Inc. Magazine Want to connect with Nick? His website – www.twomarinesmoving.com Facebook – and – Twitter

Welcome to Episode 23 of the Construction Leading Edge podcast. My name is Todd Dawalt and my goal is to provide the tools and resources to grow your leadership skills, grow your business and grow your income. Free online training for contractors: How to get out of cash crunch mode and upgrade your profit margins. 5 simple strategies I used to get out of the vise-like grip of poor cash flow, while doubling a construction business in a few years. This episode is an interview with Torrey Hawkins, founder and president of Angler Construction Company in Houston, TX and we talk about the following: How he has nearly doubled the business in the past year, despite the fact that low oil prices have impacted the Houston region. Avoiding “shiny object syndrome,” or how to stay disciplined when things are going well. Torrey gives some solid advice to young leaders and small business owners. Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 22 of the Construction Leading Edge podcast. My name is Todd Dawalt and my goal is to provide the tools and resources to grow your leadership skills, grow your business and grow your income. In this episode I interview Greg Laszczynski, an executive with Layne Inliner, who talks about the following: One simple habit that anyone can do to differentiate themselves from the competition How he built a successful business from ground zero in almost impossible circumstances The power of building relationships and trust How you can win contracts, even if you are not the low price What to do when you have a bad manager His advice for construction entrepreneurs, construction business owners and young millenial leaders If you like this kind of content and this approach to leadership rings your bell, you should join theConstruction Leading Edge Nation. Why else would you want to join the CLE Nation? To be part of a community of like minded construction leaders and get insider access to CLE content not available to the public. (We may try to take over the world eventually too.)

Culture: noun cul·ture \ˈkəl-chər\ A blend of the values, beliefs, taboos, symbols, rituals, and myths a company develops over time. Whether written as a mission statement, spoken or merely understood, corporate culture describes and governs the ways a company’s owners and employees think, feel and act. Does your company have a safety program or a safety culture? What’s the difference? One requires constant maintenance and enforcement and the other tends to take care of itself. Keys to creating a construction safety culture: 1. Safety can NOT be a priority. 2. Safety must become a value or a conviction, neither of which will be shuffled like a priority. 3. Change the mindset about who is responsible for safety. 4. Develop “small unit cohesion.” Some practical things you can do to create a safety culture: 1. Reward safe behavior on the spot. 2. Reward safety innovation. 3. Gather the crew – and their families – outside of work. 4. Engage the crew on how to solve safety problems. Ask questions instead of prescribing policy. 5. There are a few others in the podcast. Listen to the podcast to hear a few other strategies for developing a safety culture, and some steps around how to respond to a safety violation.

Welcome to Episode 20 of the Construction Leading Edge podcast. My name is Todd Dawalt and my goal is to provide the tools and resources to grow your leadership skills, grow your business and grow your income. This episode lays out a step by step process and a framework to follow when you have a construction project crisis. Step #1 – Figure out when you need to act. It it is a life safety issue, the answer is, “Immediately.” Resist the temptation to jump in and “just do something.” When does your risk profile change? Consider contract schedule dates, weather, season changes, price increases, etc. Step #2 – Look backward…. To download the step by step process for How To Respond To A Project Crisis, join the Construction Leading Edge Nation, and you will get access to the pdf guide, as well as a few other valuable resources.

A key skill for leaders is knowing when to quit. In Episode 19 of the podcast, I have a conversation with my good friend and former colleague Bert Lace. A conversation that serves as a postmortem analysis of the past four years we worked together, how we helped to grow a construction business from 20 to 50 employees, the leadership strategies we tried that worked, the ones that didn’t work, and ultimately why we both decided to quit and walk away. Topics Bert and I cover include the following: How to motivate your team Building a healthy team culture Dangers of gossip and how to exterminate it How to handle confrontation I hope this helps you! Todd

Welcome to Episode 18 of the Construction Leading Edge podcast. My name is Todd Dawalt and my goal is to provide the tools and resources to grow your leadership skills, grow your business and grow your income. If you are involved with the construction industry and have any interest in keeping up with the cutting edge technology that is currently available, or would like to get a sneak peek into what is coming online soon…you are in for a treat today. You are about to listen to an interview with Rob McKinney, also known as the Construction App Guru, or the “conappguru.” He is a real life construction guy who works for a general contractor in Atlanta AND spends a significant amount of time researching and testing out construction software and mobile apps for the construction industry. He also serves as a consultant to software developers and has given several keynote talks on construction technology. How you can connect with Rob: Twitter – @conappguru His blog – www.conappguru.wordpress.com