Construction Genius

Overcome Your Toughest Obstacles: A 3 Step Innovation Process  "I was the worst guy in our school, the worst guy in our conference, and probably the worst guy in the State of Oregon".  Dick Fosbury, innovator of the Fosbury Flop, and 1968 high-jump Olympic gold medalist.  Your construction company has a variety of limitations. You also face a constantly changing environment. And you have familiar...

Dirk Elsperman is the EVP & COO of Tarlton Corporation , a third-generation company that has been in business since 1946. With 29 years of experience at Tarlton, Dirk has worked in all aspects of the company's operations including apprenticing as a carpenter, estimating, project engineering & management, and executive management. As EVP & COO at Tarlton, Dirk is ultimately responsible for the succ...

What does the NFL and the Construction Industry share in common? The NFL is an ultra-competitive, sophisticated, high-pressure team orientated environment. So is Construction. To get your FREE e-book version of this podcast, click this link . In an April 2017 article published in the Ringer , Michael Lombardi (a former NFL General Manager) detailed what NFL teams look for when drafting a quarterba...

Tom Ford , Partner and Director of Operations of MarketOne Builders a general contractor based in Sacramento, California is my guest.  He launched MarketOne Builders in 1997 with his partner James Fitzgerald, focusing on providing Owners, Architects, Planners, Tenants and other shareholders the comfort of knowing their GC is driving the project to meet all of their expectations, especially cost co...

Sean Cook, President of Cook Engineering , is my guest on today's show.  Cook Engineering is a general engineering company based in Rancho Cordova, California. Sean and his wife Shellie started the business in 2003. They've grown the business to $30m in revenue by taking care of their customers, and providing their employees with a supportive environment.  Our interview focuses on how Sean has lev...

Four Leadership Lessons from the Finest Soldier of the Twentieth Century Display Cheerful Optimism  Be Selfless  Practice Loyal Demonstrate Determination This podcast was inspired by a letter on leadership that George C. Marshall wrote in 1920. To download the letter, click this link. George C. Marshall (1880 – 1959) was the Chief of Staff of the US Army from Sep. 1, 1939 – Nov. 18, 1945  Henry L....

Shifting Ownership of a Construction Company to the Next Generation Doug Reitz and his partner are currently 2 years into a 5-year process, purchasing Mark Wilson Construction from the founder.  In this episode of Construction Genius, we discuss Doug's successes, challenges, and lessons learned as he's embarked on the process of becoming a partner in a successful construction company.  Throughout...

Saving time and money is essential on every construction project.  In an urban environment, maximizing the use of space is critical also. What if there was a way to reduce the space required for parking by 40-60%, save money by eliminating the floors of concrete needed for a traditional parking structure, and cut 30-90 days off the project schedule? All of this is achievable, and on today's show y...

According to a recent Bloomberg article: "Last year was a tough one for the Swedish construction giant, with operating income hit by project writedowns, goodwill impairments and restructuring charges totaling 3.1 billion kronor ($327 million)." To put it another way, they took on projects that they couldn't execute profitably. This damaged their reputation, and caused them to take a hard look at t...

Tim Hogan is the President of Bayside Interiors, an $80m subcontractor in Northern California that specializes in: - Metal stud framing - Dry wall - Taping - Strut Work - Clean Rooms - CAB Design - Architectural Specialties - Access Floors - Acoustical Ceilings - Painting Projects include: San Francisco 49ers stadium, the first Apple store in Manhattan, and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland i...

This episode covers: Why people get demoted The emotional cost of demotion How to help someone who has been demoted recover, and make a contribution to your company   Why does someone get demoted? Incompetent Poor Decisions Lack of Compatibility   The Emotional Cost of Demotion Shame Resentment Fear How to help someone who has been demoted recover, and make a contribution to your company Set clear...

"Business has only two functions — marketing and innovation." Peter Drucker Marketing is about creating and keeping customers Innovation concentrates on creating new levels of performance in one of three areas: people, product, and processes. Innovation is hard because it requires change and doesn't always work; therefore it gets resisted. Angie Simon, President of Western Allied Mechanical, Inc....

The benefits of planning: Think about what you are going to do, in advance, so that when you act you may act more effectively. Tap into the collective intelligence and wisdom of your team. Minimize risk and maximize the possibility of success. Take into account, and maximize the use of your resources and capabilities. Consider past activity and bringing forward lessons learned into the present pla...

I welcome Jeff Hoopes , Chairman and CEO of Swinerton Builders , back to the show to discuss his approach to leading a multi-billion dollar ESOP company, why the structure of his executive team encourages healthy conflict, and how Jeff is striving to leave a legacy of teaching his employees how to make money, build wealth, and be part of a wonderful company. Click the link to listen to our first i...

In this episode we cover three things. The Wisdom Silos The Danger of Silos How to Use Teamwork to Win the Battle Against Silos Inspiration for this episode comes from Chapter Five, "Cover and Move", of   "Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead and Win",  by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin . Check out Jocko's Podcast What is a silo? An isolated grouping, department or team that functions apart f...

Mark Bley has worked in the Construction Industry for over 30 years. He has been on Dome Construction 's staff since 1981 and has been President & CEO since 2008. Before becoming President & CEO, Mark acted as Project Manager on Dome Construction's staff for 24 years. His work experience prior to joining Dome includes heavy construction and electrical utility construction and design. To keep young...

3 Ways to Prepare for An Effective Problem-Solving Meeting Accurately Identify Problems Pick the Team Make the Rules   Highlights Include The source of problems Product   Process People Using metrics to surface problems Lagging indicators Leading indicators Get your facts straight prior to a meeting Get diverse voices in the room Limit the number of participants to between 6-10 Make the ground rul...

Action Items from the Interview: Three ways a contractor can ensure a successful partnering project: Understand the expectation of the client Understand the project risks and how to mitigate them Establish yourself as a trusted business advisor Three action steps when passing a construction business to multiple siblings in the next generation Build healthy relationships between siblings Help each...

" A real leader is somebody who can help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness and selfishness and weakness and fear and get us to do better things than we can get ourselves to do on our own. " David Foster Wallace Accountability is h olding people responsible for their actions (and outcomes) appropriate to their competency, authority and within their realm of responsibility....

Alecia Wilmeth is the V.P. and General Manager of Alston Construction Company in Northern California. Alston is an ENR top 100 contractor, corporately based in Atlanta, GA. Alecia started her thirty-year career shoveling dirt on the job site. She has been a foreman, Superintendent, Project Engineer, Project Manager, and now VP and General Manager. Highlights of our interview include: 00:01:04  Ale...

In this episode, we cover three things. Causes of problems on construction projects The Road to recovery from failure The benefit of taking complete responsibility The inspiration for this episode comes from "Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead and Win",  by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin .   Highlights: [00:02:06] Definition of Extreme Ownership [00:03:52] The Cause of Problems on Construct...

Peter Tateishi, CEO of Associated General Contractors of California (AGC of California) joins Eric for a fascinating exploration of the mission of his organization. Founded in 1920, the  Associated General Contractors of California  is the premier organization of choice for both experienced and next generation construction and contracting professionals.  Peter has been the CEO of the AGC of Califo...

In this episode of Construction Genius, Eric sits down with Tim Murphy, CEO of the Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange. Their conversation focuses on how to solve the construction industry's talent shortage by shifting society's often-misplaced emphasis on a four-year college degree as the only barometer of success, and by emphasizing the opportunities in the trades now available to young people...

What is the most important responsibility of a leader? It is to communicate. The complex, challenging and risky nature of the business requires leaders to constantly communicate up, down, across and outside of the organization, and it is critical that leaders understand and consistently emphasize three specific messages to those they lead. These three messages make up the three pillars of powerful...