Construction Brothers

You are surrounded by people. You’ll be affecting these people in one way or another. You can choose what that effect will be. You can treat them kindly. You can show them grace. Or you can step on them. You can rip on them. You can take advantage of them. Today Eddie encourages you to be an encouraging presence in the lives of the people around you. It’s not always easy to do this in a competitiv...

00:00 - Introduction We’ve doubled our Tyler count today by inviting Tyler Williams to the studio. We start with some car talk: plug-in hybrids, 81 Chevies, and manual F-150s. Tyler W says he’s not loaded, but he’s keeping his eyes open for used trucks anyway. Everything is for sale. Eddie flashes back to being stranded in banjo country in his Brown Bomb Sierra. Tyler W shares about a conversation...

This week Tyler hits us with a quote from Ronald Reagan: “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.” Tyler thinks this quote is one that has incredible relevance to the construction industry. Eddie points out that this is a trait of good leadership, but he does slightly counter Tyler’s commentary. Eddie focuses on the fact that leaders should shift t...

00:00 - Introduction We open with coffee talk today–and sugar intake, including some beverage shortcuts. Tyler calls it cheaping out; Eddie calls it hillbilly lemonade. We also reminisce about our favorite waitress, 4’10” Miss Connie with the beehive haircut. Oh yeah, also pickle races. Poor Miss Connie. 08:05 - Entrepreneurship: A Good Idea? A few weeks ago , guest Matt Aston recommended the book...

Today’s PSA: You should read more. And here’s Eddie’s claim: Reading an hour a day will put you at the top of your field within 10 years. What’s that you say? You don’t like to read? Eddie points out that Spotify Premium now has audiobooks. There’s also Audible , Libby (through your local library), and other audiobook apps. Eddie shares that he’s on his third audiobook this year. This fact leads E...

00:00 - Introduction Tyler’s got rib issues. Yes, of course it’s from pickleball. Yes, the injury was earned during a match against an 80-year-old lady. Would we all love to hear her account of the story? Very much. This leads us into a brief sharing session about embarrassing recreational injuries. We also talk about what catches our gaze as we drive through unfamiliar areas. 08:50 - Getting to k...

Would you guess by the title that Tyler picked today’s topic? He’s got a new paddle. We’re all very excited. In his extensive on-court experience, Tyler has learned that he plays better when he just doesn't beat himself up. His takeaway: When you’re excessively hard on yourself, you lose focus. When you just try to appreciate the experience and the opportunity to play, you play better. Eddie refer...

00:00 - Introduction It’s been a long day full of recording. Eddie starts out by hashing out an unsettled issue about crabs. He’s not a licensed crabberman. He pulled a Kramer and harvested without a permit. This sets Tyler off on some reflections about The Little Mermaid and lobster zombies.  05:40 - Anyway, about family businesses… Surely you’re still interested in advice from these guys. Eddie...

The conversation that Tyler and Eddie refer to in this episode is part of Empower 2024, and you can register here: http://www.quickbase.com/empower24/constructionbros Tyler’s concerned about his hair again, but he’s more concerned to let you know about an upcoming opportunity. Tyler and Eddie recently recorded an episode with Rob Coakley of Lithko Contracting on the topic of renting equipment vs....

00:00 - Introduction We start out today with some small talk–or maybe short talk–about online meetings. We share our complicated experiences with meeting people in person after establishing relationships online or over the phone. We also share some speculations about how avatars may affect this in the future. Then, of course, we express our affection for Bluey because… well, because he’s Bluey. Th...

This is repost details one of Eddie's best pieces of advice to date. Eddie’s stealing this week’s insight from Micah Piippo (See episode 180 ). That insight? Think ahead–way ahead. Plan long. Dad said it too. Don’t just think about this week, this month, or this year. Plan out 20 years. Where do you want to be? Tyler mentions how quickly you see time pass when you’re a parent. That’s part of the p...

This episode originally aired in 2023 and contains advice that has become increasingly relevant.  00:56 - Introduction Brent Wadas is an Army veteran who has also worked in finance and SaaS. In 2020, he and his two co-founders dove into construction automation with BotBuilt. He joins us today to talk about automated framing. 04:38 - BotBuilt Overview Brent explains why he sometimes feels like a fi...

This is repost of one of our old favorites. If you want to stand out in business, don’t be a whiner.  It’s a natural human tendency, for sure. That’s why avoiding it will help you stand out from the crowd. Whining wastes time and strains relationships. The more you can suck it up and do the work when circumstances are tough, the better things will go for you and those around you. Check out the par...

Today we're revisiting a conversation we had with Fouad Khalil in October of 2023.  Fouad is the founder of and Principal at Modly, a modular construction consultancy that provides the building and real estate sector with market research, feasibility analysis and advisory services. Today he’s here to share some leadership insights. We jump right into the conversation today with some talk about lia...

Despite Tyler’s apathy toward football, today Eddie is encouraging us with a football analogy: stay in the pocket. He explains that the quarterback who trusts his offensive line can examine his options while standing confidently within the pocket. When you’re looking to move the ball down the field, you might be tempted to run off to the side or run backward to an area that looks so peacefully emp...

This is a re-release of an episode that originally aired on September 27 of 2023. 00:00 - Introduction You listen to us, and we listen to you. Today we welcome a guest who engaged honestly and thoughtfully with one of our LinkedIn posts. A while back, when Eddie posted on LinkedIn to say that he wanted designers to have more money and more time in order to produce a better product, Nick stepped up...

Eddie’s been reading The Comfort Crisis, and from that he brings us this insight: “Hunger is the best sauce.” He shares about his recent trip to the NASCC and an “exquisite” meal he had there. They didn’t go high-end, but it still tasted outstanding simply because they were so dang hungry. Hunger sharpens the olfactory senses. Doing without something can make you really appreciate it when it retur...

We start out today with some swag talk and a chat about some recent opportunities to meet listeners. (Note: Of course historicity is a word. Dictionary.com’s definition is “historical authenticity.”) 03:50 - The Panama Canal There’s so much to discuss on this massive construction project. First, though, we insist on a deep dive on our Keurig machine. Then we get to some specs:  Parcel of land: 10...

(This is a re-air of an episode originally released last September.) Tyler’s been doing some training lately. Eddie has been both working out and listening to ultra-runner Nick Bare’s podcast . Nick talks about running a 230-mile ultra-marathon. Tyler and Eddie are not doing that. During COVID, Eddie was set to run a marathon that ended up being canceled. The Campbell family stepped up and set up...

00:00 - The Founding of GPRS Today we welcome Matt Aston. Matt is the founder of GPRS. Although that is an acronym for ground-penetrating radar systems, the company does much more than that these days. Matt started his company in 2001, and now they employ almost 800 people in 54 cities. We discuss the ground-penetrating radar equipment. Matt walks us through some basics about how this equipment us...

It’s not worth it. You want to sleep at night. Manipulation sometimes comes in the form of straight-up lying, but it also sometimes comes in half-truths, intimidation. Sometimes it even comes in the form of donuts (although we won’t complain too hard about that one). Be a straight shooter. Not only will it keep you from being found out; it will also make life more pleasant for you. Word of mouth i...

We start out today by considering placing bets on the Sawzall next door, which of course leads us to reflect on our experience with high school bookies. 02:25 - A Full House of Specs Tyler mentions that his first exposure to the Golden Gate Bridge was in the opening to Full House. Then we dive into some specs:  The bridge’s span between towers is 4200 feet. The towers reach 746’ height above the w...

Eddie’s gears have been ground. It bothers him when people act like they’re the only one with problems–especially when this leads to them unloading their workload onto someone else. This kind of offense is especially frustrating to managers, owners, or other types of bosses who can’t pass the buck. (We can’t imagine how worked up Eddie will be when he’s an old man.) Ultimately, it’s a basic “do un...

Tyler’s struggling with sugar withdrawal. Eddie sometimes doesn’t feel like a real man. Hamzah Shanbari likes his coffee bitter and black. 02:55 - Welcoming Hamzah Shanbari We’re glad to have Hamzah back. It’s been a good, long while–almost three years since he joined us to discuss marketing vs. reality . He’s still achieving more than us. Hamzah now works with Haskell, where he is the Director of...

Today's leadership lesson was inspired by what we've recently learned about Joseph Strauss, the somewhat-designer of the Golden Gate Bridge. (You’ll hear more about him in an upcoming full CBP episode.) When you’re in charge of a crew, there’s a natural tendency to want to look good. This is natural, but it’s also dangerous. The good team leader knows that he looks good because of the members of t...