Learnings and Missteps by Depth Builder

Feedback is optional. Performance isn't. Most managers default to soft, vague feedback, the "poo-poo sandwich" of compliment, critique, compliment, because it feels safe. But feedback is suggestive by nature, appropriate for social settings or volunteer environments where the stakes are low. Performance conversations are different. They require clarity, accountability, and follow-th...

Bradley Henderson built a company that bridges the field-office gap in construction, but the story of how he got there is the one worth hearing. Plumb Line Operations founder and field worker advocate Bradley Henderson joins Jesse to talk about the personal cost of traveling construction work, what addiction and prison taught him about radical ownership, and why he now builds a "second chance...

Most construction leaders think they have an accountability problem. What they actually have is a clarity problem, and they're pointing the finger in the wrong direction. Coralee Beatty, founder of Thrive HQ and one of the most honest voices in the construction leadership space, joins Jesse to get into the real reasons teams underperform, people quit, and culture stays stuck. From her point o...

Every time you say yes to avoid discomfort, you're saying no to yourself. Over time, that trade leads straight to burnout — and to showing up for everyone else at a fraction of your capacity. In this episode, Jesse breaks down two foundational steps to stop operating on everyone else's terms and start advocating for yourself for real. What you'll hear: Step 1 — Do an inventory. Jess...

Boone White grew up with a stutter. Public speaking was something he avoided until years of running weekly safety meetings forced him to figure it out. He got better by going shorter, ditching the scripts, and replacing bullet points with stories. Now he's a general superintendent at ICM Construction, a construction influencer, and one of the more honest voices in the trades about what it act...

Most people think Lean is a manufacturing methodology. Sneha Kumari lives it as a mindset. Sneha is back on Learnings & Missteps. She's the president of Merlin AI and one of the most recognized women in manufacturing; and this conversation gets into the stuff that actually moves the needle. Jesse and Sneha dig into why Lean isn't just a process tool, it's a way of thinking about...

Time management for construction leaders isn't about working harder — it's about deciding what actually matters before the week decides for you. In this episode, Jesse breaks down the hyper-reactivity loop that keeps construction superintendents, foremen, and project managers double-booked and frazzled — and shares two practical tools to fix it. You'll learn: The "Book Your Wee...

Your people aren't running out of steam because they're soft. They're running out of electrolytes — and the water cooler isn't fixing it. Jennifer Martinez is a sports-medicine-trained performance specialist who decided the trades deserved the same recovery science as elite athletes. She calls it rapid restoration. And she's got an approach that turns depleted workers arou...

Hanna Bauer, founder of Heartnomics, joins Jesse to talk about what she calls "Leadership Tachycardia" — what happens when leaders skip recovery and wonder why they're running on empty. Hanna blends Six Sigma, systems thinking, and personal experience to help leaders align internally so they can execute externally. In this conversation: empowerment, fabricated stress, the difference...

You'd never start a project without knowing what it's going to cost you. But most people say yes to commitments without running those same numbers. Jesse calls it choose your consequence. Consequence isn't punishment. It's just the result of every decision you make — whether you thought it through or not. He puts his own life on the table. Explains why he doesn't date. Not...

Most leaders say culture matters. Very few are willing to do what it actually takes to build one. In this episode, Jesse sits down with Lisa Corrales - Field Verified leader with 25 years in organizational development and healthcare - to unpack the uncomfortable truth: culture isn’t built through values on a wall. It’s built through conversations most leaders avoid. They get into why promoting peo...

Most construction owners treat insurance like a bill they just have to pay. Micah Salas thinks that's exactly why they overpay. Micah is an Austin-based commercial insurance author and the guy who wrote The Business Insurance Playbook — not for agents, but for owners like you. In this episode, he breaks down why the way most contractors shop for coverage is quietly working against them, what...

You can be great at your job and still be losing the parts of life that actually make success worth it. That’s where we start: the quiet trade so many high performers make, sacrificing sleep, health, learning, and real presence with the people we love so we can keep delivering, keep getting promoted, and keep looking “fine” from the outside. I share a personal wake-up call that made it impossible...

Most people in construction get promoted and handed a completely different job with the same title. No roadmap. No manual. No honest conversation about what moving up is actually going to cost them. Gary Borque lived that. Multiple times. He started as a fabricator, worked his way through the millwright and carpenter's union, spent five years as a traveling superintendent, built a training de...

Jesse hosts the Learnings and Missteps podcast and interviews Manja Horner, founder and CEO of Boost Learning Design, about solving skilled-trades workforce shortages driven by retirements and the long push toward college over trades. Manja introduces her book, “Pass the Torch: A Call to Rescue the Future of Trades,” and explains her “talent flywheel” for retention: strong onboarding, trained supe...

Jesse explains the second half of his FIREBOX time- and self-management framework for freeing calendar space and preventing burnout so you can invest in what matters most. After briefly reviewing “Finish First” (time-sensitive and only you can do) and “Invest Focus” (not urgent but only you can do, guided by what you’d do with more time), he focuses on “Reduce” and “Extinguish.” Reduce covers task...

What if the biggest problems in dating, leadership, and workplace conflict all come from the same place? In this episode of Learnings & Missteps , Jesse sits down with Jackie—romance coach and consultant who works in crime reduction and reentry—to explore why humans are wired for connection and what happens when that connection breaks down. Jackie argues that the common advice to “leave your p...

Jesse hosts the Learnings and Missteps podcast and interviews Scott Evans, founder of Scott Evans Speaks, about mental health in the construction field as “operational integrity” and “invisible PPE,” emphasizing a 360-degree safety culture that extends beyond the jobsite gate. They discuss the disconnect between corporate, compliance-focused tools like apps and HR videos versus the field reality t...

Jesse hosts the Learnings and Missteps podcast and introduces guest Mia McGlynn, a Pennsylvania-based construction influencer, writer, photographer, and fractional support partner who focuses on “the people behind the work.” Jesse gives an LnM Family shout-out to Bryce Ager for reviewing one of Jesse’s construction trainings, and notes his business offers training, coaching, and consulting. Maya e...

In this episode of the Learnings and Missteps podcast, Jesse interviews Mike Chiles, a seasoned project director in the construction industry. They discuss the unpredictable challenges of construction, the importance of relationship building, and effective leadership. Mike emphasizes the role of leaders in developing their teams, creating a balanced and supportive work environment, and the value o...

The truth landed on us after dozens of job site chats: some folks know our training but not the show, and others love the show but don’t know we train crews for a living. So we’re making it obvious. Learnings and Missteps is now Learnings and Missteps by Depth Builder, a single, honest banner that matches how we work and who we serve. New color, same voice, more clarity. We walk through what stays...

What if your calendar isn’t the problem—your priorities are? We walk through the FIRE Box, a clear, practical framework that helps you stop living reactive and start building a week that reflects what you value. Instead of chasing every ping, you’ll learn how to Finish First on the urgent and important, and, more critically, Invest Focus Here on the important and not urgent work that drives real p...

Most leaders don’t have a time problem. They have a decision making problem. We break down a self-first framework that turns chaos into clarity by separating planning, commitment, and execution into clean lanes—each with its own tool and purpose—so you can stop spinning and start finishing the work that matters. We begin with long-term planning across three human buckets: business and professional...

Ever feel like your calendar is packed but your real life lives off to the side? We dig into a simple, no-fluff system to make every commitment visible, merge the hidden to-dos with the scheduled ones, and carve out protected time for sleep, movement, and deep work—without the guilt. The result isn’t more hustle; it’s a calmer, truer plan that helps us deliver for others while finally honoring the...

Planning feels great until reality shows up. We’ve all sketched beautiful lists, only to watch them dissolve under meetings, family needs, and the next urgent fire. Today we turn planning into progress by committing to a simple, visual flow that respects your bandwidth and fuels momentum: brain dump, weigh impact vs effort with the DAMN Matrix, then sequence one big rock at a time. We start by pul...