The Construction Leadership Podcast: Executive Strategies to Build Elite Teams & Consistently Deliver On-Time, Under Budget

In episode 79, Adam Lingenfelter – now the owner of Lingenfelter Custom Homes after spending 20 years in sales – joins the Behind Your Back Podcast to discuss how you can improve your digital communication basics. Lingenfelter shares his stories from both sides of the industry in the hopes of helping you successfully communicate better across digital platforms. 

In episode 78, you'll hear from Dr. Heather Yates and Dr. Matthew Reyes. That's right – the Behind Your Back Podcast comes to you with a special two interview episode. Hartmann, Yates and Reyes discuss millennials, their stereotypes, and their place in society. Hear from two professors who spend the majority of their time working with millennials in the classroom to learn how to better weave them...

In episode 77, Bradley and Jenny T introduce you to the CPR Time Framework - their formula for turning boring, ineffective meetings into hubs of productivity for your team. Bradley and Jenny T will discuss how you can use Context, Purpose, Results, and Time to save you time and accomplish more when you head into the meeting room. As always, thanks for listening! 

In episode 76, the Behind Your Back Podcast goes international! You'll be introduced to Canadian Adam Sand – owner of Sargeant's Roofing and Roofing Business Partner – who is here to discuss Facebook marketing in the construction industry. Sand and Hartmann debate the impact of Facebook's reputation on users in the United States, while discussing how to best use Facebook advertising to grow your b...

In episode 75, Jeff Tweten of WorkSafeWorkSmart.com returns for the Behind Your Back Podcast's second annual Summer Reading List. Bradley and Jeff, along with Jenny T, share some of their favorite books – for business and pleasure – that they think you should read to enrich your summer. Thanks for listening!

In episode 74, Buc-ee's — the legendary "gas station + convenience store on steroids" with a cult following in Texas — takes center stage to demonstrate how brands strategically over-invest in certain aspects of their business to be different in ways that are meaningful to their customers. With cameo appearances from Elaine Benes of Seinfeld and comedian Joe Rogan, examining the Buc-ee's model wil...

In episode 73 you'll meet Mike Howell, Director of Operations at Parr Lumber in the Pacific Northwest. Howell started at Parr 22 years ago as a delivery driver and has advanced within the firm step by step, giving him a unique perspective on operations, leadership, and innovation—three topics we discuss here. Howell and Hartmann dig into the shift many builders are making into affordable housing t...

As the series finale of HBO's hit show, Game of Thrones, aired last Sunday evening, Bradley Hartmann examines four lessons that can be drawn from the land of Westeros and applied to your own business. Whether you are a fan or not — every listener can benefit from using Game of Thrones as a lens to view their operations. Valar Morghulis. Valar Dohaeris. Thanks for listening.

In episode 71 strategy guru Rich Horwath rejoins the Behind Your Back Podcast to share insights to help your team think more strategically. Rich also shares concepts from his new graphic novel on strategy (you read that right...), "StrategyMan vs. the Anti-Strategy Squad: Using Strategic Thinking to Defeat Bad Strategy and Save Your Plan." Thanks for listening, learn more about Rich at www.strateg...

In episode 70 of the Behind Your Back Podcast you'll meet the Captain of Corporate Presentations and Design—Ed Cimoch. Ed has a Masters in Fine Arts from Temple University in Philadelphia and uses his expertise in art and design to help executives at a Fortune 50 company create slide decks and stories that inspire, inform, and improve business communication. After Hartmann hired Ed to help him wit...

In episode 69 Bradley Hartmann draws parallels between the NFL Draft, whose annual talent selection show took place last weekend, and your business. Standing on the shoulders of Dr. Cade Massey (now at Penn's Wharton School of Business) and Dr. Richard Thaler (the Nobel-winning professor of economics at the University of Chicago) and their 2005 paper, "Overconfidence and Market Efficiency in the N...

In episode 68, Bradley Hartmann and guest Tony Misura, founder and president of The Misura Group, talk talent—how to attract it, develop it, train it, and most importantly . . . retain it. The Misura Group is a talent placement firm located in Minneapolis that focuses exclusively on the building products industry. Tony and his team are in the talent business. Their goal is to put great people in f...

As the 2019 NBA playoffs begin this weekend, guests Josh Johnson of Ivey's Building Materials Centers in Louisiana and Tim Reed of Fireside Home Solutions join the podcast to examine the LBM industry through the lens of the National Basketball Association. Even if you are not a die hard NBA fan, you'll enjoy this episode as we discuss challenges and opportunities in our business ranging from motiv...

In episode 66 Bradley Hartmann caught up with Craig Webb at the ProSales 100 Conference in San Antonio where the theme was—appropriately titled for this episode—Mapping the Future. Many of you know Craig as the longtime editor of ProSales and Remodeling magazines. Last October Craig launched his own consulting firm, Webb Analytics, where his focus is helping construction supply insiders make bette...

In episode 65 you'll meet Reggie Brown, the actor, comedian, and global Barack Obama impersonator. If you recall seeing a really convincing Barack Obama in movies or on YouTube, that's Reggie Brown. Reggie attended the University of Illinois and was later establishing his bona fides — winning an Emmy in 2008 with the NBC5 Street Team in Chicago — when the unlikeliest of opportunities came upon him...

In episode 64 you'll meet Grant Hagen, the VDC Manager at The Beck Group, a billion-dollar, 107-year-old commercial construction and design firm headquartered in Dallas. If the letters VDC don't mean much to you . . . you are not alone. Consider this a primer on a role you'll be hearing more about in commercial and residential construction in the future as we see "Virtual Design" become more broad...

In episode 63 you get the treat of listening to Mark Scherer (pronounced "sheer"), COO of Scherer Bros. Lumber Co., a Minneapolis-based third-generation family-owned and operated LBM dealer. Mark brings plenty of insight and humor to this episode, which is wide-ranging, to say the least. Our conversation touches upon leadership, communication, and culture-building as well as George Custer, Emperor...

Welcome to episode 62 of the Behind Your Back Podcast—our first live podcast, as you'll hear—with guest Mike Soulen, Vice President of Barrons Lumber based in Maryland and Virginia. Mike joined me on stage in Orlando, Florida at the LBM Advantage Annual Convention as an example of how LBM dealers are leveraging technology to improve communication, coordination, candor, and engagement within their...

In episode 61 sponsored by TAMKO roofing products, you'll hear about competition, change, and what it takes to win from the unique perspective of Donny DeMarie, President and CEO of Cameron Ashley, formerly known as Guardian Building Products. To wildly understate Donny's last 12 months—he's been busy. Following Guardian's acquisition in April 2018 by the private investment firm Pacific Avenue Cap...

In episode 60 we examine the importance of candor—internally within your own team as well as with customers and prospects. To illustrate exactly how the lack of candor can cause rework and limit the appeal of a brand, we will look at v.1.0 of this podcast's artwork, which featured host Bradley Hartmann's (apparently) very punchable face. Thanks for listening.

In episode 59 you'll hear the fascinating tale of Justin Ellis. Justin started pushing a broom in his father's yard at 14 and took to the business immediately. Less than two years later he was awarded his driver's license—and promptly began earning new business as an outside sales rep. Working alongside his father throughout high school and college, Justin helped grow the 2-location business and e...

When the NLBMDA announced Wisconsin-based Drexel Building Supply won its Dealer of the Year Award, Drexel Head Coach Joel Fleischman knew how he wanted to celebrate the win. Employing a Willy Wonka-style "golden ticket" format, each Drexel team member (never "employee" I have learned) would nominate their teammates who best represented the role of "unsung hero" on the job. Those team members who e...

In episode 57 Brian McCauley, Director of Sales Training at Atrium Windows and columnist at ProSales Magazine, shares his insights on all three levels of sales: personal sales skills, sales management, and sales training. Brian is a pro's pro with a history of success selling in the LBM space, leading sales teams, and now training for sales success across the country. His sales columns can be foun...

In episode 56, we take a look back at our favorite 6 books from 2018 and discuss why those chosen are worth your time and attention.

Welcome to the new year! Our inaugural 2019 guest is Todd Skaggs, national vice president at Dealers Choice Distribution. Todd's unique background (from Navy veteran to LBM outsider, now a college football referee, author, and national sales leader) is both entertaining and inspiring—a great way to kick off your new year. In our conversation, Todd draws a number of parallels between the preparatio...