Podcasts about invaluable lessons

Send us a textDiscover the importance of focusing on strategies and products that work, rather than chasing every new opportunity. Jordan shares a compelling story about finding gold and resisting the urge to dig elsewhere.In this episode, Jordan West, despite the glamorous perception, Jordan reveals the roller coaster of wins, losses, and the crucial lessons learned along the way. Dive deep as he unpacks the three key lessons for thriving in the ecommerce industry: the power of building a community, the importance of doubling down on what works, and continuously improving your product. Jordan also sheds light on the critical consideration of choosing the right business partners.Listen and learn in this episode!Key takeaways from this episode:Building a Community: Creating a community around your brand is crucial for long-term success. A real community provides constant feedback and engagement among members, which can drive growth and improvement of products. It's more than just followers or email lists; it's about interaction and shared experiences.Doubling Down on What Works: When you find a successful strategy or product, focus on optimizing and scaling it instead of constantly looking for new opportunities. Leveraging existing wins can lead to greater success.Product Focus: The quality of your product is paramount. Continuously improve your products based on feedback and evolving customer needs. Even successful products need ongoing development to maintain their edge in the market.Choosing Business Partners Wisely: Select business partners who are on the same level, share the same drive, and have the capability to help scale a brand. A mismatch in partnership can lead to challenges and is often a critical mistake in business ventures.Community and Human Interaction: With advancements in AI, the value of human interaction and community will become even more pivotal. Building strong community ties can act as a stabilizing force for your brand against external uncertainties.Growth Plan: www.upgrowthcommerce.com/grow

Are you recently retired or hoping to retire soon? What could you learn from the people who retired successfully before you? What were their best decisions? And what were their biggest mistakes? Don't miss a special episode of Retirement Solutions Radio. Air Date: 12/14/24

Sandi Peterson is extraordinarily successful from any measurement. You can find her name on many lists of global; impactful, and influential leaders. She is also known for her dedication to mentoring and philanthropy. I worked for Sandi at J&J. We have kept in frequent contact over the years and continue to share our perspectives about careers, life, and commitment to personal growth.. I think you will really enjoy Sandi's insights and lessons for living your best life and career. I have sure learned a great deal from her!

In this episode, I share 13 invaluable lessons I've learned over my 13-year journey of sobriety. These insights reflect my personal growth, the power of maintaining a positive mindset, and how spiritual guidance has shaped my life. I talk about how gratitude has transformed my outlook, embracing the Joy of Missing Out (JOMO), and the importance of surrounding myself with wise, supportive individuals. I also discuss how making intentional choices leads to meaningful change and how the Bible has been a guiding light for me. Alcohol once drained my energy and focus, but sobriety has given me control of my life. Practices like Mel Robbins' "High Five" technique have boosted my confidence, and I've learned to accept that not everyone will be comfortable with the changes I've made. Most importantly, I emphasize focusing on personal growth rather than just goals, and how nurturing my relationship with God and myself has been my greatest strategy for staying sober and fulfilled.

Show Notes: Subscribe for info on the Female Foodie Rome Tour Subscribe for info on the Female Foodie Tuscany Tour Fresh off a seven-week adventure hosting Female Foodie tours in Italy, Brooke shares seven invaluable lessons she learned from Italian food culture in this episode. From perfecting signature dishes to savoring slow meals, Brooke's observations offer a glimpse inside Italian cuisine and what makes it so spectacular. Whether you're a foodie, a home cook, or you simply love Italy, this episode is packed with inspiration and practical tips to bring a touch of Italy into your own kitchen.   Key Takeaways: Perfect Signature Dishes: Italians perfect their signature dishes by cooking them repeatedly, resulting in unparalleled quality and consistency. Implement this by focusing on a few key recipes and refining them over time. (03:02) Cook with Seasonal and Local Ingredients: Embrace the seasons and cook with what is regionally available, enhancing flavors and freshness. Visit local farmers' markets for inspiration and fresh produce. (07:08) Keep It Simple: Simplicity is key in Italian cuisine. Use high-quality ingredients and let them shine without overcomplicating dishes. Aim for fewer ingredients with better quality. (10:15) Moderation over Restriction: Italians enjoy their food without obsessive restrictions. Focus on balanced portions and enjoy a variety of dishes in moderation. (14:53) Include Children in Food Rituals: Italians cherish involving children in meals and cooking, fostering a love for food and family traditions. Encourage kids to help in the kitchen and make mealtime a shared experience. (21:18) Value Family Recipes: Preserve and pass down family recipes to maintain culinary heritage and create lasting memories. Spend time cooking with older family members to learn and document traditional dishes. (24:25) Savor Slow Meals: Italians take time to enjoy their meals, using food as a vehicle for connection and conversation. Make an effort to slow down and savor your meals, especially during family gatherings. (30:35)     Notable Quotes: "Food is the vehicle for connection and discussion and intimacy." - Brooke (35:08)   Timestamped Highlights: 00:00 - Introduction and recap of Italy trip 01:33 - Announcing 2025 Female Foodie tours 03:02 - Lesson 1: Perfecting signature dishes 07:08 - Lesson 2: Cooking with seasonal and local ingredients 10:15 - Lesson 3: Keeping it simple 14:53 - Lesson 4: Moderation over restriction 21:18 - Lesson 5: Including children in food rituals 24:25 - Lesson 6: Valuing family recipes 30:35 - Lesson 7: Savoring slow meals   Resources: Follow Female Foodie on Instagram Subscribe for info on the Female Foodie Rome Tour Subscribe for info on the Female Foodie Tuscany Tour

Shaun Lane's newly released full-length documentary, 'Out of My Lane', follows his off-season journey of discovery and reflection on the other side of the world. Shaun is an Australian professional rugby league footballer playing for the Parramatta Eels.Over nine years, Shaun has navigated the highs and lows of elite sport, drawing strength from personal adversity including his father's battle with depression. Combining his on-field experiences with studies in psychology (Masters Degree in Applied Positive Psychology), Shaun is on a mission to inspire others through the power of mindset, training mental skills, and enhancing psychological wellbeing'Maysie' invited 'Laney' into the Performance Intelligence Podcast studio to do a deep dive on all things high performance, mental skills, life, love. “Some boys just really love that revved up, energetic feeling like they can run through a brick wall or something. But for me getting my performance right is about learning patience and learning when to insert myself into the game correctly.”In this episode Andrew and Shaun discuss:3:00 Shaun started working with Andrew when he first came to the Parramatta Eels.6:00 Being nervous in new environments.10:00 Shaun's pre-performance routines and how he overcame doubts to become the player he is today.17:30 How to break the cycle of self-destruction, and performing week in and week out.21:00 The clear 3 distinct stages of an athletes career, and putting mental skills into practice.23:00 Using all of your senses (multisensory approach) when preparing for a game and visualisation to overcome mistakes during a game.29:30 Staying curious and the benefits of having hobbies and other interests outside of your main job.35:30 Shaun's belief that there is a massive gap in the NRL when it comes to mental skills, and what he wants to do in the future. 41:15 Realising footy players live in a bubble.43:30 Why Shaun was able to make his documentary.45:15 Shaun realising what his purpose is, and finding it easier talking about his father's depression.55:45 Why Shaun's parents are so important to him.58:00 What stood out to Shaun during his interview with Matty Ryan.1:02:00 What stood out to Shaun during his interview with Jeremy Snape.1:04:15 What stood out to Shaun during his interview with Aaron Walsh.1:07:30 Owen Eastwood challenging Shaun's concept of culture and belonging.1:13:30 Shaun's Vision Board and the importance it has to him.1:16:50 The leaps and bounds he has made in the last 3 years.1:20:50 Not being motivated by money or fame, and choosing a career in dancing 1:24:35 Shaun's newly minted speaking career.You can find the resources mentioned in the podcast here: https://www.andrewmay.com/all-episodes/You can find Shaun at his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slane_94/?hl=enOr send him an email at: Slane_1994@hotmail.comWatch the Out Of My Lane Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5MIhqGRbYo&t=1447s Learn more about Andrew and Performance Intelligence: www.andrewmay.com Find out more about Andrew's Keynotes : https://www.andrewmay.com/keynotes/Follow Andrew May: https://www.instagram.com/andrewmay/If you enjoy the podcast, we would really appreciate you leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play. It takes less than 60 seconds and really helps us build our audience and continue to provide high quality guests.

Kathleen Booth is the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Growth at Pavilion, a community-powered learning platform for high-growth leaders. She spent the first 10 years of her career as an international development consultant, advising governments and international aid organizations on communications. Kathleen founded Quintain Marketing in 2006 and grew it into a nationally known digital marketing agency, selling the business in 2017 after 11 years as CEO. She is a board-level advisor to several tech startups and in 2023 was named by USA Today as one of 6 Global Marketing Advisors Who Are Rising Stars. In this episode… To get the most out of marketing, it's crucial to have both perspective and experience. Some marketing teams have one quality but lack the other, causing them to spin their wheels rather than push the business forward. Additionally, it can be difficult to find leaders with both qualities. One solution is to pull from established marketers with diverse backgrounds. This not only offers an outside perspective, but also draws from multiple disciplines of business. Kathleen Booth has led a long and impressive career across several industries, and now offers up some of her greatest lessons. In this episode of the Revenue Engine Podcast, Alex Gluz interviews Kathleen Booth, the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Growth at Pavilion, to discuss some of her greatest insights into digital marketing. The two break down marketing frameworks, communicating across teams, developing robust communities, and how to align sales and marketing teams.

Have you ever tried “the HOUR OF POWER?” Pastor Becky Tirabassi will fire you up to start a dynamic daily pattern in prayer, just as Jesus taught His disciples. Make an appointment with God today, every day. Let your words start in praise, and when you pray, don't give up. Listen as much as you talk! Be encouraged today. Start a new habit. Invite others to join you. Don't give up! If you'd like to receive Becky's ebook, How to Lead an Extraordinary Prayer Meeting, just email: Media@BeckyTirabassi.com If you would like Becky's 35th Anniversary Prayer and Bible Revival Bundle, CLICK HERE. For sermons by Pastor Becky Tirabassi, or to visit Viewpoint Church, just click here. For daily encouragement to read through the Bible in a year, follow her daily @BeckyTirabassi on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter.

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Sophie Bukovec, one of the top players in Canada and a silver medalist at the 2022 Beach Volleyball World Championships. The last three years haven't been, as Bukovec says, “exactly seamless,” with three partners in as many seasons, but like when most things don't go to plan, Bukovec came away with a bounty of lessons, and a new perspective on life, both as a player and not. We chat all about that, as well as: What happened with her and Sarah Pavan after just three (decent) tournaments How she managed to get Heather Bansley out of retirement Heather Bansley's impact on Volleyball Canada Why Sophie Bukovec is modeling the player she wants to be off the player she's currently playing with it, and the peace that comes with And a whole lot more. Fun one with Sophie! SHOOTS! *** Get 20 PERCENT off all Wilson products with our code, SANDCAST-20. https://www.wilson.com/en-us/volleyball SANDCAST and Bartender in a Box invite you and 12 of your friends to enjoy just one Box of their Premium Bar Quality Libations for around $20 bucks.  We are FIRED UP to announce that we've signed on for another year with Athletic Greens! Get a FREE year's supply of Vitamin D by purchasing with that link.  We have a new book! Playbook of Champions: The habits, routines, and stories of Olympians, Champions, and world-class athletes. If you listen to the show – which, if you're reading this, then you are – then this is the perfect book for you, as it is a distillation of the best golden nuggets from our first five years of the podcast. Check it out on Amazon! We now have SANDCAST MERCHANDISE!! Rock the gear of your favorite podcast today! https://www.sandcastmerch.com/ If you want to receive our SANDCAST weekly newsletter, the Beach Volleyball Digest, which dishes all the biggest news in beach volleyball in one quick newsletter, head over to our website and subscribe! We'd love to have ya! https://www.sandcastvolleyball.com/ Check out our book, Volleyball for Milkshakes, written by SANDCAST hosts Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter: https://www.amazon.com/Volleyball-Milkshakes-Travis-Mewhirter/dp/B089781SHB  

Welcome back True Crew!! This week's episode on True Talk I tell you guys the 5 invaluable lessons/mindsets that I have learned throughout my journey. I love sharing my story with you guys and helping in any way I can. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments! Give this video a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel to become part of the True Crew ❤️ Follow me on Instagram & TikTok: @jennastakias  Stay tuned for so much more to come :) xo, Jenna

What crossroads moments has your life contained, and what lessons did you learn?  In 2013 I faced a major crossroad moment. The job path that I had chosen was making me miserable, and each day that I stuck on it I felt more frustrated, more helpless and more like a victim. I had experienced many crossroads moments in my life up to that point, and in the majority of them I chose to stay safe, remain comfortable, and give into the fear.  But not this time.  In today's episode I share with you one pivotal moment from my life, and the three huge lessons that I'm so grateful I learned.  RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE My Process For Creating A Vision Board THat Isn't Useless How I'm Using Visualization To Literally Reprogram My Life DOWNLOAD THE FREE "TRUST ACCOUNT" APP FROM THE YOURDAY BALANCE GAME Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.balancegame.ydbg iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ydbg-watch-play-discover/id1489276659 WATCH THE #1 OBSTACLE VIDEO Learn what derails all successful people and keeps them from moving from codependent to independent https://theydbg.com/obstacle-video/ GET THE "HAVING IT A.L.L. BLUEPRINT" FOR DESIGNING AND LIVING YOUR GREATEST LIFE https://hia.ck.page/products/blueprint CHECK OUT SOME OFFERS FROM OUR AWESOME PARTNERS Needed: https://bit.ly/3IKmWzL - use code HIA20 to get 20% off your order or HIA100 for $100 off a Complete Plan LEAVE THE PODCAST A REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/having-it-all-conversations-about-living-an-abundant/id1093257684 CHECK OUT THE ENTIRE HAVING IT A.L.L. PODCAST CATALOG https://podcast.matthewbivens.com/ GET IN TOUCH WITH MATTHEW matthew@matthewbivens.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode we talk to Sri Shivaswamy K.V. Gurugalu who conducts Bhagavad Gita classes in both Online and Offline mode. His story telling way of teaching Bhagavad Gita addresses work-life challenges in a simplistic and humorous form has attracted students from all over the globe.  He has been  teaching Bhagavad Gita  for more than 2 decades plus.In this Episode you will learnHow to handle failures peacefully?How to manage your bloating EGO?How to address external conflicts?How to handle internal conflicts?How to attain divine grace?How to aware of the world and self to tackle challenges?His accomplished students who are joining the conversation to share their real experiences are as followSujathaRamesh, an advocate with 25 years of legal practicing experience in  the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka and other courts of Bangalore.Dr. Rajani Ashok Pai. Anaesthesiologist, psychologist, practising in Shivamogga for last 46 years. She also runs a college which is 6 years old with niche for psychology, UG, PG.Murali Krishna, who works as a senior product manager who has been working in the IT industry for over 15 years in various product management roles since the last 8 years, leading cross team projects as well as cross company partnerships. They have not only studied the Bhagavad Gita but have also succeeded in applying its wisdom to navigate the challenges of their diverse careers.The teachings of the Bhagavad Gita cover various aspects of life, duty (dharma), the nature of the self (atman), the universe, devotion (bhakti), and the path to spiritual realization (moksha/liberation).•        email id: kvshivaswamy@gmail.com•       Youtube :  https://www.youtube.com/kvshivaswamy•        Bhagavad Gita in Kannada : https://open.spotify.com/show/0UdKX1B0imIdjtSvY8EY0D•        Contact Sri Shivaswamy Gurugalu :  +919481252454•        Link to join Bhagavad Gita Classes : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88072310291?pwd=Z3c1SjRrdjV0Nzh0UVFsU2ZkQVBTZz09Tune in to this episode on this link tolisten from anywhere http://pod.link/1572767376Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple podcastE-mail: dream100@hasovan.com to get Podcast service for your bizFor more details join our Telegram Growth Hubhttps://t.me/joinchat/CSEJQxlsGbnRG7AbWBLsbgRate, Review and Subscribe to Dream100 Biz Show on Spotify, Apple and Google PodcastFollow @dream100show

Are you recently retired or hoping to retire soon? What could you learn from the people who have retired successfully before you? What were their best decisions? And what were their biggest mistakes? Don't miss a special episode of Retirement Solutions Radio Show. Air Date: 8/5/23

It's no secret that motherhood and business are hard work; and when paired together, they bring a unique set of challenges to the table. Over the years as a mom and business owner, I've learned a lot. I'm sharing some of these lessons on this episode of BEYOND.   The lessons I'm sharing on this episode: • If you don't let yourself enjoy the process, the journey, you're going to miss out on some of the most important growth of your life. • Hitting financial goals doesn't magically change your life. • Your value and worth isn't determined by the highs and lows. • Everything is seasonal. • Even when it doesn't feel like it, you are exactly where you're supposed to be. • Hurrying will only slow you down. • Slow growth is a beautiful thing. • Not everyone is going to understand or like your choices, and that's ok.   Ready for private 1:1 life and business support in this season as a creative entrepreneur or coach? If you want to focus on peace and profit, I'd love to help you make it happen through mindset support and business strategy. Your first step is to apply for coaching at beckyhoschek.com/apply. There, you'll answer a few quick questions about yourself and your business. If it seems like a good fit and I'm confident I can help, I'll invite you to a Next Step Call where we'll get all of your questions about working together answered. Apply for personal, private 1:1 coaching with me at beckyhoschek.com/apply.

Chuck Mollor, author of The Rise of the Agile Leader: Can You Make the Shift? Chuck Mollor and Bill Ringle discuss insights about how you can benefit from messages contained in feedback from 1:1s to 360s for small business leaders. >>> Visit MyQuestforTheBest.com  for complete show notes and more expert advice and inspiring stories to propel your small business growth. My Quest for the Best is a top-rated small business podcast with over 300 episodes of thought-provoking and insightful interviews with today's top thought leaders and business experts. Host Bill Ringle's mission with this show is to provide the strategies, insights, and resources that will unlock the growth potential of your business through these powerful conversations. Interview Insights Top 3 Takeaways When our business grows, so do our responsibilities. As leaders, we need to learn how to change where we spend our time, delegate obligations, and know when to hire external help. Receiving 360 feedback will give us words that can hurt us. But feedback is critical because we might be 100% assured that we are competent enough with a job that sometimes we need our people to point out when and where we're falling short. When our own people are hesitant to share their honest feedback even when asked, that is a sign of lack of trust and an urgent matter we need to fix. Read the Show Notes from this Episode Chuck talks about his greatest influence growing up, his best friend's father Frank, who is also a father figure to him. [01:44] Understanding how the size of our organization affects how we communicate and how we care about our people. [04:28] How does a manager's time shift as an organization grows? [07:31] The five drivers of growth: growth, direction, integrity, innovation, engagement, and urgency. [09:33] Recognizing when we're not doing our job and when to seek external help. [11:42] What can you learn from receiving 360 feedback that can make you a better leader?.[14:26] CASE: Mike and why lack of trust alarm bells sound if our people don't talk to us even when asked. [18:37] My Quest for the Best lightning round begins. [26:22] Expert Bio Chuck Mollor is the founder, CEO, advisor, and executive coach at MCG Partners, an organization that helps develop leaders and teams, optimizing both businesses and individual talent. His new book and best-selling book, The Rise of the Agile Leader: Can You Make the Shift?, is a guide for the aspiring, mid, and seasoned c-leader and executive that introduces a new leadership paradigm, a roadmap of what makes a great leader, and what organizations must do to develop great leaders. Contact Info and Social Media for Chuck Mollor Primary website Travels from: Middleboro, MA Connect on: Twitter | LinkedIn Resources Mentioned During the Interview Below are key people, places, books, quotes, websites and other resources that we discussed, so you can explore further. Item1 Published by Chuck Mollor

Using the story of "the woman the well" as a backdrop, Apostle Theresa Harvard Johnson provides an illustration of what it really looks like to know and hear the voice of the Lord. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ We are redefining how we view and understand Ephesians 4:11 ministry inside The Scribal Conservatory. We are walking slowly through its purpose and divine design as a gift FROM CHRIST to the congregation. We are confronting issues prevalent in our day to set a CLEAN foundation for teaching on these gifts as it relates to the purpose of the church. This teaching is the 6th one in the series, followed by 6 bible studies taught by our team. Register ONCE to receive access to our service and automatic updates before we go live each week: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItcO6qpzIpgXJgGAW95M4paP5qgF6LJw If you are ALREADY registered, you will automatically receive reminders and the info to join via zoom. WE DISCUSS WHAT WE LEARN AFTER EVERY SERVICE! ASK QUESTIONS. COMMENT. SHARE IN COMMUNITY! No hooks. No frills. No hype man. No show. No shade. No parade. JUST CHRIST CRUCIFIED AND A LONGING FOR THE MATURITY OF THE SAINTS! Re-evaluate truth. Revive your hope. Command your COURAGE. Recognize idols quickly. Get out of systems. Walk away from institutions. Avoid scapegoating sin and face the truth of self. Elevate Christ over people. Know your authority. Re-evaluate community. Understand HIS power WITHIN you. Study THE WORD FOR REAL. Embrace WORSHIP beyond music. Love what Christ accomplished. Explore ETERNAL intention and get ROOTED.Subscribe to The Scribal Conservatory Arts & Worship Center on Soundwise

It's official…I'm in the 100 episode clubbbb! Today's special episode is all about the journey from when I first started this podcast back in 2019 to growing it to where it is today.   So many lessons, stuff ups and a few successes along the way and I had heaps of fun recording this episode. Whether you've got a podcast or not, I share so many nuggets in this episode that I'm sure you'll get a heap of value from so…enjoy!   Make sure you subscribe to my podcast to stay up to date with episodes I release every week.   If you loved this episode, I'd be super grateful if you could leave me a review which helps me spread this podcast out to more amazing people just like you :)   HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN FOLLOW ME: Instagram: @luke_page Join our 6 Figure Coaches Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/coachingbizsecrets WATCH THE 3 STEPS TO HITTING $10k MONTHS AS A COACH - The specific strategy you can use to start hitting $10k months, month after month. https://www.lukepage.com.au/10k 10 (VERY NON SALESY) SALES SCRIPTS - 10 FREE, 1 liner scripts you can use to ask your audience to get more leads and clients. Perfect for your stories, posts, DM's and emails.  https://go.lukepage.com.au/sales_scripts   9 INSTAGRAM BIO MISTAKES THAT ARE COSTING YOU FOLLOWERS AND CLIENTS - A FREE Step By Step Guide on The Best Way To Set Up Your Instagram Profile So You Can Attract a Ton More Followers + Clients https://go.lukepage.com.au/bio_mistakes      

In this episode I talk about the valuable lessons I learned from death. Over the last few weeks my family and I have been experiencing a season of loss. Within weeks of each other my husband and I both lost our grandmothers and our boys lost their great grandmothers. The magnitude of these losses were felt throughout our family but death did not get the last word. The memories shared, the tears cried, the laughter that radiated through the room when sharing our favorite moments with our loved ones will be something I will never forget. The big take away from all of this…why are we ok with not taking a chance to go all in on life? Our life, the life of our dreams. Why do we settle for mediocre or just “Ok” when we can have extraordinary? Life is short and at the end of my days I want to be sure I did the damn thing, life that is. Listen in to hear what else I have to say about this. #purposedrivenlifecoach #podcastinglifecoach #podcastforwomen #podcastingmama #podcastlife #pivotintopurpose #lifecoach #lifecoachforwomen #ladylifecoach #drivenbypurpose #podcastfromtheheart #pivotintopurposewithjenn #coachingchangeslives  #pivotintopurposepodcast #pivotintopurposepodcastwithjenncirillo #podcastwithpurpose #invaluablelessonsfromdeath #takingchances #betonyourself   

We are very excited to welcome Janet Serwint, MD, to the Faculty Factory Podcast this week. Dr. Serwint is Professor Emerita of Pediatrics and Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Serwint is very active in the Johns Hopkins medical community, and she is very well known around these parts – and beyond – for her mentoring work. She discusses the value of lifelong mentors and the many lessons she has learned from them in today's podcast. When it comes to navigating relationships with mentors, Dr. Serwint is a wealth of knowledge. She opened today's chat talking about looking beyond the wisdom of her parents when it came to her career in academic medicine. “(My parents) instilled in me so many very important values that I've carried with me throughout my life, yet they were not the ones that could show me how to navigate academics because they had not had that experience,” she told us. “I think that really helped me to realize the importance of finding mentors early on in my career.” Dr. Serwint leaves us with a brilliant quote from Yoda to wrap up this podcast: “We are what they grow beyond.” “My interpretation of that (Yoda quote) is that good mentors hope that their mentees will exceed what they have accomplished, and I think that is an important lesson,” she said. As also noted in today's episode, Dr. Serwint is involved in The Academy for retired faculty members of Johns Hopkins. You can learn more about The Academy here: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/the-academy/ Please visit the Faculty Factory website to learn more: https://facultyfactory.org/ If you would like to contact Dr. Serwint: jserwint@jhmi.edu You can also contact our Faculty Factory Podcast here: facultyfactorykim@gmail.com

Success. We all want it, at least we think we do. But the truth is, nothing worth having in life comes without hard work, intentional efforts, and a lot of mistakes. It may be one epic failure that becomes the catalyst to your growth, or multiple before you reach that aha moment. In this episode, I share five of the biggest lessons learned from twenty years of entrepreneurship and give you some practical tips on how to avoid these costly mistakes in your journey.Did you enjoy the podcast? If so, please leave me a review . It helps us get into the ears of new listeners, expand The Relationship Beats Algorithms Community, and help other entrepreneurs find the path to freedom they are looking for.  Notable Quotes & Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction To Lessons Learned01:59 Entrepreneurship is actually simple, but most of us want to believe it's complex. And complexity creates barriers to what we truly desire- George Bryant 07:06  Your job as an entrepreneur is not to reinvent the wheel. It's to develop deeper relationships that create retention plus referrals so you can scale. 09:20 People buy vitamins when life is good, but with the chaos of the world, you need to talk more about pain killers. 17:23- The most important thing that you can do is have more conversations. To do that, you have to be intentional behind every single thing that you do in our business and our branding and in our messages.- George Bryant 20:40 Creating a customer journey means that you have to know where your customer's next step is when they don't. - George Bryant  Other Retable EpisodesPlanning To Win & Thriving In Setbacks  I was wrong & here is why Don't Miss This ⬇️Live Event October 14-16th, Whitefish Montana- Lighthouse Business Accelerator ⬇️ More resources for you... ⬇️Dive into my FREE 5 part series that will help you build relationships and increase retention using a relationship-based approach.Dominate social media and skyrocket your business with a proven framework for building a highly profitable brand with Comments to Cash.

John 21:1-14

Harry Higgs has rapidly become one of the most popular and recognizable players in the world taking the PGA Tour by storm. The former SMU Mustang talks the dynamic between him and Bryson DeChambeau as college teammates, the reasoning behind his unique look and how playing a practice round with Dustin Johnson at The Masters changed his approach to the game.    Thanks to our partners —    Enjoy watching every round with golf's signature sip, Elijah Craig Bourbon. Save $5 when you order a bottle on Drizly.com with code GOLFMAG5    Cobra Golf's new KING Forged TEC Irons are on the way and will be available for pre-order beginning April 29th. Find out more at cobragolf.com    Follow Claude to submit questions, enter giveaways and keep up with the latest Off Course updates on Instagram at @ClaudeHarmon3  

Harry Higgs has rapidly become one of the most popular and recognizable players in the world taking the PGA Tour by storm. The former SMU Mustang talks the dynamic between him and Bryson DeChambeau as college teammates, the reasoning behind his unique look and how playing a practice round with Dustin Johnson at The Masters changed his approach to the game.   Thanks to our partners —  Enjoy watching every round with golf's signature sip, Elijah Craig Bourbon. Save $5 when you order a bottle on Drizly.com with code GOLFMAG5  Cobra Golf's new KING Forged TEC Irons are on the way and will be available for pre-order beginning April 29th. Find out more at cobragolf.com    Follow Claude to submit questions, enter giveaways and keep up with the latest Off Course updates on Instagram at @ClaudeHarmon3See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LIKE | SUBSCRIBE | SHARE (: In episode fifty-three of The Running Effect, I speak with Vanessa Fraser. Vanessa is a very accomplished runner who runs for Nike & the Bowerman Track Club. She most notably holds personal bests of 31:52 (10k) and 14:48 (5k). In high school, Vanessa was a two-time state champion in the state of California and helped her team to reach the state tournament for the first time in school history. During her time at Stanford, she helped her team finish runner-up twice in the DMR and still holds the school record of 15:09 in the 5k. Vanessa's college coach Chris Miltenburg would tell his athletes to "leave the team in a better place than you found it". Vanessa certainly did that and her impact on the Stanford program is still felt to this day. After Vanessa graduated, she signed with Nike and The Bowerman Track Club. In this episode we dive deep into Vanessa's career; the ups, the downs, and everything in-between! Vanessa has battled a lot of adversity in her career, from massive Achilles surgery to not performing as well as she would have liked to in many races. Vanessa shares invaluable insights on confidence, trying to be process-oriented, learning from teammates, goal setting, and so much more! Vanessa embodies the definition of grit. Grit as defined by renowned psychologist Angela Duckworth is having, "passion and perseverance for long-term goals." Vanessa's passion and perseverance for the sport of running is truly felt in this episode. I personally can't wait to see what the future holds for Vanessa! S H O W N O T E S Vanessa's BTC Profile: https://www.bowermantc.com/vanessa-fraser-bio Vanessa's Instagram: https://instagram.com/nessafraser?utm_medium=copy_link Voice in Sport: https://www.voiceinsport.com/ Vanessa's Stanford Profile: https://gostanford.com/sports/track-and-field/roster/vanessa-fraser/12652

In this week's episode, I decided to sit down with yall one-on-one and share some of the most profound lessons I had to learn through challenging experiences. I share one lesson for each year I've lived, dividing them in terms of Deen, and Dunya while making sense of these experiences. I can only hope this inspires those listening to persevere amid trials and to humble those who are seamlessly thriving. If you benefit, consider liking, sharing, and subscribing.We look forward to hearing from you!Instagram/TikTok/ Twitter/Facebook@talkyahaqq

Burned out, but not burned up; pressed, but not crushed, disconnected but now reconnected. Hear the rest of the story @BranonDempsey in this short episode as the Worship Team Training Podcast returns! 

There is a "literal truth" and a "relative truth " with ALL THINGS CHINA. Literally, NO ONE precisely knows what happened except Peng Shuai and her accused, Zhang Gaoli. That said, you probably want to know what happened in "absolute terms" relative to Western values and the #METOO movement.However, it is also valuable to examine situations like these in the proper cultural context, as a means to attain a more desirable outcome.Read the blog https://www.genejhsu.com/blog/pengshuai

It's been 10 months of doing these recaps and 10 months of coaching every single week inside the Academy and really truly making this my life now, I have to say that me and you have the exact same 24 hours in our life…. Always have, and always will, and what we do with it counts. In this Monthly Recap I am going to dive into the decisions I have been making in each pillar of my life to truly live out my dreams! It really has been day after day, one load of laundry, and dirty toilet, and sink full of dishes after another… but I am really doing it… and so can you. Want to know what it takes? Lets dive in to today episode and talk all about it.    xoxo, Chelsi Jo . . . . . Jump into the Academy ASAP! CLICK HERE

Why are personal projects important for artists? How do you create a personal art project? What does it mean to work on something you love with no expectation for it to ever make money? How do you plan a project and stay focused when there are no deadlines or external obligations? How do you find time for personal projects?If you enjoy this content please consider visiting my Patreon page to help support the effort https://www.patreon.com/jobydorrFor more information about the podcast and future guests please visit https://www.jobydorr.com/artcondition See episodes live every Sunday at 2pm PST at https://www.twitch.tv/joby_dorrThis week we are talking to Jay AxerJays first appearance on Art Condition - https://www.jobydorr.com/artcondition/2021/2/27/episode-25-being-honest-about-what-you-love-w-jay-axerJay is currently working as a senior artist at blizzard on the Hearthstone team. Prior to working for Blizzard Jay worked in games development for over 11 years ranging from AAA to indie to mobile, as well as 15 years in freelance work. Jay's primary focus is 2d concept design and illustration.Twitter - https://twitter.com/JayAxerArtStation - https://www.artstation.com/jayaxerTwitch - https://www.twitch.tv/jayaxerother points of interest from our conversation:Game Makers Toolkit - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqJ-Xo29CKyLTjn6z2XwYAwroguelite - https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rogue-literoguelike - https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/roguelike

I’m a little late on dropping this podcast episode (recorded 3/17) But this was on day 76 of the 75 Hard Experience… Two 45 min workouts a day, 1 gallon of water, no alcohol, and a diet… every day for 75 days. I had a lot of excuses as to why I wouldn’t be able to pull through with this. Not only was I happy to wrap it up, but blown away by some of the unexpected shifts I learned from it. This was by far one of my favorite challenges. I hope you get something out of it, and I hope it inspires you. Listen in.

Get my new book Cleaning up Your Mental Mess here: https://www.cleaningupyourmentalmess.com Sign up to join my free text program and receive mental health care tips. Just text DRLEAF to 1 (833) 285 3747 SHOW DESCRIPTION: In this podcast I speak with Holocaust survivor, world-renowned psychologist and best-selling author Dr. Edith Eger about her experiences in Nazi Germany and as a psychologist working with other trauma survivors, as well as the incredible power of the human mind and vital life lessons we all can benefit from. Read the show blog here: https://drleaf.com/blogs/news/invaluable-advice-on-resilience-healing-from-a-holocaust-survivor OFFERS FROM OUR SPONSORS: -PlushCare: Start your membership today. Go to https://plushcare.com/drleaf/ to start your FREE 30-day trial. -BiOptimizer’s Cognibiotics: Get up to 49% off your order and free shipping on select packages at cognibiotics.com/drleaf. -Huzzah: Get 20% off your order with the code DRLEAF at https://drinkhuzzah.com. -BLUblox: To get up to 15% off your BLUblox products use the code DRLEAF20 at checkout: Blublox.com. PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS: 3:22 Dr. Eger’s experiences in Auschwitz 7:26 Why you need to pay attention to what you are paying attention to! 8:30 The power of perspective 9:35 The power of a probability mindset 10:41 Why you need to love yourself 14:33 How to see the current COVID-19 pandemic 15:20 Why time doesn’t heal everything 26:28 Would you like to be married to you? 28:05 The power of choice 31:40 The power of connecting with others 40:06 Why reframing the past is so important 44:10 Trauma recovery and the power of feeling 59:50 Getting to the root of your thoughts, feelings and behaviors 1:00:42 The worst prisons are the ones we create in our minds ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: -Visit my website at https://drleaf.com for more free resources Follow me on social media for daily mental health tips & strategies: -Instagram: @drcarolineleaf: https://www.instagram.com/drcarolineleaf/- -Facebook: Dr. Caroline Leaf: https://www.facebook.com/drleaf -Twitter: @drcarolineleaf: https://twitter.com/DrCarolineLeaf -Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/drcarolineleaf If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5 review on iTunes, Google Play, or wherever you are listening! And don't forget to subscribe and share this podcast with friends and family! I love seeing your posts on social media! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Following a career with the Air Force spanning more than a decade, the lessons learned supporting defence have proven invaluable for the high stakes world of defence industry. In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, Emily Frizell, founder and CEO of AeroPM and Female Defence Leader of the Year at Defence Connect’s 2020 Australian Defence Industry Awards joins Steve Kuper (Defence Connect analyst and editor) to talk about the transformative year that was 2020. The pair discuss the skills and lessons learned as a woman in the traditionally male dominated world of the military and how they now support Frizell in her role as CEO of AeroPM. They also explore the challenges and opportunities faced by both AeroPM and defence industry as a whole throughout 2020 and how the company has positioned itself as a partner of choice for the ADF. Finally, Frizell and Kuper discuss the opportunities on the horizon as the company and defence industry seek to play an important role in the nation’s post-COVID economic recovery. Enjoy the podcast, The Defence Connect team

Another year older and several pounds heavier, I decided to start training as a boxer. Initially, I just wanted to lose some weight and improve my health but I got a whole lot more. 

Today’s Guest is Marcus Brown, Marcus Brown is a Runner, Husband, Father of Two and works full time. He is an Abbot World Marathon Majors Six Star Finisher. Marcus, the Host of A Runner’s Life Podcast, Co-founder of the Black Trail Runners, is a familiar voice to the this Podcast Already - you will have heard myself and Marcus chat during our Mash Up Episodes, where we co-host 'Not Another Runner's Life' on both this Podcast and on Marcus' Podcast. Please note for reference this was recorded just three weeks after Marcus’ Sub 3 Marathon and was at the end of October. Marcus is an extremely driven and dedicated individual, someone who I admire greatly for so many reasons including his dedication and tenacity in not only his running, but all that he does with his own Podcast and the invaluable episodes he shares with the listeners and running community and all the collaborative work he has done with the Black Trail Runners, something he speaks more of during his incredible interview on Mario Frailoli’s podcast: The Morning Shakeout. The Black Trail Runners is a Uk-based community and campaigning group whose mission is to increase inclusion, representation and participation of Black People in trail running. Today myself and Marcus talk about his journey from 4:55 to Sub 3 Marathon and the invaluable lessons he has learnt along the way. This chat was great, and I know you guys will enjoy this episode, please let myself and Marcus know that you’re tuning in… take a screen shot and share with us online. We chat about: Marcus’ journey of Running 4:55 Marathon - 2:56 Sub 3 Marathon Experience and the journey in getting there How Marcus felt after achieving the major goal Being mindful of others whilst we strive for our own goals What working towards a big goal can teach you How stopping and pausing is beneficial and not always unproductive How Running is a time to process thoughts The importance of offering Value, and giving back to others. Marcus Brown - @themarathonmarcus Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themarathonmarcus/?hl=en Website www.marathonmarcus.com All Other Links https://lnk.bio/Xhi7 Facebook: www.facebook.com/fitterhealthierdad/ Not Another Runner - Natalie Hawkins Instagram: www.instagram.com/notanotherrunner/?hl=en Facebook: www.facebook.com/notanotherrunner/ All other links: linktr.ee/notanotherrunner

We were both deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Cici Gunn or as she's also known, The Six Figure Chick. Here we talk about the awesome Cici and what she taught us about selling digital products, building a business and being resilient during tough times. Cici's legacy lives on and you can find out more about her and her digital products via her IG page: https://www.instagram.com/_thesixfigurechick_/

Another amazing episode of Speak Up to Lead Up this week as we welcome guests Ann Andrews and Sandra Hill to the show! Ann shared how important it is to recognize what we wear, how we feel and she spoke to identifying her own innocence, and how painful that was for her as a child. I loved her advice of printing a photo of us as a child and placing it on the mirror as a memory to remind us daily that she is still in there and if we build a strong platform of positive words to remind us how amazing we are, we will not allow the labels to stick. Sandra had some WIFI issues with her thunderstorms that rolled in, but that certainly didn't make the weight of her advice any lighter. She strongly advises our youth to remember that they can be more, do more, and speak more. Her work is so important to focus on our youth and allow their journeys to be about self-discovery and who they authentically are. This was a powerful conversation that I invite you to join!   Connect with Ann Andrews: Website: https://www.anncatherine.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annie.andrews.35 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anncatherinedesign/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annandrewsdesigner/  Connect with Sandra Hill: LinkedIn:      Sandra Hill - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-hill/        New Horizens (etal) - https://www.linkedin.com/company/new-horizen/   Twitter:     https://twitter.com/Newhorizencoach   Facebook:    https://www.facebook.com/NewHorizenCoach   and    https://www.facebook.com/NewHorizenCoach   Google+: https://business.google.com/b/111640313544126754141/edit/l/06122401235251046429?hl=en   Noomii page:  https://www.noomii.com/users/sandra-hill#reviews interview: https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/37012071/237c155924939f83cc7915eb/SandraHill.mp3   Contact Information: Calendar: https://bit.ly/schedulewithSandra LinkedIn (personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-hill/ LinkedIn (business): - https://www.linkedin.com/company/new-horizen/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Newhorizencoach Facebook (business): https://www.facebook.com/NewHorizenCoach Appointments:  www. Newhorizencoaching.com (To get the e-book, simply go to the contact page and send a message since the link is not on the website as the book is actually a workbook I use for training purposes.) Forbes Coaches Council: https://bit.ly/3cLrfs5   Radio Show Host: Grow Your Voice/Overcome Your Fears   Best Selling Author: “Create the Life you Want”   Author’s Page:  Invaluable Lessons in Leadership   July 14th #Teaching Tuesday w/ Mel Carr-Learn how to "Let it Go" and delegate in the new Virtual Assistant Reality-How to buy time! July 28th #Teaching Tuesday w/ Jen Du Plesis-Cracking the top producer code!

A milestone has been reached! The first ten episodes are DONE. With that in mind, I wanted to share 10 lessons in personal and professional development that I've learned since launching this project that can hopefully help you out.  This will be invaluable for anyone who is thinking about, or that has recently launched a new, exciting project into the world.  Whether you need help beating procrastination, need to overcome self doubt or simply gain clarity on what it is you need to do, I reckon the insights in this episode might just help you out. Make sure you subscribe to the show and follow me on the socials: @itschrisrobson www.itschrisrobson.co.uk

Number 2 in our Best of 2019 Countdown is Episode #18: Shane Snow, Dream Teams.  Shane is the author of Dream Teams, a book written after years of researching the top dream teams.    3 Invaluable Lessons from Shane Snow There are three “ingredients” to making a great team - cognitive diversity, cognitive friction, and intellectual humility. The key to success is being able to engage in the friction without it getting personal. Teamwork is about making people better together because they’re different.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Shane Snow about what it takes to make a Dream Team and the psychology great leaders use to get their teams working with each other instead of against each other.   About Guest Shane Snow Shane is the author of Dream Teams, a book written after years of researching the top dream teams. Shane believes that the best teams are more than the sum of their parts, but collaboration often falls short. Shane looks at teams through the lenses of history, neuroscience, psychology, and business. Shane is an award-winning journalist, entrepreneur, best-selling author, speaker, storyteller, Founder at Large in the media company Contently, board member of the Hatch Institute, and a Fellow at the Royal Society of the Arts.   Shane’s Journey to Becoming Author of Dream Teams Shane’s parents led him to think differently in a wonderful way, spending time in the construction world and learning how things work Shane’s mother was a teacher for deaf students and was all about reading and learning Dream Teams was inspired by Shane’s challenges growing a company and building a team   What Shane Views as the Greatest Strengths of a Leader We have an old idea of what a leader should do stemming from when we survived by banding together and the leader made us feel safe against physical dangers Leaders later evolved into someone who knows what they are doing and is big and tall The best kind of leader to solve today’s problems can persuade people, solve challenges, and create an environment where the team is smarter and greater than the leader or any individual   How to Create the Dream Team Shane explains the three “ingredients” it takes to create a dream team: You need cognitive diversity. You need your team to engage in different ways of thinking and combine their skills. You need intellectual humility – open mindedness (this sits between being too stubborn and being too gullible).   How The Three “Ingredients” for Creating a Dream Team Work on a Large Project Think of team building like casting for a movie, you need those who bring out the best in the project and in each other You need to trust people to do what they do best, but when there are snags the project leader engages Everyone has to be on the same team, or they’re off the team   Shane’s Advice to Project Leaders Who Want to Create a Dream Team Have a shared purpose, everyone needs to know what they’re doing and why they’re there. Allow people to work in a way that allows them to do their best work. People need to be on board with your purpose and understand the difference between a cult and culture – both have a shared devotion to something. In a cult, you have to behave and think in a certain way or you are not part of the group.  In a culture, you are asked to contribute something to the team so everyone can move forward to their shared purpose.    The Barriers to Dream Teams That Keep Them From Seeing Results Not talking about the important issues, having “organizational silence” Too much tension - a little tension is good, too much is detrimental Not having the toolkit to change your mind or talk about hard issues with humility and allowing people to “save face”   The Worst Challenge Shane Has Faced Three challenging things happened to Shane at once - things at his company were getting hard, he was going through a divorce, and he got a cancer diagnosis. This time was humbling and made him realize that things in life will be hard and he needs to be more equipped to deal with them. He got through this time by letting other people help him.   The Best Advice Shane Has Ever Gotten People are more important than stuff. His mother was always hitting things with the car, but his father would never say something mean, he would always worry about his mom. If people are the most important thing, you’ll think about teamwork differently.   A Little About Shane’s New Project Shane has been traveling around the world for the last six months. He wants to live in other cultures to develop intellectual humility and to do new research for upcoming projects. He is exploring different immigrant communities in America for an upcoming television show.   Resources for Podcast Listeners   Self-Assessment for Intellectual Humility Dream Teams Book (affiliate link) Kindle Audible Hardback Articles on Collaboration and Leadership Shane Snow’s Courses on LinkedIn Learning   Shane’s Parting Advice Develop this habit for intellectual humility - express that you’re willing to change your mind if you want others to change their minds. Ben Franklin would say, “I could be wrong, but I really think …..”  By admitting he could be wrong, it made it safe for people to disagree with him and allowed him to save face if he did change his mind.   Contact Shane Shane’s Website shanesnow.com Shane’s LinkedIn Profile   Collective Wisdom Use this episode as a tool, send it out to your entire team and have a dialogue.  The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team.   Don’t forget, we have started a Construction Dream Team LinkedIn Group.  I know there are a lot of you out there on LinkedIn; please join Construction Dream Team LinkedIn.  We are going to have conversations on there and invite our guests to answer questions and to listen to what you have to say and to listen and share concepts.    Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert about the people side of construction.

3 Invaluable Lessons from Cliff Wong Construction Managers need to be focused on integration and collaboration from multiple platforms. Evolving technology is not the enemy it’s a tool to be used for efficiency Strong leadership is built on continuous listening and learning, with a foundation in compassion and caring for individuals.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Cliff Wong, the President of PGH Wong Engineering.  He has been around construction since his childhood.  Cliff shares about his journey from that childhood in his den, working with the family business, to being a leader in the industry for project management.   Cliff’s Background and Journey to Becoming President of PGH Wong Engineering (02:29) Growing up in the business, Cliff would work with his Dad and the rest of his family in what he calls the "den of excitement."  He observed the engineering and construction business and worked from the ground up, from photocopying to design.  Cliff had a number of opportunities to work in a variety of projects for the company.   Trends in Construction Management Services  (06:45) Contracting and Delivery Strategies Collaboration: Need to be one integrated team Implementation of Technology   The Shifting Role and Responsibilities of the CM  (09:49) Technology is a tool for efficiency and collaboration Integrating multiple platforms into the "Common Data Environment" Continuing a growing trend of Collaboration   Cliff’s Strength as a Leader (17:56) Leading By Example Accessibility to staff Understanding complex issues Sharing vision Sharing strengths and weaknesses Continuing to listen and learn Compassion and Caring   The Biggest Thing Cliff Learned Through Listening  (19:16) Discussions of resource issues surrounding the industry  Seeking ways to be attractive to the next generation of engineers.  The goal is to share how rewarding building infrastructure and facilities projects can be.   Cliff’s Greatest Career Challenge and Learning Opportunity (20:39) He worked for 3 months on utilizing the wrong design thesis on a rail transit system.  Cliff learned that the basis of design is fundamental, the foundational aspects of the design are crucial, experience matters, and humility is key.   The Very Best Advice Cliff Has Ever Received (23:40) Don't constrain yourself.  We often put ourselves in boxes, but don't totally constrain yourself with assumptions and roadblocks that might not actually be true.     Cliff’s Favorite Piece of Technology (24:45) PGH Wong’s Internal Construction Management Software   Resources for Listeners   Recommended Books: The Triumph of Experience  Paperback | Audible Shoe Dog  Paperback | Audible | Kindle   Recommended Ted Talk: What Makes a Good Life?   Contact Cliff By Email On LinkedIn PGH Wong Engineering Website   Cliff’s Parting Advice (28:40) Watch and observe traits from great construction managers in the industry.  Look out for people that do things that you can't do, so you can build a complete team.     Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team.   Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!  Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Ron Peckham Your team is more important than individual and good leaders focus on building their team to be successful. Always do your work from a foundation of gratitude. Leaders need to be curious, flexible, and agile allowing themselves to be courageous as they move themselves and organizations forward.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Ron Peckham, the Aviation Practice Advisor for C&S Companies.  Ron is a gifted leader.  He has worked in the Aviation industry for 35 years, growing his practice from 9 people to 150.  He's an incredible coach, mentor, and trainer helping people to build a foundation for commitment to a common vision and purpose.  Join us as we talk about leadership in a time of disruption.   Ron’s Background and Journey to Leadership and an Advisory type role  (03:19) With a Civil Engineering background, he was focused on infrastructure projects.  He was in charge of both design and construction management.  He had numerous roles and opportunities for advancement into leadership and ultimately culminating becoming CEO/Chairman of the Board for the C&S Companies.   The Importance for Designers to Experience Construction  (05:14) It is essential for designers to have construction experience. It is important to be results-oriented. We must have a standard of quality to meet expectations of the owner while still "constructible" by the builder. When you leave the design room and go out to the field to see what you are trying to do and see what the challenges are it makes you a better designer and leader   The Secret to Massive Company Growth  (06:46) It's really all about "Team" and the idea that "No one can do it alone."  Must have a vision for buy-in and alignment that the team can get behind.   Ron’s Insight as a Leader in a Time of Disruption  (07:39) Make friends with reality. Remind yourself what leadership is all about: “Make meaning for yourself” and “get from here to there.” Build progress on a foundation of gratitude.   Current Disruptions in the Industry  (12:49) Disruption of Project Delivery and the evolution of that model. Technology systems are changing rapidly. Specialization and Competition expectations are increasing.   Leading Amidst Rapid Change  (18:40) It all comes back to the leader's "stance."  Are we going to "create the future" or "live in the past?" Leaders must be curious, flexible, and agile. Systems are good, but people are better.  Teamwork, alignment and energy trumps investment in the system. Courage to move forward despite fears.   Ron’s Strength as a Leader (20:37) An authentic caring for others.  “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”   Ron’s Most Challenging Moments/Learning Opportunities (24:04) Realizing that when people change, systems change. Fit and chemistry are critical to your success and your organization's success. If you don't have a mentor, you're "flying blind." If your system changes, don't ignore it. You are never as good or as bad as people say you are.   The Very Best Advice Ron Has Ever Received (28:56) Don't take yourself too seriously and have a sense of humor about yourself.   Resources for Listeners Recommended Questions: Who Am I? What Am I Here For (personally and professionally)? Whom Shall I Serve? How Much is Enough?   Contact Ron Contact Ron by Email Contact Ron on LinkedIn   Ron’s Parting Advice (33:08) The choice is ours.  Will we choose to live in the future or will we live in the past and fight against the change that is inevitable.  If we want to be relevant, then we have to make friends with change.     Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!   Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from David Hawkins People’s definition of “collaboration” differ which makes collaborating difficult.  Having a standard for collaboration helps everyone to be aligned in their expectations. An Exit Strategy is one of the key parts to the collaborative process that often gets left out. Collaborative Working is not for everyone and it is critical to have the buy-in of senior leadership and the partners at the table.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with David Hawkins, the COO for the Institute for Collaborative Working (ICW). He was awarded the International Standards Marker Award in 2017 by the British Standards Institution. This award was given for his outstanding work and inclusive approach to the field of collaborative business relationships.  The ICW is the thought leader for collaborative working following the development of the unique CRAFT methodology based on the collective experience of the Institute’s Executive Knowledge Network. As a totally self-financing, multi-tiered membership organization the Institute provides practical guidance from extensive experience gained from working across relationships within the commercial, Government and academic arenas.   David’s Background and Journey to the Institute for Collaborative Working (02:27) David started his work with Bechtel in the 60's in commercial and project management.  He always had an interest in "what makes” people tick."  In the 90's he became part of an organization called Partnership Sourcing which later became ICW. He conducted extensive research into the "failings" of partnership.  That led to the development of the "Craft Life-Cycle Model."   What is the Institute for Collaborative Working (04:38) Originally set up in 1990 as a UK government initiative. It was designed to promote the concepts of partnering. It is now self-supporting as a not-for-profit membership organization. Membership is from a broad church of industry professions. ICW works with private, corporate and academia sectors. The primary focus is on research knowledge transfer and skills development.   The Development of ISO 44001 for Collaboration (07:01) The journey started with CRAFT methodology. Evolved into Pass 11000. Turned into a British Standard in 2010 as BS 11000. Then became International Standard – ISO 44001.   The Purpose for Developing the Standard (08:16) Collaboration was a common term, but with no common understanding of meaning. Relationships generally were failing because collaboration was a "buzz-word." Business was becoming more International and more interdependent.   The Process of the Collaborative ISO (09:48) There is no quick process. There are 29 different countries involved. An International Committee was formed and mirrored in all of the participating countries. The draft goes through drafting development, critique, voting, approval, to publish. The process was three years long.   The Key Areas of Focus for ISO 44001 (11:27) Focus on Relationship Management Establishing appropriate Cultural Visions and Values Collaborative Leadership Competence and Behaviors Developing Trust and Commitment Information and Knowledge Sharing Risk Management Establishing an Exit Strategy   The Definition and Example of an Exit Strategy (17:04) Establishing Joint objectives (yours, mine, and ours). Establishing a sound approach to issue resolution (it is not the dispute that is the problem, it is the way it is handled). Consider the Exit Strategy upfront. "When people have clarity of what the roles of disengagement are, you get more effective engagement."   Who Do You Envision Using ISO 44001 (25:05) Collaboration is not always the answer. The first four stages of the eight-step model help decide if it's necessary. Encourage people to move away from the hype. Any organization where the desired outcome is predicated by the performance another.   Unique Differences Between Teams from Different Countries (31:17) Very few differences Languages Cultures Legal Systems   The Importance of Senior Leadership Buy-In (35:09) It's a "No-Brainer."  If your chief executive thinks collaboration is a waste of time, you are likely never able to get to a really fulfilling collaborative relationship.   David’s Greatest Career Challenge and Learning Opportunity (37:58) The worst moment was working for a director who thought the only incentive for people was how much they got paid.  "If a financial goal is the only reward, you get a distorted view of the world."   The Very Best Advice David Has Ever Received (40:23) If you don't know the answer, don't pretend you do. Whenever your boss got difficult my response was, "look boss, you can only fire me once, is this the right time?"   Resources for Listeners Recommended Website: The Institute for Collaborative Working   David’s Favorite Piece of Technology (43:58) The “old-fashioned” fountain pen Mobile phone   Contact David Contact David on LinkedIn   David’s Parting Advice (45:22) Listen, don't talk so much.  Most people want to share what they know, and if not, perhaps they aren't the best choice of partner.   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team.  Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!  Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Stuart Seiden When selecting project teams, it is crucial to see how the team works together to solve problems. During the selection process, it is important to see how project teams communicate within their team and within their own companies. The need for specification writers is a growing trend in the construction industry.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Stuart Seiden, who is a Principal at Avila & Seiden Architects.  For about 17 years he was Capital Projects Manager in the County of Fresno.  Stuart has a vast knowledge from a variety of projects and you won't want to miss his insight on the process of building a collaborative team.   Stuart’s Background and Career Journey  (01:28) Stuart's journey involved numerous events involving collaboration beginning when Stuart was four-years-old.  His brother was born developmentally disabled and that inspired his collaborative nature of helping in the learning process with his brother.  In college, he was intrigued by all the disciplines within the construction industry.  He and his wife had diverse backgrounds and had to learn to meld those aspects.  He has worked in a number of different industries over the years, each having informed his skill-set and knowledge for a variety of projects.   An Overview of Stuart’s Collaborative Selection Approach  (09:35) They changed the format of the interviews (no electronic presentations). The day-to-day Project Lead gives the presentation. They banned the marketing team from participating in the presentation except as observers. They held three problem-solving sessions, that lasted about 20 minutes each, led by day-to-day lead. The evaluated how the presenters interacted by observation.   How Was the Collaborative Process Different from the Typical Process?  (14:04) A typical process is a regurgitation of what was provided in their proposal (project pictures, qualifications, how they are nice people), but didn't show who had the ability to use their creative knowledge for the particular project.   The Evaluation Criteria  (15:15) Weighted the team on scenarios. Asking further questions. Fifteen-minute wrap-up.   Results of the Evaluation Process  (16:44) Easier to determine the knowledge base of the teams. Able to see their level of communication. Communication with their sub-contractors. Could see creative problem-solving skills. They picked a higher performing team.   Advice to Owners for Using the Scenario Approach (19:18) Problem-Solving needs to be difficult enough to obtain meaningful dialogue, but simple enough for the time-frame. Make sure you have proper objectives for the results you want.   Trends in Construction Specifications (21:30) Need for more involvement of architects from the beginning of projects. A trend toward more technically complex structures and materials. Greater need for specification writers.   Advice for Engaging Specification Writers (23:31) "Rely on them and get them involved early on in the project, so they can provide advice in a timely manner."  They need to be a continuing member of the team.   Stuart’s Greatest Career Challenge and Learning Opportunity (24:45) The worst moment was on a project moving a 911 system.  There was a major problem with payments to the sub-contractors.  Stuart learned that a partner on the project was diverting funds from the project for personal use.   The Very Best Advice Stuart Has Ever Received (29:22) You really shouldn't put your nose in someone's business unless you know all sides of the story.   Resources for Listeners The Project Delivery Practice Guide Recommended Website: The Leadership Freak Blog Website and The Leadership Freak on Facebook   Contact Stuart Contact Stuart on LinkedIn   Stuart’s Parting Advice (33:18) From the Leadership Freak Website: Don't wait to feel humble to practice humility. Seek the best in others. Avoid presenting a false or inflated appearance. Work to understand and promote the goals of others. Explore how personal strengths, experience, and values might be useful to others. Risk being more authentic.   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you.  Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team! Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Andrea Hoban Emotions Matter. It is important to recognize what you are feeling when we are feeling it because emotions are contagious. When leaders practice emotional intelligence, team members feel seen and heard and respond in a way that moves the business forward.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Andrea Hoban, who is the Co-Founder and Head of Learning at Oji Life Lab.  Andrea, with over 20 years of experience in leading large teams and building businesses.  Her focus is on how you can use emotional intelligence to improve how you deal with your team.  Join us today to learn about Andrea’s unique model in emotional intelligence.   Andrea’s Journey into Emotional Intelligence  (02:10) Andrea’s early career was spent managing teams and learning all the wrong lessons from leaders that possess certain skills or lack thereof.  She had the opportunity to lead a function around enterprise training skills, and ultimately into mentoring and coaching where she learned that, “how we experience our own emotions really colors how we see the world."   A Brief Overview of Emotional Intelligence (EQ)  (04:38) EQ helps us recognize what we are feeling when we are feeling it because most of us have lost contact with a large variety of feelings.  For example, recognizing the difference between disappointment and anger.  EQ helps us understand the root causes of emotions by providing steps to understand emotions.   How Can Construction Teams Use Emotional Intelligence  (12:57) Emotions are contagious. Think about, “Is what I’m feeling what I want people to catch from me?” Use EQ to discover a thoughtful approach to addressing teams and situations.   Andreas “Unique Model” for EQ (15:55) Provides two big skills to focus on for regulating emotions. First, become more aware of what you are feeling. Use the Mood Mirror tool to measure your emotions. Second, figure out what emotional state you want. Use the toolkit of strategies: thinking strategies, action strategies.   How to Develop a “Toolkit of Strategies”  (20:31) Focus on the strategies that make us feel good and avoid those that we know don't work. Tune-in to what supports a shift to where we want to go. Whether it's positive self-talk or a reframing tool, it will help break the cycle of feelings.   What Happens When Your Entire Team Practices These Techniques? (22:20) Leaders can enhance teams and issue resolution. Team members respond in ways that moves the business forward. Allows work to be frictionless. People feel seen and heard.   Advice on Learning More About EQ (26:16) Get and read the book, Permission to Feel. Check out Emotion Life Lab App.   Why/How Andrea Became Involved with Emotional Intelligence (28:10) Andrea had the opportunity to develop a strategy of training for a large corporation and that led to mentoring and coaching.  When learning to be a coach for others, she discovered that you have to unpack your own baggage.  The journey came from Andrea asking, "How do I help people build skills that make a large difference in the quality of their lives."   The Very Best Advice Andrea Has Ever Received (29:55) Emotions matter.  Understanding that emotions are information allows us to explore them with curiosity.  We are less likely to judge ourselves or judge the emotions other people feel.   Resources for Listeners Recommended Book: Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett, Ph.D. The Mood Meter App   Contact Andrea By Email On LinkedIn Oji Life Lab Website   Andrea’s Parting Advice (34:41) Name it to tame it!  Write down the things we are feeling, several times a day.  The more we start recognizing what we are feeling, the more we are able to deal with the emotions involved.   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team.   Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!  Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Larry Eisenberg Building sustainably is not only environmentally friendly, it's extremely cost-effective. Tapping into new technologies is critical for creating sustainable and net-zero buildings. It's time to stop talking and start doing! Build sustainably and pursue net-zero energy on new and existing buildings.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Larry Eisenberg, who is the Principal at Ovus Partners 360.  He has served as the Executive Director of Facilities Planning and Development for the LA Community College District (LACCD).  He directed the district's award-winning, $16 Billion Sustainable Building Program.    Larry’s Journey Into Sustainability and Starting Ovus Partners 360  (02:26) Growing up in Los Angeles, there were days of just too much smog to go outside.  That prompted Larry to think about what he could do about the bad environment.  He went to MIT to study city planning, and then to work for the University of Wisconsin system where he got into sustainability.  From there, moved to LA, where he worked for a board of trustees that was committed to making the largest green building program in the world.  Ultimately, he created Ovus Partners 360 to carry those ideas into the private sector, specifically focused on "net-zero" energy (creating as much energy as you use in a year).   Achieving the Sustainability Goal at LACCD  (05:07) Larry mandated that architects working on designing the buildings for LACCD be LEED certified Of the 85 buildings built, 20 were LEED Platinum During the projects, LACCD and Larry learned that LEED Platinum building is actually cheaper The rest of the buildings were Gold certified Two buildings were "net-zero" and two complexes were "net-zero"   Why/How is Platinum Certification Cheaper?  (07:10) Building LEED Platinum calls for certain things that are automatically cheaper (e.g., no drop ceilings, using concrete instead of flooring, etc.) Critical thinking and innovations that lead to cost savings   Cost Savings Leading to Lower Maintenance Costs (08:40) Able to improve facilities management Used sophisticated management solutions and software Strategic materials choices to reduce ongoing costs   Technology Changes to Improve Sustainability (09:52) Windows that make electricity Rooftop Wind Turbines Lighting Design – DC Electric service throughout buildings Inexpensive Control Systems   What’s New in Photovoltaics (11:20) Photovoltaics are becoming more efficient and much cheaper, from $8/watt installation initially to $1.70 today Sustainability is cheaper not just environmentally friendly There are technical advances in installations   Advice on Creating and Implementing a Sustainability Strategy (13:10) Understanding it's about economics: sustainability leads to lower operational costs Financing mechanisms available to spread costs over time Net-Zero energy outcomes leading to no bills   Payment Mechanisms Available (14:14) Power purchase agreements Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Net-Zero energy outcomes leading to no bills   Larry’s Other Sustainability Projects (15:40) Waste Management: Waste-to-Energy using Plasma gasification Net-Zero Energy projects, building projects net zero from the beginning Plastics Recycling   What Makes Larry a Successful Leader? (19:08) Supporting innovation and out-of-the-box thinking Surrounding yourself with bright people Communication and Feedback   Larry’s Biggest Mistake/Learning Opportunity (21:09) Leaving LACCD and the events that led up to that: a series of LA Times articles that had negative things to say about the program.  "The trauma and process were daunting, but the idea that one door closes, another one opens led me to create Ovus Partners 360."   The Very Best Advice Larry Has Ever Received (24:11) A statement from the former Governor of Wisconsin, Lee Dreyfus: "The thing you need to realize is that our democracy is governed by the exact reflection of our population."  There are bright people and not so bright.  You need to deal with people on an equal level the best you can.   Larry’s Favorite Piece of Tech (25:54) His laptop   Resources for Listeners (26:39) Recommended Reading: MIT Technology Review Magazine May/June 2019   Contact Larry Contact Larry on LinkedIn   Larry’s Parting Advice (29:42) It's time to stop talking about sustainability and start doing.  We need to make the decision to build sustainably, pursue net-zero energy on new and existing buildings.  Just do it!   Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!   Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Mark Breslin The construction industry needs a major paradigm shift to be innovative and appealing as an industry into the future. The focus of construction companies needs to be on the development of teams and shifting from the mindset of “blue-collar” to “professional.” Need to emphasize the importance of seeing the workforce as people and not as just workers or assets.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Mark Breslin, the Executive Director of the United Contractors Association, author, speaker, and influencer.  He's spent decades advising CEOs and senior leaders in business, government, labor, and non-profit arenas in North America.  A top-rated public speaker and strategist who has a perspective to share with us that perhaps no one else in the world does.  We discuss his extensive work with the labor unions, what's worked, what doesn't, and how they are evolving.   The Current “Happenings” in the Labor Unions of North America (02:34) There is a significant man-power shortage in all areas of North America.  Baby Boomers are retiring and the construction industry is not looked at as a "destination" career.  Unions are scrambling to recruit and onboard new people.   Union Contractor Role in Combating the Man-Power Shortage (03:42) Contractors need to look at Union relationships as partnerships and get involved in direct recruiting. Put yourself in a place to be a destination workplace. Shift in mindset to help growth and career planning. Aggressively fund a Learning and Development Department. Tell a different story about upward mobility through apprenticeship. Better communication with teachers, school counselors, etc.   Thoughts on Women in Construction (09:13) We need a paradigm shift because we are ignoring 50% of the population.  We need to evolve mindsets and job-site behaviors to match the rest of society.   The Unique Industry Shifts with Union Leaders (10:36) A focus on the development of leadership capabilities. Field-level and apprenticeship enhancements. Transformation in the mindset of the workforce.   Description Of and Development Process for the Mindset Shift (12:35) Construction companies need to be as innovative as their clients. Need to be on the edge of "Change-Management." Have an integrated leadership curriculum training and resources from top to bottom. Look at leadership development as a profit center, not as overhead or something to be one casually. Field Leader’s mindset needs to move from "Blue-Collar" to "Professional."   What Unions Can “Bring to the Table” (15:10) Their ability to use their training infrastructure to accelerate development. They bring workforce stability. Workforce generation. Upgrading of workforce.   New Technology and Workforce Deliver (16:30) The pre-Fabrication revolution with modularization mixed with BIM. Labor Cost reduction. Skills and technology gap between generations.   Current Construction Trends (19:11) Moving past a "hard-dollar bid" business, it's more relational. Upcoming generations are less willing to travel to do the work. Safety culture is becoming tighter – there is an expectation of zero accidents.   Addressing High Suicide Rates in Construction (21:32) Wellness is Not Weak article. We have obligations to the workforce as people. Give more help and less tolerance of people’s challenges. One idea, a company is giving a Mental Health app to each of their employees.   Mark’s Strengths as a Leader (24:47) Mark has screwed up everything, and now he knows better. You really need to be self-aware – learn that failures are your "GPS." He learned that “it is not about him.” Spend the time coaching and growing your team. Fail often and fail well. Learn to collaborate, say what you need to say, and always have a mentor.   Mark’s Greatest Career Challenge and Learning Opportunity (28:26) He was in the middle of a delicate negotiation and someone successfully provoked him, and he blew it by succumbing to emotions.  Also, hiring from opportunism instead of strategy.   The Very Best Advice Mark Has Ever Received (30:04) Favorite saying: "Men, at some times, are masters of their fate." All of us, no matter how important we, are all "at some times" masters of our fate. The key is knowing the difference of when we need to embrace our fate and when we need to accept our fate.   Resources for Listeners Mark’s Article: Wellness is Not Weak Recommended : The Trillion-Dollar Coach  Audible | Hardback | Kindle   Contact Mark Mark Breslin Website Contact Mark on LinkedIn   Mark’s Parting Advice (34:41) As Leaders, "Ask, don't tell".  You need to be incredibly curious and relentless in asking what needs to be done better.   Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

Learn 4 invaluable financial lessons from people who are thriving in retirement today! Air Date: 10/12/19

3 Invaluable Lessons from Mike Paton It is important that the leadership in your organization is aligned on what the vision is and works together to achieve it. It’s critical to put the “right people” in the “right seats” for your team to be successful. It is important to have a healthy cohesive, functional, open and honest leadership team.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Mike Paton, who is the Visionary at EOS Worldwide. He has spent his life working with Entrepreneurs and what he has to teach us from the project level, the organizations level, and personal level is invaluable.   Paton’s Journey to Becoming a Visionary for EOS (03:32) He grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, but ended up working in the traditional banking arena for a number of years. He ventured out on four endeavors as an entrepreneur: two successes and two "train wrecks."  Paton found out he learned a lot more about himself through the train wrecks than the successes.   What is the EOS Model? (06:07) EOS is a simple way of operating an entrepreneurial company. The major pieces are Vision, Traction, and Healthy. Provides a framework for working cohesively through all levels of the team.   A Holistic Overview of EOS (08:05) In EOS, every company that takes a journey through six key components: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction.  There a number of tools and disciplines for leadership teams to strengthen all six of these key components of the EOS model.   Discussing “Vision”, the 1st Key Component to EOS (08:59) Making sure we get the vision out of the head of the owner, entrepreneur, or founder and aligned with the plan of the leadership team. Often there is "too much vision.” Allows for the sharing of each person’s vision followed by healthy productive conflict to implement the shared vision.   The Role of the Visionary and Other Leaders “At the Top” (10:16) The first thing we do is "fire" everyone in the organization. Focus on asking questions that best benefit the organization, not your needs – look at things from a structure first, people second viewpoint. Discuss the three major functions of every business: Marketing/Sales, Operations, and Finance/Admin. The Integrator is the fourth major function of business – the person who drives the day-to-day process and drives accountability among the other leadership team members. About half the time there is a fifth major function, the Visionary (often the founding entrepreneur).   Getting the “Right People” and Improving Your Team (16:06) Helping define what a "right" person is for your unique organization. Focus on placing the "right person" in the "right seat." The People Analyzer Tool helps align the right people to the values of the organization.   Dealing With the “Issues” Component (21:26) Strengthening the issues solving ability of everyone in the organization. Both, being able to Recognize an issue with the courage to voice it and have the skills to solve the issues. Utilizing the "issues list" and "IDS: issue-solving track." Change the culture from a “don’t shoot the messenger” mindset to a culture where people feel safe bringing up issues. Nothing defines a construction project better than the existence of, and need to, resolve issues.   The Most Common Errors with Teams and Organizations (24:43) The perception at "the top" is the acceptance of losing passion for the business. The assumption that everyone in the organization is "crystal clear" on vision and plan. The assumption that if people don't get it immediately, it's their fault.   What Makes Paton a Successful Leader? (26:35) He is passionate and driven to helping entrepreneurs. He focuses on EOS purity. His workmates who help and support him.   Paton’s Biggest Mistake/Learning Opportunity (29:09) Moving his young family to place for an entrepreneurial venture that he hadn't fully vetted the culture fit and leadership approach. I evaluated strictly on career move vs. culture fit and philosophy.  It was the worst thing that could happen but it was also the best thing because it led Paton to EOS.   The Very Best Advice Paton Has Ever Received (31:18) It's more important to be effective than right.  Get aligned and execute, while fixing mistakes together with your team.   Resources for Listeners The EOS Worldwide Website: the books (discounted), free tools, blogs, and Implementors. Book Recommendations: Traction Audible | Paperback | Hardback Get A Grip Audible | Paperback | Hardback   Contact Paton Contact Paton through the EOS Worldwide Directory Contact Paton by Email   Paton’s Parting Advice (35:00) Never lose sight of what it is precisely what you want from your business. Never lose faith that it is possible.  If you have loss sight or lost faith, write down what you want, clearly and explicitly, and use that to better manage your time and energy and your organization's time and energy.   Visit the ConstructionDreamTeam.com/resources page to see all of our guests’ recommended books, websites, etc.   Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!   Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Alex Barthet It's extremely important to hire a lawyer that specializes in construction law. Have your "Core 4" and build relationships with them so you see the trends in the industry. You are going to need a lawyer on your team at some point, so find one now, and get to know them. You won't regret it.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Alex Barthet, Principal at the Barthet Firm. He joins us to share his universal legal expertise.  Join us as we dive into his journey into law through engineering and how to pick the right construction lawyer.   Alex’s Journey to Becoming a Legal Expert (02:11) Starting in Mechanical Engineering with an interest in construction and designing cars, but got near the end, and abruptly changed directions and went to work full time at his father's law firm and went to law school while working.   Mistakes We Make When Picking The Right Lawyer (05:05) Hiring a lawyer based on who you know or price, and not specialty. Not hiring someone that is board certified in their specialty. Not finding someone that fits into the team.   How to Select the Best Attorney for a Specific Issue (07:46) Find someone that's a specialist in the field. Search for the good and the bad on Google, and read reviews. Ask who specifically would be working on your project, and meet them.   Managing Expectations (10:27) Cost: make sure everyone is upfront with cost expectations. Develop small interim budgets to manage any surprises. The legal system takes lots of time – be patient with the process.   Examples of the Good and the Bad (15:31) Clients that think they can beat the odds, typically have worse results than those who work with an experienced lawyer. A client that hired a lawyer that was a solo practitioner that did a little bit of everything. The lawyer did not have specialist experience in construction and the client lost $350,000. Most successful clients create their own dream team with a Construction Lawyer, a Construction Insurance Company, a Bonding Agent and a Construction CPA – the "Core 4."  Clients should socialize (i.e., lunch or drinks) to keep their ear to the ground.   Alex’s “Magic Juice” for Being a Great Leader (22:17) Listening to a variety of great podcasts. Learning from the "best of the best." Being Humble and Showing Gratitude to your team.   All About Alex’s Podcast: “The Lien Zone” (24:44) Started by using videos that we created. 4,500 Listeners per month Quick bullet points on a variety of legal issues. Often, the mundane things tend to cause the most trouble.   The Very Best Advice Alex Has Ever Gotten (27:14) Always Forward. It doesn't have to be the best, but make sure there is incremental progress.   Resources for Listeners The Lien Zone Podcast with Alex Barthet Alex’s Recommendations: “The Labor Illusion: How Operational Transparency Increases Perceived Value”   Contact Alex Contact Alex by Email Contact Alex on LinkedIn The Lien Zone on Instagram   Alex’s Parting Advice (37:57) If you have a lawyer that you know, like, and trust, invite him/her out to lunch. Get to know them better.  If you don't have a lawyer, find one, and put that person on your team. You will need them at some point.   Please subscribe to Construction Dream Team for the latest episodes on our website, iTunes or Stitcher! We would LOVE a 5-star rating to help us show up in the search engines so more of Construction Nation can listen to industry leaders and experts on their computers, phones, or tablets!   Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Zig Rubel Curiosity allows you to see the world differently and solve both complex and mundane issues more effectively. We need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. We have to be willing to take risks and approach the world with a "what's possible attitude.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Zigmund Rubel, the President and CEO of A Design+ Consulting. As an architectural design and consultancy firm, they specialize in data-driven processes focused on planning that integrates the healing, learning, and discovering of buildings. Join us as we dive into the idea of curiosity and integrating a culture of curiosity into teams.   Defining Curiosity and Its Importance in our Teams (02:48)   Curiosity is the journey to understand "what else is out there" and what could be done differently. It requires developing a unique solution for a need or a problem.  Curiosity forces someone to be engaged and committed to a specific outcome.  Sometimes curiosity may not yield anything valuable, and that's ok.  The benefit is to learn and define your boundaries of what the question should be, and the outcome directs you or the team to become more of a learning-based type of group.   A Practical Approach to Curiosity (04:09)   Realizing the importance of seeing our surroundings. Having the ability to question whether what we are doing makes sense. Could there possibly be a better way to approach the situation we are in.   Building a “Culture of Curiosity” (05:11)   Assume that there is a better way of doing something – rejecting the status quo. Curiosity requires us to be uncomfortable with our internal biases and question whether there is something better. Curiosity should more of a bunch of data points you put together to make the best decision going forward. Leaders need patience and forgiveness with their team because a curious team is going to take longer because they aren’t going to use a “tried and true” method. Curiosity is built on mundane things.   Examples of Curiosity’s Role in a Project Setting (07:04)   Partnering projects: Ultimately making their needs, your needs. Funding Availability: Approaching from a "what's possible" perspective. You need to both, have the drive and the interest to see what is out there, and be willing to change. Education is a responsibility of curiosity – if you have a great idea, you need to get people on board otherwise people are going to just do the same thing they always do.     Melding Curiosity and Creativity (12:11)   Creativity is more about the investigation and the outcome of a specific task. Creativity requires Curiosity. The key is asking questions about what could be different.   The Biggest Barriers to Curiosity (13:26)   Our Internal Bias prevents from being curious. The most creative students are kindergartners, because they have no bias. Our own impatience keeps us from fully realizing potential. We must be willing to be incorrect – we need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.   Focusing on the Mundane (16:04)   The matrix of urgent, non-urgent, important, not important.  We often focus on the “urgent, not important" tasks as opposed to the "important, non-urgent" tasks. We need to focus on addressing the right issues, even when they aren't urgent. Unfortunately, the mundane things tend to cause the most trouble.   More About A Design + Consulting (20:22)   They are a small design and consulting practice of mostly healthcare architects. We all know there's a better way to do our job, and that's what unites us as a team. They are located in San Francisco and they are considering having more of a presence in China and India (these countries have really challenging project needs and they are more open to curiosity and unique solutions). When consulting, they focus on building the right building and sizing the building.   Zig’s Greatest Strengths as a Leader (24:37)   Zig’s greatest strength as a leader is his curiosity.  He has always felt that there could be a better way of doing things.  He likes to get the group’s opinion and buy-in.  He engages the team in a manner that they move along, and he knows that sometimes someone on the team is going to point out something that no one had thought of that will change the outcome.   Zig’s Greatest Career Challenge (27:03)   Starting a new company and finding clients to work with that are willing to be patient with a new company. Curiosity comes with risk.  You need to be persistently consistent, and consistently persistent.  You need to have your share of resilience with curiosity because you are going to have disappointment.   The Very Best Advice Zig Has Ever Gotten (30:12)   Be confident. Trust that your assumptions and desires are right.  Be confident in your beliefs.   Zig’s Favorite Piece of Technology (31:40)   His phone: It allows him to do just about anything he needs to do.   Resources for Listeners   Operational Tool from A Design + Consulting Book Recommendations: “A More Beautiful Question”  "Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation" “Creativity Inc.”    Contact Zig   Contact Zig by Email Contact Zig on LinkedIn A Design + Consulting Website   Zig’s Parting Advice (35:33) You need to wake up feeling uncomfortable and wanting to change the world.  If you're curious, you believe something can be better.   Email Sue Dyer at sue@constructiondreamteam.com if you are interested in participating in our Construction Scorecard beta-test.   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The faster you can build your dream team, the faster you can build your success. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on Tunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Eric Sanderson Realize how critical how important relationships and partnering are for projects. Understand the unique challenges of the water sector and how partnering can help in that process. The importance of listening to understand, as opposed to listening to reply. Focus on solving the problem.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Eric Sanderson, the Founder and President of Red Rocks Advisors, LLC. They provide consulting and facilitation services in the utility and infrastructure sectors. Eric is an IPI-Certified Master-Level Facilitator and is here to help us learn more about the water sector.   Becoming a “Master-Level Facilitator” (02:29) Being around the construction since he was a kid, the journey has been a long one. Eric spent some time in the trades, sub-contracting and learning the dynamics of a job site. Eric went on to get an MBA and joined a construction management consultant firm. He learned to understand the importance of relationships on a project and began to facilitate partnering.  He has been working as a Partnering Facilitator in the water sector for ~19 years.   Eric’s First Project as a Facilitator (07:32) Upgrades to the City of Atlanta pump stations for wastewater. Some challenging elements around working with 14 sites. Winning a Marvin M. Black Award for "Excellence in Partnering."   The Uniqueness of Working in the Water Sector (10:14) The challenge of working with 2 owners: Engineering and Operators – you need internal alignment. Permit requirements and compliance are extremely important (local, state and federal levels). Numerous stakeholders involved from city, county, and state entities.   Delivery Systems in the Water Sector (13:19) The traditional model has been Design/Bid/Build, there is a move to Design-Build, and now we are seeing more CMAR projects (Construction Management At Risk). The contractor is working in an operating facility and has to maintain the operations while working on the project. Contractor engagement is critical to have a live cost estimate. Facilitation involved throughout the process.   Examples of Interesting Projects (16:44) City of Las Angeles Department of Water and Power: upgrading systems for UV treatment, unique technical equipment. Vale, Colorado: more capacity and location challenges.   Advantages to Partnering and Facilitation (19:49) Aligning beyond certain goals. Being great "neighbors" to surrounding communities. Collaborating on owning problems and solutions.   Eric’s Greatest Strength as a Leader (20:48) Understanding the perspectives of the individuals involved in a project. Everyone has different goals and aligning the goals around the project is critical. Being able to understand what drives people is crucial in partnering on projects.   Eric’s Most Challenging Project (23:18) New to partnering and lacked the confidence for control. A substantial project with "heavyweight" contractors. Admitting mistakes and learning to overcome your own fears.   Greatest Advice Eric Has Received (27:30) The idea of "don't take it personally." You are going to offer things and people are going to choose to follow or not. You can't take personally whether someone chooses to implement.   Eric’s Favorite Piece of Technology (30:28) Phone and travel apps specifically. Recently upgraded to Microsoft Surface Pro. Able to carry it and pretty much nothing else.   Resources for Listeners Audible for Audiobooks: specifically business and history   Contact Eric Contact Eric on LinkedIn   Eric’s Parting Advice (35:56) Definitely check out the Water Design-Build Council. It advocates for collaborative delivery processes in the water sector. Listen to understand, not to reply. Listen to solve, not defend.  Solve the problem and the dispute will go away.   Visit the ConstructionDreamTeam.com/resources page to see all of our guests’ recommended books, websites, etc. Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The faster you can build your dream team, the faster you can build your success. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Rob Smedley It's absolutely critical to invest in people and focus as much time on building relationships as you do projects. It is essential to collaborate with the Owner from day one. Communicating effectively with the entire team is key to the success of any collaborative project.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Rob Smedley, the Design-Build Manager Buildings for RS&H. Rob is an AIA, DBIA, and has more than 30 years of experience on a variety of projects.  Rob shares about the importance of using Design-Build concepts on projects and communicating effectively with your teams.   Rob’s Journey into Design-Build (02:49)   Rob's path was fairly typical, from school to intern, and then as a designer, moving into project manager, then project architect, and ultimately to principle. The shift came from an acquisition by an AE firm and Rob was introduced to new technologies in design and it spurred him into a whole new direction.   The Biggest Challenges with Design (09:45)   The keyword is People – staffing resources and finding quality people is difficult Evolving Technology: "Technology is great, but it's evolving daily” Generational workplace expectations and communication skills   Opportunities for Design and Construction Collaboration (14:58)   Progressive Design-Build Method The importance of the Owner in the collaboration of "the trinity" (design, construction, integration) Partnering – it is critical and one of the Best Practices identified by DBIA Utilization of new technologies   The Barriers to Design, Construction, and Owner Integration (19:59)   "People" are the greatest challenge Being comfortable with change The pressure of time: "Slow down and move with some purpose”   Having Better Project Integration (25:53)   Invest in relationships and doing the "off-season work" Rehearsals – practice standard protocols Partnering: "raising the bar" in communication efforts Communication and "melting away" complexity   Rob’s Greatest Strengths as a Leader (33:55)    Rob cares about the people, the organization, and the projects.  One of Rob’s favorite quotes is, "People don't care about what you know until they know you care." - John Maxwell.   Rob’s Greatest Career Challenge (35:30)   Being fired by a client. In retrospect, learning from the fatal flaw of not being focused on the motives of the client, changed the whole perspective.   The Very Best Advice Rob Has Ever Gotten (37:30)   Think boldly, act boldly, but not blindly.   Resources for Listeners (38:42)   DBIA “Progressive Design-Build Best Practices” International Partnering Institute Construction Dive Podcasts: “By Example” with Carli Fiorina and The John Maxwell Leadership Podcast Book Recommendations: “How to Win Friends and Influence People”   Contact Rob   Contact Rob by Email   Rob’s Parting Advice (41:33) If you are in this industry, Rob highly recommends getting familiar with 2 organizations: Design-Build Institute of America and the International Partnering Institute. Don't just become a member, get involved. Also, be sure to invest in yourself.   Visit the ConstructionDreamTeam.com/resources page to see all of our guests’ recommended books, websites, etc.    Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The faster you can build your dream team, the faster you can build your success.   Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST.  Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Reese Tisdale Water has an impact on every aspect of our lives, so researching this incredible resource is critical. Water market regulation has been soft, but it is changing. Forecasts show, over the next 15 years, it will cost upwards of $15B for water infrastructure repairs and rehabilitation.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Reese Tisdale, the President of Blue Field Research. Reese is an expert on water and its effect on the market and the world around. He shares the politics of how development occurs and water's role in project development.   Reese's Water Journey (01:53) Blue Field Research was founded in 2012. They started the company with the realization that water touches all aspects of our lives from business to personal. They do market research on water for supply companies, investors, and regulators who need more information and insight into what's happening in the water space.   Defining the Water Market (03:58) The water market incorporates all aspects of water (water, wastewater, and stormwater) from supply to discharge. We look at the water market Globally (outside the US), in the US/North America, and Industrial vs. Municipal. When starting the company, we thought most of the work would be outside the US but they were wrong. Demand in the US: There are 75,000 water/wastewater systems in the US and over 3 million miles of pipe in the ground.   The Trends in Helping with Infrastructure (06:33) Systems are old and mapping isn't good -but companies are getting better at that. Forecasts show, over the next 15 years, it will cost upwards of $15 billion for repairs and rehabilitation. The key is rehabilitating more efficiently utilizing technologies in place. Using different material types will help in building and re-building. Focusing on workforce management: the aging of the baby boomers, etc.   Meaningful Predictability of Resources (09:43) Utilizing Artificial Intelligence to make the workforce smarter so they can do other things. The simple need for remote monitoring.   What the Research is Showing (12:30) We are starting to see emerging contaminants (algae blooms, etc.). Impacts on the daily water supply, such as drought. Utilities are trying to understand what's real and what's not.   The Most Insightful Research Bluefield Research Has Done To Date (16:06) Water market regulation has been soft, but it's changing. States are regulating the water market, not the Federal government.   What Bluefield Research Does (19:45) Help companies understand the market landscape (challenges in the market, opportunities to provide treatment or management). Provide off the shelf reports, annuals, inside agreements with clients or bespoke research for clients.   The Difference in the “Water Side” of the Water Market (23:00) They must have enough capacity for new development. The role of industry and commercial business are treating their own water and becoming more self-sufficient. Water rates rose 3.5% last year. Their focus is on how to "reign in" the expenditures of water procurement and discharge. Utilities need to see the trends so they are acting, not reacting.   The Most Difficult Aspects of Water Research (26:23) Being true to the data that's collected. Staying true to our research methodology. Clients challenging results based on their own perspective.   The Very Best Advice Reese Has Ever Gotten (29:42) Look at other companies not from where they are, but from where they started, and measure yourself in the same way.   Reese’s Favorite Piece of Technology (31:21) The Podcast app in his phone. There’s so much to learn, but some of it is just “waves on the ocean” as well.   Resources for Listeners (32:21) Book Recommendation: Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner   Contact Reese (33:20) Contact Reese on LinkedIn Blue Field Research Website   Reese’s Parting Advice (34:16) Truly think about the cost of the glass of water in your hand and all the assets that go into it. Realize how much of an impact water has on our lives.   Check out our Construction Dream Team LinkedIn Group!   Visit the ConstructionDreamTeam.com/resources page to see all of our guests’ recommended books, websites, etc.    Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4am PST.  Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Gregory Grabowski Without collaboration, you can have a perfect environment and circumstances and still fail. A team can do amazing things if they are high-performing and self-correcting with a culture of trust. Ask, “What can I do better?”  The answer you receive will be the most important thing – do that thing.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Gregory Grabowski about Partnering in other countries. About Guest Gregory Grabowski (1:00) Gregory Grabowski is the President of GCC & Associates LLC and has gone from being a contractor to a professional partnering facilitator. A lot of Greg’s journey has been on very large projects outside of the United States. GCC provides project controls and partnering consulting services.   Greg’s Journey to Becoming a Professional Partnering Facilitator (2:28) Greg started his career in the U.S. Navy and picked up mechanical engineering licenses and a general contractor license Greg has done projects on every continent except Europe and Antarctica Greg helps teams find the sweet spot for themselves in communication and collaboration   Greg’s Career Working as an Overseas Project Executive (4:55)   If you have great funding and a great environment and jurisdiction and community, but the wrong team, you can pull defeat out of the jaws of victory It’s also possible to have a restrictive and difficult environment and with the right team, culture, and local support, you can have success The biggest lesson Greg learned was to nurture the culture and the team wherever they’re at and nurture the team within the context of the culture   How Greg Became an Internal Partnering Facilitator (8:50) Greg’s initial job was to go places and replace someone who not producing results, but he didn’t like it.  He asked if he could go and turn around teams and projects instead. After many successes, he became known as the internal partnering facilitator.   What is the Difference Between Being Third-Party Neutral and an Inside Facilitator? (11:50) It comes down to perceived bias It’s most ideal to use a third-party facilitator who is truly neutral You can still do good work internally but it’s easier with external   What Greg Wishes Most Project Managers Would Do That They Don’t Do (13:45) Build a professional and personal rapport with the key stakeholders and contractors.  You need to know one or two things that keep a client up at night. There are unwritten requirements that are in every single contract. Bring all of the Stakeholders into a room (Owner, Prime Contractor, Prime Sub-Contractors, Major Sub-Contractors, and the end users) with some coffee and ask, “What is the most important thing for you?”   Greg’s Greatest Strength as a Leader (15:35) Building a high-performing, cohesive, self-correcting team that has trust and collaboration built into the fiber The ability to help the team find its own sweet spot Assess a team, talk to them, help them to find collaboration, and then nurture them He provides the team with a safe place to have open, confidential communication and helps them deal with friction points before they become issues   Greg’s Worst Moment of His Career (17:15) He was an internal facilitator in a challenging area overseas. Greg came in after the kickoff when there had already been some issues with the client. There was a little traction on schedule and materials, then a hurricane came and flooded the job site. As a facilitator, Greg was unable to bring down the walls of anxiety between some strong personalities.  He was unable to be seen as a neutral facilitator.   The Very Best Advice Greg Has Ever Gotten (19:53) Thor Erikson, a Navy SEAL, told Greg - take care of the team and the team will take care of the mission. A team needs to say what needs to be said without anxiety. A good team can take care of a challenging project and still have fun as they rise to the challenge.   Greg’s Favorite Piece of Technology (21:07) Zoom’s ability to reconcile time zones and to do video teleconferencing on a mobile device. He can see the job site and do things face to face overseas.   Resources for Listeners   Book Recommendation: Make Your Bed by William McRaven   Contact Greg Contact Greg on his http://www.grabowskicc.com/ Call Greg at 949-636-0461   Greg’s Parting Advice (25:17 Understand the five greatest words of any relationship: What can I do better? When people say this to one another and then listen to the response. Whatever that person says, that’s the most important thing.   Construction Nation, ask that question and tell us how things go on LinkedIn. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please subscribe to Construction Dream Team for the latest episodes on our website, iTunes or Stitcher! We would LOVE a 5-star rating to help us show up in the search engines so more of Construction Nation can listen to industry leaders and experts on their computers, phones, or tablets!

3 Invaluable Lessons from David Niese You can help other people out and get what you need at the same time. If your project staff is happy, everything starts falling into place. It’s not enough to just be right – you need to spend more time on collaboration and listen to what people are saying and what is going on.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with David Niese about effectively implementing partnering within your team and organization and why taking the hardline when it comes to managing projects doesn’t always yield a positive outcome. About Guest David Niese (1:16) David Niese was one of the trainers for the Caltrans Fundamentals of Partnering. David helped train over 4,000 different project professionals on the fundamentals of making Partnering work on Caltrans projects. David is a Project Executive at Granite Construction in their large project group.   David’s Journey to Becoming Project Executive at Granite Construction (2:50) David grew up in the industry and did a lot of surveying with his dad He got a job at a small engineering firm in San Bernadino, CA He worked with Caltrans for 15 years and then jumped to the private industry For the last five years, David has been at Granite Construction   How David Went from SOB to Collaborative Leader (5:50) In his first job as a Resident Engineer, David was a hardliner. He expected his contractor to know what he was supposed to do, and David stuck to the contract.  In the end, his contractor went bankrupt and in stepped a new company.    David learned that you can hold a contractor to the contract, but it is bad for business; but all the contractors start spending more money.  It costs the owner more money if they have to deal with a lot of claims.  There are always things we can do to help each other on the contract.    If the project staff is happy on both sides, everything just falls into place.  Your quality is better, your safety is better, your production rates are better because everyone is happy coming to work.  Everyone is working toward the common goal of finishing the project. David’s Advice to Someone Who’s Just Starting Their Career (15:15) Don’t let the daily grind keep you from seeing the big picture When you focus on the little things only, you don’t fully understand what the ramifications might be A mentor is extremely important to have the right perspective   How to Lead Your Team When There’s Conflict (17:30) Have your partnering process in place, be sure that you listen and understand the position of other people You can help other people out and get what you need at the same time Listen to see where the conflict might be coming from and to figure out how you can avoid it Using a facilitator can really help   What People Can Do to Lead Their Team When It’s Struggling (19:45) The Escalation Ladder can be a huge help with things - go up the chain so you can relieve yourself and others from having to worry about the issue The person at the next level of escalation will probably have a different view on the problem Don’t take things personally, there will always be contract disputes Don’t let conflict affect the work going on in the field Looking for a fair and equitable resolution to the problem is doing your job   David’s Approach to His Projects with Alternative Processes (25:23) In the bid/build world there is no qualification process, but in the alternative delivery world, your past performances will affect you getting future work. If you’re going up a company that had no claims and you did, that will put you at a disadvantage. Your ability to successfully complete a contract becomes important in alternative delivery.   What David Would Do if He Had an Owner Who Was Not Going to Be Fair and Equitable (27:48) If there is an owner with a reputation for not resolving disputes, they choose not to work with those owners. There’s so much work out there, they get to pick and choose who they do and don’t want to work with. You need to look for an owner who will match your core values.   How David Overcame the Very Worst Moment He Faced (29:07) The worst moment was also his worst Partnering ever. There were many disputes, but he didn’t let the contract disputes affect the quality of the work they were doing in the field. In the next project they understood what to do and not do to never let that happen again. He tries not to override subordinates in the escalation ladder and resolve at the lowest level possible.   David’s Zone of Genius (31:49) A manager should not be judged on how they manage the “A” players.  A true manager can take the “C” players and turn them into “B” players and take the “B” players and turn them into “A” players. You have to keep things from becoming a stumbling block. David is good at looking for future problems down the road and letting employees know before they get there. Always have a contingency plan in place.   The Best Advice David’s Ever Received (35:19) It’s not enough to just be right. If not everyone’s on board with what you think is right, it’s not enough.  You need to spend more time on collaboration and listen to what people are saying and what is going on.   Resources for Listeners   Recommended Book: Living the 7 Habits Recommended Book: The Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun   Contact David Contact David on LinkedIn   David’s Parting Advice (37:58) Work on expanding your sphere of influence – what you can affect to happen. Listen to others, come up with a good solution that everyone is happy with and enjoy having a bigger impact.   We are beta-testing our Project Scorecard between now and September 17th.  Any project team who wants to be a part of the beta-test the Scorecard contact Sue@ConstructionDreamTeam.com. Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team. You can’t have your dream until you build your team! Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify! Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Tracy Thomas Hands-on training is how you get projects overseas to run smoothly. It’s important to discover and capitalize on shared values. As a leader, what you say in a meeting people will take action on, so curate what you say.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Tracy Thomas about project management overseas and in challenging environments. Tracy talks about how her leadership style has changed and how she’s championing partnering in her overseas work.   About Guest Sean Tracy Thomas (1:35) Tracy Thomas is the Director of Construction Operations for the U.S. State Department Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (OBO). Tracy is a career member of the Senior Foreign Services of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Overseas Building Operations where she currently directs the construction operations for all new U.S. Embassy and consulate projects worldwide. Tracy is also championing the OBO Partnering Program which is currently in the pilot process.   Tracy’s Journey to Becoming the Director of Construction Operations for the U.S State Department OBO (3:02) Tracy joined OBO as a foreign service construction engineer 16 years ago. She started on a project in West Africa as the Deputy Project Director under a very seasoned project director. It was a natural progression for her to lead projects worldwide. They have $20B dollars in projects all over the globe.   About the State Department’s OBO Office (4:12)   OBO is the real property manager for all U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world. They manage a portfolio of properties in nearly 300 locations valued at over $80B. Most projects are done by American contractors. They find American talent and then source local talent from other countries. About the OBO Partnering Program (5:43) They’re getting started setting up a new partnering program which is growing fast. Partnering will help bridge the experience gap in the field offices. OBO has selected two projects to pilot, one in Uganda and one in Moscow, both are similar in size and scope ($100M - $200M and two to three years in duration). They hired a consultant to observe the steps they are taking to develop the Partnering program. They are also developing Best Practices to facilitate solutions to security challenges, logistics, commissioning, etc.   How OBO Selects a Contractor (10:56) The pool comes from contractors who want to have a presence in worldwide construction and who share the mission to do diplomacy worldwide. The work is governed by federal contracting and comes from a different bureau than OBO. They plan their projects according to a list of priority missions overseas, funding, and real estate. The prequalification is the limiting factor.    Some of the Key Challenges Faced Leading Projects Overseas (13:17) They build state of the art facilities to U.S. codes under rigorous security standards in remote locations or austere environments. They use local labor that may not be aware of U.S. codes or standards. They do the work within a diplomatic context and a difficult business climate. The U.S. contractors hire local labor and train them to do the work.   How Tracy Envisions the Partnering Program Helping Overall with the Mission (16:10) It’s their opportunity to foster trust in a structured environment with inexperienced team members. When construction is booming in the U.S. there’s less skilled labor that wants to go overseas, so to have a structure of trust is one of the primary benefits of Partnering. The risk to the work is an order of magnitude higher for contractors. The cost of delay is too high, you need solutions right away.   What Else Has Been Built into the Partnering Program (19:50) Setting up communication protocols. Identifying key indicators and surveying on a monthly basis. It will be led by an IPI facilitator.   Tracy’s Greatest Strength as a Leader (20:25) Pulling the team together. It’s important to discover and capitalize on shared values. Tracy got her team together and asked them what their values were. A key to empowering teams is making sure everyone understands their authority and the basis of their authority.   The Biggest Challenge Tracy Has Ever Faced (24:20) She was working in Yemen during the Arab Spring uprising. She didn’t feel like she had the full support of her team in Washington. She had missed some cultural cues and made some missteps. She had to do a reset on her leadership style and teamwork approach.    Resources for Listeners   Recommended Book: The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander   The Best Advice Tracy Has Ever Gotten (28:51) Be careful what you highlight as a leader in meetings, you could wear people out with action. Measure what you say in a meeting because, as a leader, people will pay attention to what you say.   What is Tracy’s Favorite Piece of Tech (30:03) Her cell phone and software programs that help with data mining to see where potential risks are located.   Contact Tracy Email Tracy: thomastj2@state.gov Visit the OBO website   Tracy’s Parting Advice (33:14) If something isn’t working, it’s okay to make a change. Processes and standard practices are helpful, but if something isn’t working it’s important to recognize the gap and make an adjustment.   We are beta-testing our Project Scorecard between now and September 17th.  Any project team who wants to be a part of the beta-test the Scorecard contact Sue@ConstructionDreamTeam.com. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Kristin Allen A collaborative work environment is key to any project but especially big ones. A good leader leads by example. Meetings with purpose are incredibly important. We need to know what the purpose, objective, action items, and deadlines are for the meeting.   For the first time ever, we are offering a beta-test of the Project Scorecard for everyone to use on their project, not just our clients.  If you are interested in being a part of this beta test, contact Sue Dyer, suedyer@constructiondreamteam.com. This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Kristin Allen about GMP and the importance of collaboration, meetings with purpose, and coming up with a plan. Subscribe to Construction Dream Team About Guest Kristin Allen (1:21) Kristin Allen is a project manager for a $2.4 billion project that is coming close to having its first big milestone. Kristin is the Project Manager for Terminal 1 – Boarding Area B at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The airport will have its first opening of nine gates this summer. The focus of the project is elevating the guest experience while providing a facility that is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.   Kristin’s Journey to Becoming a Project Manager at SFO (3:20) Kristin always had an affinity for math and problem solving Kristin started as a designer and then obtained her professional license and experienced many parts of the airport She has worked at SFO for the last 20 years In 2013 she was asked to work on the Terminal 1 program   Kristin’s Greatest Strength as a Leader (7:04)   When the SFO project began they knew they’d need to foster and encourage a collaborative environment Interacting with the team and getting to know everyone allows her to set the tone She leads by example How Do They Work on Both Projects, Terminal 1 Center and Boarding Area B, at the Same Time (9:15) Each project has a different Design-Builder The Project Management teams from the two projects integrated into one team Boarding Area B has the majority the boarding areas and Terminal 1 Center has the majority of the terminal but there are so many touchpoints throughout They touch physically, with infrastructure, with schedule, logistics, and site access They have “One Building, One Team” philosophy They use a Big Room where everyone involved on the two projects are co-located There is a Memorandum of Understanding between the two teams regarding the infrastructure needed for their upcoming 9-Gate Opening Problems are being resolved from the field up   An Overview of the Two SFO Projects: Terminal 1 Center and Boarding Area B (14:00) Overview The two projects cover about 1.2 million sq. ft. There are a robust variety of retail, and food and beverage offerings There is a brand new baggage handling system that’s containerized and more efficient There are consolidated checkpoints Very sustainable practices and uses about ⅓ of the power of a traditional build of its size   How Kristin Successfully Negotiated the GMP for Both Projects (16:14) They have a progressive GMP program in San Francisco and typically start the process when they’re around 90% bought out. The most important thing they did at the beginning was to come up with a plan. They knew what they wanted to accomplish week over week and there were things they weren’t in alignment on at the end so they sat together in the room, they were empowered to make decisions and they hammered it out.   How to Figure Out the Budget and Contingencies (21:00) Look at history and what has happened along the way Look at other projects and see what they did Look at the history of your own project to predict out for the remaining scope Build a strong relationship with design/build teams Lean on other people’s expertise and understand their knowledge base   How the Target Budget Process Helps Get to the GMP (22:43) When they started, they had a “barn raising” with Stakeholders and the Design team to come up with big and crazy ideas. When they left their Programming Phase, they were designing things with a budget that they couldn’t afford. They had a series of budget reconciliation exercises over a year and half and settled on what is and is not in the scope. SFO has created a “below-the-line” list with items they’d like to have in the process that wasn’t vital to it. They prepare for those items, and as they move through the project they check to see if they can fit the item into the budget and move it “above-the-line.”    What Can Others Do to Make Sure Their Projects Complete Within Their GMP and What Role Does the Team Play (27:22) You need to make sure you have the proper contingencies and reserves to deal with things when they come up along the way The problems are the project’s problems Create an environment where everyone involved in the project is comfortable sharing their ideas   How Do You Create an Integrated Team for This Size of Project With This Complexity (28:46) You have to keep your eyes open to things that are getting out of alignment You have to take a step back and make sure everyone is on the same page The best part about a team is that you work to put things back together as a group They couldn’t successfully complete the project without Collaborative Structured Partnering   A Big Challenge Kristin Has Had and How She Overcame (32:55) Kristin was asked to help with a runway closure and compliance project, she felt she was taking a step backward. It ended up being the most partnering-intensive project with 24-hour construction for the entire summer. It was an amazing experience. Things you think are bad in your life sometimes turn out to be good.   The Very Best Advice Kristin Has Ever Gotten (36:30) Surround yourself with people who know more about specific things than you do. There is no one single person that knows everything and you have to allow others around you to provide a framework for success.   Kristin’s Favorite Piece of Tech (38:09)   Bluebeam A Microsoft Surface Tablet   Resources for Listeners (39:50)   Recommended Application: Flipboard   Contact Kristin Reach out to Sue Dyer to get a hold of Kristin at Sue@ConstructionDreamTeam.com   Kristin’s Parting Advice for Construction Nation (41:10) Meetings with purpose are incredibly important. We need to know what the purpose, objective, action items, and deadlines are for the meeting and that’s critically important for GMP as well. The person who facilitates the meeting shouldn’t be the same person who’s trying to get the answers. Action items are the most important thing.   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Find all of the resources that have been recommended by our guests on our website on the Resources page, https://constructiondreamteam.com/resources/   Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Sean Graystone Lean construction principles and methodologies are some of the most effective methods to resolve and help streamline several of the most standard disconnects in the construction industry. Getting legacy companies to become okay with even the concept of change can be a big undertaking. You need Partnering to get collaboration and buy-in to make the LEAN paradigm shift.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Sean Graystone about how Lean methodologies and Partnering are inseparable and how to implement these concepts in your organization for better teams and higher rates of project success.   Welcome Construction Nation!  Sue Dyer, the host of Construction Dream Team, interviews industry leaders and experts so you can learn about the people side of construction and build your construction dream team based on OPE – Other People’s Experiences.  The shortest way to success, is to learn from others who have already been there and done that!  If you go to ConstructionDreamTeam.com/Resources, you will find every guest’s favorite resources – truly the collective wisdom of all of our guests at your fingertips.  Check it out! About Guest Sean Graystone (1:32) Sean Graystone is the owner of Project Leadership & Delivery LLC. Sean has been a leader in the construction industry since the late 1980s. He discovered LEAN Construction and became a big proponent of the Lean Construction methodology. Sean has used LEAN methods on his projects and has become an expert on how to teach and apply these methods.   Sean’s Journey to Becoming the Founder of Project Leadership and Delivery LLC (3:00) Sean came upon the construction side and was recruited into a specialty group Sean began to question the methods that were engaged in and how the company was operated, so he formed his own group in 1988 Around 2009 he moved into owner’s representation and was recruited to do a historic conservation project in Washington D.C. He became more heavily involved in the AGC Group and LEAN Construction as time went on He opened up Project Leadership and Delivery at the end of 2017   Sean’s Greatest Strengths as a Leader (11:20)   His ability to think strategically He has studied and understands how human beings relate to one another – Construction is a human engagement and involves people Sean believes you have to figure out what motivates people and how to help augment the changes in behavioral understandings How Can We Marry Collaborative Partnering Structure with Lean? (18:30) You must create opportunity out of adversity – there is a formula: adversity leads to opportunity and opportunity leads to advantage LEAN theory says that every mistake is a learning opportunity In Partnering, you need diversity of types of points of view and people to realize that problems are all interconnected In LEAN, you Optimize the project, not the parts Partnering has structure, accountability tools, and its goal is to create a culture of collaboration and to hold everyone accountable to its norms (or buy-in) Partnering is a part of LEAN assembly – without the Partnering concept, you don’t have a LEAN assembly Formal Partnering has a place in all high-performance efforts; LEAN takes a whole bunch of other operational changes besides Partnering to create a paradigm shift Partnering takes training, LEAN takes a lot of training, and both have slightly different paths   Advice for a Project Manager Who’s Interested in Applying Lean (32:30) You have to educate people and find out how to make people more openminded. Give people valuable information via the LEAN Construction Institute and the Associated General Contractors LEAN Construction Education Program. Provide the advantages to projects which have used LEAN methods. The key to a LEAN environment is continuous improvement.   What Sean is Doing with Project Leadership and Delivery LLC (37:09) Sean is a Certified Improvement Instructor for the Lean Construction Institute and the AGC’s LCEP Program - he does a lot of teaching and consulting Sean teaches collaboration, how to drop defensiveness, and how to engage Sean walks into a broken situation and helps everyone understand and get out of it   Resources for Listeners   Recommended Book: Transforming Design & Construction by William R. Seed Recommended TV Show: Brene brown Netflix Special - The Call To Courage   Something a Project Leader Could Do Starting Tomorrow (43:37) Devote yourself to learning and start a project library with some of your favorite books and resources. Ask the people around you for some of their favorite books and discuss the learnings. Remember that construction is a human engagement.   Contact Sean Website: Project Leadership & Delivery LLC LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-graystone-cm-lean-75201b4/   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Send this episode out to your team members.  Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Sinem Mollaoglu The higher the risk, the higher the frequency of use partnering tools is needed, and the higher the benefit. Collaborative partnering gives you the tools and process to achieve great outcomes. Just do it.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Sinem Mollaoglu about the latest partnering research project she has worked on - ACRP Research on collaborative partnering. About Guest Sinem Mollaoglu (1:49) Sinem Mollaoglu is the Program Director of Construction Management and Associate Professor of the School of Planning, Design, and Construction at Michigan State University. Sinem is LEED accredited and a CGP Designated Professional. She received her Ph.D. from Penn State in Architectural Engineering in 2007 and her dissertation was on high-performance green building delivery. Sinem looks at the technical side and the people side and pulls it all together.   Sinem’s Journey to Becoming the Program Director of Construction Management (2:55) She went to school for architecture in Turkey where she was brought up and was amazed by all the construction going on at all times in Istanbul. She began to work for an architectural office doing design/build for historical buildings. She decided to pursue her Master’s in Construction Management. She worked on high-performance, sustainable building for her dissertation and now works on how project teams collaborate and exchange information.   About the School of Planning, Design, and Construction at Michigan State (7:15)   There are four separately accredited programs in the school: Construction Management, Urban and Regional Planning, Interior Design, and Landscape Architecture; in addition to the National Charrette Institute. The Construction Management program has Bachelor’s, Master of Science, and Ph.D. programs. The environment is dynamic and unique and fosters interdisciplinary collaboration. About the ACRP Research Program on Collaborative Partnering (8:25) ACRP was established in 2005 by the FAA. Each year ACRP receives funding from the FAA and the governing board meets and decides on the budget and approved projects. Teams from across the nation put in proposals about how they would attack the research problem and are competitively selected. For the airport, Sinem’s team put in a research bid and became the main two researchers on the team.     Some of the Findings from the ACRP Research Project (12:35) The research was a 14-month project and followed a rigorous process. They surveyed close to 100 people in the nation followed by case studies. The findings: Collaborative partnering is suitable for any delivery method. Collaborative partnering is scalable to most project types. Partnering is suitable for any size and type of airports and the payback increases with scale and complexity. There was a reduction in the cost of change orders and costs associated with claims. Projects were delivered ahead of schedule and reduced liquidated damages. They saw improved productivity, and the cost of Partnering was less than .2% of the overall project budget. The higher the risk, the higher the frequency of use partnering tools is needed, and the higher the benefit.   About the ACRP Guidebook (17:25) The guidebook has two sections: How to implement collaborative partnering effectively at the project level and Optimizing implementation at an organization. Chapter one talks about collaborative partnering and its benefits and obtaining leadership buy-in. Chapter two talks about the detailed tools of collaborative partnering. Chapter three talks about how to select tools based on the level or risk in projects and how to use them at the right time. Chapter four talks about managing tools effectively to optimize implementation, select the right facilitator, and engage stakeholders. Chapter five talks about assessments for organizations and improving readiness to use collaborative partnering.   Other Partnering Research Sinem Has Done (23:05) In 2014 the first research project she did was to look at barriers to partnering the Architectural and Construction industry as an underutilized best-practice. In 2015 they looked at the academic and industry-based literature and combined the lessons learned. In 2017 they did an in-depth case study of a partnered project from the aviation industry showing how communication changes over time in project delivery. Next was the ACRP project. In Spring 2019, one of their project reports came out, Goal Alignment Transactive Memory Systems and Performance in Partnered Projects (there is a positive impact when the collective wisdom of the team is aligned in their goals on both individual and project team performance). The research team is now working on an ongoing report using a large amount of quantitative project data from over 120 partnered projects.   Sinem’s Worst Moment (29:20)   The first couple of years as a professor are very challenging and feels like a lot of rejection. What Sinem learned is that if you’re really passionate and hard-working you won’t get as caught up in how devastating it is to feel shot down. Listen to feedback and never give up.   Sinem’s Greatest Strengths as a Leader (31:55)   Resilience and perseverance are important because you have people who look up to you. You have to catalyze everyone’s energy. You also need the ability to connect with people and use their strengths. People bloom if they work in the areas that they’re passionate about.   The Best Advice Sinem Has Ever Been Given (34:00)   Just do it. Just get started with something and don’t linger around too much.   Sinem ‘s Favorite Piece of Tech (35:20)   Voice recognition in the Notes section on her cell phone.   Resources for Listeners   Get the ACRP Partnering Report Find Sinem’s research reports on the International Partnering Institute’s webpage Originals: How Non-Conformists Change the World by Adam Grant   Contact Sinem Project Team Website: https://iopt4.msu.edu/   Sinem’s Parting Advice (39:12)   In today’s construction, integrated project delivery is a focus. Collaborative partnering gives you the tools and process to achieve great outcomes. Go to pages 1-6 of the guidebook for a list of benefits and tools.   We are beta-testing our Project Scorecard between now and September 17th.  Any project team who wants to be a part of the beta-test the Scorecard contact Sue@ConstructionDreamTeam.com.   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!   Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Kristin Scroggin You’ve got to have a plan for attracting and retaining top Millennial talent. The people with the most influence are those that have the money and those that have the power - Millennials have the power right now in sheer numbers. If you’re not willing to adapt and spend money on training to work with Millennials you will be dealing with high turnover.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Kristin Scroggin the differences between the generations and the key differences between millennials and other generations. Learn how to engage the millennials on your team and to retain them and mitigate turnover. Subscribe to Construction Dream Team For the first time ever, we are offering a beta-test of the Project Scorecard for everyone to use on their project, not just our clients.  If you are interested in being a part of this beta test, contact Sue Dyer, suedyer@constructiondreamteam.com. About Guest Kristin Scroggin (1:40) Kristin Scroggin will be the keynote speaker at the Collaboration 2019 International Partnering Institute Conference. Kristin started a company called GenY Communication Strategies. Kristin has her Master’s in Communication Studies, her Bachelor’s in Communication Arts and has been a communications lecturer at the University of Alabama for the last eleven years. Her passion is generational diversity.   Kristin’s Journey to Becoming the Founder of GenY Communication Strategies (3:25) Kristin was originally a communications lecturer and she wanted to make all of her students love her so they would want to get the best performance out of them – it didn’t work She wanted to figure out how to get her millennial students to reach their maximum capacity and started researching Millennials, then moved on to other generations to explain generational differences She’s worked with all the branches of NASA, military defense, hospitals, construction, Alabama linemen, and Solid waste   The Definition of Millennials and Other Generations (6:45)   Millennials are anyone born between 1985 and 2005 Kristin’s company looks at “micro-generations” in 5- to 7-year increments because things change rapidly They look at how kids are raised to see why they are how they are Millennials were raised by Flower Children (the hippies of the 60’s and 70’s), the iGen generation was raised by GenX The iGen are the first group since the GI Bill with an interest in returning to trade so we need to start focusing on high-school kids Why Should We Focus on Millennials? (10:30) About 46% of the American population is under 33 years of age Companies are alienating the new generation that’s coming in, but to stay afloat, you need to attract the top of the generation The Millennial generation is 86 million - the largest generation we’ve ever had There will be a massive flip in the way work is done when Millennials get fiscal power 2030 is the year where things will flip dramatically to Millennial power Millennials will stay in power for pretty much their entire career   How Millennials Became So Different? (15:25) Almost everything that we hate about the Millennials is what we as a culture put in place. We pushed self-esteem on this generation and now their rates and standards are extremely high, they won’t just put up with things.  Millennials have taken to hear the complaints from their parents that they heard as children and have responded accordingly.  For instance, the parents of the Millennials had an extremely high divorce rate so many Millennials don’t marry until later or have kids.  We’ve watered down what it means to be excellent, the parents of Millennials decided to give participation trophies, not the Millennials themselves.   What is an Action Plan to Take to be More Effective with Millennials? (20:24) The younger generation has not been refined or polished because we’ve removed the tribal style of learning and refining and disempowered refiners We need to mentor/be a Coach to the Millennials You have to train people on soft skills - the Millennial generation is great at knowledge, but they’re missing wisdom   How to Approach Learning with Millennials (24:25) We have to build rapport and relationships with our employees. You have to get people to respect you before you put a lot of commands on them. “Just because I said so” doesn’t work for this generation because that’s not what their parents said to them.  A lot of why we make people wait is because we went through the same thing - the waiting game. Millennials walk away from jobs with a lot less threat because the nest they land back in is very soft.  If we don’t modify in order to attract and maintain the top, we will have to deal with the bottom of the barrel.  We are going to have to provide more training, continuous feedback, and catch them doing right as often as we catch them doing wrong.    What it Looks Like to Mentor a Millennial (31:10)   Millennials work really hard for two characteristics: Someone they respect that’s consistent, even-tempered, and authentic. They need to be a little bit afraid of you, there has to be a respect line that has been drawn.   The Challenges Kristin Has Faced and How She Improved (33:02)   Her original idea was to bring in some of her former students, train them, and then farm them out. All of those people were Millennials and both of the people managing them had very different management styles. The Millennials were not working well for the more rigid manager, and Kristin had to have a conversation with the other manager. Kristin was frustrated on both ends:  with the hyper-office mindset and also with the Millennial side - you have to find the happy medium that works the best for your corporate culture.    What Are the Differences Between the Generations? (40:40)   First ½ Baby Boomers (64 – 74 years old): Raised by traditionalists, the older ones went off to WWII. They were pressured to get a job. Their job and identity are intertwined, and competition is huge for them. Second ½ Baby Boomers (54 – 64 years old): Raised by hippies and HR emerges from this generation - they appeal to the whole self and building rapport. This generation would love to retire but can’t. They got hit hard in the recession. GenX (44 – 54 years old): The least collectivistic of all of the groups of people. Most want to come in, do their work and go home. Xennials (34 – 44 years old): Latchkey children, won’t tolerate micro-managing.  They don’t need social elements of generations. iGen’s (23-13-year-olds): They’re a boomerang. They don’t want to be like the older millennials and are completely addicted to their cell phones. GenZ (13-year-olds and below): They’ve experienced life post-9/11.  Parents want them to be super independent. If that child was born to people later in life, they’ll still be bubble wrapped vs. children coming in now who will have more freedom.   Contact Kristin Website: https://www.genwhycommunications.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/genwhycommunications/ Instagram: @genwhycommunications Twitter: twitter.com/genwhytraining   Resources for Listeners   Recommended Podcast: genTHEM Podcast Now What Workbook   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Find all of the resources that have been recommended by our guests on our website on the Resources page, https://constructiondreamteam.com/resources/

3 Invaluable Lessons from Jeanne Kuttel Bringing together a strong team is one of the most rewarding things you can do. You need to have a holistic and broader view while also providing details. Keep succession planning in mind and start thinking about who a good candidate could be to take your place one day.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Jeanne Kuttel about The Oroville Dam Project, how to partner on a complex project with a tight deadline, and why succession planning is so important. About Guest Jeanne Kuttel (1:08) Jeanne Kuttel is the Chief of the Division of Engineering for the California Department of Water Resources. Jeanne has a BS and an MS from UC Davis and is a licensed Civil Engineer. She’s been in her current position for the last six years.   Jeanne’s Journey to Becoming the Chief of the Division of Engineering for the CA Department of Water Resources (2:15) She started working at the DWR straight out of school She started as a designer doing different types of projects including restoration She became more focused on overall project delivery and building good teams She was selected to lead the Division of Engineering and has about 350 staff that reports to her in a broad spectrum of positions   About the CA Department of Water Resources and the Global Outlook  (4:40)   The department is diverse with a lot of amazing opportunities With water there is generally too much or too little, so the department oversees all water resource functions for the State of California They have one of the largest water projects in the world The department does both drought and flood work About Winning the International Partner Project of the Year Award  (8:40) They got significant rainfall in Oroville, CA and the spillway was used They discovered a huge crater in the spillway and they had a short amount of time to fix it Jeanne kicked off a team and brought people from all over to get the spillway functional for the next year They shut the spillway off for the 2017 season and began to demolish it The Executive team partnered every two weeks The teams worked 24/7 and completed the project at 10:00 am on the deadline day In the winter they came up with more plans and in the Spring of 2018, they worked to complete the rest of the projects   About Jeanne’s Partnering Steering Committee (16:30) For most of 2017, she was working almost exclusively on running the Oroville program. Prior to that, she was developing plans to start a robust Partnering Program. They started a Steering Committee to better understand the perspective of the industry and change the culture internally.   About the CA Department of Water Field Guide (21:00) The Field Guide includes many best practices and how to train staff The Guide helps get the word out to Partnering Facilitators and set a baseline for what is expected for partnering at DWR Having the Guide allows the staff at DWR and the contractor staff all have a consistent Field Guide The Field Guide is always a work in progress and being improved   The Role that Partnering Played in the Oroville Spillway Dam Project (24:03) The commitment to partnering goes on the department side, with the contractor, and regulatory agencies. Having everyone be a participating in their partnering meetings allowed the fast-paced project to be a success. Having the Facilitator kept everyone accountable to their commitments.  Partnering allowed them to focus on what was in the best interest of the project.   What Will Change on Other Projects Based on What Jeanne Has Learned on the Oroville Spillway Project (26:55) Failure is not an option Have robust contingency plans Contingency planning can be applied to nearly every project and partnering meetings are a big part of that   The Biggest Challenge Jeanne Has Ever Faced (29:12) The biggest challenge was tied to Oroville because they had such a huge list. Throughout the state of California, there was a lot of other flooding at the same time. Bringing together an amazing team was extremely rewarding.   Jeanne’s Greatest Strength as a Leader (32:22) She has a diverse amount of project experience and the people who work for her appreciate that she understands all the facets of the work. She has a sense of compassion for all the challenges that people may face in a project.   The Best Advice Jeanne Has Ever Gotten (34:30) Plan for your retirement. Make an investment in yourself so that you have options when the time comes.   Jeanne’s Favorite Piece of Tech (36:34) Jeanne uses her cell phone and always has Bluetooth in her car.   Resources for Listeners (37:47)   Recommended Video: Oroville Dam Spillways Fast Facts   Contact Jeanne Connect on LinkedIn   Jeanne’s Parting Advice (41:13) Take a long and hard look at succession planning and start recruiting people now. Educate people about what you do and create interest. Figure out who your successor will be and then teach people and mentor them.   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time.  Check out Constructiondreamteam.com/Resources to see all of the books, websites, etc. that our guests have recommended. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team! Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Brian Polkinghorn Conflict prevention should be the first line of defense, then conflict resolution. When you’re emotionally drawn into something you’re more personally invested in its success. Know the conflict resolution process: perspective, language, translate, moderator, referee.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Brian Polkinghorn about conflict resolution both domestically and overseas. Brian elaborates on high-stakes conflict resolution in some of the most conflict-driven nations in the world.   About Guest Brian Polkinghorn (1:35) Brian Polkinghorn is a Distinguished Professor, Program Director and Department Head of Conflict Analysis and Dispute Resolution at Salisbury University, and also the Executive Director of the Bosserman Center for Conflict Resolution at Salisbury University. Brian is accomplished at all different types of conflict resolution and works domestically and internationally. Brian works in the areas of the world that have the highest conflict and is still able to create agreements. Brian is involved in state and federal conflict and has done a lot of research in conflict resolution.   How the Center at Salisbury Came About and What a Distinguished Professor Is (3:38) A Distinguished Professor is a designation stating you’ve distinguished yourself in contributions to the advancement of skills and knowledge in your field. The Bosserman Center for Conflict Resolution has both a practice and a research side to it. The Center is broken into three teams: workshops, research, and academic. At the Center, people put into practice what they learn and research - it’s a career launcher.   Brian’s Greatest Strength as a Leader (13:45)   Brian would rather know the person rather than the project. Brian often puts the students first. It doesn’t matter who takes the credit as long as you do good work and get the job done. Some Examples of Projects Brian Has Worked on in Conflict Zones (14:98) South Africa:  The transition from apartheid to democracy has not been smooth and simple things are difficult. The humanity of conflict zones is the most important thing. Middle East: The world’s leading people on water and desert research are in the middle east, but they can’t look like they’re collaborating because of the politics. When you’re emotionally drawn into something you will take ownership.     How Water Agreements Come to Fruition (23:00) People come from around the world to make water available in the desert. Because water is so essential it’s possible to use it to bring people together.   What Brian Has Done in Nepal (26:07) Brian has worked on the peace process in Nepal. Things looked good on paper, but people had different interpretations about what they were supposed to do. It’s taken over eight years for the process to get underway. When you’re working with international organizations, some are state actors and they have to follow the law, some are not, and they can change their mind. You want adversaries to have about the same amount of.   Advice to Construction Leaders Who Must Deal with Conflict in Their Teams (33:45) People speak different languages, so collaboration has multiple meanings depending on where you use it. You need to know how to deal with the angry public. You sometimes have to translate from one language to another and people need to think about being a moderator in language and demeanor. When things are really rough make people consider the best-case scenario. Perspective, Language, Translate, Moderator, Referee.   How to Better Implement Partnering on Projects (38:19) You need to know that there is a framework for partnering. Be educated in the process. Take what you know works well and then line it up in a formula and make it your own.   The Worst Moment Brian Has Ever Faced (40:30) When Brian has worked on a project and someone who should have been at the table and wasn’t, or vice versa. Or, when an agreement was signed prematurely, and he realized quickly a mistake was made.   The Best Advice Brian Has Ever Gotten (44:00) Do what makes you happy. When you enjoy it it’s not a job. When you do something you love and are good at, you are legitimately helping people.     Brian’s Favorite Piece of Tech Geographical Information Systems (GIS)   Contact Brian Visit Conflict-resolution.org   Brian’s Parting Advice (47:29) Do no harm, do something non-contractual to make things easier for others. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Be the person your colleagues want to grow old with.   Resources for Listeners   Recommended Website: Bosserman Center for Conflict Resolution Recommended Book: The Gift of Anger: And Other Lessons from My Grandfather Mahatma Gandhi by Arun Gandhi   We are beta-testing our Project Scorecard between now and September 17th.  Any project team who wants to be a part of the beta-test the Scorecard contact Sue@ConstructionDreamTeam.com.   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!   Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!

Welcome Construction Nation!  Sue Dyer, the host of Construction Dream Team, interviews industry leaders and experts so you can learn about the people side of construction and build your construction dream team based on OPE – Other People’s Experiences.  The shortest way to success, is to learn from others who have already been there and done that! Please subscribe to Construction Dream Team for the latest episodes on our website, iTunes or Stitcher! We would LOVE a 5-star rating to help us show up in the search engines so more of Construction Nation can listen to industry leaders and experts on their computers, phones, or tablets!   3 Invaluable Lessons from Donna Laquidara-Carr If you can get your team working as a cohesive unit, then the delivery method is not essential to make sure you have integration. You need to be able to have a real conversation instead of just having things passed down to you. Set aside time to do market research because construction is evolving quickly.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Donna Laquidara-Carr from Dodge Data & Analytics about the research surrounding construction trends and the barriers to building successful teams.   About Guest Donna Laquidara-Carr (1:30) Donna Laquidara-Carr is the Director of Industry Insights and Research at Dodge Data and Analytics. Donna has worked with Dodge for over 20 years and has seen the industry over a long period of time, through lots of changes and has seen the research over time. Donna is also the managing editor for the SmartMarket Report and has been in that post since 2010.   Donna’s Journey to Becoming the Director of Industry Insights and Research at Dodge Data and Analytics (3:10) Donna’s father was a contractor and she worked in his office while in school Donna joined Dodge in the communications capacity and then went on to get her PhD in English After getting her PhD, Donna went back to Dodge to become the Training and Policy Manager Donna ended up working with sustainability experts in her organization After looking at the research, she moved over to her current position when a job opening came up   Donna’s Greatest Strengths as a Leader (6:10)   After leaving news gathering she hasn’t had people reporting to her, so she’s had to learn how to lead peers You have to find ways to think of yourselves as collaborators The ways that she’s able to support others encourages others to support her   About Donna’s Research on Collaboration (8:00) Collaboration is at the heart of positive project outcomes Everyone who participated in the study had to pick two different projects they had done in the last five years - the best project, and a more typical one The study focused on budget, schedule, quality, and safety For most owners, 79% of the owners said their best project finished on schedule or early while a typical project experience did not finish on schedule 83% of owners said their best projects finished on budget compared with 51% of typical projects; Quality was similar to budget On a scale of 1 (lowest) to 4 (highest), 56% gave their best projects a 4-rating, only 28% of the typical projects achieved a 4-rating for Safety There’s a big gap between how owners feel on their best project and how they feel about typical projects Team chemistry and integration are directly correlated with high levels of performance On best projects, 76% of the owners engaged key stakeholders before schematic design Delivery methods didn’t have a big correlation to best vs. typical project outcomes   What is the Commercial Construction Index (CCI) and How That Can Help Teams (17:20) Dodge Data & Analytics does a quarterly survey of general and trade contractors, the goal is to get a snapshot on a quarterly basis of how contractors think the industry is doing based on real experiences The index number is based on whether the market will give them work, the revenue they expect next year, and their backlog going into next year To understand the market better they look at how difficult the contractors are having finding skilled workforce, the ability for contractors and owner to get financing, material prices, and important trends Contractors and Owners can look at what their peers are experiencing and use the information to plan   What Donna Learned in the Managing Uncertainty Study (24:25) The study was about understanding the causes of uncertainty in construction. They surveyed about 4,000 people in the industry which narrowed them down to seven causes. They then did a more focused study on those causes such as: unforeseen site conditions, owner driven changes, acceleration of the schedule by the owner, design errors and omissions, and construction coordination issues and contractor caused delays. People tended to underestimate the issues that they caused and overestimated the issues that others caused. At the end of the study, they discussed what was the best strategy that mitigated each problem. Better communication was always ranked higher than any other mitigation factor.   In the Lean study, the Big Room concept (everyone located in one room working together) was the one thing that correlated to highest project success.    The Biggest Gap Between Performance and Proficiency (34:00) Communication skills was considered to be the biggest gap between performance and communication skills.  70% of Contractors found communication skills to be important but only 39% felt that their workers had strong skills in this area.  Contractors need to figure out how to improve communication skills amongst teams.  You can’t know what the core problem is until you communicate effectively   About Dodge Data and Analytics (35:25) Dodge Data and Analytics was founded in the 1890’s by Fred Dodge. They have the most comprehensive database on projects tracked from pre-design to project completion. They have the ability to use their database for forecasting purposes. They do custom and private market research for clients, and research on trends with partners in the industry.  One upcoming study will be looking at prefabrication and how it will affect the construction industry.  The results will be out in the Fall.   The Biggest Challenge Donna Has Faced in Her Career (40:30)   After applying to schools for her PhD she got rejected for every school she applied to.  Donna called every school that rejected her and found out why they rejected her.  Donna figured out what her gaps were, took some master level classes and got accepted into Tulane University   The Best Advice Donna Has Ever Gotten (42:40)   More than advice, she’s found it helpful to have people to model herself after. Her was a role model.  Her mother was raising a family of five and helping her father run the business side of his company. Another person she modeled herself after was one of the first people she worked for, who taught her to look at how to “raiser her game.”   Contact Donna on LinkedIn   Donna’s Parting Advice (44:47) Construction is evolving so dramatically; you need to set aside a small amount of time to expose yourself to the trends that are going on, sign up for newsletters like what they have at Dodge Data & Analytics.  This will allow you to see the larger industry that you are so deeply engaged in and see how it is changing.   Resources for Listeners   Find the Commercial Construction Index and other research     Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team. Stay current with what is happening in Construction by joining our LinkedIn group.  Just go to cdtlinkedin.com to join.

3 Invaluable Lessons from Gregory Mantz There’s a continuous dialogue that needs to happen between designer and contractor. It isn’t about the number of people you have or the budget you have, it’s how the team works together that makes a project successful. Find time to take your Architect out for lunch – learning what has motivated them, understanding their background, etc., changes people’s attitude around a project.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Gregory Mantz about the interface between design and construction and how they can work together smoothly. Greg also talks about DPR Construction’s Design Management Academy and the success it continues to see.   About Guest Gregory Mantz Gregory Mantz is the Project Executive at DPR Construction. DPR is always doing innovative things and Greg talks about the projects he’s championed and what DPR is up to right now.   Greg’s Journey to Becoming the Project Executive at DPR Construction (3:23) Greg joined DPR about 9 years ago but comes from about 35 years in the design business. Greg is a registered Architect in California and has worked with some of the recognizable firms in the Bay Area Greg’s journey with DPR goes back about 28 years – Greg worked with many of the principles of DPR as an Architect on the projects they were building Greg discovered that a design management role was important to project management and lifecycle   Gregory’s Greatest Strengths as a Leader (6:18)   Greg’s role and greatest strength is his ability to rally the troops, focus on the mission, and trying to deliver effectively.  Greg gets excited to bring people together and get them motivated to succeed.   Greg’s Tricks for Rallying People (7:20) Be open in your communication Get everyone to understand the drivers and key success factors on a job Get everyone to contribute to developing a mission statement for any particular project Be open and transparent and get everyone moving in the same direction   About Design Management and the Design Management Academy (8:37) It is often the communication link between designers and contractors that breaks down and one of Greg’s fundamental role in the design management position is to be able to break down those barriers and communicate with an architect.  Bringing his experience and 35 years to the table helps to put the architects at ease.  Knowing someone has been there and done that helps set the stage for successful design management.   In the last three or four years, DPR realized that the issues surrounding design management go beyond their design/build projects, it is on every project they have. Regardless of the contract methodology there is a continuous dialogue between the designer and the contractor.   What DPR is trying to do with the Design Management Academy is to bring exposure of the functions of design management to a wider variety of people internally (i.e., project engineers, project managers, etc.).  People who don’t necessarily have any exposure to design but are interfacing with designers on a daily basis.   The objective of the academy is to understand how to most effectively work with architectural partners.   Why Greg Decided to Create the Design Academy Now (15:30) DPR is a large firm that needs to be mobilized quickly The integrated structure of DPR’s projects necessitated the academy “Cluster Leaders” are playing a design management role and they need to have information   The Results and Lessons Learned from the Academy (17:00) The focus is to get better and more predictable outcomes on projects and minimize DPR’s risks.  Greg uses the Fee Erosions metrics and has discovered that 50% of contractor’s fee erosions tend to happen in the design process. It’s all about mitigating risks early on.   What is the Future of the Design Academy (22:25) The academy modules are now online as a reverse classroom program The group gets together once a month to revisiting information There are a number of “captains” around the country taking responsibility for modules   Will Trade Partners Ever Be a Part of the Design Academy? (25:30) Trade partners have helped develop some of the content for the Academy and will continue to play a role in the future.   More About DPR and its Innovations (26:40) Internally DPR has been a firm that’s always focused on “ever forward.” They have a team that focuses purely on innovation and casts a wide net within the company.  They have an operation called ViewOpps that takes data from the design/construction process and appropriately documents it to make it useful. They’ve implemented a sister firm called DBC (Digital Building Components) that works on pre-fabrication.   The Biggest Challenge Greg Has Ever Faced in His Career (30:33) Any time you end up with a client that’s unsatisfied it’s disappointing. There was a job in the last few years at DPR which had a fantastic A+ team that was going full-tilt. The one problem was the client who could not make decisions and the whole project blew up because the client couldn’t get out of his own way.   The Best Advice Greg Has Ever Gotten (33:40) If your boss ever asks you out for a drink, you go. The best conversations will be had off hours and not in the work environment.   Resources for Listeners Recommended Podcast: DBIA Podcast Recommended Podcast: The Built Revolution Podcast Recommended Book: Integrating Project Delivery   Contact Greg DPR Construction: https://www.dpr.com/ Connect with Greg on LinkedIn   Greg’s Parting Advice (38:21) Find time to take your Architect out for lunch. Socializing with partners and learning what has motivated them, understanding their background, etc. changes people’s attitude around a project.   Are you ever surprised by what is happening on your projects? We use a tool called Construction Scorecard – it is a very accurate measure what is happening on your project.  This tool allows you to see what is happening on your project so you can catch things that are going wrong before they get too far. We are beta-testing the Scorecard on other projects.  We are having a special for the next 90 days (between now and September 17th) sign up for the Scorecard program and see how it works for your project.  Email SueDyer@orgmet.com if you are interested. Visit ConstructionDreamTeam.com/Resources for to access all of the resources each of our guests has shared in their episode.

3 Invaluable Lessons from Sue Dyer at the 2019 IPI Conference Attending the IPI Conference is worthwhile both for the knowledge and the connections. Conferences are a great way to learn and grow, to see different perspectives, and learn from one another. Make it a point to go to a conference or two this year. Partner your project for project success!   This week, host Sue Dyer talks about the Collaboration 2019 event, the 10th Annual Conference Expo and Awards for the International Partnering Institute. In this episode, Sue shares the top 10 things she walked away with after attending this event. Sue’s Top 10 Takeaways from the International Partnering Institute- The Number of Challenges the U.S. State Department Faces to Build an Embassy or Consulate Overseas (00:55) There are rigorous security requirements You must use and train local labor Almost all materials have to come in diplomatic containers These projects become diplomatic missions These complex projects make domestic projects look much more doable   The New ACRP Collaborative Partnering Research (2:50) The Airport Cooperative Research Program funded research focused on aviation projects There is $100B of construction occurring in aviation Collaborative partnering can yield a 10% cost savings along with other benefits The research includes a partnering guidebook on how to implement collaborative partnering for maximum results Learn more about the research being conducted by Sinem Mollaoglu, Associate Professor at the Construction Management Program in the School of Planning, Design, and Construction at Michigan State University in Episode #32 which will be released on July 22nd   LEAN and Collaborative Partnering (4:05) There is a “marriage” happening between the International Partnering Institute (IPI) and Lean Construction Institute (LCI) The LEAN experts have a lot of tools and to implement well it takes collaborative culture and buy-in LEAN and IPI could come together to help project management teams   Young Professionals (5:10) Kristin Scroggin, Owner and Lead Trainer of genWHY Communication Strategies, gave a Keynote address about the differences between the generations in the workplace Kristin will be featured in Episode #31 on August 5th We need to learn how to work with young professionals as they’ll be the largest living working group for the next 50 years IPI’s Young Professionals Group completed a project and presented their solution to a barrier to partnering as a competition The IPI Young Professionals Group is on fire and if you’re under 35 you should join the group   Chats in the Hallways (7:00) An important part of any conference is learning from one another and catching up on what’s happening all over the world   Learning from Each Other and the Spirit of Camaraderie (7:30) At the IPI Conference, people are so excited about they’re learning and doing and they’re all open to what’s possible   Watching the Teams Be Honored with the Partner of the Year Award (8:15) Nineteen teams from all over the world won awards of recognition this year The awards are not easy to win and the teams who were awarded should be honored One of Sue’s projects was awarded this year   Watching Jeanne Kuttel Receive the IPI Chairman’s Award (9:05) Jeanne has been an industry leader and helped the industry in the water sector to become more collaborative Jeanne has developed a whole partnering program Check out Episode #38 on July 8th to hear more from Jeanne Kuttel and the CA Department of Water Resources’ new partnering program   Being Recognized as a Partnering Visionary and Groundbreaker in the Industry (9:55) Sue was shocked and humbled by the recognition and thankful for the kind words     What People Like Most About the IPI Conference- Larry Jackson - Urban Transportation Planner (10:50) Larry likes the camaraderie of the event and learning new ways to collaborate People are sharing their real-world experiences Sean Graystone - Project Leadership and Delivery and Practitioner of LEAN (11:26) Shawn is walking away wondering why LEAN and structured collaborative and partnering haven’t been working together Both practices are on parallel tracks and can complement and augment one another Change in construction in the U.S. is a long overdue need Gregory Grabowski - Partnering Facilitator at GCC & Associates (12:40) Seeing the best tools and processes of his peers are using in the industry He wants everyone to benefit from the great work that’s happening across the country and world Get in touch with Greg at www.grabowskicc.com Brad White - Project Manager with Gensler (13:32) He found the topics very engaging and he’ll be walking away with more knowledge around partnering and IPI He’s looking forward to developing relationships within the industry Mary-Alice Avila with Avila and Seiden Architects and Planners (14:15) She’s walking away with a better understanding of how partnering works Stewart Seiden of Avila and Seiden Architects and Planners (14:40) Walking away with new partnering skills and new friends Kevin Soiland with Campbell Grading (15:08) Collaboration is important and hopefully an award Wayne Campbell with WEBCOR Builders (15:25) The most important thing in any collaboration is trust You must communicate and establish trust to have a high performing team Devin Porr Partnering Program Manager with Caltrans (16:05) Walking away with a lot of knowledge and information He has a better sense of himself and his place moving forward and how to evolve and improve processes Aaron Rambo with WSP (16:45) Had a great experience with the Young Professional's group and looking forward to continuing that involvement for the next year Paul Crotty with Ventura Consulting Group (17:05) A better understanding of how technology works in a collaboration He wants to know how to implement technology to provide structure and support Jim Pappas with Hensel Phelps (17:49) He understands the amount of potential that exists The amount of information and connections that could be made is limitless Judy Ross from San Jose International Airports (18:30) You have to partner your project for project success Conferences are a great way to learn and grow, to see different perspectives, and learn from one another.  Make it a point to go to a conference or two this year.  Let me know what you’ve learned when you’ve gone to your next conference – email sue@constructiondreamteam.com.

3 Invaluable Lessons from Henrik Cort The extra time you spend up front you will get threefold back at the end. If you have a pricing agreement on equipment, then you have an agreement that’s no different than a bid/build - but the end result is better. Being transparent with stakeholders when coming up with solutions will make project challenges go smoother.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Henrik Cort about implementing ICS systems in North America and overcoming project challenges.   About Guest Henrik Cort (1:55)   Henrik Cort is the Director of Airport Sales for North America for Beumer Corporation.   Henrik spent time in the early ’90s in San Francisco working for Levi Strauss where he moved from Project Management to Sales.  In 1997 he moved to Hong Kong to work in baggage handling systems, and in 2001 Henrik moved back to Denmark to head a Global Sales and Systems Department.  Henrik moved to the U.S. in January 2011 to become Head of Sales of Baggage Handling for Beumer.   About Beumer Group (5:30)   Beumer Group is a third-generation family-owned company that was founded in 1935 in Germany. There are several major segments: Logistics - Warehouse distribution and parcel sorting; airport baggage handling; conveyor loading; and palletizing and packaging. The company is 4,400 employees and $1 billion+ U.S. turnover a year. The company is represented in 35 companies and the philosophy of the company is to look at long-term success – we do not want to be the biggest, we want to be the best.   What Henrik Found Bringing an ICS System to America (7:44)   Everything was based on conventional conveyors and that would take time to change Denver had tried an ICS system 20 years ago and it didn’t work out and that soured a lot of people toward the system The U.S. has fairly extensive contracts and, for the privately-owned company, the family was not willing to sign their company away for one contract There are airports that are willing to try and look at new ideas, such as San Francisco   The Journey in Making the ICS Project Happen (10:40)   In San Francisco that airport was very willing to look at ICS as an option San Francisco encouraged an early involvement of the package handling supplier In parallel to SFO preparing for T1 they put in a test system with TSA – While TSA would talk about it, they wouldn’t move ahead without an airport   The Benefits of Using an ICS System Over Other Systems (13:20) The ICS System is not right for every airport, but it fit San Francisco because it was partly a new construction ICS shuts down as soon as there’s nothing and uses about 50% less power and causes less wear and tear You don’t lose track of a bag, there is 100% tracking and much less jam, and the system is much lighter   The Journey of Getting ICS into SFO (15:30) There was a team of five working to implement ICS at SFO.  At first they were comparing a conventional system with an ICS. The choice at the end of the day came down to Return On Investment.  ICS is slightly more expensive up front but cheaper to run along the way.   What Henrik Has Learned From This Journey (16:48) By getting in on a project early, they were able to use the benefits of the ICS 100% It’s important to work together with stakeholders early and take their feedback to make changes The benefits of early development allowed the design to be implemented in the building – for example, they could put their precast into the concrete columns in the ceiling   What it’s Like Working in the United States Now (19:54) The ICS is getting into the mind of a lot of airports and many are implementing it in the design process. The San Francisco partnering model has gotten out there and made its way into other projects.   About the Collaborative Partnering Model from Henrik’s Experience (21:30)   Early stakeholder involvement is key to achieving the right design The progressive Design/Build model allows for innovation without contractors feeling largely at risk The time and money spent achieving the design is coming back in less hassle at the end   What Makes a Good Leader in Other Parts of the World (24:30)   You need the flexibility to deal with the situation you’re in wherever you are in the world. A leader that is more of a coach that sets out direction while leaving it up to employees to get there and make their own decisions succeeds more long-term. This creates more of an environment of teamwork instead of giving specific instructions to do that job.   The Biggest Challenge Henrik Has Ever Faced in His Career (27:53)   They replaced an existing conveyor system while needing to accommodate and go live. Within the first two days, they found that the system was simply not ready. They found that the staff was not educated enough at launch. Henrik learned that you must own the problem and be clear with stakeholders about what will happen to correct the problem.   The Best Advice Henrik Has Ever Received (32:05)   A personal relationship is the key to everything and building personal trust enables a lot of other issues to go away. Projects are more between people than between companies.   Resources for Listeners (33:20)   Book Recommendation: Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions   Contact Henrik Contact Henrik on LinkedIn   Henrik’s Parting Advice (34:55) It’s not dangerous to involve your vendors early in a project If you make the right arrangements early you might pay a bit more but you will earn it tenfold back   Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and view our guest recommended Resources.  Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify! And join the Construction Dream Team LinkedIn Group, CDTLinkedin.com. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

Welcome to episode 25 Construction Nation! This is Sue Dyer, your host of Construction Dream Team; where I interview industry leaders and experts, so you can learn about the people side of construction and build your construction dream team based on OPE, Oher people’s experiences.  And you can accelerate your success by learning from others who have already been there and done that. There are two places you can go to interact with us and share your ideas and thoughts.  The first place is the Show Notes page for each podcast episode where you can write a comment and share your thoughts.  The second place is our LinkedIn Group, CDTLinkedIn.com, where you can ask your questions, make comments, and we can have a dialogue.  Let us know who you want to hear from and what you want to hear about.   Episode 25:  3 Invaluable Lessons from Jeffrey Sims One way you’re guaranteed to fail as a leader is if you have a lot of blind spots. A leader has to know how to leverage people’s strengths and align them to the tasks that have to be done. The most important part of a project is to create an environment of safety culture.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Jeffrey Sims about the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Project Leadership Institute. About Guest Jeffrey Simms (1:33) Jeff is the Project Director at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Jeff heads up a program for the Department of Energy and has partnered with your host Sue Dyer.   Jeff’s Journey to Becoming the Project Director at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (2:38) Jeff grew up the son of a contractor and got a bachelor’s degree in structural engineering Jeff spent his early career working for engineering firms designing buildings and bridges After spending some time at a few national laboratories in the Midwest he transitioned to SLAC National Laboratory in Menlo Park, CA.   About SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (5:40)   SLAC is funded by the Department of Energy There are about 1,500 people focused on various research disciplines SLAC is adjacent to the Stanford campus and uses a linear accelerator that focuses on certain missions How Jeff Has Helped Spread the Idea of Collaboration Through the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories (8:00) Jeff is working to create an environment that’s more attractive to contractors Owners need to put the contractor at their same level and integrate them with the team A healthy partnering environment is key Bringing the stakeholders into the process is important You have to create a strong relationship between the leadership of the owners and the leadership of a construction company The larger a project gets, the complexity isn’t only in the tech, it’s in the people   Jeff’s Journey with the Project Leadership Institute (13:47) The vision of the institute is a year-long development program with week-long events that have learnings from Stanford and experienced leaders from the Department of Energy A group of 25 people is accepted for the year-long program, which is a mix of graduate-level training and experiential training The institute wants to create a culture of project leadership across the complex that understands how to manage large, complex projects The Project Leadership Institute is trying to raise the bar for project leadership culture across the bar for the Department of Energy and it is about creating a network that people can leverage going forward     What Jeff has Learned from Running the Project Leadership Institute (18:10) While easily defined by the Project Management Institute, in complex projects the people component makes it a Sociological experiment that is occasionally interrupted by technical progress.  One way you’re guaranteed to fail as a leader is if you have a lot of blind spots. Developing trust in our team and facilitating the development of trust helps you develop communication in a way that gets rid of blind spots.   Why Emotional Intelligence is Important (20:15) You need to understand how to have crucial conversations, balancing empathy and accountability We listen as leaders and understand challenges, but you can’t let up on requirements or accountability to delivery When we know our strengths and weaknesses, we can allow others to help us   How Jeff is Applying PLI Knowledge to the $1 Billion X-Ray Accelerator Project (22:35) A leader has to know how to leverage people’s strengths and align them to the tasks that have to be done.  You have to understand how to adapt when people’s skillsets change over the years.  It’s difficult to stay focused when you don’t know your individual triggers.   What PLI’s Graduates Have Learned and How They Apply It (25:00)   Preparing to lead daily projects - negotiations, etc. Becoming a highly effective leader - emotional intelligence, and self-awareness Positioning your project for success - risk and safety Delivering high-risk complex projects - making quality decisions The Graduation - crisis communications/management   Jeff’s Greatest Strength as a Leader (27:40)   Jeff is a fan of the Strengths Finder 2.0 tool - his strengths are focus, strategy, and being analytical. Jeff is constantly thinking about analyzing data to improve things on projects.   A Big Challenge Jeff Has Faced in His Career (29:14) Jeff has experienced a lot of scope, cost, or schedule challenges, but the biggest challenges have been about safety. He talks about a time when a safety precaution was being breached and how he lost his temper when the situation wasn’t taken seriously.   The Best Advice Jeff Has Ever Gotten (35:21) On a team, everybody gets the ball regardless of whether you like everyone on the team or not. You have to stay focused on being successful and minimizing emotions.   Resources for Listeners   Recommended Book: Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts, by Annie Duke Try out the Gallup Strength Finder Learn more about Jeff’s current project   Contact Jeff Contact Jeff on LinkedIn Reach Jeff at https://pli-slac.stanford.edu   Jeff’s Parting Advice (42:00) Try to understand someone else’s perspective.  Listening rather than speaking should be your focus - this is a skill you should actively try to develop.   Please subscribe to Construction Dream Team for the latest episodes on our website, iTunes or Stitcher!  Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!    

Welcome Construction Nation!  Sue Dyer, the host of Construction Dream Team, interviews industry leaders and experts so you can learn about the people side of construction and build your construction dream team based on OPE – Other People’s Experiences.  The shortest way to success, is to learn from others who have been there and done that! This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Jim Linthicum from SANDAG about what successful mediation looks like and what it’s like to manage a multi-billion dollar project.   3 Invaluable Lessons from Jim Linthicum Make sure you understand the other guy’s side even if you don’t fully understand your own. Mediation skills are important for anyone who wants to create a culture that breeds success. Really listen to people, don’t think about what you are going to say next.   Subscribe to Construction Dream Team The following show notes are a transcription from the Construction Dream Team Podcast episode 24 audio interview between Sue and Jim. Please subscribe to Construction Dream Team for the latest episodes on our website, iTunes or Stitcher! We would LOVE a 5-star rating to help us show up in the search engines so more of Construction Nation can listen to industry leaders and experts on their computers, phones, or tablets! About Guest Jim Linthicum (1:00) Jim Linthicum is the Director of Mobility Management and Project Implementation for SANDAG.  He is heading up a $9 billion dollar capital program with many different transportation programs in it and he has been 40 years in the industry this August. Jim worked for 23 years with Caltrans and has now been with SANDAG for 17 years.   Jim’s Journey to Becoming the Director of Mobility Management at SANDAG (1:50) It’s been a quick 40 years for Jim.  He started at Caltrans working in a construction management position to construction inspector, resident engineer, project manager, and head of construction and now Jim is the head of the capital program at SANDAG.   What Has Made Jim an Effective Leader (2:50)   Construction management and resident engineer skills prepared him well to be a great leader (3:00) When decisions have to be made quickly and you have to work with people day after day, you learn to develop leadership skills (3:20) When he was young he kept his eyes open and watched a lot of what was going on around him he developed skills that he kept with him his entire career (3:40)   How Community Mediation Has Helped Jim (4:30) Construction is fast-paced with thin profit margins, and that causes a lot of conflicts To be able to come in with a mediator background and skills helps make conversations easier   The Skills Jim Has Learned and How to Apply Them (5:44) The model of mediation that Jim uses preserves the relationship by making sure the conflict isn’t personalized by each of the parties In mediation, you learn the importance of fully vetting and understanding the other side’s position You do this by spending less time making your own case and more time understanding what the people you’re negotiating with want or need You have to agree on the problem before you can reach a solution What is the value of good will on a project? When you create good will you increase trust   Where and How Jim Implements His Skills Within His Own Program (14:15) There are a few layers between Jim and a Resident Engineer, but he is a volunteer mediator on the side. Jim has a good relationship with those he works with and does mediate with them. When you work together, the job is more successful and it’s more fun.   Where Someone Might Go to Get Mediation Skills (16:40) Jim went to the National Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC), they provide training nationally and internationally and you can find more information on their website com Some states have community-based mediation training, as well as some universities Jim learned mediation in small claims court in San Diego, about 20 years ago   About SANDAG and Jim’s Construction Project (19:15) The program is $9 billion and multi-year, both light rail and heavy rail. The project also includes bus rapid transit and freeway projects. About two years ago, SANDAG completed their first Design/Build projects and now SANDAG is doing its first CM/GC (or CM at Risk) job. The vast majority of projects are low bid, but the majority of dollars are alternative procurement.   About Jim’s $2.2 Billion Light Rail Project (21:58)   The project is the biggest transportation project ever done in San Diego done and the first project SANDAG has done as CM/GC The job is going smoothly and it’s the highest performing team Jim’s ever been associated with The job is halfway done, on a typical day there are about 600 workers on that job (an 11-mile long project) They just celebrated and they just had a “topping out ceremony” with the last pre-cast girder (out of 144) that got set at 2:00 am   What’s Making Jim’s Light Rail Project So Successful (23:57)   They brought the contractor on board for preconstruction services about a year and a half ahead of time. They brought in experts and had joint training sessions with the contractor. They had day-long classes such as CM/GC 101 and CM/GC 202. They set a minimum profit margin at 5% and had regular sessions with the team executives to ensure their buy-in. They sent their staff to a few transit agencies that had done CM/GC successfully to talk to their counterparts to get best practices and make connections.    The Biggest Challenge Jim’s Faced in His Career (29:45)   The job was to retrofit a freeway-to-freeway interchange and viaduct for earthquakes. About halfway through the project having completed ~80,000 rebar welds which were all encased in concrete, and then they found out that their rebar welds were not sufficient.  They had to start over; blast out all of the concrete, take off all of the rebar and re-weld them.  The FBI, the state Department of Transportation, and the Federal Department of Transportation Inspector General all got involved. This ended in a multi-million-dollar dispute.   The Best Advice Jim Has Gotten (35:50)   Be as flexible as possible and as nimble with your resources and your processes as you can. Take advantage of the talent of the team (the resources) and set up processes that suit the project. If you have a good history with the contractors, engineers and/or project managers you can do things concurrently on a construction project and you will be nimbler. You will improve the project and your relationships.   How to Develop Your Leadership Style (38:30) Observe what leaders do and don’t do that you find particularly effective, take notes and see if it fits into your style – it’s important for something to fit within your personality and style Watch what people do that is not effective and figure out why   Resources for our Listeners (39:51)   Read the Partner Your Project Book by Sue Dyer Check Out Leadership is an Art by Max Depree   Jim’s Favorite Piece of Tech (41:20)   The Headspace app for meditation and mindfulness.  And drones – drones are the best thing to happen for a construction site ever, because you can see up and around jobs almost in real time.   Contact Jim on LinkedIn   Jim’s Parting Advice for Construction Nation (43:44)   Really listen to people.  Don’t think about what you’re going to say next.  Practice active listening.  Let people know that you understand what they’re saying.   Construction Nation, Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you.   If you go to ConstructionDreamTeam.com/Resources, you will find every guest’s favorite resources – truly the collective wisdom of all of our guests at your fingertips.  Check it out!  And if you aren’t already a member of Audible, click the link and you will get a free book. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

Welcome Construction Nation!  Sue Dyer, the host of Construction Dream Team, interviews industry leaders and experts so you can learn about the people side of construction and build your construction dream team based on OPE – Other People’s Experiences.  The shortest way to success, is to learn from others who have already been there and done that! We would LOVE a 5-star rating to help us show up in the search engines so more of Construction Nation can listen to industry leaders and experts on their computers, phones, or tablets!   3 Invaluable Lessons from Sue Dyer Megaprojects are very chaotic. Sue and her team at OrgMetrics LLC discovered patterns in megaprojects – eleven megaproject success factors. Your team can use the Mega Project Success Factors Assessment to identify where there are strengths and weaknesses in your project.   This week, host Sue Dyer talks about megaprojects - how to keep them on track and identify project weaknesses and strengths.   About Megaprojects (1:58) Very large megaprojects have a lot of opportunities for chaos to break out, and they often finish significantly over budget and behind schedule.  Congress passed new requirements for managing and overseeing megaprojects (defined projects costing $250 million and above). You begin to see patterns in megaprojects, and it begs the question - what does it take to make one of these projects successful? Trying to manage a large project is often like trying to manage the weather.   The Eleven Megaproject Success Factors (5:00) Your There is a Leader or Owner as the visionary and decision-maker of the project or program (5:22) Megaproject Expert - There is someone on the project with several successful megaprojects under their belt (7:03) A committed and integrated team that is personally committed to the success of the project and hand-picked for their leadership experience and expertise and their willingness to do whatever it takes (8:40) Run by project managers, not politicians - Let the experts use their expertise (10:00) Unique structure and culture - You need new norms, new policies, new procedures to support the size, complexity, and culture required for a high performing, integrated team (11:33) A program approach - You need new systems, procedures and tools that allow you to manage a program of projects all together, rather than managing project by project (13:28) An atmosphere of partnership - Everyone must work together toward the common end: a successful project (15:16) Expect chaos - The team and the team leader assure that the focus stays on the success of the project; you need the right people to tell you when the project is off course, then you must have a system in place that allows a “course correction” (16:53) Provide accountability - Provide the ability to be accountable to one another and to the goals of the project, using a feedback system such as a scorecard (19:25) Integrated activation team - For facilities where you have an activation process (20:48) Integrated passive and active technology - Our buildings are getting smarter and much more technology is being integrated into the building, bring IT in early in the planning and stay on top of what the current technology is as it changes (22:22)   Resources for Listeners   Download the Mega Project Success Factors Assessment Tool   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Construction Dream Team allows you to tap into the collective wisdom of the industry so you can accelerate you success.  Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team. We have created a Construction Dream Team LinkedIn Group.  May of our guests will be joining me in the group to interact with all of you.  To make it easy to join, you can join at CDTLinkedIn.com! Contact Sue Visit Linkedin to send Sue a message!

3 Invaluable Lessons from John Thorsson A lack of communication and wanting to understand each other drives us apart. Most conflicts on a project start with financials and economical situations. Put in as few barriers as possible so you can spend your energy moving forward.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with John Thorsson about partnering and what you could do to improve your projects and the way that we collaborate. Subscribe to Construction Dream Team Welcome to episode 23 Construction Nation!  This is Sue Dyer, your host of Construction Dream Team; where I interview industry leaders and experts so you can learn about the people side of construction and build your construction dream team based on OPE – Other People’s Experiences.  Accelerate your success by learning from those who have been there and done that! We would LOVE a 5-star rating to help us show up in the search engines so more of Construction Nation can listen to industry leaders and experts on their computers, phones, or tablets! About Guest John Thorsson (1:20) John Thorsson was the Partnering Manager and now the Business Manager for the second largest construction firm in Sweden. John has taken partnering not only in NCC but in other parts of the world to help others learn to improve their projects.   John’s Journey to Becoming the Business Manager at NCC in Sweden (2:30) How a teambuilding exercise changed John’s mind around partnering forever (3:45) John began to study social psychology and interaction with language and between people (6:20) The construction industry got a hold of him to help implement partnering (7:10)   John’s Strengths as a Leader (10:35)   He’s never had leadership through mandate, he’s always lead through influence (10:50) He’s never been viewed as a threat – he doesn’t yell, he listens and inspires (11:15) In every situation try to find how people are viewing the project differently and make sure that everyone gets what they need (12:00)   What Excites John Most About Partnering on Projects (13:30)   It’s amazing to get a client, contractor and subcontractor to work together on a project (13:30) He wants to help contribute to projects getting completed every day (13:45) It’s about getting people to work together in a more productive way (14:00)   What’s Different in the Way Partnering Occurs in Sweden vs. The United States (14:30) In Sweden, Partnering has been pushed on the market from a contractor perspective (15:40) It’s important to develop things from one joint economy for the project (16:00) We work together as one team; a common organization working toward common goals (16:15) 90% or more of construction projects in Sweden use one of two standard contracts: AB or ABT (Design/Build and Design-Bid-Build). The contracts are used as a base agreement, and then you go in and add the concept of open books and workshops, building the culture (16:30) Working on cost plus overhead and profit takes the question of whether someone is trying to earn more than necessary off the table will allow us to focus more on the project and less on the contract administration side (18:00)   The Situation That John Encountered in Building a Railway (20:30) The team learned that the contractor is responsible for the design, but everyone is in the room to contribute, not to silently correct mistakes. People’s belief in what their roles are often create friction points.   Partnering in the United States is about the culture, not as much about the contract or method of building.  We are working to build one team.  In Sweden, John is trying to get his teams to not collaborate on a fixed price, instead keep their books open and build trust in your team that is necessary, then you will get more value on your project.   How Internal Partnering Can Help Change the Inside of the Organization (26:00) When a team comes to an organization that has done internal partnering it helps mitigate culture clash and promotes congruence across organizations.   What’s Happening with Partnering in Other Parts of the World (27:25)   The definition and execution of partnering varies in different areas of the world (27:40) Over time, the teams would say they were partnering but they were just following the same old approach (28:25) In the UK they stopped calling it Partnering and started calling it Collaborative Working and in Denmark they abandoned the notion of Partnering and started focusing on Private-Public Partnerships (28:40) Later, in the UK later, there was a drive to do real Collaborative Working (29:00) ISO 44001 has a big following in Italy and some other parts of Europe but partnering is largely in part of Europe, Sweden, and the U.K. (30:20) In Malaysia they are following ISO 44001 in Production and Hong Kong is using what is happening in the U.K. (Collaborative Working) (31:48) Australia and New Zealand have their Alliancing Models (33:00)   What are Some of the Barriers to Creating Strong Teams (34:20)   When a client takes an initiative for a partnering project it’s too often because one project leader advocated for the idea. Partnering doesn’t resonate with management or politicians, so it’s time to get this way of thinking higher up in the value chain.  It needs to be in the culture of the organization so that, if someone leaves, the process remains the same.   The Reality of Collaborative Partnering (39:00) The reality of collaborative partnering is that it’s really hard and you should only do it if you believe collaboration will really provide a big benefit. There is a lot of education that has to happen amongst leadership to make it work. A lot of people lack the tools that they need, but everyone will benefit when collaborative partnering is done right.   Resources for Listeners   Book Recommendation - Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink Dan Pink TEDTalk   Contact John Website: https://www.ncc.group/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-thorsson-8a32b72/   John’s Parting Advice (51:10) In the lifecycle of a business relationship you always exit at some point but don’t wait until the end to discuss how to disengage     Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time.  Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team.  Join our Construction Dream Team LinkedIn Group.  Go to CDTLinkedin.com to join. You can’t have your dream until you build your team!  Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Judy Ross You have to take every situation as a learning experience so you can evolve over time. Everyone in the department should have a role, and the department should be inclusive. Partnering is a great way to get or keep a project on track and meet goals.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Judy Ross about how to make a project successful and develop the strengths of your team. Welcome to episode 22 Construction Nation!  This is Sue Dyer, your host of Construction Dream Team; where I interview industry leaders and experts so you can learn about the people side of construction and build your construction dream team based on OPE – Other People’s Experiences.  Accelerate your success by learning from those who have already been there and done that! I’m so excited because now Construction Dream Team has a LinkedIn Group.  I’ve been doing these interviews now for a few months and what I’ve realized is that we don’t have a place to continue the conversations.  We have a great interview and we learn so much, but there is no place to answer questions or talk and chat.  We will be doing that on our LinkedIn Group.  To make it easier for you to join the group we’ve created a webpage where you can click and join.  Go to CDTlinkedin.com you can join the group and join the conversation.  We are really looking forward to having some events – some of our guests will join us and we will have a dialogue.  It is a place for you to ask Sue questions, ask the CDT podcast guests questions, and to tell us what you would like to hear about.  About Guest Judy Ross (1:55) Judy Ross is the Assistant Director of Aviation at San Jose International Airport. Judy served as the interim Assistant Director of Aviation since 2017 and Deputy Director of Aviation for the Planning and Development Group since 2015. Judy’s experience includes managing the administrative functions of the Airport Director’s office, as well as the five airport divisions: Operations, Facilities and Engineering, Finance, Planning and Development, and Business Development. Judy’s Journey to Becoming the Assistant Director of Aviation at San Jose Int’l Airport (3:30) Faith has been in airports since she graduated from college (3:35) Faith tells a story about her very first project at her very first airport (4:00) She wanted to return to California and was offered the position of Deputy of Planning Development at Mineta San Jose International Airport (6:00)   Judy’s Strengths as a Leader (7:30)   Her focus is on the people, creating a team atmosphere, and having fun along the way (7:42) She studied the people she felt were great leaders (8:05) Take every situation as a learning experience so you can evolve yourself (8:15) Everyone has a strength, you just have to find their strength and channel it in the right direction (9:05) Judy’s Vision When She Became the Head of Planning and Design (10:48) When she arrived, she met with every member of the team individually and asked what was working, what was not, and what their goals were (12:35) She wanted to restructure the focus of the division to reflect what they do, not division titles (13:28) She wanted project delivery to be the key focus of what they did (14:00)   What Judy did to Articulate Her Vision to Her Team (15:40) She used feedback from her team and outlined their responsibilities (15:48) She brought changes forward to the Assistant Director and Director of the Department and got their buy-in (16:00) She structured a roll-out plan meeting with employees individually, to the division, and then to the whole department (16:40)   What Judy’s Roll-Out Plan Looked Like (18:15) It was important that she met with the team individually and found out how she could help them through the transition. The division-wide meeting was important so people could hear each other’s questions and leadership’s answers. And finally, the message to the department was also important for change buy-in.   How to Know That What You’ve Set Out to do is Successful (22:15) When employees self-identify as working for the new initiative (22:50) When employees love their jobs and look forward to work (23:10) When every person is assigned a role and on the same page and agreeing to the same goals (24:02)   What’s on the Horizon in Judy’s Future and for Her Team (25:50) They’re looking for a Deputy that’s the right fit for the division so they can continue growing and prepare for a larger capital program. She wants to have the team members ready for any future leadership programs.   About the San Jose Airport (30:00)   The Airport’s primary market is Silicon Valley but also Monterrey County and inland valley areas. The markets economic growth has allowed significant passenger growth over the past three years and is continuing to grow.  The Airport expects to hit 15 million passengers by the end of the year. With growth comes challenges - they are gate constrained, they are looking to expand their terminal, and they want to be prepared to deliver on their projects.   The Biggest Challenge Judy Has Faced in Her Career (32:58) She had a project from the start that didn’t have good scope and she had to dive deep into the project and stay there because the project manager was never aligned. They went through two bidding processes before getting a valid bid. The contractor wanted to pull off the project and Judy asked for two weeks to come up with a new plan, and she implemented partnering. The project ended on time and on budget and the team won a Diamond Level International Partnering Institute John L. Martin Partnering Project of the Year Award in 2017.   The Best Advice Judy Has Ever Gotten (38:00) It’s better for change to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary. It’s about getting people’s buy-in and that doesn’t occur overnight. Measure your path over time and you will see success. There may be times for revolutionary change but use it sparingly because it can be very disruptive to an organization.   Resources for Listeners   Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions by John Kotter IPI Magazine and IPI Conference   Contact Judy Website: https://www.flysanjose.com/ Email: jross@sjc.org Contact Judy on LinkedIn   Judy’s Parting Advice (42:55) It’s all about the people you work with, always put the people first (43:03) Use your own resources, discuss challenges with a mentor or respected friend (43:18)   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time with your people and your vision. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!  We would LOVE a 5-star rating to help us show up in the search engines so more of Construction Nation can listen to industry leaders and experts on their computers, phones, or tablets! Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Faith Varwig Developing matrixes of responsibilities for IT departments is critically important. Listen to your IT specialist and believe that they know what they’re talking about. Making the right decision is better than making a fast decision.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Faith Varwig about some of the insights and secrets of how to make IT successful on projects. Welcome to Construction Dream Team Podcast where Sue Dyer interviews industry leaders and experts so you can learn about the people side of construction and build your construction dream team based on OPE, Other People’s Experiences.  Accelerate your success by learned from those who have already been there and done that. Please join the Construction Dream Team LinkedIn Group to ask question and have a dialogue with the experts we have featured on the Construction Dream Team Podcast and with each other.  Visit CDTlinekedin.com to join. About Guest Faith Varwig (2:05) Faith Varwig is the Principle and Founder of The Faith Group. The Faith Group LLC was established in 2004 as a full-service consulting and engineering firm specializing in the planning and design of security, IT, safety, operational and MEP and FP systems for aviation, transportation, healthcare, federal, government, large campus environments, and critical infrastructure clients.   Faith’s Journey to Becoming the Founder of The Faith Group (3:10) Faith spent more than 20 years working for several architectural engineering firms in the St. Louis region (3:34) She wanted to support not only the tech but the operations and business systems of her clients (3:45) She cares about the culture of her company; she makes work fun and upholds company values (4:00)   Faith’s Strengths as a Leader and How She Creates and Leads a Great Culture (4:48)   She loves communicating and working with her clients and staff on a personal level (4:55) She’s accessible as a leader - no matter your role, people should be able to come in and talk to you about anything (5:28) She wants to share with her team her more than 35 years of experience (5:55) She empowers her team to think outside of the box and come up with new ideas and approaches that set a different standard (6:15) She’s not afraid to try new things, take some risks, and experiment (6:40)   Why Do the IT Components on So Many Projects Still Fail? (7:55) IT needs to be there at the very beginning, many companies wait to include it the end of the project (9:07) There are problems assigning an appropriate budget for IT (9:26) The IT disciplines are lumped under the prime electrical contractor who doesn’t have the skill-set to manage them (10:00)   How to Implement Technology into the Construction Process (11:20) You have to start thinking of technology infrastructure as the fifth utility of the building (11:28) Start with the stakeholders during the early stages of the planning process to develop goals, objectives, and detailed design documents (11:55) Have a liaison between the stakeholders, the planning and development group, and the general contractor to help deliver a program that’s on time and in budget and meets all the goals and objectives of the end stakeholders (12:55)   How Do You Implement Technology When You Have a CM That Thinks It’s Their Role? (13:50) A technology rollout is completely different than construction management. The key difference is that in many cases the IT department of the company plays a key role in implementation. These IT teams generally have no experience in construction, so there has to be flexibility in budget and tools to ensure that the department delivers on time.   How to Get the IT Department On Board (17:10) Work hard with IT departments to help them understand where they fit in (17:58) Create schedules and develop matrixes that assign responsibilities (18:05) Realize that the internal IT department has no contractual obligation to the contractor (19:00)   What is the Barrier to Creating a Strong Tech Implementation for Extraordinary Results (21:10) Get the owners and the contractors to understand the value of up-front planning, along with the need for future growth. Everyone has to understand that there will be risks and there need to be people on staff who are strictly focused on managing the IT program. IT is complicated and the approach to delivering the project needs to be flexible because the process and technology will change.   What You Need to Do to Truly Implement Technology on Your Project (23:40)   Understand the true scope of the project up-front (24:13) Budget appropriately for the full scope of the work (24:32) Have the right combination of the right consulting team early on (26:40)   A Big Challenge Faith Has Faced (27:20)   Professionally, being on the wrong side of a political decision of an organization.  We did our job and doing everything right, be we were on the wrong side of the political environment.   Personally, making the decision 15 years ago to start her own company was a challenge. She was under the safety umbrella of a large organization and then was compelled to step out and put her own ideas into action. It takes about five years to prove to people that you’re going to stick around. She now has a great client base and multiple offices.   The Very Best Advice Faith Has Ever Gotten (30:20) Remain calm, don’t overreact to anything. Developing relationships and partnerships with companies is the most important thing you can do.   Resources for Listeners (35:53)   Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It and Why the Rest Don’t by Verne Harnish Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family by Bob Chapman Airport Consultants Council Young Professional Group   Faith’s Favorite Personal Piece of Tech (37:32) Microsoft Teams and GoToMeetings are the platforms the Faith Group is moving to instead of Skype.   Contact Faith Email Faith Faith@FaithGroupllc.com   Faith’s Parting Advice (43:10) Be nice to people, everyone is in a program or project to be successful (43:20) Create a culture of inclusion (43:40)   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Construction Dream Team Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!  If you have an iPhone, you can say, “Hey Siri subscribe to Construction Dream Team Podcast” and it will happen.  Also, please give us a five-star rating. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Kent DeRusha Trust and communication matter, but listening with empathy is most important. Vision is generally not fully formed at the start of a project, it takes time and buy in. Adversity will affect your team, but if dealt with well, will make your team stronger.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Kent DeRusha about the importance of branding, why you should stand for something, and how to gain and retain the trust and business of your clients even when a project goes wrong. Subscribe to Construction Dream Team Please subscribe to Construction Dream Team for the latest episodes on our website, iTunes or Stitcher! We would LOVE a 5-star rating to help us show up in the search engines so more of Construction Nation can listen to industry leaders and experts on their computers, phones, or tablets!    About Guest Kent DeRusha (1:10) Kent is a Project Director for Austin Commercial, one of the largest and most diversified builders in the United States. Kent shares how he is creating his construction dream team.   Kent’s Journey to Becoming Project Director for Austin Commercial (1:54) Kent was the first college graduate in his family (2:05) He got the opportunity to work on airport projects and with rocket scientists (3:10) Kent went overseas to Qatar to work with a diverse international team made of people who spoke 21 different languages and were from 16 different countries; this project is where he learned how important it was to have communication and listening skills (3:45)   Insights on Kent’s Greatest Strength as a Leader (4:40)   Trust and communication, but most of all listening with empathy (5:00) He takes his father’s advice - two reasonable parties, equally informed, seldom disagree (5:30)             What are the High Performing Traits for Construction Leaders and Teams (6:35) Vision - You have to have a vision for your team and contribute to the vision of the project (6:44) Discipline - It is what has to occur to get a project started when there is no structure or form (9:26) Tenacity - The ability to stay with the discipline of the program (13:15)     How High Performing Traits Play Out on Projects (14:18) True vision doesn’t just happen when the team first works together. People’s individual visions need to meld into one larger vision through discipline and tenacity.   How Can People Acquire High Performing Traits and Put them in Action (15:50) Watch and learn from others who are good examples (16:00) Congratulate others when they do well (16:10) Vision is a combined effort you have to work toward (16:25) Use discipline to create a good plan (16:45) Tenacity enables you to get through a plan and show up over and over (16:50) Teams don’t fail, they go flat (17:04)   Barriers to Implementing High Performing Traits and Creating Strong Teams (17:21) Adversity plays a role, losing people whether from poor performance or illness and death on your team can lower morale You have to have an obligation to one another to keep each other on track and to help each other push through difficult events as a team Teams who gel together well and go through adversity together are more likely to be strong and high performing   The Biggest Challenge Kent Has Ever Faced (20:55) Personally, when Kent was 15 he had a swimming accident and broke his neck.  After the surgery he had nine-months of recovery and he had to wear a neck brace that made him look like a geek in high school.  This experience taught him patience, self-control, and tenacity.  He “grew a thick skin” from the teasing he received.   Professionally, in Qatar he had to work in a foreign desert culture with people he never met.  He brought his American opinions and swaggered into the project and he had a hard time fitting into the business and social cultures.  He used the patience and tenacity he learned when he was a teenager to successfully get through the project.   The Best Advice Kent Has Ever Gotten (23:28) Be yourself, everyone else is already taken – Oscar Wilde.  Ken has had several mentors. If you open your eyes, you can see that mentors are all around.   Resources for Listeners   Watch Ray Dalio’s video on goal achievement, specifically Principles for Success. Check out Austin Commercial’s Website   Kent’s Favorite Piece of Tech (28:00)   Wireless, noise canceling headphones - great for on the job or on an airplane.   Contact Kent Reach out to Kent on LinkedIn Kent’s Parting Advice (29:30) Try to avoid email and writing letters, call someone instead or talk to them face to face. The best experiences are face to face or on a phone call.  If you listen with empathy, you might be surprised at what you learn.     Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Rob Reaugh DiSC is a no-judgment way to figure out how you and your colleagues work and communicate. Every strength we have can also be our weakness. Flexing your style allows you to get a better outcome.   This week, host Sue Dyer talks with Rob Reaugh about the DiSC Assessment, how it helps teams work together, and how project delivery can be positively affected by understanding each other's styles better. Subscribe to Construction Dream Team The following show notes are a transcription from the Construction Dream Team Podcast bonus episode 4 with Rob Reaugh. Please subscribe to Construction Dream Team for the latest episodes on our website, iTunes or Stitcher! We would LOVE a 5-star rating to help us show up in the search engines so more of Construction Nation can listen to industry leaders and experts on their computers, phones, or tablets! About Rob Reaugh (0:50) Rob is a certified Master level partnering facilitator with a Masters degree from Pepperdine University in dispute resolution. Rob facilitates around 150 partnering sessions per year to dozens of project teams. Rob is Sue’s go-to trainer for DiSC and has worked with dozens of teams to implement DiSC.   How Did DiSC Come to be Such a Powerful Tool? (1:30) DiSC is a powerful instrument to teach project team members how they like to work, what they like to do, and how they like to speak (1:43) DiSC focuses on people’s behavior at work and at home (2:15) DiSC helps project team members identify their strengths and their work preferences so that they can ensure that their role is aligned with their personality (2:21) When people’s work follows their personality, they have more energy – when people have more energy they can put more creativity and passion into their work (2:31) DiSC helps you learn how your team members communicate (2:42) You can learn to flex your communication style so your team members hear you (2:45) DiSC is the most researched and utilized assessment tool in the U.S. (3:17) DiSC is powerful for breaking the ice, getting teams together, building strategic goals, or for helping a construction team that’s struggling (3:30)   What Makes Up the DiSC Model (4:50) Extraversion vs. Introversion - where people pull their energy from (5:05) Introversion and Extroversion are a spectrum (8:22) Task Orientation vs. Relationship Orientation - quantity of time vs. quality of time (8:40)   What DiSC Stands For (9:30) People have all four of these styles, but some stand out more than others Ideally you will have a natural style, which is your perfect job, and an adapted style, which is who you are at work and what you are doing in your current role D: Dominance - About 12% of the population, assertive, task focused, extraverted (10:40) I: Influence - About 32% of the population, people oriented, assertive, strong communicators (12:37) S: Steadiness - About 30% of the population, reserved, people oriented, excellent implementers, reliable (13:48) C: Compliance - About 26% of the population, analytical and task-oriented, accurate, and detail-oriented, highly intuitive (14:30) Most people have a combination of styles (15:48)   Why is DiSC So Important? (16:15) It’s important to recognize simple categories that allow us to break our teams into groups so we can understand how people communicate. It’s helpful to look at the assessment as individuals and groups of people so you can ensure a diverse team. The tool allows us to understand whether we have people from all four strengths on a project so we have a well-balanced team.   How Does DiSC Affect the Team Working Together? (19:30) It helps in hiring the right people for the right job; you must align the tasks of the job with someone’s personality style. The differentiators are in the details, Rob explains the differences in the styles and how they work together.   How to Use DiSC to Make Sure We Get the Right Fit on Our Teams (26:20) The pacing of decision-making is really important and you have to come up with a process that works for multiple personality styles People don’t argue with the stuff they help to create The DiSC structure teaches teams how to resolve things without judgment   How to Apply DiSC to Team Communication and Overall Project Delivery (31:00) We have to understand our own preferences (31:15) When teams learn their styles they have a huge strategic advantage (33:10) You have to understand internal organizational philosophy and have a strategy for both yourself and your opponent (33:45)   Rob’s Take-Home Lessons (38:05) Invest some time in using the DiSC personality assessment for new hires, leadership staff, and/or your whole team (38:00) DiSC helps improve project delivery and people’s empathy (38:55) Understand that conflict on construction projects is because of the interpretation of role or differences in work style (40:00)   How to Find a Quality DiSC Assessment (41:24) Connect with Rob Reaugh on LinkedIn for recommendations https://www.linkedin.com/in/robreaugh/ Email Sue Dyer sue@constructiondreamteam.com   Resources for Listeners Building With Style Whitepaper   Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn from OPE – Other People’s Experience – so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Geoff Neumayr Partnering is the glue that helps align chaos and keep it from being a negative thing. If you want to gain trust, you have to first remove fear. Expectations have to be in alignment and conversations must be had up front.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Geoff Neumayr about building trust on projects, removing fear amongst your team, and aligning expectations both on construction projects and organization-wide. Subscribe to Construction Dream Team The following show notes are a transcription from the Construction Dream Team Podcast episode 19 audio interview between Sue and Geoff. Please join the Construction Dream Team LinkedIn Group to ask question and have a dialogue with the experts we have featured on the Construction Dream Team Podcast and with each other.  About Guest Geoff Neumayr (1:15) Geoff is the Chief Development Officer at the San Francisco International Airport and is currently leading a $7 billion construction program. The program is using the progressive Design-Build model which was developed at SFO. He is the member of the Design-Build Institute of America Executive Board and will be their president in 2020. Geoff also serves on the board of the International Partnering Institute and was selected as ENR’s Top 25 Newsmakers in 2016.  He is a civil licensed engineer and a structural engineer.   Geoff’s Journey to Running a $7 Billion Program and Becoming the Chief Development Officer at SFO (2:45) Geoff’s journey started in college where he was an architecture major and moved to structural design (3:00) Geoff understood how art, design, and architecture all came together and his first job was at an architecture/engineering firm (3:45) Geoff then spent 15 years as an owner’s representative (advisor) through different projects including projects at SFO (5:00) Geoff learned the role of partnering and all of his experience led up to him stepping into his current role at SFO (5:45)   How Teams Can Become More Integrated (10:00)   Integration depends upon where you want to place the bar and what success should look like, not just on time and on budget (10:08) You have to reset the norm to understand what extraordinary really looks like; it’s not just avoiding litigation, it is LEED Platinum buildings, totally resilient buildings, facilities that bring smiles to people’s faces, things that enhance education, and wonderful passenger experiences (10:45) On your project, you should look at what’s possible, not just how to prevent fighting with each other (12:00)   The First Steps to Progressive Design-Build  (13:00) The first stage, you have to ask yourself the question as an Owner, “Do I really want to get to a better place – do I really want to do more?”  (13:20) You have to have internal alignment in the organization (13:41) In the second stage, Stakeholders should be allowed to be involved in the process from the beginning which brings a lot more people into the mix – more chaos (14:30) We have to have tools that help us identify issues, not problems; they seem similar, but they are not.  A problem, everyone knows about and the damage is already done.  Issues are usually just in certain people’s heads and hasn’t happened yet so no one has been hurt (15:45)   What You Can Do to Increase Trust Levels and Identify Issues (19:55) If you can take time to observe what people are afraid of and then remove that fear, all that will be left is trust. One example of removing fear at SFO:  Everyone obviously sees a change that needs to be made.  It is easy to write a Change Order for x price, the Change Order is written and received, but the people don’t do the work.  Why?  The reason they don’t do the work is because they are afraid that they won’t get paid within a month of doing the work because it took “months on end” to perfect and finish the Change Order. Once the group was assured they would get partial payment within weeks of starting the work, that the fee could be added to the next Pay Application, then they started the work.    What Are Some Exceptional Results You’ve Seen? (24:40) The Air Traffic Control Tower had to be designed to a seismic standard where the FAA could occupy the tower during a major earthquake.  The team looked at numerous alternatives, they were given time so they could dream big but not be rushed to a single conclusion, and they were trusted that they could come up with an extraordinary result.  The team came up with a one of a kind vertical post tension structure, the tallest one in the U.S., and satisfied the criteria beyond what the FAA could even imagine.  This was only possible because the Engineers trusted the airport enough to follow a different way of doing business and that the airport would fairly compensate them for the time and extra analysis.   What Role Does Structural Collaborative Partnering Have in Progressive Design-Build? (28:00) Progressive Design-Build was originally a way to avoid litigation but partnering came in to produce extraordinary results. There’s nothing you can do to fix the “go, go, go” mentality, but a structural collaborative partnering process will fix it because it helps identify stumbling block issues for the program. The rest of the team must then make a commitment to one another as to how they’ll deal with conflicts.   The Biggest Frustration Geoff Has Faced (34:45) The biggest disappointment and challenge Geoff faced was the quality of the work at SFO a long time ago under a Design-Bid-Build project. Throughout the project, it was difficult to get the quality promised in the contract and there were empty promises and disappointments on discrepancies with quality. Geoff learned that the problem can’t be fixed at the end of a project; expectations have to be in alignment from the beginning.   The Best Advice Geoff Has Ever Gotten (39:00)   To marry his wife! But professionally, to go out to the field and ask the person who actually has to do the work what to do when you need help - this was Geoff’s first experience with collective wisdom.   Resources for Listeners   Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and William Ury   Contact Geoff Geoff’s LinkedIn Profile Email Geoff: Geoff.Neumayr@flysfo.com   Geoff’s Parting Advice (44:55) Take one thing and try to do it better today than you did it yesterday. The only way you can get to tomorrow is to get through today.     Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team. You can’t have your dream until you build your team! Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify! Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Shane Snow There are three “ingredients” to making a great team - cognitive diversity, cognitive friction, and intellectual humility. The key to success is being able to engage in the friction without it getting personal. Teamwork is about making people better together because they’re different.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Shane Snow about what it takes to make a Dream Team and the psychology great leaders use to get their teams working with each other instead of against each other. Subscribe to Construction Dream Team The following show notes are a transcription from the Construction Dream Team Podcast episode 18 audio interview between Sue and Shane. Please subscribe to Construction Dream Team for the latest episodes on our website, iTunes or Stitcher! We would LOVE a 5-star rating to help us show up in the search engines so more of Construction Nation can listen to industry leaders and experts on their computers, phones, or tablets!   About Guest Shane Snow (1:10) Shane is the author of Dream Teams, a book written after years of researching the top dream teams. Shane believes that the best teams are more than the sum of their parts, but collaboration often falls short. Shane looks at teams through the lenses of history, neuroscience, psychology, and business. Shane is an award-winning journalist, entrepreneur, best-selling author, speaker, storyteller, Founder at Large in the media company Contently, board member of the Hatch Institute, and a Fellow at the Royal Society of the Arts.   Shane’s Journey to Becoming Author of Dream Teams (3:53) Shane’s parents led him to think differently in a wonderful way, spending time in the construction world and learning how things work (4:20) Shane’s mother was a teacher for deaf students and was all about reading and learning (5:00) Dream Teams was inspired by Shane’s challenges growing a company and building a team (6:00)   What Shane Views as the Greatest Strengths of a Leader (7:00)   We have an old idea of what a leader should do stemming from when we survived by banding together and the leader made us feel safe against physical dangers (7:17) Leaders later evolved into someone who knows what they are doing and is big and tall (8:00) The best kind of leader to solve today’s problems can persuade people, solve challenges, and create an environment where the team is smarter and greater than the leader or any individual (9:28)   How to Create the Dream Team (11:11) Shane explains the three “ingredients” it takes to create a dream team: You need cognitive diversity. You need your team to engage in different ways of thinking and combine their skills. You need intellectual humility – open mindedness (this sits between being too stubborn and being too gullible).   How The Three “Ingredients” for Creating a Dream Team Work on a Large Project (18:45) Think of team building like casting for a movie, you need those who bring out the best in the project and in each other (19:55) You need to trust people to do what they do best, but when there are snags the project leader engages (20:27) Everyone has to be on the same team, or they’re off the team (22:14)   Shane’s Advice to Project Leaders Who Want to Create a Dream Team (22:50) Have a shared purpose, everyone needs to know what they’re doing and why they’re there. Allow people to work in a way that allows them to do their best work. People need to be on board with your purpose and understand the difference between a cult and culture – both have a shared devotion to something. In a cult, you have to behave and think in a certain way or you are not part of the group.  In a culture, you are asked to contribute something to the team so everyone can move forward to their shared purpose.    The Barriers to Dream Teams That Keep Them From Seeing Results (28:00) Not talking about the important issues, having “organizational silence” (28:12) Too much tension - a little tension is good, too much is detrimental (29:00) Not having the toolkit to change your mind or talk about hard issues with humility and allowing people to “save face” (29:50)   The Worst Challenge Shane Has Faced (31:50) Three challenging things happened to Shane at once - things at his company were getting hard, he was going through a divorce, and he got a cancer diagnosis. This time was humbling and made him realize that things in life will be hard and he needs to be more equipped to deal with them. He got through this time by letting other people help him.   The Best Advice Shane Has Ever Gotten (36:25) People are more important than stuff. His mother was always hitting things with the car, but his father would never say something mean, he would always worry about his mom. If people are the most important thing, you’ll think about teamwork differently.   A Little About Shane’s New Project (38:05) Shane has been traveling around the world for the last six months. He wants to live in other cultures to develop intellectual humility and to do new research for upcoming projects. He is exploring different immigrant communities in America for an upcoming television show.   Resources for Podcast Listeners   Self-Assessment for Intellectual Humility Dream Teams Book on Audible Articles on Collaboration and Leadership Shane Snow’s Courses on LinkedIn Learning   Shane’s Parting Advice (43:03) Develop this habit for intellectual humility - express that you’re willing to change your mind if you want others to change their minds. Ben Franklin would say, “I could be wrong, but I really think …..”  By admitting he could be wrong, it made it safe for people to disagree with him and allowed him to save face if he did change his mind.   Contact Shane Shane’s Website shanesnow.com Shane’s LinkedIn Profile   Collective Wisdom Use this episode as a tool, send it out to your entire team and have a dialogue.  The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team. Don’t forget, we have started a Construction Dream Team LinkedIn Group.  I know there are a lot of you out there on LinkedIn; please join Construction Dream Team LinkedIn.  We are going to have conversations on there and invite our guests to answer questions and to listen to what you have to say and to listen and share concepts.  Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert about the people side of construction.

3 Invaluable Lessons from Jit Kee Chin Data helps us predict what’s coming and analyze what’s already happened. Adoption of technology could have barriers and be slow but the time and financial investment will be worth it. Standing on facts instead of feelings will create a stronger team.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Jit Kee Chin about Big Data in the construction industry and why it’s important for companies to adopt new technology to improve processes and make informed decisions. Subscribe to Construction Dream Team The following show notes are a transcription from the Construction Dream Team Podcast episode 17 audio interview between Sue and Jit Kee Chin.  Join the Construction Dream Team LinkedIn Group, CDTLinkedin.com!  We will continue the dialogue we started on the podcast and share our knowledge with one another.  CDT Guests will also join us for discussion live.   About Guest Jit Kee Chin (1:13) Jit is the Executive Vice President and Chief Data Officer for Suffolk, a national building contractor that does $4 billion in annual revenue. Jit leverages the power of modern techniques in data and analytics to help Suffolk build better and she implements Suffolk’s data strategy end to end.   Jit’s Journey to Becoming Executive Vice President and Chief Data Officer for Suffolk (2:46) Her father instilled in her a love of numbers and algorithms (3:03) She obtained her undergraduate and graduate degrees from CalTech and MIT (3:17) She shifted her career and worked with McKinsey and Company for the next decade where she was exposed to the construction industry (3:40) She saw how all of the industries were being impacted by the advances in digital data and technology over the last five to ten years when it moved from just tech companies to all industries (4:22)   How Jit is Leading Her Company Into the New Millennium (8:08)   She’s feeling her way through it all (8:15) She asks what the industry ecosystem looks like today, what the big problems are that need to be solved, how do we think about the different players in the industry and what part of the problem can they solve, and then how can she and Suffolk play a part (8:55) The best thing she can do as a leader is to leverage her background and think of where things could go, then share those ideas (9:30)   What’s Needed to Come Together as an Industry in a Meaningful Way (10:28) Jit explains the formation of a Predictive Analytic Strategic Council made up of primarily contractors, but also other members of the value chain. They predict risks before they happen to take action to mitigate risk. Using shared imaging and safety information, the AI algorithms adapt and make better predictions.             How Big Data Can Become Something Meaningful in Construction (12:55) Look forward instead of looking back (13:20) Leverage all the information that comes through, don’t allow silos (13:45) Understanding information from all systems allows the data to become meaningful (14:14) Real-time information will allow people to react faster (14:33)   What Jit is Hoping to Achieve for the Company and the Industry (16:30) For Suffolk - she would like to see every decision based on data and a better experience for everyone they work with inside and outside the company.   For the industry - to play a part to shape the industry towards the implementation of these new technologies.   Specific Tools Jit is Developing That Will Help Teams Be More Effective (23:18) A Project Dashboard - to help reveal information in real time (24:00) The dashboard creates transparency in the project and allows data to be delivered in real time (25:15) The concept of the dashboard is simple, but the implementation and adoption process is difficult (27:20)   Barriers to Creating Strong Teams That Adopt Technology and Create Results (27:48) Structural - what projects look like when it comes to size, complexity, and owner preferences Project Lifecycles - they tend to be long, but the technology changes on a monthly basis. How do you implement mid-stream changes? Geographic Dispersion Talent or Generational Change - Reverse mentorship can help both generations learn from each other Labor Shortage Financial - to make some of these technologies work you need to invest   The Worst Challenges Jit Has Faced (32:00)   A career shift Jit took when she went from London to Boston and switched companies. She wanted to be nearer to her family, so she deliberately took a step back. She had to switch what she did and rebuild.   The Best Advice Jit Has Ever Gotten (35:15)   A mathematical Venn Diagram that helps her find her way in life – find out what you are good at, figure out what you are passionate about, find the intersecting piece and go do that.   Resources for Listeners   McKinsey Podcast on the Ethics of AI   Contact Jit Jit Kee Chin LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jitkeechin/ Sufflolk Construction https://www.suffolk.com/   Jit’s Parting Advice (41:10) Make sure you’re standing on the solid footing of facts when you’re making important decisions and participate in the conversation about more information and better analytics.   Construction Nation! Dream Teams don’t just happen they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team. You can’t have your dream until you build your team! Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!  Download poster Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!

3 Invaluable Lessons from Terry Tuggey Break the pieces of a fast-paced project down into pieces to make sense of it. In a fast-paced project, you have to keep moving. Don’t create two identities for one team project.   This week, host Sue Dyer speaks with Terry Tuggey about breaking down fast-paced projects to make them manageable, and how not to bottleneck a project so it can keep moving forward at a good pace. Subscribe to Construction Dream Team The following show notes are a transcription from the Construction Dream Team Podcast episode 16 audio interview between Sue and Terry Tuggey. Please subscribe to Construction Dream Team for the latest episodes on our website, iTunes or Stitcher! We would LOVE a 5-star rating to help us show up in the search engines so more of Construction Nation can listen to industry leaders and experts on their computers, phones, or tablets!   About Guest Terry Tuggey (2:10) Terry is the Area Manager for Graniterock and has worked on very accelerated projects. Terry has known Sue for over three decades.   Terry’s Journey to Becoming Area Manager at Granite Rock (2:59) Terry started at a small construction firm in MA right out of college, he originally had a communications degree (3:05) Terry started as a Surveyor and learned about the business side of construction (3:35) He met the former owner of Graniterock who hired him to work in Construction. Terry worked on a couple of projects before starting one at SFO and he has been working at SFO ever since (4:30)   Terry’s Greatest Strengths as a Leader (7:00)   Caring about the people you work with and who work for you (7:10) A healthy life leads to healthy work and vice versa (7:37) He asks, “How is your family?” “How is your weekend, how is your day or night?” which demonstrates you care (8:10   How to Lead Projects That are Very Fast Paced (9:00) Terry explains that sometimes the pace and the duration of a project on paper are overwhelming. It’s acceptable, even as a leader to admit that you’re not sure the team can do it. Digest the information and then divide it into pieces and re-assemble them back together in a Master Schedule. Sometimes you need to build the job in planning from start to finish multiple times to find unforeseen hurdles ahead of time.             What Does the Pre-Planning Process Look Like? (11:43) Outline everything on a whiteboard/grease board (11:55) Start to put things on paper and really look at it (12:05) You can’t set a definitive timeline, but you can set some type of deadline (12:25) The team is made up of the two Project Managers, one from each side, a couple of Engineers, a couple of General Superintendents, and the subcontractors (12:30) Don’t be afraid to make adjustments or to change (13:15)   How To Deploy Hundreds of People on the Project Effectively (14:08) You have to break the people into certain groups and let them handle certain pieces. You can’t have everyone working on the whole thing.   Focused Action Strategic Teams (FAST teams).   Each team will be assigned certain pieces of the work.   The Most Important Things a Project Manager Should Be Doing  (15:43) Get a set of achievable common goals that are shared by the entire project team (15:55) Communication is key, you have to have open lines (16:42) Elevate issues quickly and get answers – it moves things along quicker (16:55)   How Terry’s Team Makes Co-Location Work (18:15) Create an environment where you see everyone every day (18:45) People need to learn how to talk to each other – less emailing, more talking (19:40) Set people up on FAST teams equally from the owner, contractor, and subcontractors (20:30)   What You Don’t Want to Do on a Fast-Paced Project (23:30)   Don’t let momentum stop (24:40) Think about how to keep the job moving toward its goal (25:00) Everyone has to step up to make things happen (25:19)   How to Make a Joint Venture Work (25:42) A lot of companies name their Joint Venture “Party A/Party B Joint Venture.”  These two companies created its own company by calling their Joint Venture by a different name, “Golden Gate Constructor.”  It set a tone that everybody in the office complex wasn’t working for someone else’s company, they were working for one company. The Worst Challenges Terry Has Faced (28:40)   Losing Bruce Wolpert, the owner of Graniterock, made Terry and the rest of the company have to overcome grief and figure out if the company could carry on without him.   The Best Advice Terry Has Ever Gotten (31;00)   In construction, you always have to have a plan A, B, C, D, and E. You don’t want to spend money and then waste it.   Resources for Listeners   Book: It’s Your Ship   Terry’s Favorite Piece of Tech (36:13) Microsoft Project Scheduler - a simple, easy to use bar chart that helps get things organized.     Contact Information for Terry Tuggey Contact Sue at Sue@ConstructionDreamTeam.com   Terry’s Parting Advice (37:56) Make a list on a little piece of paper on your desk every morning, get them out of your head, prioritize them, and scratch things off the list.   Dream Teams don’t just happen. they are built one step at a time. Why not send out this episode to your team, so they can help you. The more people you have helping – the faster you can build your Construction Dream Team.  You can’t have your dream until you build your team! Please head on over to ConstructionDreamTeam.com to sign up for our newsletter and don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or Spotify!  Join the Construction Dream Team LinkedIn Group, CDTLinkedin.com!  We will continue the dialogue we started on the podcast and share our knowledge with one another.  CDT Guests will also join us for discussion live. Remember…Construction Dream Team drops every Monday morning at 4 am PST. Please join us next week when Sue will interview another industry leader or expert so you can learn how to create your Construction Dream Team!