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Tara Cristel was owed about $200,000 on the biggest job her glazing company had ever done. She’d filed a lien, and the banks wouldn’t lend against the money because nobody could say when it would show up. So she did the one thing still in her control. She started talking about it, out loud, on the internet. And that’s how The Subcontractor Project got going.  Day to day, Tara runs a subcontracting business, and she’s got the pink hard hat to prove it. In this episode she explains how a system that looks like “just the way it’s always been” ends up making subs finance the whole project. She’s not talking only about small shops, either. Tara tells the story of a $50 million sub who says $12 to $15 million is sitting past due at any given time. Even companies that size are scrambling to make payroll on Wednesday. Tara is clear about her intent. She isn’t out to trash GCs. She wants the people at every level of the chain to understand what it’s like at the bottom of it. In this conversation: Why Tara calls late payment a “free loan” subs give to everyone above themHer own retainage story: a project that slid from summer 2025 to summer 2027, with money still heldWhy pay-when-paid and pay-if-paid clauses leave subs with no payment date at allWhat a good payment answer looks like: a real date, within 24 hoursHer challenge to subcontractors: if we keep signing the contracts, nothing changesA sub owner she spoke with revenues of $50M a year but has $12-15M that sits past due at any given timeWhat she’s building: The Subcontractor Project, a podcast, and a book, The Subcontractor TrapConnect with Tara on LinkedIn Contractor Compliance https://www.linkedin.com/company/contractor-compliance-co/ 00:00 Welcome + why Tara's content is rattling cages  03:00 Why Tara advocates for subcontractors getting paid  05:00 "Reverse reimbursed": the free loan subs give to everyone above them  07:00 One project, three delays, and retainage that won't release  10:00 "It's the cost of doing business" (and why that answer falls short)  14:00 What drives late pay? Pay-when-paid, pay-if-paid & zero transparency  16:30 Pay apps in the horse-and-buggy era (and the tech that already exists)  18:00 Jesse's view from the GC side  20:00 Fast pay: the company or the leader on the job?  23:00 Could a 45-day pay guarantee be a GC's competitive edge?  24:30 Net 30 wins, and a 70-day wait that ended a relationship  27:30 The "dummy tax": how GC reputation changes a sub's bid  30:00 Subs are part of the problem too: the call to action  33:00 Burnout, lowest-bidder trouble & the labor shortage  35:30 Transparency: what a straight answer on payment date looks like  38:00 The $200,000 turning point that started it all  40:00 Thousands reach out: $12-15M in past-due receivables  41:30 "Have your materials in hand before you can bill" and the 90-day gap  43:00 What is The Subcontractor Project?  45:00 The Subcontractor Trap: Tara's book  47:00 "Aren't you afraid you'll lose work?" Tara's answer  49:00 Where to find Tara  Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

You walk away from a conversation and nothing happens. No follow-up, no rapport, no real connection. What if the problem isn’t that you’re boring, but that you’re trying too hard to be interesting? In this episode, we break down why leading with your resume, credentials, and accomplishments can quietly sabotage the connections you want, and what to do instead. Resume stuff has its place on a job application. Face to face, it often builds a wall. In this episode, you’ll learn: The mindset shift that makes people instantly more comfortable around youThe behavioral shift: how asking more questions changes every conversationWhat “toppers” are, and why one-upping people kills rapportHow to measure your “airtime” so you stop dominating the conversationSimple, curiosity-based questions you can use at networking events and on the job siteWhy people who feel listened to become your biggest advocatesBeing more interested than interesting is one of the simplest ways to build influence, earn trust, and become the person people want to work with and recommend. 00:00 Stop Selling Your Resume 01:44 Be Interested Not Interesting 03:23 The Topper Problem 05:05 Learn About Them 06:05 Questions That Open Doors 08:20 Why Interest Works 11:01 Pressure to Sell 12:47 Back Pocket Questions 15:01 Jobsite Conversation Starters 19:42 Measure Your Airtime Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

A “big zero” in writing credentials and a C in English. That’s how Doug Berry describes his qualifications, and he’s now a children’s book author, a sci-fi novelist, and a Josie Music Award nominee headed to the Grand Ole Opry. Doug is a recently retired Air Force veteran from South Carolina who asks the question most of us are afraid to answer: why am I not working on my dream? For Doug, it started when he watched his Air Force buddy study to become a pilot. It led him to send about 5,000 emails and letters until one NASCAR team finally said yes. None of his success happened overnight. It’s been about 26 years since the NASCAR days to the Opry stage, with hot spots and cold spots along the way. The one thing about Doug is that he never stopped.  In this episode: Why Doug’s advice for retirement is “keep busy and enjoy it”How a baby rabbit named Jasper, caught in the backyard by his nine-year-old son, became the Jasper and Friends children’s booksThe part of publishing nobody warns you about: choosing the illustrator’s scenes, getting an ISBN, and why Doug took photos from “rabbit height” around his yardHybrid publishing vs. Amazon KDP, and why he did one for his children’s books and the other for his sci-fi novels, Guardians of the Unknown and Guardians of the Unknown: ConvergenceHow rejection toughened his shell, including about five hybrid publishers saying no before one said yesThe “make a decision and fix it if it’s wrong” mindset he learned in the Air ForceThe advice from game-show creator Dave Knoll to “think huge” that sent Doug from books to a jingle and songwritingThe story behind “We Don’t All Come Home the Same,” nominated for Social Impact Song of the Year at the Josie Music AwardsWhy Doug says he's “years into a 10-year overnight success”Connect with Doug: You can find him on LinkedIn. His Jasper and Friends books are on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart online.   00:00 Think Huge Mindset 02:00 Retirement Transition Tips 03:21 No Credentials Needed 06:23 Air Force Grit 07:31 NASCAR Dream Pursuit 13:03 Handling Rejection 14:56 Jasper Book Origin 16:59 Publishing Reality Check 20:40 Sci Fi On KDP 22:26 Writing Process Flowcharts 25:05 Songwriting And Branding 28:38 Song Meaning and Message 29:26 Josie Awards Nomination 31:24 Long Game of Success 33:40 Make the Decision 37:29 Handling Rejection and Ghosting 39:09 Outside Perspective and Networking 44:27 Dream Bigger Than Big 47:36 Where to Find Doug Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

Fourteen years on the tools. About twenty in safety. A safety expert witness. An author. And a woman who got a 98 on her journeyman's test, better than the guys who did all four years. Kim Pierce is the kind of safety professional Jesse says he wishes he'd had on every job. She doesn't stand over the crew like a "bird dog" and then tattle to the foreman. She shows up early, asks what's coming, explains the why, and finds a compliant way to get the work done. In this conversation, Jesse and Kim dig into: Why safety is still hard 50 years into OSHAHow production pressure and personal risk tolerance shape what happens on a jobsiteWhy the "safety guy" who only writes people up kills trust and retentionWhat new safety grads need to hear before they walk onto a site (hint: go get dirty first)What happens when a company hands the safety job to someone with no training and a chip on their shoulderHow Kim became a construction safety expert witnessWhy she wrote The Hands That Built This: Restoring Respect and Rebuilding the Future of the Trade, and what it will take to keep new people, especially women, in the tradesIf you work in construction, lead people in the field, or are the person who gets called when something goes sideways, press play. Connect with Kim: https://www.kajelegacy.com/    Author Site 02:30 Why Safety Is Hard 04:27 Risk Tolerance Clash 05:53 Proactive Safety Planning 08:04 Real World Safety Lessons 12:29 Field Experience Matters 16:52 Advice for Young Safety Pros 22:22 Punitive vs Culture Safety 25:23 Credentials and Career Paths 27:33 Mentorship and Knowledge Loss 31:17 Choosing a Service Mindset 32:04 Safety Bird Dog Problem 33:41 Building Trust On Site 36:44 Safest Option Not Perfect 38:12 When To Drop Hammer 39:46 Life As Expert Witness 43:41 Writing The Hands That Built This 48:38 Retention And Respect In Trades 52:09 Breaking In As Woman Apprentice 54:57 Where To Find Kim Online Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

Six years after episode zero, Jesse is back with his original co-host (and baby brother) Rene for a 250th episode full of laughs. They recorded at 6 a.m. on a Sunday, with Rene hiding out at his office so his four kids, the "raptors," wouldn't crash the interview. Rene explains why he stepped back from co-hosting, and he shares the whiteboard drawing behind his advice for new podcasters: a pipe full of mud, with clean water waiting behind it. They look back at the messy early days, including the conversation Jesse forgot to record. Rene admits what he was really doing with some of his questions ("let me get some air time"). He also tells how he ended up editing five podcasts at once and making the most money of his life, and why that taught him he isn't driven by money. Jesse explains why the guest list grew beyond tradespeople, and why he'll keep doing the show even though it costs him money. Along the way, Rene says Jesse is secretly showing guests the Dragon Scroll from Kung Fu Panda. Then Rene throws Jesse a curveball on the closing question: What is the promise you are intended to be? The answer involves a goofy lizard named Rango.   00:36 250th Episode Reunion 02:44 Starting the Podcast Messy 07:02 Pipe Full of Mud Advice 10:58 Confidence and Questions 13:10 Stepping Back to Edit 15:44 Values Beyond Money 18:23 Career Growth and Connections 20:53 Big Guest Takeaways 23:45 Unicorns and Caring Leaders 24:56 Family Life and Editing Time 25:43 Family Support and Diapers 26:28 Podcast Guest Shift 28:30 Finding Guests Gets Hard 30:44 How to Ruin It 31:58 Why Keep Going 36:27 Same Format Debate 37:24 Dragon Scroll Metaphor 40:55 Future of the Show 42:07 The Promise Question 47:15 God Given Purpose 48:28 Becoming the Hero Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

Sales blames marketing. Marketing blames ops. Ops blames sales. Neel Zbinden says it usually starts at the top. After 30 years in restaurants, Neel quit on April 1st with no plan. A few months later she was in construction marketing, teaching herself the job through trial and error. Today she's the founder of Z Collab Group and co-founder and president of Contractors, Closers, and Connections (CCC) Fort Worth. She fixes the disconnect between sales, marketing, brand, and operations, and she won't work with anyone who lies, cheats, or steals. She tells them on the first call. In this episode: Why service-industry people make great hires in constructionWhat field marketing really is (hint: the extra mile)Why departments battle, and why great people get fired for bad leadershipQuarterly reviews, simple CRMs, and cutting the busy workWhy "What's in it for me?" loses the room  00:00 Leadership Sets the Tone 06:04 From Restaurants to Construction 12:20 Service Mindset and Transferable Skills 15:39 What Field Marketing Really Is 22:35 Aligning Teams and Fixing CRM Chaos 29:41 Integrity and Ops vs Sales Disconnect 32:56 Speaking Up at Work 34:36 Consulting Gets Heard 37:00 Sales Marketing Reality Check 39:10 Delegation and Giving Value 40:43 Training as Retention 44:07 Bachata Training Lesson 47:38 Owning Your Voice Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

Most superintendents don't run jobs; they survive them by firefighting their way to the finish line. Jody Fitzgerald did it that way for 40 years, until it cost him more than he was willing to keep paying. In this week’s conversation with Jesse, he breaks down what separates a superintendent who protects tomorrow's work from one who's just good at creating the next fire. What you'll get out of this one Why most jobs have zero flow — superintendents run on personality, not a system, because nobody ever taught them the why behind the steps.The five pillars of Built Not Forced — identity, preparation, flow, standards, stewardship. Everyone talks about the middle three; Jody explains why the bookend pillars are where all the money actually is.A one-sentence definition of the job that'll stick with you: protect tomorrow's work. Everything inside the fence is his to own.The "dummy tax" is real. Jesse confesses exactly how trade partners quietly price bad superintendents differently than good ones — and Jody's reaction says it all.Ownership can be taught — and Jesse gets vulnerable about the moment it finally clicked for him.Technology gave us speed and stole our communication. Why instant information created an expectation of instant, "complete" answers — and why that's wrecking decisions in the field.The 23-year-old kid Jody handed a job to — proof of what it looks like to actually build someone up. Connect with Jody: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-jody-fitzgerald-73235843/ 00:00 People Build Buildings 00:33 Meet Jody Fitzgerald 03:16 Why Jobs Lack Flow 05:42 From Screamer to Leader 13:56 Built Not Forced Origins 15:21 Five Pillars Framework 16:05 Superintendent Role Defined 19:12 Ownership and Self-Improvement 20:27 Tech vs Real Communication 22:53 Teaching Ownership the Why 28:08 Dummy Tax and Trade Respect 30:54 Industry Perfect Storm 32:08 Training and Listening Fix 34:26 Listen Not Apps 35:24 Translation On Site 37:20 Huddles And Systems 38:17 Surface Problems Safely 40:44 Trust And Standards 42:50 Mentoring The Next 47:58 Tech And Expectations 50:35 Drawings Owners And No   Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

Every leader has that employee who clocks in, does the bare minimum, and clocks out. Jesse says that's not a "them" problem — it's a "you" problem. In this episode, he flips the script on who your most important customer really is (hint: it's not the one paying the invoice) and breaks down why the people on your team who seem checked out are actually starved for two things: autonomy and critical thinking. Jesse gets brutally honest about his own journey, reframes why some people show up guarded and afraid to make decisions, and shares the exact reflective questions he uses to turn hesitant "doers" into confident decision-makers. Plus, he tackles two pop-up questions: what to do when your boss is underutilizing you, and how to "manage up" without becoming a bootlicker. If you've ever thought "why won't they just think for themselves," this episode will make you rethink who's really responsible for that.   00:00 Failure Fuels Growth 00:14 Your Most Important Customer 01:00 Internal Customers First 02:01 Activating the Doers 02:58 You Are Not Paying Them 06:18 Autonomy Explained 08:50 Stop Overreacting 10:01 Reinforce with Reflection 16:42 Critical Thinking Muscle 23:34 Fear Based Backgrounds 25:23 Underrated by Your Boss 30:01 Managing Up Without Sucking Up 36:33 Fulfillment Beyond Work 37:20 Fernando’s Wake Up Call Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

Stephanie Reichman has done everything "right". She is the co-founder of AEC Tech Jobs, creator of More Than an Engineer, a stage speaker, and a customer success manager at Bluebeam. So why did hitting a major follower milestone leave her flat instead of fired up? In this episode, Stephanie returns to unpack the moment she stopped chasing "cheat codes" for success and started building her own definition of it instead. A cross-country move from Las Vegas to the Midwest cracked open questions she hadn't let herself ask: What pace of life actually fits me? What happens after I hit the goal? And who am I if it's not exciting anymore? Jesse and Stephanie get into: Why can a big milestone feel like nothing, and the one thing that changes thatThe real reason she left Las Vegas, and what it forced her to confront about her valuesHow showing up on LinkedIn became less about growth and more about connection, fun, and impactThe blunt truth about employers who shut down employees who create content (and why that's a mistake)Why content creation quietly makes you better at your job, and more valuable to your companyHer take on AI and tools lowering the barrier to start, and the one thing that still separates people who succeed from people who don'tWhat "More Than an Engineer" really means, and the identity work behind reclaiming a labelThe promise she made to herself: to become the person her younger self neededIf you've ever hit a goal and felt strangely underwhelmed, or you're an engineer (or anyone) quietly wondering if there's more to your identity than your job title, this one's going to hit close to home.   00:00 Taking Back Control 00:26 Meet Stephanie Reichman 02:00 No Perfect Plan Confession 06:46 Redefining Success After Moving 09:18 Finding Your Pace 12:35 Celebrating Goals Without Parades 17:39 Followers Versus Purpose 20:27 Keeping Content Fun 23:10 LinkedIn Impact at Work 26:14 Employers and Employee Advocacy 31:14 What Community Means 33:11 More Than an Engineer Origins 34:03 Turning Ideas into Action 34:44 AI Lowers the Barrier 36:13 Building A Personal App 38:18 Iterate and Improve Fast 40:26 Marketing and Distribution 43:32 Choosing Projects Wisely 45:49 Fun Versus Practicality 49:26 More Than an Engineer Meaning 56:00 Momentum Train Mindset 49:27 The Grand Slam Question Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

A 31-year ironworker doesn't scare easily. But ask Dino DePasquale what keeps him up at night, and it's not the job site; it's the industry's silence around mental health. Dino built DePasquale Steel over 21 years and created the Steel Erector's Playbook along the way. In this episode, he goes to the side of construction leadership nobody puts on a business card: the suicide and overdose statistics haunting the trades, the impossible task of "shutting work off," and why connection might be the most underrated safety equipment on any crew. Jesse and Dino don't stay in the dark for long. They dig into why leaders hesitate to teach and mentor publicly because of confidence, added responsibility, and the fear of getting it wrong out loud; and how Dino turned his own mistakes into the systems now running his company. His answer to burnout and bottlenecks? "Clone yourself" through documentation and training, so the business doesn't live and die by one person's memory. Then things get real when Dino walks through a recent job that went sideways, and what it actually looks like to earn trust when you own the problem instead of hiding from it. He also previews his plans to help lead a construction-focused peer group on mental health. If you run crews, run a business, or just run yourself into the ground more often than you'd like to admit, this episode’s for you. In this episode: The mental health and addiction crisis hiding in plain sight across constructionWhy "shutting off" work is a skill most leaders never learnBuilding a peer support network for an industry that doesn't ask for helpTurning mistakes into systems: how to document, train, and clone yourselfWhat it really takes to earn trust after a job goes wrongProtecting focus time and staying resourceful enough to climb the ladder  00:00 Industry Pain Opens 00:14 Meet Dino DePasquale 02:17 How Hard Is It 02:59 Steel Life Story 04:59 Mental Health Crisis 08:46 Peer Group Plans 09:23 Addiction And Overdose 11:19 Jesse Recovery Story 15:23 Why Share A Playbook 18:55 Cloning Yourself Systems 21:00 Confidence To Teach 26:39 Document Your Day 28:26 Track Your Time 29:00 Stop Answering Every Call 29:31 Delegate With Clarity 32:15 Progress Over Perfection 32:55 Being Real Online 36:24 Job Went Off Rails 37:58 Own The Fix 41:35 Purpose Beyond Hard Work 46:42 Resourcefulness To Advance 51:46 Where To Find Dino 53:32 Why Converge Hit Different Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

Here’s a test for you: write down every single thing on your plate today and tomorrow. Now circle only the ones that would fall apart if someone other than you did them. Most people circle almost nothing. And that's the problem. In this episode, Jesse breaks down "strategically selfish"; a framework for builders and leaders who can't delegate, can't say no, and are quietly running on tasks that were never actually theirs to carry. He walks through the exercise in real time, then shows you what to do with everything left uncircled: reduce it through optimizing or automating, delegate it, or extinguish it outright, and why time deserves more vigilance than money ever will. The twist: he says you don't build this skill in the high-stakes moments. You build it at home, in the small stuff, asking for help before you need to; so when it counts in your business or on the jobsite, saying "not me" is second nature instead of a crisis decision. If you've ever ended a workday exhausted but couldn't name what you actually accomplished, this one's for you.   00:00 Focus on What Matters 01:25 Framework Overview 02:30 Step One Write It Down 04:33 Step Two Circle Only You 07:11 Why Delegation Feels Hard 11:37 Step Three Reduce Tasks 19:34 Extinguish Nonessential Work 21:09 Outsource and Guard Time 24:15 Ask for Help and Communicate 29:09 Final Recap and Homework Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

Tim Tuoni went from riding backhoes as a kid to running Tuoni Site Development, and he's got zero patience for people who think construction guys are just difficult for the sake of it. In this episode, Tim breaks down what actually gets mislabeled as "a-hole energy" in this industry: it's standards. It's direct communication. It's not tolerating half-effort on a highway job where mistakes cost real money and real safety. He and Jesse dig into what it's like building a company under public scrutiny, including dealing with the YouTube and social media critics who've never swung a hammer but have plenty of opinions. Tim also gets real about the moment that changed his trajectory: walking off a job after a safety incident and taking a leap into subcontract work before he was "ready." He talks about the mechanical skills that saved him money and made him dangerous in a good way, how he uses LinkedIn every single day to market himself and scout opportunities, and why he now shows up for Crew Collaborative classroom talks to give students a real alternative to the college-or-bust narrative. If you need a reset on what actually matters in this trade, Tim's closing line says it all: "It's just f*ing dirt. You're never above a shovel." Connect with Tim https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-tuoni-16730893/ https://tuonisitedevelopmentllc.com/ In this episode: Why the industry's reputation for being "difficult" is really about standardsBuilding a business in the age of social media criticsThe safety incident that pushed Tim into entrepreneurshipUsing LinkedIn as a daily marketing and research toolWhy he's showing up in classrooms to change how kids see this career path00:00 Just Dirt Mindset 00:18 Meet Tim Toonie 02:09 Construction People Standards 05:41 Mentors And Online Critics 09:52 Why Equipment Life Chose Him 13:03 First Machines First Memories 15:24 Skid Steer Lessons And Antics 18:25 Getting Hired Certified Today 21:09 Starting His Own Company 24:39 Resourcefulness Under Pressure 30:27 Saving Money With Repairs 33:03 Time Versus Money Skills 33:59 DIY Marketing Learning Curve 35:28 LinkedIn Outreach Playbook 39:28 Creative Prospecting For Contractors 42:35 Why He Volunteers 44:02 Trades Versus College Paths 51:27 Where To Connect Online 54:48 Promise Intended To Be 58:00 Never Above A Shovel Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

Leadership in construction is lonely. The 2 a.m. gut-check calls. The mistakes nobody at the office needs to know about. The moments where "fake it till you make it" stops working and you just need someone who gets it. This episode, Jesse opens the door to something new: the Construction Leadership Lab: a peer community built for leaders who are done pretending they have it all figured out. This isn't a networking group. It isn't a highlight reel. It's a room for GCs, subs, owners reps, coaches, and service providers across the U.S. and Canada who are ready to trade the polished version of leadership for the real one. What's inside: Monthly live calls — recorded and shared as a members-only podcast, so nobody misses a sessionFishbowl coaching — bring real problems, get real input, leave with a real commitmentBook study — one book every three months, discussed as a group, not just read aloneSelfish Servant Cheat Sheets — a weekly newsletter built to make leadership stickThe Vault — templates and checklists ready to use on the job, not just in theoryThree rules keep the room honest: be generous, be fearless, be cool. Ask how people want to be treated. Be more interested than interesting. Know when to pass the mic. If leadership in construction has ever cost you sleep, this is the group built for that. Listen now. Then go save your seat in the Lab. 00:00 Leadership Is Human 00:20 Why Leaders Need Support 01:52 Introducing The Lab 02:50 Core Features Overview 04:52 Calls Schedule and Focus 05:09 Book Study Deep Dives 08:12 Fishbowl Problem Solving 11:07 Commitments and Accountability 13:05 Weekly Newsletter Value 13:46 Content Vault Resources 15:17 Mission and Purpose 16:17 Community Guidelines 21:53 Join or Keep Listening Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

Ever quit on a goal the moment it stopped feeling like a win? This week's episode breaks down why treating progress as pass/fail is the quiet reason so many goals stall out before they get traction. He unpacks the start-stop cycle: new goals always run into friction from commitments you already have, and pass/fail thinking punishes you for that friction instead of accounting for it. Using fitness as the example, Jesse shows how to build momentum differently, going from zero to one, chaining back-to-back reps, hitting a three-time streak, and only then raising the bar. Small wins aren't consolation prizes. They're the mechanism. Next Jesse introduces "bookends": instead of judging a goal week to week, you set a real time horizon and a single checkpoint down the road; like committing to a podcast for 12 months no matter what the download numbers say early on. That container is what lets you actually learn, build relationships, and stumble into upside you couldn't have planned for (Jesse points to finding his own voice as one example). Lastly, Jesse closes on why this matters beyond the goal itself, framing success not around hitting a number, but around impact, using his own book as the example: if it helps even one person, it did its job. 00:00 Escape Win Lose Thinking 03:04 Celebrate Zero to One 06:07 Back to Back and Streaks 10:01 Feedback Loops Beat Perfection 12:20 Shift Two Bookends 15:54 Podcast Bookend Example 18:51 Discovering Your Voice 20:58 Impact Based Goals 23:05 Book Link and Share It 24:19 Wrap Up and Next Steps Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be

AJ Waters wanted to design stadiums. Instead, he ended up rebuilding the operating system for one of the largest construction companies in the world and learning, the hard way, why so many digital transformations quietly collapse in the field. In this episode, AJ takes Jesse inside the messy reality of tech adoption at scale: what it was really like leading a major platform overhaul at Kiewit, why executives sometimes override the "right" decision for reasons that have nothing to do with the data, and the uncomfortable truth about who construction software has historically been built for and who's been left out. They also get into: Why teams keep optimizing for the back office while the people actually swinging hammers get ignoredWhat evaluating project management platforms for Google's data center builds taught AJ about alignment vs. politicsThe surprising throughline between his childhood Lego obsession and how he approaches problem-solving todayWhy AJ started The Engineered Life to talk about "superpowers" most people don't even know they haveIf you've ever wondered why the tools that look perfect in a boardroom fall apart on-site, or why subcontractors always seem to get the short end of the software stick, this one's for you. By the end, you'll understand why AJ measures success by one simple standard: whether he left people, and situations, better than he found them. 00:00 Executive Override Reality 00:18 Meet AJ Waters 02:00 Lego Builds and Movie Nerd 03:23 Rebuilding Memorial Stadium 05:38 Dreaming of Stadiums 08:31 Not Smart Enough to Engineer 11:01 Design vs Construction Life 11:23 LnM Listener Shoutout 13:55 Why Construction Fits People 17:48 First Digital Takeoff Win 20:16 Resourcefulness and Problem Solving 25:17 iPhone Sparked Tech Interest 27:56 Volunteering for Transformation 29:48 Change Resistance on Site 31:32 Design for Field Users 33:20 Workarounds and Training Gaps 34:58 From Internal Tools to Innate 35:50 Owner Side Lessons at Google 40:07 Systems vs Human Behavior 42:50 Procore vs PlanGrid Politics 44:50 Tech Ignores Subs and Owners 46:27 AI and Platform Advantage 51:15 EngiNerd Life Origin Story Lets leave the Construction Industry Better than We Found It https://www.depthbuilder.com/construction-leadership-lab Download the free PDF copy of Becoming the Promise You are Intended to Be