Read on to learn whether workers believe their company has a strong culture, why my time at home is so valuable, and how the word “no” is the only way to stop me.
Workforce Poll
For this week’s poll, I asked the following question:
“Does your company have a strong culture?”
I followed with, “Why or why not?” Here are some of the top answers:
YES
- Our culture is all about the rebels versus the empire…
- They don’t run the business with unnecessary red tape.
- The whole team works hard on our culture.
- Very in-depth interview process.
- Everyone cares, and those who don’t are weeded out.
- Loyalty from the owners creates loyalty throughout the entire organization.
- Everyone’s link-minded and supports the same goals.
- We work hard to build it because it’s essential to attracting the next generation.
NO
- Main boss never stops by to check-in.
- Too much management, not leadership.
- Management is too lazy to spend time developing a strong culture.
- Every manager runs things differently. No consistency.
- All crews are led by older grumpy folks who don’t care about doing things differently.
- Safety is not a priority.
- Fake moral boosters don’t mean culture…
- No teaching or career paths.
- Poor field management = poor culture. They set the tone.
- Everyone is fearful of the CEO.
Weekly Update
Nope… I wasn’t on the road this week!
While I love traveling to projects around the world, my day job is still helping to lead our people, develop our culture, and continue financing our growth.
Typically, I travel during the week and catch up on the weekends. This works for my 27-year-old lifestyle, but it’s not the most sustainable long-term option.
After traveling nearly every week in 2022, I desperately need time at home to talk to our people, establish my situational awareness within the business, and think strategically. My past travel-less week was all that and more. I’m soaking it up while I can!
Speaking of travel… Our next trip is to Germany (we were last there in April to visit Liebherr), where we will spend four days at the BAUMA 2022 trade show and then tour mining and construction projects across Germany with Zeppelin Cat.
If you’re planning to attend BAUMA, give me a shout! I’d love to meet you. If not, stay tuned for another European vlog series on YouTube. We’ll show off the latest and greatest from equipment manufacturers, Europe’s deepest underground mine, and perhaps some night paving on the autobahn. What a treat this trip will be!
Business Lesson Learned
Where's the line between being persistent and being a pest? It's quite the balance I have yet to master…
I've spent much of my time in 2022 talking with the industry's most successful contractors regarding capital to grow our business. I can't explain much more due to legal requirements, but you get the point.
Unsurprisingly, the industry's most successful contractors are busy. Demand for infrastructure is still off the charts, and there are labor, fuel, and material constraints. It's a busy time!
I genuinely believe the business we're building can benefit any construction business owner in a few huge ways (yes, I'm biased), but I have to get in the door first. This means many emails, texts, and phone calls to make each in-person sit-down happen.
As frustrating as it is to come off as potentially annoying, I've learned to keep on people until they definitively say "no." It's an art, but thanks to my inability to stop until I'm officially shut down, a few fantastic opportunities have materialized that wouldn't have otherwise.
So all this is to say… You'll receive my emails until I hear "no!"
Podcast
Remember when I mentioned us doing a live podcast for the ECC Conference a few weeks ago in Texas? Well, if you’d like to check it out, we’ve published it as not only a Dirt Talk podcast episode but also a Youtube vlog! Check out the links below if you’d like to hear what nonsense we had to say. Keep in mind… we’d never done this before.
Vlog
Great news! After our editing snafu, the vlog’s back on a consistent publishing schedule. This week we feature the work of RAWSO Constructors, just north of my Nashville home. We captured them moving dirt with trucks and scrapers for commercial development. It’s rare for such a sizable earthmoving project to have no rock in Middle Tennessee, so it was a real treat.
