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

Ever wonder how NFL quarterbacks go from being labeled "busts" to top performers—just by changing teams?

The list here is long: Sam Darnold, Mac Jones, and Baker Mayfield to name three who have played at a high level this year.   

In construction, just like in football, leaders often misjudge struggling team members by blaming personal traits instead of assessing the environments they're placed in. 

This episode unpacks the critical leadership blindspot known as the fundamental attribution error—and how it's quietly sabotaging your team's performance.

In this episode you will:

• Discover why underperforming employees may actually be victims of poor systems—not poor character.
• Learn 7 leadership tools that help you shift focus from blaming individuals to improving environments.

Press play to uncover the leadership principle that could improve your team's performance starting today.

The Construction Leadership Podcast dives into essential leadership topics in construction, including strategy, emotional intelligence, communication skills, confidence, innovation, and effective decision-making. You'll also gain insights into delegation, cultural intelligence, goal setting, team building, employee engagement, and how to overcome common culture problems. Whether you're leading a crew or managing an entire organization, these conversations will equip you with tools to lead smarter and build stronger teams. 

This episode is brought to you by The Construction Spanish Toolbox —the most practical way for construction teams to learn jobsite-ready Spanish in just minutes a day over 6 months.

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If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback will help us on our mission to bring the construction community closer together.

If you have suggestions for improvements, topics you'd like the show to explore, or have recommendations for future guests, do not hesitate to contact us directly at info@bradleyhartmannandco.com.

Two quick questions: 

ONE

Are the books you're reading actually making you a better leader? Or are they just filling space on your shelf?

TWO

Are you reading the same books as everyone else, putting yourself at risk for thinking like everyone else?

In this episode, host Bradley Hartmann shares the six most essential books he read this year—each selected for their impact on construction leadership, strategy execution, innovation, and driving real accountability. Whether you're managing teams or steering your company toward greater differentiation, these unconventional books are tools, not trophies.

In this episode you will: 

• Discover practical strategies for balancing ambition with reality in your project planning
• Learn how to break away from mind-numbing industry conformity and spark original thinking
• Understand the true difference between leadership and management (and why most get it wrong)

Listen now to upgrade your leadership mindset with the six most unconventionally transformative books of the year.

The Construction Leadership Podcast dives into essential leadership topics in construction, including strategy, emotional intelligence, communication skills, confidence, innovation, and effective decision-making. You'll also gain insights into delegation, cultural intelligence, goal setting, team building, employee engagement, and how to overcome common culture problems. Whether you're leading a crew or managing an entire organization, these conversations will equip you with tools to lead smarter and build stronger teams. 

This episode is brought to you by The Construction Spanish Toolbox —the most practical way for construction teams to learn jobsite-ready Spanish in just minutes a day over 6 months.

***

If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback will help us on our mission to bring the construction community closer together.

If you have suggestions for improvements, topics you'd like the show to explore, or have recommendations for future guests, do not hesitate to contact us directly at info@bradleyhartmannandco.com.

Are your jobsite changes constantly resisted—even when they clearly make things better?

If you're leading construction teams and struggle to get people to embrace new processes, it's not about laziness—it's about how humans are wired. This episode breaks down why convenience, status, and belonging drive every decision your team makes—and how to use that insight to lead better.

In this episode, you will:

• Learn how to make the new way easier and the old way harder so your team actually adopts change.
• Discover leadership tactics that protect your crew's status while still evolving how they work.
• Use cultural belonging and group identity to create lasting behavior shifts—without micromanaging or fighting resistance.

Tap play now to learn the psychology behind team behavior and unlock a smarter way to lead change on your jobsite.

This episode is brought to you by The Construction Spanish Toolbox —the most practical way for construction teams to learn jobsite-ready Spanish in just minutes a day over 6 months.

***

If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback will help us on our mission to bring the construction community closer together.

If you have suggestions for improvements, topics you'd like the show to explore, or have recommendations for future guests, do not hesitate to contact us directly at info@bradleyhartmannandco.com.

Episode 394 features an all-star trio competing in our fifth Construction Leadership Game Show:

• Colby Chandler, Sales Manager at Cassity Jones Building Products
• Meloni Raney, CEO of TEXO Association 
• Kevin Carey, CEO of Mountain Mover Facades and host of the 17Twenty Podcast.

Among other relevant insights that can help you become a better manager and leader, these leaders share their favorite leadership movie and identify which job site tool best describes their leadership style and explain why.

This episode is brought to you by The Simple Sales Pipeline® —the most efficient way to organize and value any construction sales rep's roster of customers and prospects in under 30 minutes once every 30 days.

***

If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback will help us on our mission to bring the construction community closer together.

If you have suggestions for improvements, topics you'd like the show to explore, or have recommendations for future guests, do not hesitate to contact us directly at info@bradleyhartmannandco.com.

In episode 393, Human Resources expert Joel Stevens joins returning guest / movie guru Matt Potter (ep. 302: Elf, 233: Glengarry Glen Ross, 173: Tommy Boy) to break down the key leadership scenes in the 2009 film, Up In The Air, which earned six Acadamy Award nominations. 

Here's IMDB's storyline: Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) enjoys living out of a suitcase for his job, travelling around the country firing people, but finds that lifestyle threatened by the presence of a potential love interest (Vera Farmiga), and a new hire (Anna Kendrick) presenting a new business model.

As tech companies continue to lay off workers due to the pandemic era hiring frenzy and Artificial Intelligence, construction firms grapple with rightsizing headcount amidst high interest rates and years of "we need everyone we can get!" Into this business climate, Joel Stevens (a proper HR exec with Operations experience), Matt Potter (a walking HR violation waiting to happen), and Bradley Hartmann (host, small business owner struggling with the needs of a growing team) discuss the relevant scenes in the film that can help you become a better manager and leader.   

You can view clips from this episode on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@bradleyhartmannandco

This episode is brought to you by The Simple Sales Pipeline® —the most efficient way to organize and value any construction sales rep's roster of customers and prospects in under 30 minutes once every 30 days.

***

If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback will help us on our mission to bring the construction community closer together.

If you have suggestions for improvements, topics you'd like the show to explore, or have recommendations for future guests, do not hesitate to contact us directly at info@bradleyhartmannandco.com.

In episode 392, Bill Ness, founder of 55places.com, joins The Construction Leadership Podcast to share his journey from new home sales consultant at Del Webb to launching the premier destination for active adults searching for a new home. 

Bill Ness discusses:

• His initial steps from original insight to early implementation
• The sales pitch that changed his life 
• Challenges and opportunities to delivering value online
• And much more  

55places.com is exclusively dedicated to serving the 55+ community. The company tracks the 55+ housing market and matches vistor's lifestyle to their next home. 55places.com has nurtured an extensive network of specialized agents for 55+ buyers, sellers, and renters.

https://www.55places.com

You can view clips from this episode on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@bradleyhartmannandco

This episode is brought to you by The Simple Sales Pipeline® —the most efficient way to organize and value any construction sales rep's roster of customers and prospects in under 30 minutes once every 30 days.

***

If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback will help us on our mission to bring the construction community closer together.

If you have suggestions for improvements, topics you'd like the show to explore, or have recommendations for future guests, do not hesitate to contact us directly at info@bradleyhartmannandco.com.

In episode 391, Wes Palmisano joins The Construction Leadership Podcast from New Orleans to talk about how renegade thinking drives revolutionary results.   

For over a decade, Wes has pursued a new vision of the construction industry through his collective of brands and initiatives. Wes launched Palmisano Construction in 2013 with 11 team members and the company's signature renegade style and cultivation of a culture where everyone could make and break the mold.

With the company's success and growth in subsequent years, Wes pushed the envelope further. Over the following decade, WJP's strategy continued to evolve through new ventures in construction, investment, innovation, leadership cultivation, and real estate development—pursuing a vertical integration of service offerings that influence the construction lifecycle and continue applying its renegade approach.

Growing his small team to over 260 people, Palmisano Construction looked to align its name with its visionary ethos—rebranding as RNGD and expanding its presence to new markets: Nashville, TN and Huntsville, AL.

As a New Orleans native, Wesley grew up in a construction family. Inspired by their commitment to service—beginning with his grandfather, WWII veteran and founder of W.J. Palmisano Contractors, Warren Palmisano Sr.—Wesley looked to follow in their footsteps with his own vision. He earned a four-year Construction Management degree in three years at Louisiana State University, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Before launching WJP, he directly applied his background, education, expertise, and unique insight to over a decade of work, building and managing large-scale construction projects.

https://rngd.com

You can view clips from this episode on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@bradleyhartmannandco

This episode is brought to you by The Simple Sales Pipeline® —the most efficient way to organize and value any construction sales rep's roster of customers and prospects in under 30 minutes once every 30 days.

***

If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback will help us on our mission to bring the construction community closer together.

If you have suggestions for improvements, topics you'd like the show to explore, or have recommendations for future guests, do not hesitate to contact us directly at info@bradleyhartmannandco.com.

Brad Jacobs is venturing into building materials distribution with a new firm branded QXO. His initial forecast is $1B in revenue in Year 1 and at least $5B within three years. How, you may ask, does he plan to do that? Well, he wrote on book on it, humbly titled, How to Make a Few Billion Dollars, which I would absolutely recommend to a friend.  

Upon hearing the news, Jon Vaughan and Bradley Hartmann dropped what they were doing and bought the book, listened to eight hours of past Brad Jacobs podcasts, and spoke to leaders in the freight industry who knew Brad back in 2011 when he ventured into that industry. 

Then Jon and Bradley got together to talk about what they learned, what they think will happen, and what you need to know.   

Below is an edited transcript of QXOs announcement: 

After a comprehensive year-long search, Brad Jacobs announced his intention to create a market leader in building products distribution — an industry with approximately $800 billion in annual revenue between North America and Europe. The company will be called QXO, Inc.

On December 3, 2023, Jacobs Private Equity entered into an investment agreement with SilverSun Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSNT) in which they will invest $1 billion in cash. Upon the closing of the equity investment, SilverSun will be renamed QXO. JPE will become QXO's majority stockholder, and Jacobs will become the company's chairman and chief executive officer. QXO will become a standalone platform for Jacobs' new venture following the spin off of the existing business to SilverSun stockholders.

QXO's Strategy
QXO plans to create a tech-forward industry leader in the building products distribution industry through accretive M&A and organic growth, including greenfield openings, with the goal of generating outsized stockholder value.  

Distributors of building products offer materials, finished goods, value-added solutions and expertise to a broad range of customers across residential, nonresidential, industrial and infrastructure end-markets. Their products are used extensively in new construction and in repair and remodeling. Key categories include access control, construction supplies, doors and windows, electrical components, fencing and decking, HVAC, infrastructure, landscaping, lumber, plumbing, pools, roofing, siding and water, among others.

QXO expects to achieve a revenue run-rate of at least $1 billion by the end of year one, at least $5 billion within three years, and tens of billions of dollars over the next decade. QXO's scale should elevate the customer experience, increase sales force effectiveness, and enable margin expansion.

The industry's nascent use of technology, particularly AI and B2B e-commerce, represents a compelling opportunity for tech-focused entrants. According to industry data, the percentage of industry revenue derived from e-commerce is currently only mid-single digits, and this share is expected to triple by 2030. Additional types of tech adoption by distributors have the potential to be transformative through price optimization, demand forecasting, warehouse automation and robotics, automated inventory management, route optimization for delivery fleets, supply chain visibility, and end-to-end digital customer connectivity. QXO's strategy anticipates that these drivers, among others, will be central to the company's goal of outsized stockholder value creation.

The Market Opportunity
The building products distribution industry is highly fragmented, with approximately 7,000 distributors in North America and 13,000 in Europe, according to industry observers. The industry has generated compound annual revenue growth of 7% over the last five years, based on industry data, and continues to benefit from powerful secular growth drivers for building products distribution in the residential, nonresidential and infrastructure sectors.

For example, industry reports estimate that the current supply of US homes is 3 million units short of demand, potentially creating long-term tailwinds for both new construction and the repair and remodeling of aging homes. In the nonresidential sector, long-term demand is expected to be driven by growth across multiple industrial and commercial verticals, according to industry sources. Infrastructure should benefit from the widely reported need for repair or replacement of America's public transportation, utility and communication systems, among others.

These market dynamics, together with the fragmented nature of the industry, offer a significant opportunity to unlock growth potential through scale and technology. National distributors can serve large customers across multiple geographies and project types with standardized efficiencies, providing consistent, data-driven customer services across a broad operating scope. Additionally, a scaled technology ecosystem can expand the array of value-added services offered to customers, such as jobsite visibility into product consumption, digital configuration tools for custom ordering and tracking, and virtual design capabilities that interface with product order flow.

Track Record
Brad Jacobs has completed approximately 500 M&A transactions in his career, and built five multibillion-dollar, publicly traded companies to date: XPO, Inc. (NYSE: XPO), one of the largest providers of less-than-truckload services in North America; GXO Logistics, Inc. (NYSE: GXO), the largest pure-play contract logistics provider in the world; RXO, Inc. (NYSE: RXO), a leading tech-enabled freight brokerage platform; United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI), the world's largest equipment rental company; and United Waste Systems, Inc., the fifth largest U.S. waste management company at the time of its sale.
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Each of these companies has a history of attracting world-class talent, establishing advantages through technology, and scaling up through accretive capital allocations for M&A and organic growth. This decades-long track record should position QXO to acquire exceptional businesses, integrate them effectively, improve margins and generate high returns on capital.

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You can view clips from this episode with Jon Vauaghn on our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@bradleyhartmannandco

This episode is brought to you by The Simple Sales Pipeline® which will organize and value any construction sales rep's roster of customers and prospects in under 30 minutes.

***

If you enjoyed this podcast, we'd sincerely appreciate it if you left a review on Apple Podcasts. The feedback helps improve the show and helps with our visibility as well. The more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it to make it even better.

In episode 389, Steve Swinney, CEO of Kodiak Building Partners, joins the show. Steve and Bradley discuss how Kodiak integrates new companies following an acquisition, how to develop trust with authenticity, intention, and speed—and how Steve would improve the long-standing culture of mediocrity within the greatest NFL franchise of all-time, the Chicago Bears.   

As CEO of Kodiak Building Partners, Steve is responsible for the overall vision, strategy, and execution of Kodiak's business plan. Steve brings over 25 years of acquisitions and private equity-backed venture expertise to the founding and operations of Kodiak.

Before the founding of Kodiak, Steve was a VP with ProBuild Holdings, where he created the organization to support the company's mergers and acquisitions, financial analysis, investor relations, budgeting, and long-range planning functions. Before entering the building materials industry with ProBuild, Steve worked at First Data/Western Union as the Director of Finance.

Steve is a CPA and earned his undergraduate degree in Accounting at Abilene Christian University and his MBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

You can view clips from this episode on our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@bradleyhartmannandco

This episode is brought to you by The Simple Sales Pipeline® which will organize and value any construction sales rep's roster of customers and prospects in under 30 minutes.

***

If you enjoyed this podcast, we'd sincerely appreciate it if you left a review on Apple Podcasts. The feedback helps improve the show and helps with our visibility as well. The more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it to make it even better.

In episode 388, Amber Percival joins the Construction Leadership Podcast to discuss the recent sale of her second generation hearth distribution business, Urban Hearth, based on Perth, Ontario. Amber candidly shares insights on her negotiation tactics, concessions, mindset during the 1.5-year process, the challenges of secrecy among the people in the business she cared about most, and how her core values were tested until the deal closed.     

Amber and I close this episode with strong reminder to ensure those leaders in your network feel seen and heard—that they understand they are not alone—before Amber critiques Hartmann's recent indoor plant-buying choices. 

USA Suicide Crisis Lines

• The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (https://988lifeline.org/) is a 24-hour, toll-free, confidential suicide prevention hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.[56][57] It provides Spanish-speaking counselors, as well as options for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. 

Canada Suicide Crisis Lines  

• 911 is the national emergency number in Canada.
• 988 is the suicide crisis helpline. It can be reached 24/7 by call or text in both English or French.
• Kids Help Phone (https://kidshelpphone.ca/) is a free 24/7 national support service that provides confidential professional counselling, information, referrals and volunteer-led, text-based support to young people in both English and French.
• Talk Suicide Canada can be reached 24/7 at 1–833–456–4566 or 45645 (Text, 4 p.m. to midnight ET only) (https://talksuicide.ca/) nationwide suicide prevention service.

You can view clips from this episode on our YouTube channel

- https://www.youtube.com/@bradleyhartmannandco

This episode is brought to you by The Simple Sales Pipeline® which will organize and value any construction sales rep's roster of customers and prospects in under 30 minutes.

***

If you enjoyed this podcast, we'd sincerely appreciate it if you left a review on Apple Podcasts. The feedback helps improve the show and helps with our visibility as well. The more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it to make it even better.

Since we're asking for things . . . we'd also love it if you recommended this show to your friends and colleagues. Your network looks to people like you to learn where to invest their time and attention.