Embracing Change for Leadership Excellence

Reflection is a powerful tool to understand our growth and set intentions for the future. Acknowledging both the successes and challenges of the past year enables us to carve a more intentional path into 2025.

• Importance of reflection during downtime 
• Celebrating personal and professional wins for motivation 
• Operational changes leading to improved business outcomes 
• Focusing on pre-construction tasks as essential for success 
• Personal growth through intentional learning and development 
• Three reflective questions for listeners to consider

Chapters

• 0:03 Reflection on Professional Growth and Success
• 14:27 Personal Growth and Impact Assessment
• 23:12 Guest-Focused Podcast Schedule Adjustment

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:03

oh, I love that, I love that hey y'all, welcome back to another episode of feed me your construction content. I'm carolyn mcmahon I'm joshua mcmahon feeling a little under the weather I couldn't tell I'm thinking it just, you know, adds to my sex appeal, right, yes, exactly, yeah, what a terrible time to get sick I during the holidays and whatnot. But right, I mean, you know, to a testament, to our dedication we are recording on Christmas.

Speaker 1: 0:32

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 0:34

That's okay.

Speaker 1: 0:35

It's good.

Speaker 2: 0:35

It's you know, we do our best work at last minute.

Speaker 1: 0:41

You got to have a little pressure on Right right, right.

Speaker 2: 0:44

So I know you guys are not used to josh talking a lot, but he's gonna do most of the talking. But, um, we're excited for this last episode of for 2024 yes, yeah, I can't believe that actually right and I've been thinking about it for the last couple weeks and now you're saying it again.

Speaker 1: 1:05

It's like it's hard to kind of wrap your head around 52 weeks of showing up, doing a podcast for everybody you know, minus the couple blips that we missed, one that we missed and one that a guest flaked out on it after it dropped, so oh yeah, I forgot.

Speaker 2: 1:22

Yeah, I forgot. I forgot about that. That's not bad so that's very consistent. Boo, take it away, and I'm going to try to save my voice.

Speaker 1: 1:36

You save your voice. I'm going to take it from here. This is my favorite time of the year because most of us have some downtime. We certainly had some downtime. We had today off, we had yesterday off. Our company was gracious enough to say, hey, if you take one day off, we'll give you one day off. So essentially, you could take two days off and get four days off, which means you can take off Thursday, friday, monday, tuesday, so essentially be off from Christmas to New Year's, which is probably what most people should be doing anyways, because how much production is actually happening during this season and and I know I hear the big production builders saying end of year, man got to hit those numbers and I and I, I get it and I'm going to take my downtime and think about you all as you're grinding to the end. Hey, listen.

Speaker 2: 2:19

I just gave a vendor some shit for being off. So I mean vendor some shit for being off. So I mean I was kind of an asshole about it and I'm like what? We're working Monday, we're working Thursday, we're working Friday, monday, tuesday. I was like I need you to show up, man.

Speaker 1: 2:35

I've gotten softer as I've gotten older. I used to be that way. I mean I would work every single day of the week. It didn't matter.

Speaker 2: 2:42

Well, gosh, you know we're just role reversing here. I'm turning into the a-hole.

Speaker 1: 2:47

Well, a lot of what happened for me was probably 10, 12 years ago, maybe 15 years ago now. I remember working my tail off one year. I mean I was working 50, 60 hours a week, doing everything I could to prove that I was worthy of being a construction superintendent. I made $45,000 a year was my base salary, no bonuses on houses back then I don't know what other builders were doing, but my builder didn't. And at the end of the year the owner of the company gave me a $5,000 bonus and I thought, damn, I freaking made it. These guys actually appreciate me.

Speaker 1: 3:27

As I did some pondering during this break time, I went to New York. I went skiing snowboarding, to be specific and I just thought about all of the hours that I worked, the weekends, that I worked, the nights, that I worked, all the extra time I worked for $50,000 a year and it made me really do some self-reflection on what am I doing, what's my vision, what's my goals, where am I going, what do I want to do with my life. And that's what I did. That $5,000 bonus changed the trajectory of my life because it was in that break, that self-reflection period, that I determined I was going to go back to school and get my bachelor's degree. I was going to join the Air Force Reserves and I was going to do something more with my life than just earn the money I was earning. And obviously you fast forward now to what I'm doing now and you can tell that this period of time is so important for me and my growth because I give myself the opportunity to do that self-reflection how did my year go? Did I hit my goals? Am I still working towards my vision or am I off track? And without this downtime you never get the opportunity to do that. So while I'm a big fan of working and grinding and doing all that, I'm a much bigger fan of taking advantage of the downtime, especially this season, to really do some deep reflection. If you've never done this before and you're kind of lost, the easiest stuff to do is focus on what's your wins and losses for the year and put more emphasis on your wins. At least for me, I would always put more emphasis on my losses, which meant I highlighted where I did wrong, what I fell short on, and that's what I put all of my focus on, which kept me from growing. So now it's more about what did we win. What did we do? Well, so take the opportunity to write that stuff down, because for us we had massive wins and I want you to think about professional wins, personal wins. Where are you growing this year?

Speaker 1: 5:35

If you go back to the beginning of the year, we did four episodes where we said a vision for a company is important, but a vision for an individual is just as important, and we kind of broke down how that looks, how to develop it. If you took the time and you created your vision, go back and look at your vision. How did your year progress towards that three or five-year vision? So, as we look at us, my professional growth, our business made massive changes. We let go of two of our top people, we let go of our salesperson, we let go of our estimating person and for a small custom home builder, those were massive adjustments to our company, almost to the point that if it didn't play out correctly it could cost somebody else their job I mean primarily me out correctly. It could cost somebody else their job I mean primarily me. Right, and that was the thought that was in my mind. But I knew for our company to grow, for our company to reach our vision, those individuals had to go because they weren't interested in doing anything different. They were not open-minded.

Speaker 1: 6:41

So now, as we look back, sales process has drastically improved. We don't waste our time with clients that aren't interested or not serious. We have a consultation meeting with clients now and if you're not fired up and ready to build with us, you're probably not our builder. I mean, we're not your builder and we're transparent about that and we say it's okay Because, fortunately for us, we're a custom home builder. We do four to six homes a year, we don't do 50. We don't do a hundred builder. We do four to six homes a year, we don't do 50. We don't do 100.

Speaker 1: 7:12

So I don't need to sell every single person that's got $2 million in their bank account or can have access to $2 million. I don't need those clients. We can be really careful about who we pick and who we choose, and I've said this for many years. But I said it's a privilege to work for whatever builder I'm representing and it's a privilege to have a home built by that builder. I've always meant it, although all the companies I worked for didn't have that same value that I did.

Speaker 1: 7:39

Well, we live that now and so we're very intentional about who we let in and who we don't let in, because if we let in the wrong clients, from a sales perspective, pre-construction is going to struggle, construction is going to struggle and then everybody's morale is decreased. It starts at the beginning, right? So massive win for us was changing our sales process and me personally from the professional side, always being a production individual, I sold my first house this year $1.4 million contract, no sales, no sales experience With my teammate. It wasn't just me, right, it's a team effort, but I was a big part of that sale and that thing going across the line, which is pretty damn awesome. Hats off, dude. Yeah, I mean it's dangerous, because now I know I can do it.

Speaker 2: 8:27

they can go on across the line, which is pretty damn awesome.

Speaker 1: 8:29

That's awesome. Yeah, I mean it's dangerous, because now I know I can do it. So that limiting belief is no longer there anymore, which is a massive win for me. That's a big growth for me. Another big win for us was that estimating side. We drastically changed our estimating process to where we're no longer a fixed price builder, we're now a cost plus builder, which means everything's transparent, your books are open, meaning now you've got to have your stuff right. If you budget $50,000 for a framing package and it comes in at 85,000 or 25,000, you can't hide that number anymore. Now you have to share it with a client, so the client knows which. The good thing about the cost plus method is that it protects you as the builder and I think it's more fair for the buyers too when you get into that price point. So $750,000 and up, $1,000,000 and up, I just think cost plus is the best method for anybody involved, because for us, we can speed up our pre-construction cycle time because I don't have to have it 100% locked in. I can say we're going to get you to 80% of the budget, we're going to know what your number is at 80% and we need to proceed. Let's get your building permit. Let's get you under contract. Let's keep going Because cost plus, you've got the ability to make changes.

Speaker 1: 9:47

Well, let's be honest, custom builder, you've got the ability to make changes. Well, let's be honest, custom builder, you've got the ability to make changes. We're not rigid, we're not stuck in. This is how you do it, the end. So, whatever the budget is at the day of contract, you can change that. So if we, if we hit something, we hit rock in a in a as we're executing the foundation. Well, we can change your cabinet design. Instead of a $150,000 cabinet package, now it's a $125,000 package and we've got designers that can help guide you to that. So you're still getting to the budget you desire, but also getting the home that you want and keeping your numbers in line.

Speaker 1: 10:22

Where the builder in the past, we would eat that or we'd put something in our contract where you would have to eat that, but now it's a fair balance. So now every cost code is in our estimating process. To where I know, we've got a bid for it. I know we're covered. So if the customer says did you even have a bid? How'd you get that number? Is it real? So yeah, it's real. Here's the bid. Here's the information. We didn't have that before In this process. We know it's working because we have a home that's gone from intake estimating contract and now we're framing the house and I told the production team that we're probably going to have some estimating errors. This is my first time really doing estimating and he says so far, zero errors, everything's been really good. I'm like damn, that feels pretty good Because typically we're bleeding money at this stage.

Speaker 2: 11:17

So now you're an estimator too.

Speaker 1: 11:20

Well, I'm not an estimator Because, look, unlike you, I am not as detail-oriented. You are extremely detail-oriented, I'm not. I'm like very high level. I skim the surface and I'm ready to roll right Because I'm comfortable enough with where we are. You're detail oriented. You'd be a much better estimator. But yes, to a large extent I can do estimating, so it feels good on that side too. So those are massive wins for our company.

Speaker 1: 11:50

The only loss for our company, I would say. We had a goal for our annual revenue, gross revenue much higher than what we ended up hitting. But when you look back on it, you reflect on it, you realize that the reason you didn't hit your number was because your sales, your pipeline, wasn't strong enough to have the opportunity to close those deals, to hit those numbers. So it's not really production's fault for not putting enough work in place. There's other things against them. But what happens in our industry is we love to focus on production because that's the only thing we feel like we can control Right. Anything goes wrong. You don't close enough houses production's fault. Every single time You're over budget, production's fault. But my realization through this whole experience was why in the hell are we not focusing more on pre-construction. I have unlimited control in pre-construction, unlimited control in sales. I can't control the customer and what they're doing or not doing. I can't control that. Okay, but I can guide them. I can ensure that we're guiding them towards selections, towards budgets, towards everything that they want, towards the specifications, and I can make sure it's right. And if I do that, I put my focus on that and then it goes to production.

Speaker 1: 13:18

No-transcript. Why are we not focusing on pre-construction? Why do we see a problem? It's like this Let me give it to you a different way. You're driving down the road and you see a car accident and you immediately just see the accident. You don't see what caused the accident. You might see or hear somebody swerved into somebody else, but what caused them to swerve into them? You've got to peel more layers of the onion than just the easy things, and that's the same thing in construction. If you're not digging deeper, you're missing the real problem, which means you're not solving anything. It'll be the same thing year over year. So for me, that was a big growth moment, to the point that I've made it clear that 2025 is all about pre-construction and I've got heavy influence on our pre-construction process. So we're going to put a lot of focus and a lot of emphasis on that. I'm tired of just beating up production and not getting a different result. We've got to do something different, and I could be wrong, and when we get to the end of 2025, I'll let you know if I was wrong. Actually, I'll let you know long before that, because I'm going to know, probably in the first quarter, if I'm on the right track or not.

Speaker 1: 14:27

Another thing to look at is how are you individually growing? Did you set any growth goals for yourself, personally, professionally? If you did, then how are you growing? And if you didn't set any goals, let's be more intentional about that. Let's reflect on it. Where would you like to grow? Because a lot of people can tell you what position they want to hold. They can tell you how much money they want to have. All of those things are great.

Speaker 1: 14:54

What do you need to grow in to get to those goals? It's not time. There's no time associated with what goals you achieve. Right, it's your growth. Maybe you need leadership skills, maybe you need organizational skills, maybe you need to be a better speaker. The list is endless, and I think you have to do some reflection during this time and say these are my goals, this is what's not happening. What areas do I need to grow in? So really focus on that. An area that I thought I needed to grow in was more my coaching skills, and in 2024, I started the Maxwell Coaching Certification Program, which I will become certified in March of 2025. So I'm really proud of that, and part of that program was public speaking, training and coaching. So a really good program to kind of help me in my journey towards becoming more of a coach as a profession versus a home builder. That's my passion, that's what I want to do, so that's been really good for me's here.

Speaker 1: 16:06

Here's three questions that I think you can lean on as you start your own self-reflection journey to close out 2024 how have I grown this year? So really ask yourself this and then look, ask your spouse, ask your coworkers, ask your friends. You need to be honest with yourself about how you grew, where you need some help, what are your strengths, and then write those down and then come up with a game plan on how you're going to grow as you come into the new year. The more intentional you are about it, the better you're going to be into the new year. The more intentional you are about it, the better you're going to be.

Speaker 1: 16:51

The next question I would say is what impact did I have on my work? So in 2024, how did you make an impact on your work, your environment? Again, we have aspirations of being a production manager, being a division president, being a sales manager, being MVP whatever that aspiration is. How did you impact your work, your place of employment in 2024?, as you think about your aspirations, how did you impact it and how does that align with your goal of getting to these accolades? And again, ask your coworkers, ask your friends, ask your employer how do you think I impacted it? What can I do differently next year? I don't think it's a bad thing to share your aspirations with your teammates or your bosses Now read the room because some of them will take offense to that and some of them will go out of their way to hold you back. Some people do have an agenda, unfortunately, so you need to pay attention to that.

Speaker 1: 18:01

And the third question was what held me back in 2024? And I think this is the one that you really want to be in that quiet place and just be extremely honest with yourself. What held me back in 2024? The easy answer is going to be somebody. You're going to say my boss held me back, the company held me back, you know whatever. What did you do say my boss held me back, the company held me back, you know whatever.

Speaker 1: 18:28

What did you do this year that held you back, though? What choices did you make? Because one of the things I love to say is what got us here won't get us there. So what in this year did you continue doing that kept you from reaching the things that you wanted to accomplish in 2024? Because, carolyn, you like to remind me and I think I need it more often than not that I can't do it all. I've got these aspirations, I've got this vision, these things that I want to do, but there's only so many hours in a day, so how the hell are you going to do it all? What are you going to stop doing?

Speaker 2: 19:10

All right. I mean it's about prioritizing. I mean you want to continue being a married man, right, yeah? So you know what is the right balance and it's hard for a lot of families. You know you want to be this provider anybody, male, female. You know you want to contribute. You know what are you contributing and how is it improving your life, how is it improving your work, your space? You know how you do things. I mean it's a big deal and I think you know what you bring home affects your life as well.

Speaker 1: 19:56

It absolutely does, which is a big reason that I'm a runner. For a fat body, I like to run, but primarily I run for mental health, Physical health too, because I love to eat.

Speaker 1: 20:10

Yeah, that's the only way we can do it right, but I know that for me I'm an all or nothing type of person. So for me to just say I'm going to go for a two mile run, I'm going to go for a three mile run Well, that doesn't get me out of bed. That's not exciting If I'm not saying I'm going to go for really seven to nine miles. I just don't feel like I'm doing anything. And in seven to nine miles you're going for an hour and a half, which means if you come home at five, six hour and a half is 7.30, then you're going to bed an hour later. That's not fair to the family. So I make a sacrifice and I get up at 3.30 and go run.

Speaker 1: 20:50

But then there's other things that I do after work. So this year I held my first mastermind, my first leadership mastermind, with four other builders and a commercial builder so residential and commercial and it was a really good success. It was an awesome program that I enjoyed thoroughly and I look forward to doing more of them in the coming year. And we just need to figure out what that looks like, how we organize it, because, again, time is time, it's time, time that's what it comes down to is time, everything. So just understanding, I get a lot of joy from doing these things, but how do I manage my time and do these things and continue to move our family forward? Because if, if I'm just doing it, I'm giving everything away, that's that's taking away from something else, right. And then you just have to think about is what I'm giving up worth what I'm doing?

Speaker 2: 21:48

Well, does it? Does it push the ball forward? You have to identify that right that what you're doing is in direct correlation with what you want and identify. If your actions are not getting you to where you need to be, then you need to reflect and pivot.

Speaker 1: 22:07

That's exactly right, because ultimately I want to move into more coaching, more training, more of those things. Well, great, then develop a program to move in that direction, be intentional about it and don't just kind of half-assed it.

Speaker 1: 22:20

And I think that's what I'm going to work on over the next five or six days, saying what does this look like in 2025? I want to make more of this. What does it look like? How do I develop this? How do I set it up? That's our episode to close out 2024. We're grateful for every single one of you that tune in every week and listen to the show. In 2025, we are making one change we're going to go to bi-monthly podcast episodes instead of weekly, just because of the amount of time and the commitment that it takes. So every other Thursday we'll drop an episode. Our intention is for the episodes to be longer in length, so that maybe you still get the same time with us, just not the same frequency.

Speaker 2: 23:05

But we'll see.

Speaker 1: 23:07

Yeah, we'll see the length or the amount of times we drop an episode.

Speaker 2: 23:12

No, I think the bi-monthly is great. I think it will give us a chance to maybe focus more on the content yes and um and guests right and guests um, you know certainly lean on, you know, good quality guests. That again push our ball that's exactly right.

Speaker 1: 23:29

Right, that's, that's exactly right. I think that's the key for us is bringing on guests that push us to make us better, not just as podcasters, but as career construction professionals. We want to be better and the guests help us be better, which helps you be better.

Speaker 2: 23:43

Exactly Well, listen. Thanks so much for 2024. Merry Christmas and have a safe and happy new year.

Speaker 1: 23:50

And happy holidays. If you don't celebrate Christmas with the other holidays, happy whatever you celebrate.

Speaker 2: 23:57

Happy you.

Speaker 1: 23:58

Happy you. That's 2025. Happy you.

Speaker 2: 24:01

See ya Later yeah.