The Vietnam war, and one commanding officer in particular, had a great influence on Greg Howell, one of the founding fathers of Lean Construction. What you'll get out of this construction podcast episode: <ul> <li>How the Lean Construction movement got started.</li> <li>Greg's experience as a Navy SeaBee, and how that influenced Lean.</li> <li>The impact of one commanding officer's leadership style, and how it changed Greg's approach to leadership.</li> <li>The books he recommends that you read</li> <li>A few paradigm shifts that construction leaders need to make.</li> <li>The difference between an order and a promise.</li> <li>One unexpected benefit of Lean principles that he can't quite explain yet.</li> <li>Why he only gave a few orders as a commanding officer in Vietnam...and one of them involved a monkey.</li> </ul> Resources and tools mentioned in this construction podcast episode: Companycam - Get your free trial + 50% off your first two months at <a href= "http://www.companycam.com/cle">www.companycam.com/cle</a> Systematize Your Construction Business - Free Video Series - <a href= "https://constructionbusinessaccelerator.com" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://constructionbusinessaccelerator.com </a> The ADVANCE: Bottom Line Growth Hacks & Secrets for Builders and Contractors - Live Event - <a href= "https://constructionbusinessaccelerator.com" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">https://constructionbusinessaccelerator.com/advance</a>

The Vietnam war, and one commanding officer in particular, had a great influence on Greg Howell, one of the founding fathers of Lean Construction. What you'll get out of this construction podcast episode: How the Lean Construction movement got started. Greg's experience as a Navy SeaBee, and how that influenced Lean. The impact of one commanding officer's leadership style, and how it changed Greg's approach to leadership. The books he recommends that you read A few paradigm shifts that construction leaders need to make. The difference between an order and a promise. One unexpected benefit of Lean principles that he can't quite explain yet. Why he only gave a few orders as a commanding officer in Vietnam...and one of them involved a monkey. Resources and tools mentioned in this construction podcast episode: Companycam - Get your free trial + 50% off your first two months at www.companycam.com/cle Systematize Your Construction Business - Free Video Series - https://constructionbusinessaccelerator.com The ADVANCE: Bottom Line Growth Hacks & Secrets for Builders and Contractors - Live Event - https://constructionbusinessaccelerator.com/advance

The Vietnam war, and one commanding officer in particular, had a great influence on Greg Howell, one of the founding fathers of Lean Construction. What you'll get out of this construction podcast episode: <ul> <li>How the Lean Construction movement got started.</li> <li>Greg's experience as a Navy SeaBee, and how that influenced Lean.</li> <li>The impact of one commanding officer's leadership style, and how it changed Greg's approach to leadership.</li> <li>The books he recommends that you read</li> <li>A few paradigm shifts that construction leaders need to make.</li> <li>The difference between an order and a promise.</li> <li>One unexpected benefit of Lean principles that he can't quite explain yet.</li> <li>Why he only gave a few orders as a commanding officer in Vietnam...and one of them involved a monkey.</li> </ul> Resources and tools mentioned in this construction podcast episode: Companycam - Get your free trial + 50% off your first two months at <a href="http://www.companycam.com/cle" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.companycam.com/cle</a> Systematize Your Construction Business - Free Video Series - <a href="https://constructionbusinessaccelerator.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://constructionbusinessaccelerator.com </a> The ADVANCE: Bottom Line Growth Hacks &amp; Secrets for Builders and Contractors - Live Event - <a href="https://constructionbusinessaccelerator.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://constructionbusinessaccelerator.com/advance</a>

#153: How the Vietnam War Influenced Lean Construction with Greg Howell

Construction business owners doing $1M–$20M: fix your preconstruction and handoffs so you can stop firefighting and build a profitable business that runs without you.  

For custom home builders, remodelers, commercial GCs, and trade contractors, this podcast shows you how to design a real preconstruction process and nail the handoff from office to field. If your projects are slipping, profit is bleeding out through rework and giveaways, and everything lives in your head, you'll get practical systems to tighten precon, cut chaos, and turn your construction business into a more profitable, controllable machine that runs without you.  

Over time, you'll use what you hear on this show to:  

✅ Buy back your time– spend less of your week in day‑to‑day fires and more of it leading, selling, and actually living your life.  

✅ Maximize your profit from the work you already do instead of just grinding for more volume.
  
✅ Scale with confidence – grow the business without doubling your hours or losing control.
  
✅ Turn your company into a real asset, not just a job – one that can run without you, give you real vacations, and eventually support whatever exit or lifestyle you want.  

Host Todd Dawalt has spent nearly 30 years in construction and the last decade coaching hundreds of builders, remodelers, GCs, and trade contractors on these issues, managing over $300M of projects and helping companies uncover millions in hidden profit.  

Hit *Follow* so you don't miss an episode and keep turning your construction business into a systematized, profitable machine that doesn't depend on you for every decision. To go deeper, tools and resources are at constructionleadingedge.com.

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Construction business owners doing $1M–$20M: fix your preconstruction and handoffs so you can stop firefighting and build a profitable business that runs without you. For custom home builders, remodelers, commercial GCs, and trade contractors, this podcast shows you how to design a real preconstruction process and nail the handoff from office to field. If your projects are slipping, profit is bleeding out through rework and giveaways, and everything lives in your head, you'll get practical systems to tighten precon, cut chaos, and turn your construction business into a more profitable, controllable machine that runs without you. Over time, you'll use what you hear on this show to: ✅ Buy back your time– spend less of your week in day‑to‑day fires and more of it leading, selling, and actually living your life. ✅ Maximize your profit from the work you already do instead of just grinding for more volume. ✅ Scale with confidence – grow the business without doubling your hours or losing control. ✅ Turn your company into a real asset, not just a job – one that can run without you, give you real vacations, and eventually support whatever exit or lifestyle you want. Host Todd Dawalt has spent nearly 30 years in construction and the last decade coaching hundreds of builders, remodelers, GCs, and trade contractors on these issues, managing over $300M of projects and helping companies uncover millions in hidden profit. Hit *Follow* so you don't miss an episode and keep turning your construction business into a systematized, profitable machine that doesn't depend on you for every decision. To go deeper, tools and resources are at constructionleadingedge.com.

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#153: How the Vietnam War Influenced Lean Construction with Greg Howell

#153: How the Vietnam War Influenced Lean Construction with Greg Howell

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