Connect with Michael and Bob

The Climb on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-climb-podcast/
Bob Wierema: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-wierema/
Michael Moore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelpmoore/

Connect with Greg Gordon and Richie Greth

Website: https://www.gordonhighlander.com/
Greg Gordon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-gordon-aa55945/
Richie Greth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-greth-992b9a3/

[00:00:00] Greg Gordon: I felt the temptation to make kind of a monolithic statement. I just feel like I'm trying to like, be right about my statement and put it in a way that it works, you know? And I'm like, Oh wait, this is just, this is just really complicated. Brian Thompson is one of my project managers. He's the guy that I feel.

Fortunate to get to work with he's wise and kind he's a deep spiritually. And so instead of making a statement, we just had a conversation and I want to grow. I feel like. I have biases and I don't really know where they are and sometimes I don't even want to see him. And when they're revealed, they're usually pretty ugly and I try to cover them up with the good deeds I do.

Brian has just made it real safe for me to kind of open up. Yeah, we just had a wonderful conversation. I know that, I shared with him first, you know, I, I went in this whole thing, got started and it was years ago. I just, I just felt like all lives mattered. You know, that, that was part of my calling, but I just didn't really understand the context and what you mean.

It was being shared and it had to be revealed to me. I had to learn. But it took me kind of realizing that I didn't get something about it. And I wanted to avoid the temptation of being right about my opinion. And I just was actively seeking and asking 

Michael Moore: on this episode of the climb, we tell the story of Gordon Highlander, which has become the largest industrial finish out contractor in the metroplex.

We're joined by Greg Gordon and Richard Greth. 

Two really good friends of mine. 

This episode goes deep. We laugh a lot. We talk about golf, family, politics. This is one you're going to listen to more than once. Enjoy the climb.

[00:02:00] welcome to the climb. I'm your cohost, Michael Moore joined by my Partner in crime, Bob Wierema and we couldn't be more excited today. You're going to get two for the price of one. As we've got two really good friends of mine, great business minds, and Greg Gordon and Richard Greth. Richie and I have known each other since 1995.

When I was on my way up to the university of Colorado, I stopped off in Lubbock. And he was my best friend from high school, his roommate. And it's been a unbelievable friendship since then. And then through Richie, I got to meet Greg Gordon, founder of Gordon Highlander. And so gentlemen, thank you for joining us, Bob.

Thanks for coming back from Mexico for this and with that, Greg, I'll turn it over to you. Give us a little background on yourself and then Richie, you can follow him. 

Greg Gordon: I think just the quick disclaimer for the audience. you know, when, when, when guys like us know each other this well, there's, there's just going to be a lot of inside jokes, probably that people won't get. but, happy to be here. Thanks for the wonderful introduction. You guys, Gordon Highlander is a commercial construction company. We started in 2007 with a passion for serving other people and a commitment to excellence. And so I am humbled to be a founder and leader. And, we have had a lot of success in growing our business and, and I'm sure we will get to talk about that a little bit more in the, in the webinar, or, Podcast, what are we calling it? 

Bob Wierema: Podcast, too many webinars these days. 

Richie Greth: Yeah. 

Greg Gordon: What's the future state of the office. 

Bob Wierema: Yeah, exactly. [00:04:00] Richard. 

Richie Greth: Yes. Well, my name is Richard Greth and, yeah, I'm, I'm very fortunate to know Michael and, in Gordo for. For quite some time, they've both been great fans to great friends and trusted advocates throughout this crazy journey of law.

But yes, on my, I grew up in Midland, Texas. I've been living in Dallas since about 2000 graduate of The Texas tech university, you know, been in construction. My dad was a general contractor, so grew up around it swore I would never do it to the log cabin from awful after a college and got into it. It just never turned back and really blessed to be in.

Such a great industry. And, one that I never thought would be considered an essential service. So, but it's been one hell of a ride and I'm just blessed and, sound like a victory speech at the Oscars, but I just, you know, so many people have helped me along the way. So she's very blessed. 

Michael Moore: Well, Bob, why I wanted to bring these two guys on.

Hey, cause it's going to be a whole lot of fun. But when we think about our mission in telling stories and defining moments and crossroads, they get you somewhere. I just found it incredible that there can be this, this friendship that it can be thicker than blood. And these two guys. Knew each other, they were clients of each other.

And then eventually over time as things play out, now they're working together. I want to highlight that. And maybe guys, you can talk about how that all came together. 

Richie Greth: Yeah, I can take the first part of that. It was, probably mid 2001 of mutual friend of ours named Meredith. Gladys basically had introduced us.

I was a young project manager at Trammell Crow and Gordo was a project manager at commercial interior space guy was doing industrial TEI and that [00:06:00] was kind of Gordo's forte for the business he was working with. We started working together and doing a lot of jobs and quickly found out that, that we enjoyed each other's company and a shared like ideals and, you know, more than anything knew how to kind of execute some of the promises that were being made on the brokerage.

And I mean, one of my favorite quotes from a mutual friend of ours, Chris Jackson, he, my first started Trammell Crow. He, I asked him what the. Internal relationship was with between the project manager and the broker. And he says, it's very simple. I sell the dream and you live the nightmare and, and no truer words were ever spoken and Gordo helped live that nightmare with me.

And, it's been a great. 

Greg Gordon: Kind 

Richie Greth: of partnership ever since we've done tons of work together over the years, our lives have paralleled each other and some of the ups and downs and ins and outs, so to speak. And we could probably spend a podcast on those parallels, but at the end of the day, we, we've always kind of had the same focus and the same mindset, which has kept.

Kind of our planets in orbit, so to speak and campus together. And, it's really been a great partnership. And, you know, when Gordo went out on his own, I was fortunate enough. a bunch of his good friends were kind of r...