Aaron and Alex are back in the studio, but this Monday the audience members are the ones truly in the driver's seat. That’s right we are doing another question-and-answer episode and touching on some great submissions from our amazing Dirt Talk fans. The questions touch on recognizable iron, how rewarding a career in the Dirt World can be, running one-hundred miles, our core values, and lessons from starting a company. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions. Keep on sending them to [email protected] and you just might hear them on the next Q&A episode. 

Stay dirty!

This week, we bring you the very first edition of Dirt Talk: LIVE where Aaron, Alex, and Eric take the Dirt Talk show on the road. Aaron lays out the story below:

“Months ago, organizers from the ECC (The Association for the Capital Projects Engineering and Construction Community) asked us to speak to 200 of their future leaders at their annual conference in San Antonio. Think key future leaders from companies like Chevron, Shell, Fluor, and Kiewit.

While I figured I’d prepare another speech about workforce development and what everyone can do to help solve the problem, the event organizers had a different idea… They wanted us to take the Dirt Talk Podcast on the road.

After hundreds of podcast episodes, Alex, Eric, and I are pretty damn comfortable talking dirt, but we always do it within our small Nashville studio. To do it on stage in front of 200 important people? That’s a different ballgame.

And one more detail… The speaker before us was a retired U.S. Army general. What the heck were they thinking of inviting us?

We gave it the ol’ college try, and I’m happy with how we did. We talked about our travels, explained the importance of storytelling, and answered audience questions. We debriefed at the airport after and have a long list of lessons learned, but we may be onto something. Stay tuned… the Dirt Talk Podcast might be coming soon to a conference near you!”

Thanks for listening and following along on the BuildWitt journey.

Stay Dirty!

On today’s episode of Dirt Talk, Aaron and Alex are joined by Eric Jumper. The guys are coming right off of a full company BuildWitt meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, and they examine why it makes sense to spend money on a company meeting when you’re in growth mode. They discuss the value of educating each person in the company understanding how each team works and why each piece is important to the larger mission to make the Dirt World a better place.

Enjoy this Behind the Scenes peek into #buildingbuildwitt.

Stay Dirty!

Today’s episode is a special treat for Dirt Talk listeners (and maybe especially the Dirt Talk host): Aaron’s mother Carolyn MacDonald is the guest! She gives the dirt (pun intended?) on Aaron’s obsession with construction and its equipment from a very young age as well as gives context (and corroboration) for many of the memories that Aaron has shared over the years about his earliest memories of the Dirt World.

This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Witt and guest (and mother of the host) Carolyn MacDonald reminisce on Aaron’s earliest Dirt World experiences, contextualize some of Aaron’s more common stories he tells from when he was young, and explain the incredible opportunities Aaron had to learn from smart people as a child.

Thanks to Carolyn for coming on the podcast (and to Aaron for allowing it!).

Stay Dirty!

This week on the Dirt Talk podcast, Aaron, Alex, and guest-host Eric Jumper revisit their recent experience doing the Dirt Talk podcast LIVE in front of a large audience at the ECC Conference in San Antonio, TX. They discuss the challenges of changing up the approach and why it was both fun (and intimidating) to talk about the Dirt World to a room of folks from the energy sector. Later, they chat about the interesting dynamic of some folks in the industry not believing in the BuildWitt mission.

Listen to Dirt Talk:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2GK5UWkulNJ6tNFXvWngMt?si=2332acb8e2954301 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dirt-talk-by-buildwitt/id1494235724 

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnV6enNwcm91dC5jb20vNzc5NjAz

Stay Dirty!

Brent Rasmussen might have the title of Project Manager on LinkedIn, but he’s got his hands all over the family company, Rasmussen Excavation LLC. Rasmussen was started almost 50 years ago with a focus on excavation, but in the years since, they’ve branched out into utilities, sand/gravel, rentals, and their most niche offering: solar projects. 

This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Witt is joined by Brent Rasmussen. The guys chat about building solar farms (12:54), keeping younger guys motivated (37:32), and the importance of giving people the choice to work for you (48:16). Later, they discuss why it’s vital to get “out of the weeds” when leading a business (58:23) and the problems that come when trying to hire from an older generation’s perspective.

You can learn more about Rasmussen Excavation by following @rasmussen_excavation or visit their website at rasmussenexcavation.com.

Listen to Dirt Talk:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2GK5UWkulNJ6tNFXvWngMt?si=2332acb8e2954301 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dirt-talk-by-buildwitt/id1494235724 

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYnV6enNwcm91dC5jb20vNzc5NjAz

Stay Dirty!

This week begins a new phase on Dirt Talk:

Each Monday, we’ll be releasing episodes with new formats, new guests, and new stories! 

This week on Dirt Talk, the OG Dirt Talk crew (Aaron Witt and Alex Horton) is here with a Q+A. The guys chat about “hidden gem” locations in the Dirt World, book recommendations for young people in the industry, and “chasing the dozer dream”. They also discuss the right time to specialize equipment, keeping morale up on a long slog of a job, and Aaron’s “insistence” (read: demand) to always drive on road trips.

Stay Dirty!

Because September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, we’re featuring a few experts on the topic to share information and tools to help make the Dirt World a better place for all of us. 

Today, Michelle Walker, founding chairperson of the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention, is back on the Dirt Talk podcast for her second episode. She was first featured on episode 41 way back in November 2020. You can find that episode here: buildwitt.com/dirt-talk/podcast/suicide-prevention-in-construction-with-michelle-walker-of-ssc-underground

This week on Dirt Talk, Aaron Witt is joined by Michelle Walker to discuss the work that goes into suicide prevention in construction, an essential model for solving the workforce problem, and why caring for people is the most important thing you can do for them. They also touch on navigating tricky work relationships and why it’s so vital to understand and value different experiences that people bring to their work.

If you want to learn more or get involved in the essential work, go to preventconstructionsuicide.com for more information.

Thanks SO much to Michelle Walker for coming back on the pod.

Stay Dirty!

This week, we’ve got Aaron, Alex, and frequent guest Eric Jumper talking about jobsite mistakes and the lessons learned (or not learned). Aaron shares a story from his time working on the railroad, and Eric realizes once he starts telling one mistake story how many others begin flooding his memory. We all make mistakes on the job, and it’s time we admit that mistakes are part of the pathway to growth and getting better. 

A (semi-) famous quote: “Dude, sucking at something is the first step towards being sorta good at something.” - Jake the Dog from Adventure Time

If you’ve got a lesson you’d like to share with the Dirt Talk guys, email us at [email protected].

Stay Dirty!

Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas sees issues of suicide prevention and mental health promotion from a host of perspectives. Clinical psychologist. Mental health advocate. Faculty member. Researcher. And suicide loss survivor. She has earned an international reputation as an entrepreneur and innovator in social change. Along the way, she’s helped establish many large-scale, gap-filling mental health efforts, including Man Therapy (www.ManTherapy.org) and National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. In 2016, she was invited to speak at the White House on men’s mental health. And somehow, we were lucky enough to get 90 mins of her time.

This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Witt chats with Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas about a heavy topic: suicide prevention, especially in the workplace. Dr. Sally shares what led her to the mission of suicide prevention education, what suicide prevention actually looks like, and the challenges of managing mental health in the Dirt World. Dr. Sally clearly has a passion for the work, and we appreciate all of the wisdom, data, and tools that she shared with us.