Dirt Talk Podcast

August 6, 2026

Your Labor Shortage Is a Leadership Shortage w/ Nic Parish (DT 467)

Nic Parish is the CEO of Burns Dirt, a civil construction company his grandfather and great-uncle started with two dump trucks in 1977, and a speaker who showed up to his first major keynote expecting 40 people and walked into a standing-room audience of 250. He spent a decade quietly stepping into a leadership role he never formally asked for, only to find himself mid-conversation trying to untangle a decade-long family buyout while figuring out who he was inside a company built by the people who raised him. He reveals why construction's people problem isn't a skills gap but a leadership gap, and why the contractors still blaming the next generation for being unprepared are ignoring the fact that they're the ones who raised them.

Follow Nic on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicparish/

Learn more about Burns Dirt at: https://www.burnsdirt.com/

Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com

Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

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August 3, 2026

The Secret Formula For Winning (Building BuildWitt #64)

BuildWitt Update #63– DT 466

Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week.

Learn more about attending the 2026 Ariat Dirt World Summit by visiting https://events.dirtworld.com/event/summit-2026/summary

Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product

Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

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July 30, 2026

Your Office is an Operating System w/ Sean Dineen – DT 465

Sean Dineen is the founder of Iron Age Office, a furniture company he built from a single desk listed on Etsy while coaching soccer as a 23-year-old Brit who had just arrived in America with a graphic design degree and no plan. He faked a full product catalog using digitally rendered images until the real orders started coming in, grew the business to 60 employees and an 80,000-square-foot workshop making everything in the US, and quietly became the construction industry's most unexpected vendor. He reveals why your office isn't furniture but an operating system for culture, and why the contractors still treating their workspace like a bank lobby aren't just missing a design opportunity — they're leaving their people with nothing to believe in.

Follow Sean on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seandineen90/

Learn more about Iron Age Office at: https://ironageoffice.com/

Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders?

Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com

Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

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July 27, 2026

Why Airport Stress is a Fool’s Errand… (Building BuildWitt #63)

BuildWitt Update #63– DT 464

Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week.

Learn more about attending the 2026 Ariat Dirt World Summit by visiting https://events.dirtworld.com/event/summit-2026/summary

Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product

Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

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July 23, 2026

Betting on People, Not Balance Sheets W/ Bryan Peters (DT 463)

Bryan Peters is the founder of AdvanceTrac Equipment, a construction equipment rental company he built from a single used skid steer in 2021 while working a full-time job, and a former operator in the family equipment business that first lit his entrepreneurial fire at age 14. He walked away from a comfortable salary, went all in on his own company, and spent a year navigating far more uncertainty than he expected before the business finally found its footing. He reveals why construction's fragmentation isn't the industry's liability but its greatest asset, and why the only way to fix a broken industry isn't through institutional capital or consolidation but through small businesses that choose to pour into their people instead of chasing a number on a balance sheet.

Follow Bryan on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-peters-095a2745/

Learn more about AdvanceTrac Equipment at: https://www.advancetrac.net/

Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com

Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 20, 2026

Arctic Circle to Dutch Steel Mill  (Building BuildWitt 62) DT 462

BuildWitt Update #62– DT 462

Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week.

Learn more about attending the 2026 Ariat Dirt World Summit by visiting https://events.dirtworld.com/event/summit-2026/summary

Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product

Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 16, 2026

Why Your Construction Company Needs a Brand Not Just a Logo w/ Chase Harris (DT 461)

Chase Harris is the founder of FieldWrk, a branding and marketing agency built exclusively for the construction industry, and a former creative lead at BuildWitt who helped shape the brands of some of the most recognized contractors in America. He bought the creative side of the business he helped build, becoming an overnight business owner, and spent a year figuring out who he was as a leader before figuring out where the company was going. He reveals why brand isn't a logo or a website but rather an operating system,  and why the contractors ignoring it aren't just losing talent, they're leaving their culture to chance.

Follow Chase on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chase-harris-887076a8/

Learn more about FieldWrk at: https://www.fieldwrk.co/

Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com

Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 13, 2026

From Manhattan to Marble (Building BuildWitt 61) DT 460

BuildWitt Update #61 – DT 460

Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week.

Learn more about attending the 2026 Ariat Dirt World Summit by visiting https://events.dirtworld.com/event/summit-2026/summary

Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product

Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 9, 2026

They’re Making Mental Health Worse in Construction w/ Rich Jones (DT 459)

Rich Jones is the founder of BuildWell Health, a behavioral health company built specifically for the construction industry, a licensed clinical addiction specialist, and a person in recovery himself from opioid and alcohol use disorder for over 26 years. He watched the industry spend years talking about mental health at safety weeks and conferences — and nothing change — so he built a model that works. He reveals why construction doesn't have a mental health problem — it has a systems problem — and why the companies still handing out EAP phone numbers and calling it done are making things worse, not better.

Follow Rich on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardjones5/

Learn more about BuildWell Health at: https://buildwellhealth.com/

Want to better develop your civil construction workforce and leaders? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com

Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 6, 2026

BuildWitt Kids, Leaderboards, and Budget (Building BuildWitt 60)

BuildWitt Update #60 – DT 458

Aaron recaps the wins and lessons learned at BuildWitt this week.

Learn more about attending the 2026 Ariat Dirt World Summit by visiting https://events.dirtworld.com/event/summit-2026/summary

Want to better train and develop your teams? Check out BuildWitt Improve! https://buildwitt.com/product

Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices