Elevate Construction

Jason is driving in Washington State to do a scheduling training and shares a powerful insight about discovering your life's purpose. Ask "why" seven times (plus or minus three) until you get chills or a revelation. A company owner discovered their purpose: "to build people and families" (not what you'd expect from their technical trade). Jason's friend discovered: "to find joy in improving the lives of others" (not just "improve lives", the "find joy" qualifier prevents ignoring family, burning out, or staying miserable). The litmus test: if that was your ONLY criterion, what would the consequences be? Once you have your purpose, ask: Can I fulfill this in my current role, marriage, or circumstances? If no, take massive action. Success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure. Misery comes when what you're doing isn't aligned with your core purpose; it creates dissonance and disconnect. The WHAT you do isn't as important as the WHY. You only have one life to live. Stop wasting it being miserable, trapped by golden handcuffs.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Ask why seven times (plus or minus three): Keep asking until you get chills or a revelation about your core purpose

• Company example: The executive team independently discovered "to build people and families" as their purpose

• Friend's purpose: "To find joy in improving the lives of others", the "find joy" qualifier matters

• Litmus test: If that was your ONLY criterion, what would the consequences be? Does it allow bad outcomes?

• Purpose vs activity: You can fulfill your purpose in any role (print shop, wilderness guide, COO); what isn't as important as the why

• Qualifying criteria: Once you have your purpose, ask: Can I fulfill this in my current role/marriage/circumstances?

• If no: Take massive action to change your situation

• If it's a stepping stone: Keep moving with massive action

• If yes: Stay and do a darn good job

• Success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure

• Misery comes from misalignment: When what you're doing isn't aligned with core purpose, it creates dissonance

• You only have one life: Stop wasting it being miserable, trapped by golden handcuffs

Ask why seven times. Discover your purpose. Align your life with it. On we go.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason interviews his dad, Kenny Schroeder, former truck boss and driver for Service Rock Products, about developing remarkable vendor relationships, specifically with ready-mix concrete suppliers. Kenny shares firsthand stories of providing world-class service: 305 yards per hour on big pours, inspectors recommending Service Rock to customers, 7-day breaks instead of 21-day breaks, spotless batch plants, and graded drivers (A through D) who competed to improve. The key insight: service equals 90% of quality. When trucks showed up late at one prison project, concrete went off, and finishers had to patch as they went. At the FCI-2 project with Service Rock, trucks arrived 15 minutes early, breaks came up in 7 days, and the mud was perfect. Kenny's philosophy as truck boss: "My sole objective is to make you look good." For general contractors: over-communicate expectations, visit and vet vendors, and develop personal relationships. For vendors: clean equipment matters, total participation from drivers to dispatch, quality control testing, and continuous improvement.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Service = 90% of quality: Personal relationships, attention to detail, and care translate directly into product quality

• Grading drivers worked: A through D grading made drivers competitive, D drivers worked up to C to avoid the low grade

• 305 yards per hour: 2700-yard pour starting at 3am, finished by 6am (top-out crew normally arrived at 9am)

• 7-day breaks vs 21-day: Service Rock's quality lab tested cylinders, breaks always came up in 7 days, not 14 or 21

• Clean = culture: Spotless batch plant, beautiful trucks, concrete-paved paths to fuel islands, customers toured the facility

• Total participation: Truck boss communicated customer needs to every driver, context matters for service

• Hot/cold water systems: Hot water tanks for winter (calcium chloride activation), refrigeration units for summer

• Front-load vs rear-load: Ken prefers rear-load, shoot man controls it, driver watches for cues, safer

• Vet your vendors: Visit batch plants, inspect equipment, talk to batch operator, check hot/cold water capacity

• Kenny's philosophy: "My sole objective is to make you look good", focus on making your customer successful

Develop personal relationships with vendors. Overcommunicate. Vet your suppliers. Service equals quality.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason shares a powerful card game simulation that reveals why teams struggle on construction sites. Leaders assume everyone knows the plan, but they don't. The game puts 7 players in a triangle formation where only the person in front knows the full purpose (everyone needs four of a kind), while people in the back only know "win the game" without knowing what winning looks like. Teams struggle for 45+ minutes, feeling frustrated and in the dark, exactly like trade partners on construction projects with 76-page schedules nobody reads. The reflection always reveals the same insight: over-communicate what winning looks like. Repeat the plan seven times. Don't assume people know. This episode also covers Jason's upcoming Scrum Master Certification training with Felipe Engineer, a successful executive offsite creating organizational clarity, and the "Widen the Circle" principle, master builders loop in team wisdom, seek counsel, and never work as lone wolves.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The card game simulation: 7 players in a triangle formation (1-2-4), each needs four of a kind, but only the front person knows the full goal

• Game rules: Can't talk, look forward only, pass cards forward/back, always hold 4 cards, chaos and frustration ensue

• The lesson: People in the back feel frustrated and in the dark, exactly like trade partners on construction sites

• What teams do differently: The leader immediately communicates the purpose and plan to everyone, and doesn't assume they know

• Overcommunicate: Repeat what winning looks like 7 times in foreman huddles, worker huddles, over and over

• Widen the Circle principle: Loop in team wisdom, seek counsel from other superintendents, and be transparent with owners

• Teams win through: Trust, healthy conflict, goal setting, accountability, and performance

• If you're not annoyed by how much something is repeated, you're not communicating enough

Scale communication. Don't assume people know the plan. Communicate what winning looks like over and over.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason declares war on CPM scheduling and the industry's broken systems that create crash landings and destroy families. He's grumpy, fired up, and unapologetic as he reads construction productivity data showing the industry has declined since CPM was adopted in 1965, while every other industry improved. Follow the money trail: everyone defending CPM is financially incentivized to keep using a garbage system. But the real conflict is deeper; you're putting work before yourself and your family. Field engineers at boot camp fill out work goals but ignore their personal life goals. Companies will replace you tomorrow and never think about you again, yet you sacrifice your health, marriage, spirituality, and family for a paycheck you can get anywhere. The order of loyalty is God, family, yourself, health, friends, and companies LAST. You're out of sequence, out of balance, and it has to end today. Stop crapping on yourself for a company that doesn't deserve you.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• CPM is garbage: It hides problems, creates variation, wastes 12 weeks, nobody reads it, and it's the most ineffective tool Jason has ever seen

• Follow the money trail: Every CPM defender works for Oracle, uses P6, or is financially incentivized to protect a broken system

• Industry productivity data: Since CPM adoption (1965), construction productivity declined 20-32% while all other industries increased 85%

• Construction waste: 50-75% of labor time is wasted (vs 26% in manufacturing), caused by push systems

• Excellence vs Perfection: Strive for excellence, not perfection; don't nerd out on one anchor bolt while leaving 49 unchecked

• Field Engineer Boot Camp ticket story: Six goals (2 work, 1 personal, 1 family, 2 options), but people only complete work goals

• The real conflict: You're trained to focus on what the job needs before your personal health, safety, and family

• Order of loyalty: God, family, yourself, health, friends, THEN companies last, never be loyal to a company

• Your company will replace you: They can replace anyone tomorrow and never think about you again. Stop sacrificing yourself

• If one person can do it, you can too: Jason went home on time with 11 kids, mega projects, and church callings; you can too

Stop putting yourself last. You deserve better. It has to end today.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

You are chemically addicted to emails. Your brain releases endorphins when you check them. Jason breaks down why email addiction is killing productivity and shares two methods to break free: the self-preserving batching method (4-Hour Work Week style) and the one-piece flow method (Paul Akers style). He hilariously ribs project managers glued to their computers while the superintendent begs for attention, explains why work is like football (moving the ball down the field together), not tennis (hitting it back and forth), and challenges PMs to get out of their emails and do the people work their role requires. Stop writing novels for every email; you're not drafting the Constitution. Just send the message and move on.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Email addiction is real: Your brain releases endorphins and chemicals, you're chemically addicted like Pavlov's dog

• Work is NOT like tennis: Stop hitting emails back into someone's court, work is like football where the whole team moves the ball down the field together

• Two methods to break free: Batching (check twice daily at noon and before going home) or one-piece flow (respond immediately using voice, text, or quick replies)

• Stop overthinking emails: You don't practice speeches for phone calls, why draft novels for emails? Just communicate and move on.

• Paul Akers' method: Use Voxer, WhatsApp, GroupMe, or text for quick replies, don't let everything become email stew

• PM/PE challenge: Your role is people work, safety walks, team huddles, mentoring, removing roadblocks, not being a slave to your inbox

• Leader standard work: Office positions must train teams, hold effective meetings, check in on team health, and provide remarkable experiences

Stop being addicted to emails. Get it under control. Get back into your role as a leader.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Do you know what psychological safety is and why it matters? Jason interviews Kaitlin and Kabri about creating fear-free environments where workers can ask questions, make mistakes, and speak up without consequences. The conversation covers suicide prevention (construction has the 2nd worst rate in the US), diversity and inclusion, language that matters ("died by suicide" not "committed suicide"), and why diverse teams always outperform homogeneous ones. Jason shares a vulnerable story of being suspended for failing to defend a woman being talked down to, a month that changed his life and made him productively paranoid about safety and inclusion. The actionable advice is clear: educate yourself, normalize mental health conversations, ask how people are doing and actually care, and create environments where connection happens before correction.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Psychological safety defined: Freedom from fear, asking questions, and making mistakes without embarrassment or consequences

• Why it matters: When crews are burdened by fear, you lose team buy-in, innovation, production, and physical safety

• Construction's suicide crisis: 2nd worst rate in the US, normalize the conversation, use toolbox talks from preventconstructionsuicide.com

• Language matters: Say "died by suicide", not "committed suicide", it removes stigma and false understanding that the person was weak

• Actionable steps: Find your EAP resources, talk about mental health in safety meetings, ask about pressures people are under, and connect before you correct

• Why diverse teams win: Studies show diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams; it's not just right, it's smart business

• Morning worker huddles build psychological safety when superintendents emotionally connect, but they make it worse if there's no connection

Connection before correction. Ask how people are doing and actually care. Create environments where people feel free to speak up.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Meet Franco Giacquinto, CEO and founder of Ipsum, a scheduling and planning software company that integrates Takt planning and prioritizes getting workers home on time. Jason interviews Franco about why the scheduling process is broken, how Ipsum connects high-level planning all the way down to workers in the field, and why construction companies need to stop hiding behind NDAs and closed doors. Franco shares his journey from dropping out of college to spending a year on a construction project and falling in love with the industry. Jason breaks down his integrated control system: Takt plan → phase planning → make ready look aheads → weekly work planning → afternoon foreman huddles → morning worker huddles. The message is clear: CPM is dethroned, transparency wins, and it's time to challenge everything we're doing.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why Ipsum matters: Scheduling software that integrates Takt planning, connects the master schedule to workers, and gets people home on time

• Franco's background: Dropped out of college, spent a year on a construction project, built software for 21st-century scheduling

• The broken process: CPM → Excel spreadsheets → messy pull planning sessions → engineers wasting hours updating data instead of thinking

• Jason's integrated control system: Takt governs the project → phase planning → make ready → weekly work planning → afternoon foreman huddles → morning worker huddles

• Why afternoon foreman huddles work: Foremen plan the next day in the afternoon, giving them overnight to prepare materials and logistics

• Franco's challenge: Stop doing the same things with different tools—challenge your process, open your doors, involve everyone in planning

• Jason's war on CPM: It's all-out war against CPM—it needs to be dethroned, and the book is coming to prove it

Challenge what you're doing. Be open to new things. Construction companies need to open up and stop acting like their spreadsheet is NASA-level proprietary.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Pull planning is a pain, but it's valuable when done correctly. Jason breaks down the difference between pull planning (a technique) and phase planning (planning up to milestones), then dives into how to implement pull planning the right way. He shares Principle 14 from his book: Pull not Push, pulling contractors into areas when ready creates flow, while pushing them on top of each other causes delays, waste, and quality issues. Jason walks through the backwards pull methodology (right to left from the milestone), explains why going backwards forces creative thinking and flushes out constraints, and shares Elevate Construction's virtual pull planning system with homework templates and Blue Beam setup. The hierarchy is clear: flow where you can with Takt, pull when you can't, and push when you must, but CPM push systems are wasteful and detrimental.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Pull planning vs phase planning: Pull planning is a technique for planning phases up to milestones, you can also use Takt, traditional methods, or other approaches

• Principle 14: Pull not Push, pulling contractors when ready creates flow; pushing them on top of each other causes delays, waste, and poor quality

• The backwards pull: Work right to left from the milestone, list predecessors/constraints on each tag, and don't move forward until all needs are addressed

• Why backwards works: Forces creative thinking, flushes out constraints and handoffs that would delay work if not identified early

• Elevate Construction method: Homework template, swim lanes, Blue Beam sessions, color coding, and trust-building before commitment

• The hierarchy: Flow where you can (Takt), pull when you can't (pull planning), push when you must (CPM)—but avoid push systems whenever possible

Flow where you can, pull when you can't, push when you must.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Do you feel failure to the point that you don't make decisions and move forward? Jason breaks down why failing forward fast is the key to success in construction, and why adults struggle with it more than kids. Using the Culver's vs In-N-Out analogy, he explains why detaching parts of a process creates waste that looks fast but isn't. He shares Principle 13 from his book (cut for being "only" a 10/10): be flexible and nimble, make decisions slowly with team consensus but act quickly once decided. The key is knowing when your risk profile changes and you must decide now. Fail forward fast on mockups, JHAs, Takt plans, and meetings. But never fail with safety or high-risk items, fail on paper, in planning, in draft form before execution.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Culver's vs In-N-Out: Why detaching order-pay-receive creates waste that masks the true throughput of the system, apply this to construction workflows

• Principle 13: Flexible and nimble means make decisions slowly with consensus, then implement fast with command and control enforcing team decisions

• The Opposing Lines game: Why adults take 40+ minutes while kids solve it in 10, we overthink instead of failing forward fast

• When to fail forward: Mockups, JHAs, Takt plans, meetings, preconstruction, collaboration, get it wrong on paper before execution

• Decision timing: Make decisions before your risk profile changes, waiting too long costs 10x more than deciding now

• Jim Collins: Unify the team after decisions, even dissenters must violently support the final choice or select themselves off the bus

A good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan next week.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

The enemy is waste and variation, not your people. Jason breaks down why construction leaders need to raise their setpoint and fight harder against the real threats on every project. Using the Roman Triarii as an analogy, he explains why senior superintendents and experienced builders are the elite third line, the ones it comes down to when projects struggle, when people are disrespected, or when hard decisions must be made. This episode includes a vintage interview with Gray Childs about Roman military lessons: organization, embracing technology, leadership, and how Roman soldiers were also the builders of roads, aqueducts, and the Colosseum. Everything on site is trying to kill us if left uncontrolled; it comes down to us to protect our people.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Principle 12 from Jason's book: Control what you can, focus on cleanliness, safety, organization, and planning to keep team morale high

• Why the Triari matters: Elite Roman soldiers held the third line as the decisive force. "it comes down to the Triarii" meant carrying it to the bitter end

• Jason's challenge: If someone is repeatedly unsafe and still on your job on Monday, you're not protecting your people like you should be

• Gray Childs on Roman lessons: Organization, embracing technology, leadership, and how the Roman army was also master builders

• The real enemy: Waste and variation are trying to kill us, ruin families, and destroy careers. We must fight harder against them, not each other

Families are counting on us to bring their loved ones home safely. It comes down to us.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw