What does it take to grow a construction company from $27M to over $1.5 billion — without losing your culture along the way? In this episode, Scott Winstead sits down with Tim Paulson, Co-CEO of ESS Companies, to unpack the philosophy, decisions, and hard lessons behind one of the industry's most remarkable growth stories.

Tim shares how becoming an ESOP in 1999 unleashed an ownership mentality across the organization, his "3D diversification" framework for sustainable growth, and why ESS invests 70% of its marketing budget internally — on its own people. He also gets candid about the growing pains of tripling in size through three simultaneous acquisitions in 2019, and what he'd tell his 30-year-old self about staying through the hard seasons.

If you're thinking about culture at scale, leadership development, or what it really means to build a company where people have a genuine stake in the outcome, this conversation is for you.

What separates elite contractors from the rest?

In this episode of Built-In, Scott Winstead sits down with FMI Partner Scott Kimpland to unpack the fundamentals behind operational excellence in construction. From disciplined project selection and bid-day cost accuracy to labor productivity tracking and process compliance, Scott shares practical insights drawn from decades advising top-performing firms.

They discuss why chasing revenue can backfire, how two bad projects can erase a year’s profit, and why labor—not overhead—is the number leaders must obsess over. If you want to protect margin, improve field performance and build a culture of continuous improvement, this episode is for you.

In this episode of FMI’s Built-In Podcast, host Scott Winstead welcomes back Jay Bowman, senior partner and head of FMI’s market research practice, for a grounded and strategic look at the U.S. construction market heading into 2026.

After several years of broad-based growth, Jay explains why the conversation is shifting from chasing volume to making smarter, more disciplined decisions in a market defined by concentration, constraint and structural uncertainty. Rather than offering predictions for their own sake, the discussion focuses on what the data is really signaling and why headline numbers alone are no longer enough to guide strategy.

The FMI Built-In Podcast is back for season 4!

FMI Capital Advisors Managing Director Alex Miller joins FMI Consulting President Scott Winstead to talk about themes driving mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the engineering and construction market in 2026.

The conversation offers practical perspective for owners, boards and leadership teams evaluating how M&A fits into their broader growth and capital deployment strategies for 2026.

As 2025 wraps up, we're revisiting the standout insights that shaped this year’s conversations about leading and growing in the built environment. From turning talent strategy into a business imperative to understanding why project management still fails, our guests shared practical lessons for building stronger, more resilient organizations.

We explored how leaders can drive real change, navigate succession, foster meaningful career pathways and stay competitive in today’s construction market. We also spotlighted powerful examples of strategy, culture, and innovation at work.

Enjoy this year-end recap as you reflect on 2025 and prepare for the opportunities ahead.

In this episode of Built-In, host Scott Winstead sits down with Steena Chandler, FMI Partner and leader of the firm’s Leadership and Organizational Development practice. Together, they explore why talent strategy isn’t just an HR function—it’s enterprise risk management.

Steena talks about how weak leadership pipelines can quietly erode profitability, what it takes to align structure with strategy, and how CEOs can transform talent strategy from a “sidecar” initiative into a core driver of business success.

From defining your talent philosophy to measuring ROI on leadership investments, this conversation offers a practical roadmap for executives ready to make people strategy their competitive advantage.

What does it take to scale a $3 billion construction company without losing its soul? In this episode, FMI Consulting President Scott Winstead sits down with Rob Fallow, President and CEO of Fortis Construction, Inc., to uncover how Fortis balances entrepreneurial agility with disciplined strategy—and why culture is their ultimate competitive edge.

Rob shares insights on guarding against cultural and operational drift, empowering teams through decentralization, and building enduring organizations through purpose-driven leadership and thoughtful succession. Whether you’re a contractor, builder or business leader, this conversation delivers powerful lessons on growth, stewardship and staying true to your values as you scale.

Listen in for a masterclass on leadership, culture and purpose in the built environment.

In our next episode, Scott Winstead interviews Brian Skipper, corporate director of project development at Hensel Phelps, about navigating the changing construction landscape and crafting a disciplined approach to growth. They discuss the strategy behind how Hensel Phelps determines:

• Where to operate
• What projects to pursue
• How to say no to projects that don't fit the strategic priorities

Don't miss this conversation that is sure to give you insights into how to create a winning strategy that you can implement into your business right now.

Operational excellence doesn’t happen by accident. Yet in today’s construction environment, many firms continue to leave it up to chance. That’s one of the central takeaways from our forthcoming industry study on project management and a key message from this episode of the FMI Built-In podcast.

Led by FMI’s Gregg Schoppman and Nelson Newman, this three-part survey reveals where project management is breaking down, what separates top-performing firms, and how executives can position their teams for predictability, profitability and long-term success.

Listen now for a preview of our findings and discover perspectives from both executives and project managers.

In our latest podcast, host Scott Winstead talks with Bob Uhler, former CEO and chairman of MWH Global, and Garry Sanderson, former MWH executive and author of "The Change Engineer," about what it takes to lead lasting change at scale. Bob transformed MWH from a $100 million firm to a $1.6 billion global leader in water infrastructure. Garry's behavioral science lens helps decode why strategy often fails during execution. The conversation covers:

• The four levels of leadership
• How to fight corporate inertia
• Creating the right conditions for behavior to scale

Don't miss this episode, which is packed tips you can apply immediately to improve your business.