Construction Genius

Hosted by Eric Anderton

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400

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Thomas Edison said, "Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration." This show interviews hard-working construction company owners and executives who share their wisdom, perspectives, and lessons learned from decades of experience bidding, planning, and building profitable projects. Topics include leadership, strategic planning, conflict resolution, niche identification, succession planning, talent management, business development, and business growth. Industry expert, Eric Anderton also shares his insights about how construction company owners can increase project profit by improving communication, running productive meetings, and attracting, developing, and retaining talented leaders. Tune in each week and get practical inspiration for how to build people, projects, and profits. "I know of no genius but the genius of hard work." John Ruskin

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60 recent

August 25, 2026Episode 39722 min

ChatGPT in Construction: A Working Contractor on What Works, What Fails, and What to Do First

You're a contractor, you're busy, and you're tired of LinkedIn consultants telling you that you'll be left behind if you don't embrace AI right now. Smart move to tune out the hype — but here's the catch: while you're waiting for the noise to die down, a few of your competitors are quietly using these tools to save hours every week. Not on flashy stuff. On the boring stuff. Meeting minutes, SOPs, pulling scope language out of a 200-page addendum. Dimitri Sidiropoulos is the Vice President of Delphi Plumbing and Heating, a heavy mechanical self-performing public works contractor in New York City. He's not a tech bro — he's a working contractor who decided to actually try ChatGPT for a year inside his construction company. In this conversation, Eric and Dimitri get into what works, what doesn't, where it saves him hours, where the proposal bot he tried to build had to be abandoned, and where that last 20% will nail you if you're not paying attention. If you've been waiting for someone to give you a no-hype, on-the-ground answer to "should I actually be using ChatGPT?" — grab a notepad. This is the conversation. What you'll learn: Why the first move with AI isn't asking it to do work — it's letting it interview you How Dimitri spent three days in back-and-forth with ChatGPT to give it real context about his business The "Jarvis to Iron Man" framework: AI enhances the operator, it doesn't replace the brain Where ChatGPT shines: meeting minutes, SOPs, pulling scope from addenda, three/five/ten-year strategic planning Where it falls down: custom proposal bots, takeoffs of pipe and fittings, anything that depends on means and methods Why "80% of the way there in five minutes" beats "80% of the way there in a day and a half" How to ask AI for its sources so you can spot hallucinations early Why writing emails with AI can hurt the relationships you've built The first move on Monday morning if you're an AI-skeptic contractor Connect with Dimitri Delphi Plumbing & Heating: www.delphiph.com Dimitri on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dimitri-sidiropoulos-b4485190 Delphi on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/delphiph

August 18, 2026Episode 39626 min

How to Grow Bonding Capacity: Banking and Tax Moves for Contractors

Every construction company answers to three masters. The bank. The bonding company. The taxman. Same financial statements, three different things they want from you. Kathe Barrington is a CPA who builds the construction accounting that bankers and bonding agents actually read. In Part 7 of our series, we work through how to stop being at the mercy of all three and get them working as one team. What you'll learn: Why one set of books gets three different recommendations, and what to do about it How paying less tax can quietly shrink your bonding capacity Why bank and bonding both care about equity, retained earnings, and working capital How WIP accuracy and consistent margins build outside trust The one meeting almost no contractor runs, and why it changes everything Kathe Barrington is a CPA with 30+ years of experience, 20 focused on construction. Through KB CPA she is a fractional accounting resource for commercial GCs and specialty contractors that need construction-literate financial support without a full-time CFO or controller. Connect with Kathe Barrington LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathe-barrington-a6346337 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Kathe-Barrington-CPA-100072271041746 KB CPA: https://kbcpa.biz

August 11, 2026Episode 39545 min

How MEP Contractors Make Money With Prefab

Prefabrication won't save your MEP company on its own. Run it wrong and it quietly bleeds you. In this episode, Jake Olsen, CEO of Stratus, explains how to make fab actually pay off. He's a structural engineer with more than twenty years in construction and construction tech, and he's blunt about where the money goes. In this conversation you'll learn: Why prefab is really a labor strategy, and how "geographic arbitrage" keeps your crews busy Why MEP fab is neither manufacturing nor field construction, and why that matters How overproducing and carrying too much work-in-progress strands your cash Where prefab actually gets won, and it's in preconstruction, not the shop The two biggest money-losers in any fab shop: material handling and rework If you run fabrication, or you're thinking about building a shop, this episode will change how you set your expectations. Connect with Jake Olsen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjakeolsen/ Learn more about Stratus: https://www.stratus.build/

August 4, 2026Episode 39438 min

Selling to Your Employees: How ESOPs Work for Construction Company Succession

Most construction owners think they have four exit options. Pass it to a kid. Sell to an employee. Sell to a competitor. Sell to private equity. The reality is harder. Private equity passes on most contractors. Competitors often aren't buying. That's why ESOPs are now the fastest-growing succession trend in construction. Kelly Finnell, CEO of EFS ESOP Consultants, has done 22 ESOPs for general and specialty contractors in recent years. In this episode, Kelly explains how the deal is actually structured, what the owner walks away with, and where most owners are wrong about "leaving money on the table." What you'll learn: Why construction is the fastest-growing industry for ESOPs in the country The three sources of capital that fund an ESOP: bank loan, seller note, excess cash How two contractors with $3M EBITDA sold for $25M to an ESOP after $12M offers from a strategic buyer Why an owner is not personally on the hook for the ESOP bank loan How to manage the repurchase obligation so it doesn't crush you in a down year The first two moves to make if you're 58 and seriously considering this path Connect with Kelly Finnell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esopcoach/ Kelly's Website: www.execfin.com Kelly's Book, The ESOP Coach: https://www.amazon.com/ESOP-Coach-Ownership-Succession-Paperback/dp/B010CKUN9U National Center for Employee Ownership: https://www.nceo.org/ Free Succession Planning Guide: https://www.constructiongenius.com/free-succession-planning-guide

July 28, 2026Episode 39348 min

Question Everything: How to Innovate Construction Materials and Methods

Sam Fertik went from running a 20-course tasting restaurant in Manhattan to building homes out of concrete and steel that he says last a thousand years. He's the CEO and Founder of Carbon Custom Builders. In this episode, Sam and Eric trace the chef-to-contractor journey and the one question that reshaped his whole business. Why are we still building houses the way we did in 1850? What you'll learn: What ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) is and why it turns homebuilding into a repeatable science Why the average home lasts 30 years and how concrete-and-steel construction changes that How a chef's recipe mindset applies directly to running a construction company The "go to the biggest problem" lesson and why owners have to be both visionary and implementer Why Sam says sales is the one thing that kills a small business Connect with Sam Fertik and Carbon Custom Builders: Website: https://www.carboncustombuilders.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-fertik/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carboncustombuilders/

July 21, 2026Episode 39237 min

Get Off the Bid List: Build a Construction Business Development System That Wins Negotiated Work

Most contractors are stuck on the bid list and don't know it. They tell themselves they're a preferred contractor. The numbers say otherwise. In this episode, Matthew Neuberger of Neuberger and Company joins Eric to break down why business development inside most construction companies fails, and the simple system that fixes it. Matthew runs a Sandler training franchise focused on contractors, so he sees this every day. What you'll learn: Why 60 to 70 percent of a growing contractor's revenue comes from inbound calls, not bid invitations The three-part business development system: owner list, contact cadence, weekly review The four signals that tell you which owners belong on your list Why a CRM and a LinkedIn presence are not business development How to use Eric's EAR framework to make BD accountability stick Matthew is offering a free business development assessment that pinpoints where your process is leaking revenue. Free Assessment: https://neuberger-sandler-22152421.hs-sites.com/tcc-eval-form Connect with Matthew Neuberger on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neubergerco/

July 14, 2026Episode 39123 min

How to Read Your Backlog Like a Banker: Timing, Diversification, and Gross Profit Discipline

How's your backlog right now? In Part 6 of the Construction Accounting Series, Eric sits down again with CPA Kathe Barrington to unpack what backlog really is, and what it isn't. They dig into why committed-but-unstarted jobs belong on your WIP the day you're awarded, how to use backlog to forecast labor, equipment, and cash, and why a backlog that looks great in aggregate can still leave you with a nine-month hole in the schedule. Kathe lays out the ideal backlog-to-revenue ratio, the red flag of growing backlog with compressing gross profit, how client and project-type concentration creates fragility, and who needs to be in the room for the monthly backlog review. If you want backlog to function as a real planning tool, not a vanity number. This conversation is the blueprint. What You'll Learn What backlog actually is - remaining contract, remaining cost, and remaining gross profit to complete Why letters of intent and verbal awards should NOT count as backlog Why unstarted-but-committed jobs belong on your WIP the day you're awarded (and what bank & bonding are looking for) How to translate a WIP snapshot into a month-by-month forecast of labor, equipment, and cash How far out you should be forecasting labor (hint: 6–12 months minimum) The ideal backlog-to-revenue ratio - and why 3–6 months makes Kathe nervous How backlog profiles differ between GCs and subs, and what that means for planning The aggregate-number trap: why jobs bunched up at the same finish line signal trouble When you can tighten margins as you scale - and when compressing gross profit becomes dangerous Client and project-type concentration risk - diversification as insurance How often to review backlog (monthly, with the financials) and who belongs in the room The questions that should drive the conversation beyond the numbers How to use backlog data when the market shifts - lessons from 2008 and COVID The three questions Kathe asks first when she takes on a new client's books Connect with Kathe LinkedIn: Kathe Barrington, KB CPA Facebook: Kathe Barrington / KB CPA The Construction Accounting Series with Kathe Barrington This is Part 6 of an ongoing series. Catch up on the full run: Part 1 — Ep. 357: WIP Reports Made Simple: The Key to Stopping Hidden Job Losses Part 2 — Ep. 359: How to Use Your WIP to Protect Cash and Grow Profitability Part 3 — Ep. 364: Why the Field and Accounting Are Both Right (Physical Progress vs. Financial Reporting) Part 4 — Ep. 368: Underbillings Bad. Overbillings Better: The Cash Flow Truth Construction Owners Can't Ignore Part 5 — Ep. 377: Why Your Jobs Look More Profitable Than They Are: Indirect Allocations and Overhead in Construction

July 7, 2026Episode 39028 min

Get the Most Out of Every Project Meeting: ChatGPT 201 for Construction Leaders

Your meeting transcripts are the most valuable data set your company throws away. This is ChatGPT 201, part two of our AI for construction companies series with Dylan Davis, AI consultant and coach and my collaborator on the Construction Genius GPT course. We take one task every contractor has, the meeting follow-up email, and turn it into a repeatable AI workflow you can run every week. What you'll learn: What makes an AI workflow instead of a one-off prompt How to find your best automation targets inside the bid, the build, and the bill How to teach ChatGPT your writing style with three to five sample emails How to make the AI grade its own work before you see it Why you should let the AI write the prompt, and how projects make it repeatable What to do when the output is bad (hint: it's your fault) Get on the waitlist for the Construction Genius GPT Course: https://ericanderton.activehosted.com/f/255 Connect with Dylan Davis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylantdavis/ Dylan's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@dylandavisAI

June 30, 2026Episode 3891 hr 2 min

Unapologetically Hardcore: Applying Elon Musk's Algorithm to Construction Leadership, with Eric Jorgenson

Elon Musk builds rockets. You build buildings. Different industry. Same problems. Bad requirements, bloated processes, too many parts, slow cycle time. Eric Jorgenson is the CEO of Scribe Media and the author of The Book of Elon, a curated collection of Elon Musk's most useful ideas drawn from his tweets, interviews, and public conversations. In this episode, we walk through Elon's five-step algorithm and apply it directly to how construction companies get work, plan work, and build work. What you'll learn: Why questioning requirements and deleting parts is 80 percent of the algorithm How the idiot index reveals where your supply chain is taking you for a ride First principles thinking vs. reasoning by analogy, with concrete construction examples Why fast is actually cheap and how it breaks the construction trilemma How to attack the bottleneck instead of running the calendar How to give people hardcore feedback without making it personal Get The Book of Elon (free digital version): https://www.elonmuskbook.org/ Connect with Eric Jorgenson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erjorgenson/ Eric's newsletter: https://www.ejorgenson.com/newsletter Eric's podcast, Smart Friends: https://www.ejorgenson.com/podcast Free Succession Planning Guide: https://www.constructiongenius.com/free-succession-planning-guide

June 23, 2026Episode 38837 min

AI Won't Fix a Badly Run Company: AI 101 for Construction Leaders

AI won't fix a badly run company. But if you're already running a good one, it can save you hours every week on the work that eats your time: RFIs, change order drafts, meeting summaries, estimating. Dylan Davis is an AI consultant and coach, and my collaborator on the Construction Genius GPT course, where we teach construction professionals to use AI on real work. This is part one of our new series on AI for construction companies: AI 101, in plain English, with zero hype. What you'll learn: What AI actually is (a prediction machine) and where it fits in everyday construction work Why context, not prompting, is the last competitive lever left The What-Why-How framework for getting useful output every time Why the first answer is the start, not the finish, and how to iterate like a pro Which model to use for which task: ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini How to keep your company data safe, and the one thing Dylan won't let AI do Three moves to make on day one of your AI journey Get on the waitlist for the Construction Genius GPT Course: https://ericanderton.activehosted.com/f/255 Connect with Dylan Davis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylantdavis/ Dylan's website: https://offerings.gradientlabs.co/ Dylan's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@dylandavisAI Free Succession Planning Guide: https://www.constructiongenius.com/free-succession-planning-guide