Legacy Is Built in People, And Projects: 46 Years of Construction Leadership with Alton Tew

What does success look like to your best PM right now? Do you know? Alton Tew spent 46 years in construction — 25 of them building Samet Corporation's multifamily division into a $500 million operation that turned over 3,500 units a year. In this conversation, he shares the leadership principles that drove it: the 90-day check-in that keeps high-potential talent from leaving, how to stay calm when a job site goes sideways, and what his final year looked like as he handed off a 170-person division to the next generation. Simple ideas. Hard to execute. Essential to get right.   📖 Construction Genius: Get it on Amazon 🎓 The Shift: theshift.constructiongenius.com 📅 Work with Eric: 10minuteswitheric.youcanbook.me 🩸 Blood Cancer United: bloodcancerunited.org 🌐 Samet Corporation: sametcorp.com 💼 Alton on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alton-tew-aab3965a

What if the thing holding your construction company back isn't lack of effort — it's lack of deep thinking? In this episode, I sit down with Steven Puri, former EVP at DreamWorks, former VP at 20th Century Fox, and CEO of The Sukha Company — to talk about flow state: what it is, why the best leaders in the world use it, and how construction company owners can harness it to make better decisions and leapfrog the competition. Three things you'll walk away with: Why grinding harder creates linear growth — and deep thinking creates competitive leaps How to find your chronotype and build a flow state practice that actually fits your schedule The 'other movie' principle: why your best ideas come when you're working on something else Steven Puri is CEO of The Sukha Company, former EVP at DreamWorks, and former VP at 20th Century Fox. He speaks and consults on the neuroscience of peak performance for leaders across industries.   📚 Get Eric's book Construction Genius on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Construction-Genius-Effective-Hands-Leadership/dp/B0BHTRDY1T/ 🏗️ The Shift — Eric's leadership course for construction leaders: https://theshift.constructiongenius.com  

What happens when outworking everyone stops working? In Episode 379, Justin Ricklefs — founder of Guild Collective and author of Give a Damn — gets honest about the moment things broke down: his business, his relationships, and himself. He shares the framework that rebuilt everything, why constraint became his competitive advantage, and what it actually costs to build something while keeping your family intact. The Five Fs framework for keeping your priorities in order as a business owner Why niching down felt like limitation — and turned out to be the growth engine The honest answer to whether he'd start his business again knowing what it would cost   Justin Ricklefs is the founder and CEO of Guild Collective, a brand consultancy, and author of Give a Damn: The Catalyst for Caring Companies.   Get Eric's book Construction Genius on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Construction-Genius-Effective-Hands-Leadership/dp/B0BHTRDY1T/ Leadership course for construction leaders — The Shift: https://theshift.constructiongenius.com/

Only 2.5% of construction firms consistently complete projects on time and on budget. Not because their people lack skills. Because discipline breaks down under pressure. In this solo episode, Eric Anderton breaks down FMI's 2026 project management study (Part 2) and shows how your Project Executive drives execution discipline in three areas that directly hit your bottom line.   Key takeaways: • Firms with accurate cost-to-complete forecasting hit profit targets 92% of the time. Without it, 42%. • Strong change order discipline means 87% profit reliability for specialty contractors. Weak discipline? 64%. • Your reputation is as many reputations as you have project teams. Your worst PM sets the floor. • 61% of contractors skip post-job reviews. The learning disappears with the crew. • The perception gap between executives and PMs is where margin quietly bleeds.   This is Part 2 of a three-part series on FMI's project management research.   FMI 2026 Study (Part 2): fmicorp.com/insights/thought-leadership/2026-project-management-study-part-2 Part 1: www.constructiongenius.com/only-2.5-of-contractors-finish-on-time.-heres-what-they-do-before-the-job-starts-ep.-375   Explore executive coaching with Eric for your leaders. Book a call here: https://10minutes.youcanbook.me  

If your indirect costs aren't tracked—they're hiding. And what they're hiding is your true profit margin.   In this episode of Construction Genius, Eric sits down with Kathe Barrington, CPA and fractional Controller/CFO with 20 years of construction experience, to break down one of the most misunderstood areas of construction accounting: indirect cost allocations, equipment costing, and overhead structure.   Kathe explains the difference between indirect costs and G&A, how to think about owned equipment usage rates, what a clean chart of accounts should look like, and why your bank and bonding company will notice if you're burying job costs in overhead. She also shares her favorite phrase that every construction leader should internalize: every dollar needs a home and a purpose.   In this episode, you'll learn: The difference between indirect costs, overhead, and G&A—and why it matters How to cost and track owned equipment using market usage rates Why inaccurate chart of accounts structure distorts job profitability How misallocated costs affect banking, bonding, and strategic decisions Why your estimators and accounting team need to speak the same language The two biggest areas of indirect cost leakage to look for first Why you should review indirect allocations monthly, not annually   This is Part 4 of the Construction Accounting Series with Kathe Barrington. Previous Episodes in This Series Ep. 357 - WIP Reports Made Simple: The Key to Stopping Hidden Job Losses Ep. 359 - How to Use Your WIP to Protect Cash and Grow Profitability Ep. 364 - Why the Field and Accounting Are Both Right  

Most construction companies treat pre-construction as an estimating department. That mindset is costing them projects. In this episode, Eric sits down with Sam Potts, Director of Pre-Construction at JP Cullen—a $900M family-owned, self-performing GC out of Wisconsin. Sam explains why pre-con managers should be treated like project managers, how to align budgets around what actually matters to the owner, the power of a "yes-if" mentality when clients make unexpected requests, and what separates a good estimator from a great pre-construction leader. In this episode, you'll learn: •       Why pre-con's real purpose is setting your project teams up to win •       How discovery meetings and the right questions unlock owner priorities •       The Risk Opportunity Log: a tool to eliminate budget surprises •       Why cost transparency is the fastest way to build trust •       How AI is starting to impact takeoffs—and the risk to junior estimator development •       The leadership shift from directing to coaching that changed Sam's career If you want pre-construction to become a true competitive advantage for your company, this episode is a must-listen.  

Only 2.5% of contractors finish on time and on budget. Here's what they do before the job starts. In this episode, Eric Anderton breaks down Part 1 of FMI's 2025 Project Management Study — 243 executives, 84 PMs, real contractors, real numbers. What they found isn't revolutionary. It's the same truth Vince Lombardi was teaching in 1959. Preparation before the work starts. Accountability to a consistent standard. Everyone owning their role before the first crew hits the job site. The three things separating high performers from everyone else: PM involvement in estimating, structured pre-execution planning, and field buy-in before mobilization. The one role responsible for making all three happen — or failing to — is your project executive. Three Numbers Every Owner Should Know PM involvement in estimating → margin attainment jumps from 55% to 78% Thorough pre-execution planning → profit margins hit 81% vs. 50% of the time Strong field alignment → on-time/early completion 76% vs. 58% of the time   Hosted by Eric Anderton — leadership coach, executive coach, and 20+ year veteran of the construction industry.   FMI 2025 Study: https://fmicorp.com/insights/thought-leadership/2025-project-management-study-part-1 Executive coaching for your PX — book a call: https://10minuteswitheric.youcanbook.me/ Construction Genius book: https://www.amazon.com/Construction-Genius-Effective-Hands-Leadership/dp/B0BHTRDY1T/ The Shift leadership course: https://theshift.constructiongenius.com/  

Construction companies don't go out of business because they lack work. They go out of business because they take on too much work and lose discipline. In this episode, Eric Anderton talks with DPR Construction leaders Camilo Garcia and Mike Humphrey about how DPR built the discipline that carried the company through multiple boom-bust cycles—from early hypergrowth to market volatility in the 2000s, the 2009 downturn, and today's AI-driven data center surge. They explain how DPR protects its culture through disciplined hiring, empowers teams with freedom within a framework, stays selective with customers and markets, and scales using operating ranges based on people—not just revenue. If you're leading a construction company in a high-demand market, this episode shows how DPR stays disciplined while growing.   Resources: DPR Construction: https://www.dpr.com/Connect with Camilo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilo-garcia-pineros-79172ba/ Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-humphrey-b589695/

The Inflation Reduction Act is driving massive investment into construction—but the registered apprenticeship requirements tied to those tax credits are creating confusion and risk for many contractors. In this episode, Eric Anderton talks with Andy Seth, founder of Apprentix, about a smarter approach to complying with Inflation Reduction Act apprenticeship requirements—one that reduces risk, protects margins, and supports business growth. They break down how IRA apprenticeship compliance really works, why sponsorship matters, and how contractors can get compliant quickly without disrupting operations. If Inflation Reduction Act projects are affecting your bids or backlog, this episode will give you clarity and confidence.   Connect with Andy Apprentix: https://www.apprentix.ioApprenticeship Launch System (Book): https://a.co/d/1Lxl0rXLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyseth/ X: https://x.com/mrasethEmail: [email protected] Phone: +1 (303) 900-2215 Restaurant Mentioned: https://www.altenorestaurant.com/  

Doug Ransom began his construction career at 18 as a union carpenter apprentice. Thirty years later, he serves as General Superintendent at JP Cullen & Sons, a fifth-generation commercial construction company. Learn more: https://jpcullen.com/ In this episode, we discuss: Transitioning from foreman to superintendent Managing construction field teams Leadership development in commercial construction Field vs. office conflict Multi-generational construction company succession   Related episodes on construction succession planning: Episode 170 https://www.constructiongenius.com/podcast/how-to-run-a-successful-family-business-with-george-cullen-ep-170/ Episode 186 https://www.constructiongenius.com/podcast/secrets-of-a-successful-multi-generational-company-with-the-cullen-clan-ep-186 Connect with Doug: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-ransom-a58018285/ Restaurant recommendation: https://www.fairchildrestaurant.com/