A Happy Story and Exciting News!
5 years ago, I went to the ABC Baltimore Project Manager and Superintendent’s Boot Camp.
I was a 25 year-old Project Manager and Estimator with a commercial Trade Contractor in Maryland.
ABC’s boot camp was a two-day, intensive training experience. Experts from around the industry came in to teach our group of 40+ about financial management, running work, and working together between the office and the field. It was an all-star group.
But one presenter stuck out from the rest.
At the start of Day 2—in an 8 AM session where most of the participants were hungover from a night of partying the night before—Chad Prinkey came in to deliver a workshop on “Radical Candor”.
Immediately, the whole group knew that Chad’s presentation was going to be unlike anything we had seen yet. He brought energy, he got each of us engaged, and he didn’t give us an option to stop paying attention. We were locked in.
In 90 minutes, he changed the way I thought about communication and resolving interpersonal conflicts. I was enthralled with his knowledge, energy, and tactics. I immediately looked up to him.
After he finished, I worked up the courage to go introduce myself and ask a question about a problem I was dealing with.
“Chad, it’s great to meet you. I’m struggling with getting one of our clients to pick up my phone calls. What do you think I should do?”
“Next time you see him in person, tell him that. Make sure he understands the problems that it is causing for you on-site when he doesn’t answer. Be straight with him. I promise he’ll respect it.”
That was it. We parted ways.
But I left with a plan and knew that this guy, Chad Prinkey, was a great person to learn from going forward.
So, I connected with him on LinkedIn and spent the next 4 years following his journey, looking up to him, reaching out sporadically, and continually learning from him from afar.
Fast forward to last year, and Chad asked me to come work for him. It really was hard to believe: This guy who I respected so much—and had learned so much from—wanted me to come work for him. It felt like a lot of hard work had paid off.
So, I started with Chad and Well Built in August 2023 and haven’t looked back. We’ve already done so much fun and good work together, along with the rest of our fantastic team.
And now, I get to do something I never would have dreamed possible 5 years ago when I saw Chad speak: We are going to start releasing a podcast together dedicated to helping construction companies become better businesses.
It’s called The Well Built Series, and we’ve got a few awesome episodes already lined up. Designed for the top decision-makers in the industry or anyone who wants to be one of the top decision-makers in the industry, it’s going to be an awesome way to connect with our growing community and help drive towards creating more positive change in the industry.
I’m telling you this for 2 reasons:
I never thought working with a role model would be possible, but it happened. And I’m reminded in this moment that hard work pays off. Don’t be afraid to chase dreams you never thought would be possible. The first episode releases on 3/18!
I think you’re going to love The Well Built Series. If you want to get better, and learn how to chase your goals (as a person, and as a business), then I hope you’ll check it out.
Can’t wait to see what’s next, and thanks so much to this community for following along with our journey. The podcast will be available on all the major streaming platforms, find the links to each here: https://www.wellbuiltconsulting.com/the-morning-huddle-well-built-series/
Let’s keep growing together.
With love,
Matt
