Episode 81: Setting Your Company Culture With Clint Best

Professional Builders Secrets brings you an exclusive episode with Clint Best, Executive Business Coach at APB. Throughout this episode, Clint discusses the importance of setting a strong company culture in your building company, and shares insights and strategies to help builders set and maintain a strong company culture.

Episode 81: Setting Your Company Culture With Clint Best

Show Notes

Transcript

Inside episode 81 you will discover

What company culture is and why it’s so important
The consequences of not creating a strong company culture
How to start and measure your companies culture
How you can keep company culture alive
And much, much more.

Listen to the full episode to uncover how setting a strong company culture is crucial for building companies to attract top talent, maintain high employee morale, and create a positive reputation.

Clint Best - Executive Business Coach at APB

Clint was trained and certified by the world’s largest business coaching team and was eventually named the Canadian Coach of the Year in 2006, before leaving to form Kaizen Business Development in 2007. He has been successfully coaching business owners in Canada and the United States for 18 years and now forms part of the Executive Business Coaching Team at APB.

Connect with Clint

Timeline

4:47 The consequences of not creating your own strong company culture

7:16 How to start defining your companies culture

11:32 Metrics builders can look at to validate their culture

12:54 Culture starts at the top and requires consistent effort to maintain

21:01 The main components of setting up your company culture right

28:06 Culture isn't etched in stone, it can evolve over time to meet changing needs and priorities

Links, Resources & More

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Clint Best:

By definition, culture really is a set of attitudes and behaviours.

Clint Best:

Your identity really does drive your behaviour. It's that stuff below the waterline that people don't see, and that behaviour drives your results. And how does it do that? Because it drives your actions and your decisions.

Clint Best:

All KPIs are impacted by the culture. It's like the tide that raises all the boats.

Clint Best:

The way we connect is through our values.

Clint Best:

Let's be honest; culture is really what provides that intrinsic motivation that's so important in any kind of a successful venture.

Bosco Anthony:

Hello and welcome to the Professional Builders Secrets Podcast, a podcast by the Association of Professional Builders (APB) for building company owners, general managers, VPs and emerging leaders. Here we discuss all things running a professional building company from sales processes to financials, operations and marketing.

Bosco Anthony:

We have another exciting episode from the Professional Builders Secrets Podcast. Joining us today is Clint Best, Executive Coach for APB. I also want to add, Clint, you've won the award for Coach of the Year, two years in a row. Congrats man, and welcome back.

Clint Best:

Oh, thank you, Bosco. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you for the kind gesture there. It's humbling because we’ve got a pretty good team, and the coaches aren’t competitive in the sense that you might think, but of course, we're always trying to get better and put forth our best efforts. So hey, it's always nice to be acknowledged. That'll work every time.

Bosco Anthony:

I've had the good fortune of interviewing some of your clients as well. I've had three Canadians, I think, on the show. They all rave about working with you as well. So I'll look forward to many more acknowledgements as this journey continues. But let's start off with something that is very dear to most of us, I would say most Canadians as well, and that's setting a company culture or building a company culture. I love this topic.

Bosco Anthony:

One of my mentors wrote a book called Unleashed Culture and it really changed my path. I came to Canada as an immigrant, and he was my boss at the time, and he built this amazing culture of recognition. I ended up following him over the years and we ended up doing business. So culture is something that's very dear to me. I wrote a script that I ended up performing a TED Talk as well about finding purpose in life. It was all about finding the right culture. I know it means a lot to me, but for you, what does company culture look like and why is it so important?

Clint Best:

It's also a topic that's near and dear to me. I've been around in business and in life long enough to know the importance of culture and the idea that really by definition, culture is a set of attitudes and behaviours. When you really think about attitudes and behaviours, behaviour is what drives our results. When we think of culture in different contexts, for instance, you'll think about an Italian culture versus a French culture, it summons up an image, it summons up feelings.

Clint Best:

You can almost picture the behaviours. We've learned it through cinema. We've learned it through many, many ways. The languages are different. The routines and the habits and the thinking and even the emotions can be different. So it's really a huge topic, but when we boil it down into the business context, we think of it perhaps as our vision, where are we going; our mission, what are we doing and who are we doing for, how are we doing it; and our values, our core values, how do we need to behave in order to reach our goals?

Bosco Anthony:

Yeah. It's almost like the fabric of a brand identity or a company identity, really, in so many ways, right?

Clint Best:

It is. I think identity is a very good word to use because your identity really does drive your behaviour. It's that stuff below the water line that people don't see. That behaviour drives your results – and how does it do that? Because it drives your actions and your decisions, and I'm sure we'll touch on that as we go.

Bosco Anthony:

Yeah, we always end up going in different directions with our conversations. But listen, let's start off with what are some of the consequences of not creating your own strong company culture? Where does it impact you negatively or in a way that could harm the company?

Clint Best:

At the end of the day, people need direction. If they don't get direction, they're going to create their own direction. So, the consequences of not creating and defining your own culture, I think the first one is that somebody else will. When we think about the term ‘hidden culture,’ that's what it is. Often, there's a written culture and there's a hidden culture. The reason the hidden culture shows up more is because the written culture is not being energised or kept alive or used effectively or actively. Typically, the hidden culture is not good. It’s usually the source of a lot of frustration.

Clint Best:

There's this story, if you'll humour me for a minute. A hound dog is sitting on a porch beside a man. A guy drives up and comes out and he walks up to the porch and the hound dog's just howling, just howling and moaning. As the guy approaches the porch, he looks at the man sitting in a rocking chair beside the hound dog, and he’s bewildered. He says, "What's wrong with your dog?" The man says, "He's in pain." And the guy says, "Well, why is he in pain?" The man answers, "He is sitting on a nail." The hound dog’s howling in the background and the guy says, "Well, why doesn't he get off?" The man looks at him and says, "Yeah, I suppose it doesn't hurt enough yet."

Clint Best:

A lot of people are familiar with that story, but often there's lots of stuff that's going on in the company that's painful or it's upsetting or it's distracting, or it's whatever. It's not working very well. A lot of it can be solved by just defining your culture and putting some energy into that.

Bosco Anthony:

Yeah. And it's one of those things that you've got to protect it. It's not something that you'll see the impacts of right away. It's not a metric sometimes. It can be a metric. People look at retention, but at the end of the day, sometimes people sit on it and sit on it and let it fester, and all of a sudden it gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and then the problem just hits them in a different direction.

Bosco Anthony:

I've got a question for you. For the builders out there who are new or have probably not had to build a strong culture for a while and suddenly now they have to because they have new staff, where do they start? If you don't have a culture, where do you even go? You talked a little bit about an unarticulated playbook in some ways, but where do you start?

Clint Best:

Well, obviously there are books on the subject, Simon Sinek's Start With Why comes to mind. But of course, in the first place, I would direct one of our clients and certainly one of our private mentoring clients to the action plan that we have in the system, which breaks it down very nicely and also talks about how it applies to different areas of the business. As it happens, I'll be updating that one, refreshing it and breathing some new life into it in a couple of months. So look for that. But I think my best advice is keep it simple at first and don't complicate it. It's really not that complicated. You really just need to start with something simple and then let it evolve.

Bosco Anthony:

Yeah, that makes sense. Correct me if I'm wrong, I did see in a post that APB actually won a ‘Great Place to Work’ award, if I'm not mistaken.

Clint Best:

Well, I'm not surprised because of course I live in that every day. To be honest, it was one of the things that really attracted me to the company, and that's certainly one very effective way it can be used in recruiting. But I keep our seven simple core values posted on the wall here by my desk.

Bosco Anthony:

Yeah.

Clint Best:

The APB mission, vision and purpose statement. We are committed to improving the residential construction industry for builders and consumers. Again, I've got it on my wall. It's what gets me going in the morning. It's what gets me out of bed on those cold winter mornings when I'd rather not.

Bosco Anthony:

What's admirable is that, many seasons in, I see the culture translated with how the brand is perceived by the builders, by the coaches, by the people who work at APB, by Russ [Stephens, Co-founder] and Sky [Stephens, Co-founder], by how I'm treated as well as a podcast host; you can actually see that’s consistent. I think that's probably the biggest compliment I can ever give APB: it’s that the culture is consistent across everyone I come across and everyone who has to deal with them. It's definitely a wonderful feeling.

Bosco Anthony:

How can you tell if it's working for you from a culture perspective? If you've got a building company and you've built a culture, where do you look for signs that say, "Hey, this is really working"?

Clint Best:

Yeah, great question. First of all, I'd preface my answer by saying that it takes a while. So you need to be patient. It doesn't happen overnight. Anything worthwhile takes some effort to get it in place. You’ve got to pour a lot of love into it. But some of the tell-tale signs would be people start stepping up. They start taking ownership of things; they start taking initiative, bringing ideas to you. They start following them basically, depending on what they are, and I'm thinking of typically your core values here. But those are all aimed at achieving your purpose, your purpose for existing as a company.

Clint Best:

One of the really important routine activities that we do with our clients is setting up their annual strategic plan. In that strategic plan, of course, your culture is a big part of that, but it trickles down into what we call your rocks or your important projects or the things that you're working on that are going to move your company forward or going to make it work better. One of the things that drives those rocks and their progress is obviously your culture. People start taking responsibility for that. They've bought in, they want to be part of it, and they look for ways to contribute.

Bosco Anthony:

Yeah, that makes sense. Now, is retention a good metric to look at in this day and age? Obviously, the hiring of staff is a big topic, but what are other metrics? And if it is retention, what are some of the other metrics that builders can look at to validate their culture?

Clint Best:

Retention is probably an obvious one because of the nature of culture. But I guess in a broad sense, all KPIs are impacted by the culture. It's like the tide that raises all the boats, in a sense. But a simple thing might be the number of redos, which is certainly a big thing in construction. I remember one of my clients, a renovator, and one of his core values was: “Measure twice and cut once.” I thought, "Oh, that's a very practical example that's applicable." Productivity per employee depends on where they're working in the company. Everybody should have KPIs on their job descriptions, and those things are going to be impacted and affected certainly by the culture. Let's be honest; culture is really what provides that intrinsic motivation that's so important in any kind of a successful venture.

Bosco Anthony:

So who should create the culture? Is it a leader's role? Is it a good idea to have it as part of a team role? Is it an HR position? Where does the culture start and how do you keep it alive?

Clint Best:

I think you have to be careful with that one. A lot of people like to involve their team in defining the culture. Certainly, it's perfectly fine to get some inspiration, some feedback, and certainly you'll draw on your experience when you're creating your culture. But really this is something that needs to come, I think, from the founders or the owners of a company, because really they're the ones who have to keep it alive. Really, it often emanates from a personal place, so I think you've got to define it. I would say that's the advice that I would give my clients. Then you want to let it evolve. Again, keep it simple. It's not like it's etched in stone. Especially if it's new to you, you're going to want to add to it, you're going to want to shape it a little bit, and your team's obviously going to have some influence on that.

Bosco Anthony:

I'm a big fan of setting values, personal values, professional values, and I make decisions based on those values. For me this year, it's a lot about the energy around me and the energy that I bring to the table and the energy that I absorb. So I'm very selective about the people and the types of energies around me based on that value. So I'm just curious, can that sort of way of thinking be adaptable to looking at culture? What are some of the situations you can think of where the culture or the value playbook or those written articulated things come to mind where you can actually apply them?

Clint Best:

You mean what are some specific situations where they might be useful?

Bosco Anthony:

Yeah, absolutely.

Clint Best:

Well, for instance, in problem solving or decisions that come up. I'm thinking about an example where a client named Gord came to me and he had a dilemma. That's a good word to use. It was a personal dilemma where he took a payment for a preliminary design agreement and then the client came back after the fact and asked for his money back, or asked for it to be included in the contract price. He came to me and asked, "What should I do?" I said, "Well, why don't you filter it through your core values, through your culture? If you did that, what kind of a decision would you make?" And he did so, and he ended up giving back the deposit and he backed away from the job.

Bosco Anthony:

Wow.

Clint Best:

I can't remember exactly what the core value was, but he thanked me. He said, "Man, wooh! That just made it simple, simple for me. I'm sleeping at night and I'm okay. We will be just fine." What could have been a big problem turned out to be a relatively simple decision for him.

Clint Best:

Another case that I'm thinking of just happened a couple of days ago. I won't use their real names; I'll say it was a family situation. Values can be a very powerful tool to use to break ties and keep people on the same page, because common goals can do that. So we'll say it's Ken and Barbie who were having a big disagreement. One's going really, really fast, the other slow. So they needed to get on the same page; they needed to match their pace. I suggested to them, "Hey, it can't be very pleasant to be going through this kind of arm wrestling all the time. You guys need to get on the same page with your vision, with where you're going."

Clint Best:

They went away and they thought about that, and then they actually came back and thanked me. It did exactly that, got them rowing in the same direction. That's the kind of thing, a strong, well-articulated vision can do for you. Does that make sense?

Bosco Anthony:

Yeah. I think what I'm hearing from you is that you can use it as a guiding compass or a guiding principle when you're making some key decisions. That's the key takeaway there, right? It goes back to my time in my 20s when I was a young buck, and I had a boss who hired me, and I said to him, "Look, you've had 15 other people who applied for this gig and they're very skilled." And he said, "Yes, but you can hire on skill and you can hire on character. At the end of the day, this role requires character. And if there's no room for me to work with that, then I can't hire the right person." So it was an interesting concept at that point, but it resonated with me because sometimes you apply the values to make those tough decisions.

Bosco Anthony:

Speaking of tough decisions, can culture allow you or help you solve problems or make those hard decisions?

Clint Best:

Well, as I said, yeah, absolutely. They underpin all of your decisions. They really are the core of how you're being. Often, we don't pause and look for this kind of guidance. So again, it's part of being proactive. Setting these things out, defining your culture, and then using them to guide you is very proactive. Then we get into that reactive world and life takes over.

Clint Best:

Just going back to that example I gave earlier about measuring twice and cutting once, one of our core values at APB is that we acknowledge the wins. When I came into APB and I did something good, let's say I brought on a new client or something like that, I'd get these emails and little notes coming my way from people I’d barely just met. It made me feel special. It made me feel good, and I wanted to do it again.

Clint Best:

So again, that influenced my decision and, again, it inspired me intrinsically. Then I started doing it too. I made the decision to start acknowledging other people for their wins and pointing out when I saw somebody else doing something well or right. Another one of our core values is we don't take things personally. So again, how's that not going to affect my decisions? When something happens and I get triggered by something somebody says or doesn't say, or whatever it is, or a situation or a circumstance, I am going to filter my response through those core values. One of the things I'm not going to do is take it personally. It's important to have those kinds of reminders.

Bosco Anthony:

Absolutely. The other question I had for you is how do you keep that culture alive or how do you maintain it? I've got some ideas, but I'm just curious. When you think about this holistically, how do builders inspire themselves to do this every day and keep that culture the same?

Clint Best:

Well, first of all, you have to model it. With leadership, leading by example means you start making it part of the fabric of your business. You obviously include it in your recruitment process. You include it in your team meeting rhythm. You might point it out ritually. You could have a core value of the month or something like that, and at performance reviews you bring it back into that conversation. Just keep bringing it up. Keep it in front of people and keep using it. Again, after a while, it's really about that modelling because people will see that behaviour and it feels good, and they'll want to do it themselves. It's just natural. I think as humans, we like to mirror the things that are working well for us.

Bosco Anthony:

So if you had to break it down, what are some of the main components of setting the culture? What are the things that you're looking at? You talked a lot about values and a purpose or a vision, but what are some of the key components that go into it?

Clint Best:

When you break down culture itself, there are really two things. It's your purpose and your core values, and your purpose might be split up into your vision and your mission. Again, whatever works for you; it's not as important. You use these as guideposts. I think that keeps it pretty simple. Why do we exist and how do we have to behave in order to achieve that? So it's not very complicated, but again, I can think of its components.

Clint Best:

There's also something referred to as a BHAG or a big hairy, audacious goal, which was I think made famous in the books Built to Last and Good to Great. In that book, they describe this as sort of a mantra. Again, this comes back to keeping it alive in your company, a mantra that is meaningful and gets everybody going. I'm not sure if I answered your question or if I got off track there, but you can tell me.

Bosco Anthony:

No, you got there. At the end of the day, I think you're right. I think the purpose and values give a strong place to start. I also think you find culture with similar alignment. I think what builds strong cultures is people with similar values, people with similar belief sets. Even if you don't have the same beliefs, you're not always going to agree, but coming together in a respectful way and working together and putting your differences aside, those are all things that keep that key component of culture alive, and also as part of that fabric is people. And I think that alignment is key.

Clint Best:

Yeah, absolutely. It reminds me of that rapport. When you're rapport building, it's really about finding some common ground. If you can find some common ground in your culture, well you can build on that. It will be more important than your differences. Again, it’s important to use your culture when you’re attracting good people into the company. This is so important these days, and I think this is where it's really underutilised, Bosco, using it in your recruitment process. What are you inviting people into? Why would they care? It's much like marketing in that way and you should use it in your marketing, absolutely, because like attracts like. It's a natural law and it'll work in business.

Bosco Anthony:

Now, on the flip side, what gets in the way of defining your own culture? For the critics out there, they're thinking, "Yeah, there's a lot more to this than just culture." What do you think gets in the way of defining that culture?

Clint Best:

I had a coaching session today with a gentleman named Jason. Jason is in North Carolina. He was actually the subject of my win story last month. We do a win story every month with the other coaches. In his particular case, he had doubled his revenue last year, so he came to our coaching session today and he wasn't prepared.

Clint Best:

He wasn't prepared because he was working on a whole bunch of stuff that he had to do. But he didn't feel prepared and we defaulted into a talk about, "Okay, well, let's see what shows up." So we started talking about culture. He was talking about how he wasn't a visionary or didn't consider himself a visionary. Then when we started talking about culture, he started talking about his vision for the company, what he's trying to build. I was just sitting there and my jaw was dropping. I thought, "Holy cow. Man, I could listen to this all day long."

Clint Best:

Somebody might be reluctant to see that as an opportunity or something to develop in their company. Culture’s not tangible. It's a bit fluffy. “I'm not a visionary, and that's a visionary person thing to do.” That's how we see ourselves. Sometimes it's like that idea of not stopping for fuel because you're too busy and then you run out of fuel on the highway and you wonder what happened. You're too busy putting out fires. You don't have time. So it's the typical things. You don't have time. It doesn't seem important. It's not a priority, or you think it’s not your kind of thing or you don't understand or it scares you. So hopefully after listening to this, that won't be the case.

Bosco Anthony:

Yeah. It’s also sometimes about the power of doubt. Here's a client who doubts that he's a visionary, and then all of a sudden you ask him these questions and he just pours it all out as a vision. So for me, that's a great example. How does culture work as a strategic differentiator when it comes to business as well? Let's look at this from a customer perspective or an experience. I did an interview with Andy once and he talked about building as an experience that you're creating for your clients. So I'm assuming culture plays a role there, but in your opinion, how does it work as a strategic differentiator?

Clint Best:

Well, absolutely. If you are well niched, you’ve defined your specialty and pulled together your other marketing messaging, which you typically display on your website and through your marketing assets. All of that needs to reflect your culture. Part of that is defining, for instance, your unique selling proposition or unique value proposition. So let's say the value proposition; that's going to appeal to some people and not to others. But you need to define that. You need to put it out there. You can't be everything to everyone.

Clint Best:

So what you value as a builder will show up in those kinds of choices and then will attract a certain type of customer. The better you can do that and the more you can amplify that through your advertising, the more of those people you're going to be exposed to and the more of them you're going to attract.

Clint Best:

So again, it's no different to attracting the right employees. It's all about fit. The thing about fit is people are looking for a place to fit in. It's natural. It's part of who we are. They're also looking for a place to stand out. So that's the other side of that coin. People want to connect, and the way we connect is through our values.

Bosco Anthony:

Yeah. Is it etched in stone or does it evolve over time? I'm just curious. I'm in the mind that you've got to have a look at your values and reflect on them every year and see if they're still the same. But can the values and the purpose evolve over time?

Clint Best:

It can. It usually doesn't evolve that much. It depends where you're starting from and how clear you are on the concept when you start. If you get clearer on it and you realise that, "Oh, okay, I really meant to do this," yeah, obviously you would change it. But don't change it just for the sake of changing it. Some people, the creative people out there, like to change things too much. And then the more grounded people, or anchored people for instance, would go the other way. But I'm going to say that in my experience, it typically doesn't change too much, but it's okay if it does. Nothing is etched in stone.

Bosco Anthony:

Right. Now, what are some of the trends that you're seeing in building companies around company culture with some of your clients? I've had the great fortune of talking to some of your clients, and they all seem to have very strong cultures. What are some of the trends that you're seeing or we are going to expect to see in the market in the years to come around culture?

Clint Best:

Well, I suppose there are different sorts of movements that are happening out there. The green movement comes to mind: environmentally friendly. Those certainly relate to culture. Diversity in the workplace comes to mind as well. Can you think of any when I put those out there?

Bosco Anthony:

Yeah. No, I think those are really good ones. I think one movement, or I don't want to say movement, but women in leadership is a big one right now too. Especially in the construction industry as well. It could have been the notion that the industry was more male dominant, but for me, what a really refreshing thing to see is when I do these podcast interviews and the husband and wife show up as guests, or the wife plays a critical role, whether it's the financials or the accounting.

Clint Best:

It's really cool to see the industry having a different outlook. It's been great to see so many different builder stories, but for me, what always puts a smile on my face is when the builder says to me, "My wife's going to be joining me on the call and we're going to talk about how we built our business together." That's always a cool story and there's a lot of sacrifice that's put on the table.

Clint Best:

It's a great point, Bosco. Again, it brings me back to that idea of strategy: strategy versus tactic. When these sorts of decisions are in front of you or these sorts of choices are in front of you, it really forces you to ask yourself, "What do I stand for? What's my cause and how does this contribute to my cause?" Whatever that is, because it's going to be different for different people, those are strategic decisions. They are decisions in our world at APB too; we revisit those every year and then reinforce them and keep them alive, every quarter especially. Use them every quarter to drive our results.

Clint Best:

Those things can be contentious these days, so you’ve got to have some courage to put your fork in the ground and say, "Yeah, this is what we stand for," and not be wishy-washy. And that's important, because you're making a decision, as we said, that's going to be a major factor in who and what you're attracting to your business.

Bosco Anthony:

I think they call them non-negotiables. I certainly know that the recent events and the global pandemic and the aftermath of it as well – or some people say we're still in it – really impacted my belief system and my values professionally, especially about the energy and how I show up and the people and the relationships that I keep. I'd be the first to say no to something that doesn't serve my energy. I'd be the first to embrace it if it's conducive. But from a culture perspective, how did the global pandemic impact building culture, building company culture and company cultures around the world? Because there seem to be some non-negotiables showing up from people saying, "Enough's enough."

Clint Best:

One of the ways, in my experience, is it did exactly what we're talking about. It forced people to take a stand on something and sometimes to make hard decisions. I think there were some unfortunate results that took place from that. Without getting into detail, that's why these things are so important, but they can cause division. They can all also cause people to unite and rally around things, and at the end of the day, spur some robust discussions that make us think. Too often in this world of automation, we have stopped doing that. We don't think enough. So I think as with anything, there was some good stuff and some bad stuff that happened during that period.

Bosco Anthony:

Well, speaking of good stuff, my favourite image of APB is the Zoom culture. There's always, at the end of the year, a photograph of all of you guys smiling and waving. I should crash those calls sometimes and be a part of that. But that's definitely inspiring at the end of the year when you guys thank everybody and thank your clients and say that you're going to take some time off, so much needed time off, and sign off for the year. I think that's a pretty cool thing to see, especially in a world where everyone's working from different parts of the world. So it's really cool that you guys take the time to acknowledge those little things.

Clint Best:

Well, thank you for that. I think that's wonderful that you've noticed that. But the thing that you don't see is that just prior to that picture, we go around the horn as it were, around the room, the virtual room, I guess you could say. Everybody shares some personal wins, and that's extremely bonding for all of us. It's just a wonderful ritual that we have. At the end of our monthly team meetings, Sky and Russ always make sure that we've got a few minutes at the end of the meeting to really share something personal, which is part of our culture.

Bosco Anthony:

That's awesome. That's really cool. Well, listen, I could talk to you for ages. I think they're going to have to put a time on us because we just end up going in a full circle. But I've got one key question for you. You talked about having the values on the wall and you talked a little bit about really practising and believing in what you work on as well. Out of those values, which is your favourite value that you just love in this company? When you look at the seven values, which one's your favourite one? I like the one that’s about checking your facts or research. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there's one around checking or validating things. Is that correct?

Clint Best:

Yeah. Yeah, there's a couple. It's, "We never make assumptions. We ask more questions."

Bosco Anthony:

That's the one. I love that one, yeah.

Clint Best:

Which I've fallen victim to a few times. But that's what these are about. It's not about getting knocked down, it's about getting back up. It’s about resiliency. It's not about being perfect, it's about being reminded. That's what guideposts are for. My own personal favourite is “We don't take things personally.” Because I'm an outgoing, gregarious person, too often I will take things personally. But it's not necessary and it doesn't help. And so it's a great reminder to me not to do that.

Bosco Anthony:

Well, if it's any consolation, I'm a sensitive soul too, so it's probably why we get along so well, Clint.

Clint Best:

That's right. Absolutely.

Bosco Anthony:

Well, and for our listeners out there, before we wrap up, you talked a little bit about the fact that you've got some systems in place. Tell us a little bit about how our listeners can access this from APB. What is that key resource that you're freshening up and working on this year as well?

Clint Best:

Every month we have a theme and the theme follows some sort of key component of the business that you want to implement. We either refresh an old action plan, a previous one, or in case it's a new topic then of course we create a new one. So I believe it's in May, we'll be launching the new Creating a Company Culture action plan. I hope to bring some different perspectives to that. But certainly the one that's in place right now is awesome. I've watched it about five times, and every time I watch it, I see what I'm ready for. Those, of course, are for members; members are in the members portal on the site.

Bosco Anthony:

Awesome. Well, I always enjoy our chats and I look forward to many more as well. I want to wish you well. Thank you for being here. What do you say about winning three Coach of the Year Awards in a row? Is that possible?

Clint Best:

Well, as a leader, I always make my best effort, so I'll be putting that out there. But I know the other guys have also made the same claim, so it'll be fun to see where it lands. But wherever it lands, I'm sure it'll land in the right place. So if that's with me, I'll be happy with that.

Bosco Anthony:

Well, thanks for being here, my man. We really appreciate your insights as always.

Clint Best:

Thanks, Bosco. It’s an absolute pleasure. Thanks again.

Bosco Anthony:

Cheers.

Bosco Anthony:

Thank you for listening. Remember to subscribe to Professional Builders Secrets on your favourite podcast platform and leave a review. To learn more about how the systems at APB can help you grow your building company, visit associationofprofessionalbuilders.com. See you next time.

This podcast has great dialogue that would benefit anyone navigating the mysteries of a small to medium size startup. There are little nuggets throughout each episode and I would recommend this for not only my builder friends but any entrepreneur. Well done!

I have to say, I was a little sceptical when I saw APB jumped on the podcasting bandwagon. I’m a few episodes in and I’m hooked! I think the best part about this podcast in particular is how different each episode is. Tye’s story is not only inspiring, he’s relatable and the interviews with the coaches are incredibly insightful as to what APB actually do. Great content..Highly recommend.

This series where actual builders are discussing their experiences helps us realize that we can succeed as well.

Highly recommend this Podcast if you own a custom home building company. Very high quality information shared. Thanks APB

Really interesting and insightful! Well worth the listen 🤙

I started listening to this Podcast a short while ago on an intermittent basis, its worth the listen, an enjoyable podcast for those in the industry who enjoy these.

Easy to listen to and very useful

So happy I stumbled on this podcast. The information provided has been invaluable. Thanks👌

This podcast is insightful and inspiring. I love hearing the builders stories and how they got to where they are today.

Really insightful podcast for Builders. Great mix of industry knowledge, success stories and tips for running a building company. Pleased to have stumbled across this one.

I’m really glad I came across this podcast, it’s super insightful and highlights important lessons for builders looking to grow their companies! Would recommend!

Episode one is a fascinating conception story and beyond that things remain captivating! Overall I’d say it’s an equally worthwhile listen for builders and for anyone remotely related to the industry or just interested in hearing good chat about a world they may be unfamiliar with.

Recently found out that APB was running a podcast I was quick to jump on and catch up on all the episodes. I have been with other Building coaching programs in the past, but as a member for two years, they truly set themselves apart. The combined wealth of knowledge that the APB team bring to the industry can save many builders going down consequential paths of hardships and losses. They bring light and hope to many !!! This Podcast has many nuggets in their candid conversations - be a good listener !!

This is a podcast i listen to in the car - it’s like listening to 60 minutes and the host is great at uncovering the secrets around the building industry - loving this so far!

I am loving the variety of insights from guests around the world - some really great questions asked as well!

Excellent podcast for builders. Very insightful team

This is a great podcast for builders. I’m already hooked after the first few episodes. I can’t wait to tune in weekly and hear more from the range of building industry experts that appear on professional builders secrets.

Amazing podcast specifically for builders. Love the variety of information and hidden gems that are uncovered in every episode.

Very well informed, and thought leading advice on growing a successful and resilient building company. Enjoyed the passion in this, can’t say I’ve listened to another podcast with such tangible information. Well overdue for this industry!

The construction industry has been waiting for the Professional Builders Secrets podcast! This podcast helps uncover tips and strategies for builders wanting to grow their business as well as sharing real stories from builders on their journeys to success. This podcast is packed full of interesting industry insights, amazing builder interviews, humour and knowledge. If you’re a builder, this is the podcast for you.

For owners of residential building companies in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States and the UK who are looking to grow their businesses safely and securely using proven processes.

A specialised podcast made just for the owners of custom home building companies. Extraordinary guests, valuable content and amazing stories from other builders are shared.