Construction Hot Takes

Is Buyout Just a Nicer Word for Shorting Your Subs?

Is buyout just a nicer word for shorting your subs? Sometimes, but it doesn’t have to be. Buying the work competitively is the job, and it crosses a line when a GC takes

Whose Fault Is a $25M Overrun, Estimating or Engineering?

How do you lose $25 million on one job? By building exactly to the construction spec while a second engineering spec, signed off by your own leadership, sat unread until

Will AI Replace Your Superintendent?

Will AI replace the superintendent who won't use it? Not completely, but it could help your most experienced employees perform better and share their knowledge. A superin

Job Costing Fundamentals: Are You Actually Making Money on Each Job?

You can feel the money moving. You can't tell if any single job is making it. In this episode, Greg Gorman breaks down job cost management and why hidden jobs that quietl

Your Data is All There. Why Can't You See It in One Place?

In this episode, Adam Cooper and Jeff Robertson break down how contractors go from siloed systems to one source of truth for their data, why Procore is built for projects

Do We Even Need General Contractors? Reacting to Your Construction Hot Takes

Holding your hot takes to the fire in this episode, Adam Cooper, Jeff Robertson, and Greg Gorman take on what our audience actually posted: Do we even need general contra

CFO vs. Controller: Which Does Your Business Actually Need?

In this episode, Greg Gorman and Jeff Robertson breaks down the key differences between a CFO and a Controller, why so many growing construction companies hire without cl

Don't rely on AI to fix this part of your business. It makes it WORSE.

In this episode, Jeff Robertson and Adam Cooper uncover why adding more software and even AI won't solve your biggest operational problems. If your systems don't communic

Why Most ERP Implementations Fail Before They Begin

In this episode, Greg Gorman, Jeff Robertson, and Adam Cooper get into why companies change their ERP's and why the "why" has to come before the "what." Is the need to c

Ops vs. Estimating: The $200,000 Miss (And How to End the Tension)

Why is there so much friction between the field and the office? In this episode of Construction Hot Takes, we dive deep into the healthy (and sometimes not-so-healthy) te

The Key to A.I. for Construction Companies is NOT A Software Choice...

In this episode, Jeff Robertson, Adam Cooper, and Greg Gorman discuss why AI readiness starts long before choosing an AI tool. They explain why clean data, consistent pro

How To Scale Your $5m-$10m Construction Business

In this episode, Adam Cooper, Jeff Robertson, and Gregory Gorman dive into a topic that is so interesting: how to scale a smaller construction firm. Typically working wit

Owning Your Narrative in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (in Construction Firms)

In this episode, Katherine Cooper brings her deep knowledge of A.I. in construction industry digital marketing to deliver a powerful message. Joined by Adam Cooper, she d

Adam, Jeff, and Greg React to HOT TAKES About The Construction Business

Everyone loved Part 1, and Part 2, so we are doing Part 3! In this episode, Adam, Jeff, and Greg react to five HOT TAKES about the construction industry and decide wheth

From Journeyman Electrician to 350+ Companies Helped: How Adam Cooper Built Ascent

Big contractors don't scale by accident — they scale through systems. Adam Cooper spent 20 years inside the largest electrical contractors in the country before founding

Choosing the Right Hammer: Approach YOUR Construction Problem the Right Way

In this gameshow edition of the Construction Hot Takes podcast, we play a game that illustrates the reality of many construction firms looking to grow. In the constructio

New Software Gone WRONG: The BIGGEST Tech Issue for Construction Companies

In this episode, Adam Cooper and Jeff Robertson talk about an all-too-common issue found amongst growing construction companies. They purchase the latest software with al

Your Subcontractor Might Be About to Burn You

In this episode of Construction Hot Takes, host Jeff Robertson dives into the often-overlooked but critical process of subcontractor pre-qualification. From identifying r

Automation vs. A.I. in Construction: How To Navigate

In this episode, Jeff Robertson and Gregory Gorman deconstruct how construction firms could be thinking about automation and artificial intelligence in construction. We h

How To Achieve Your Construction Company’s Growth Targets In Months, Not Years (Strategic Planning)

In this episode of Construction Hot Takes, our hosts, Adam Cooper and Jeff Robertson, break down why strategic business planning is often the first thing construction lea