The Huddle - Episode 189. Building a Strong Company Culture in the Flooring Industry

A strong company culture doesn’t happen by accident — it’s built with intention.

This week on The Huddle, Paul, Daniel, and Jose dive into what it really takes to create a healthy, high-performing culture in the flooring industry. From leadership and accountability to communication and trust, the guys share real-world experiences on how culture impacts retention, quality, and long-term success.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• What company culture really looks like on the jobsite

• How leadership sets the tone for your entire team

• Common culture mistakes that drive good people away

• Practical ways to build trust, accountability, and teamwork

• Why culture directly affects growth, profitability, and reputation

• Whether you’re running a crew or growing a business, this episode is packed with insight to help you build a team people want to be part of.

Why This Episode Matters: At The Huddle Podcast, we believe Forward Progress starts with people. Strong culture creates strong teams — and strong teams build better businesses.

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Stay Connected & Join the Conversation!

The Huddle Podcast is where the flooring industry comes together to connect, learn, and thrive! Recognized as the #1 podcast in the flooring community, we provide an unmatched platform for professionals to discuss everything from installation techniques to industry trends.

At The Huddle, we’re all about driving Forward Progress—empowering seasoned installers, contractors, and flooring enthusiasts to grow, innovate, and lead in their craft. Whether you’re looking for real conversations, actionable insights, or inspiration to take your career to the next level, The Huddle is your home for real discussions that matter.

Want to be a guest on The Huddle? Email forwardprogress@thehuddle.team

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Please visit our new website! https://thehuddle.team

What is up, guys? Welcome back to The Huddle, the number one podcast in

flooring. We're here every week to help you guys gain forward progress in your career. Simply put, we're here to help

you guys win. To all our new viewers, welcome to the team.

What's up, fellas? We got Daniel and Jose and Paul here. Daniel is uh gonna

be in and out I believe today. Daniel, right? Yeah. I don't know.

And that is I will translate that for you. Daniel is at the hospital and with his mother and

his wife and uh so he's going to be kind of uh just uh here giving us his pretty

face and hopefully he got a little bit of reception here and there and he can chime in.

But uh you can also use the uh the comment box or the chat and we'll relay some information if needed.

Yep. Um so so full disclosure is actually uh my mother um got her new

kidney yesterday and she actually got the kidney from Daniel's wife Tanya.

So they um story a dual effort there and yeah they

got I got to be there. They're both in recovery, right? Both in recovery right now. And and and Daniel

said he got to go back I talked to him a little bit before the podcast here. cuz again his reception isn't the best but

got to go back and see him for about 5 minutes it sounds like. So that's good and and wish them a speedy recovery.

Yep. What a blessing. Long journey for them.

Oh for sure. I'm sure. Um I'm sure that um

having each other I don't even know what to say. It's it's a pretty cool situation. I know it's

tough when you got to go through it at all, but man, pretty pretty cool as a

family. Um so, all right. Well, the topic for today

is building company culture uh in flooring in particular.

And I would thought a good place to start this uh looks like Daniel dropped off.

Maybe he can comment when he gets a chance. Be thinking about him all day. I I uh I

actually thought the surgery was today and it it was yesterday and they're in recovery today.

Yep. Day recovery today. Busy day for Daniel. Busy couple. Yes. Yeah, for sure.

So I thought a good place to start on the topic is uh just to state that you

know both of us um you know you and Daniel and and us over

here have kind of been through all the different phases of the flooring

business from hourly installer subcontractor then

we built a company and started hiring hourly employees. and subcontractors.

And so we got a lot of parallels in the way we've gotten there to to where we're

at today. And the um the thing that kind

of another similar parallel that really stands out to me is that you guys led by

example. It was one of the first things on my notes is to build company culture.

One thing that I believe and I wanted to get your thoughts on this is lead by

example. Like everybody in my company knows that I don't ask them if they got

to go out of town and go grab something or go oh dear pick up something or go do

a job out of town or go uh do a punch list for somebody else's

you know one of ours have to go do a punch list for a sub or any of these things uh that I'm not asking them to do

anything that I have not done or am not willing to again.

And so I wanted to get your thoughts on that. So, um, you know, there's a lot of

different stories that that tie into that right there. Right. And, um, I used to tell people that all the time. Look,

I need you to do this. And you know, they would go, "Ah." It's like, "Hey, dude, I wouldn't ask you to do something that

I wouldn't do myself or haven't done, but I promise you like if if I asked you

to go dig your hands through, you know, a pile of of manure, you best believe

that I'm going to do that with you. I'm not going to leave you high and dry, right?" I said, "Then we're both going to walk over to the sink and wash our

hands with some soap." I said, "But I just need you to do this this time

because I have to get things set up. I've got to get prepared for, you know,

the the rest of the crew or or it's it's hard to explain to someone how important

every single uh part of the process is, no matter what portion they are doing at

the time, right? You're you're not always the grunt. You're not always going to be the gopher. Sometimes you're

going to be the staging guy. Sometimes you're going to be the the the lead who goes and talks to someone, right? Uh

it's just Yeah. And that kind of gets to the heart of culture. I mean, a lot of times we we

try to get things um explain things, but the next point

that that leads into, at least in my mind, is that

it's casting a vision or a idea for your

company to your people that they understand we all have a role in this. We all have a piece of this process.

Just like a body has many parts and pieces and the fingers do their thing and the head does it.

We that's how a company runs and I will

although I am willing to do it I don't always have the time to do it because I have to do a few things that you may not

be able to do. So, I can't have you come into the office and cover my bids or

cover my negotiations or get my vendor pricing or set up a new uh a new AI

agent or these things, but because I'm doing those things, I

need you to do your things. And so getting buy in from at a big level has

always been you know that is where trust comes from. They trust that one of the

quick story about this. One of the things I I remember as an hourly employee was how much the office and

there was such a divide between the office and the field. Yeah. We're lucky um I shouldn't say lucky.

We've been very uh diligent and very

um intentional about preventing that from happening at our company. And that

happened there because they would have you go do some of the most ridiculous stuff,

but they everyone in the company knew they were they were not doing like

you know they they'd have you go do stuff and then be off playing at their farm uh and then call

you out to their farm to help them out there. And then you're like, "I'm a flooring guy, dude. I don't cut wood.

like just ridiculous stuff. And so that can cause because there was no no path

forward. Didn't seem like the company was going anywhere. And that doesn't mean you have to have some massive like,

oh, we're going to be a$100 million flooring company and this is how we're going to do it. Sometimes that's the

case, but sometimes it's just like, hey, we all work together. We're a family-owned business. We love one

another. We want to continue to grow at the pace of the economy and allow

everybody to have be gainfully employed and be happy doing what we're doing. So we we need everybody's buy in that we're

all going to do our parts. Yeah. And um you know let me touch on what you said a little bit about like

going to the farm and doing all that kind of stuff. So uh you know when I started in the

flooring industry I and I think I was fortunate to work for someone who came

from the renovation construction um background and then transitioned into

flooring. I thought I was fortunate because when we did slow down, there was

other things that we could do like we you know I was getting project I was finding projects like basement remodels

and and that cuz he knew how to do it and he's like well just work with me bud and I'll teach you how to do whatever

and I learned how to do so much and um you know I didn't I didn't think about that mindset about how some some people

don't want to learn how to do other things like that and it's just really bothersome for them to be out of their comfort zone. Um I I actually didn't

think about that till right now when you said that. I was like, "Oh man, maybe some people just don't like to to to

step outside of that comfort zone." But I'm thankful for some people want to do exactly what they

what they were hired to do. No more, no less. Um that's part of culture, too. So um

when we hire people, in fact, we're revamping our hiring process here

right as we're speaking actually. Um, but we are keeping some things and one

of the biggest things we believe in is that it's culture before experience. You

could be the most experienced Florian guy in the world, but if you're coming in here and you're you're not willing to

learn. We have our core values right up on our walls everywhere. Uh, just to I'm

going rattle them off, but minutes matter. Don't waste them on things that don't serve a purpose. We care about

other. That's number one. Number two is we care about others and their problems and make them feel it through our

actions. Number three, we never stop learning. Embrace new ideas and technology. Never pass up an opportunity

to learn something new. Number four, we go beyond expectations.

Do the extra work even if it's not your job. Uh number five, do the right thing.

Actually, it's we do the right thing. Uh, number six, we help others succeed

and are willing to give our time and our knowledge. Number seven, we prepare. Preparation is a precursor to execution

and the number one identifying quality of high performers. Number eight is we collaborate and

succeed through teamwork with a dose of hard work. Number nine, execution.

Execution matters every time. All the time we follow through on our

commitments. So like do we fail at those things? Yeah. But that that is what our

core values are. The ones that are most important to us is the learning, the

ability to learn, the desire to learn, the desire to be humble. So we always

look for somebody with a cultural fit. no matter how good they were at their previous job, if they're not humble and

they don't show uh through our interviewing process the willingness to learn new things and to do it other

people's way even if their way has succeeded for them in the past. The truth is we have our own systems. We

have our own processes. We have our own culture and our own team here that you

have to assimilate into. not us as a whole company assimilate to a single

person. So you have to be willing to learn and on top of that

you have to be willing to listen. Um and us as a company we want to open our

ears. So if we do hire somebody that has a great idea, we want them to have the

freedom and ability to share that so that we can all succeed from getting better. So, we're not saying just come

in, work, and shut up, but come learn our processes first. And then if you see

some areas where we can do better, then you can present it. All too often, we

get somebody that starts and they're they they buck the system early. and not

so much anymore, but in the past, which is why we we make sure we have a good cultural fit now. But in the past, it

would be um you know, somebody come in and they'd want to change stuff and they haven't even learned our way. They don't

know if their way is any better at all. And this is a human thing. They don't

like humans, we don't like a lot of change. The fear even when we even when we expect it,

right? Starting a new job, you would expect change. but we we often want to still do it the way we remember doing it

at the that we were used to. So those are some things we really look for uh

when we're hiring um to make sure we have a good cultural fit. So my answer

that was a long way to answer that hiring right based on your culture

and who you are as a company helps to maintain your culture and keep it strong

and keep it vibrant. It it eliminates some of the struggles that you get with someone who you know

isn't a fit, right? At least if someone's fitting the the bill um you

know 70% 60% you're a lot closer than someone who's only 10% shares one common

value. Um Daniel did uh send me I wasn't looking at my phone to be rude or

anything guys. Daniel sent me a text with uh with ours. He wants wanted me to share some of that um with everyone too.

Just not the whole long version. So forgive me while I look at my phone here. Um

ours is uh integrity. Integrity means accountability. We take ownership of our

actions, communicate honestly and follow through on commitments. Choosing the right action is expected every time.

Then we knowledge. Knowledge is supported and expected. We invest in

training and mentorship and each team member is responsible for personal growth. Learning strengths or learning

strengthens a team and builds lasting careers. Sorry, I gotta zoom in out

here, man. My my eyes ain't what they used to be. Um,

quality. Quality is non-negotiable. We prepare properly, execute with care, and

respect the details that protect the final outcome. Cutting corners is not

acceptable. uh eminence uh eminence is earned through

consistency and professionalism. We aim to be respected for how we work, how we

lead, and how we treat others. And we have some bullet points that go

underneath that, right? And and every every uh Monday meeting, uh the

employees read that as a team and they read all the bullet points together as a team. you know, um, each section is

allocated to an employee and and we go over that every Monday meeting. Um, and

it's just something that that we do. We have to do it. No. Should

we do it? Yeah. And and Yeah. You're intentionally building your culture doing that. That's admirable.

Well, I wish I I I mean, you just gave me a a challenge to, you know, review them

more often than what we do. You're doing it every week. That is phenomenal.

It's just a a little reminder, right? Like some look, we're human. Sometimes you have to remind yourself um what the

goal was when you started a project, what the goal was when when you set out to what was the goal when we started the

podcast? The goal is to reach one person to make a difference in one in one person's life, right? To to help them

through a hard time. Um, have we done that? I don't know. Or we're just going to keep doing it until we

Yeah, we sure have. I'll I'll claim it. We we've we've impacted some people. Um, but but that was that was it. And

and that's it. It's um, you know, and the guys that we have now, we can build

on it, right? Like everybody has their their their moments. Even we have our

moments as as as leaders, right? As the bosses, we have our moments. Yeah. There's

we're willing to learn. Um so the other day, um you know, about out of the

comfort zone, one of our guys was here. We were doing some trim work on some window sills and I I didn't think about,

right, you've been doing flooring for x amount of time. I just said, "Hey, I need you to to start cutting these metals and getting them on the edges."

It wasn't done. I was like, "Hey, hey, Bubba, what's going on?" I just don't want to mess it up, you know? I just don't want to like

no one's ever really shown me. I'm like, let me show you. So, I went through the whole process with him. I showed him and

he was like, but I don't want to cost you guys money. I just put my hand on his shoulder, looked him right in the eye, and said, you're going to cost us

money. That's what learning is all about. I said, but here's the thing is this is something new. If you mess up, I

expect it, right? But you already you already mess up on things that you know how to do. So, what why why be afraid of

learning? Here's the big deal. I I won't get too mad at you for costing a little money during learning as long as you don't get

too mad at me when I make a lot of money off of your off of you. You know, I mean,

well, yeah, it's a trade-off. That's really the truth. You know what I'm saying? And you know what? The next day, like he

needed to boost the confidence. Next day, come in, he's got all those window sills done. He like, and he was just

like so proud of it, right? like the one of our other guys heard me talking to him cuz I just mean him and he just told

me he was like man you just like he was just like the rest of the day he was like I'm going to do it I'm going to do

it I'm going to get it done and I was just like hey dude sometimes you got to step back and remember that it was my

first time at one point too and um well that leads directly into the next

kind of point which is empower others is um and this is in business books

throughout out. This is not some idea we came up with, but it's it's a struggle

for certain owners, and me being one of them, to be honest with you. Uh, it's

not that I have a problem releasing control. I do that almost too well.

Like, we I'm I'm the exact opposite of a micromanager.

But empowering others is more than just letting them do their job. It's also

acknowledging them when they are when they've done something good. And that's

where I'm not as good as I would like to be. Uh, and

you know, where there's some room for growth, for me to get better is is like

letting people know, man, that hey, great job. Really appreciate you.

That kind of stuff. And it's it here's the crazy part. I do it well with our field. I don't do it as well with our

office. You maybe because the field, right, that touches you in a different spot, right?

Like that's that's a difference. I just know how hard it is to be out there thinking that everybody's in a

warm office while you're walking across the half mile parking lot with your tools cuz you can't they wouldn't let

you park next to the building and it's two degrees outside and your tool box is

getting cold and like just all the crap, you know, that goes into

to being a tradesman. I mean, it's we're not pregnant. I mean, the electrician's got to do it. Like, thankfully, we're

not still erectors. I'll be honest, brother. You said you're not good at it, right? And you don't I I

don't get a I'm not good at it either. And I think we've had this conversation before where um you know, I don't you

get lost. You get so caught up in the day-to-day that you forget that people do some I want to say some or most need

words of affirmation, right? I I'm not one of them. I don't require it. I don't need a thank you. I don't need a hug. I

don't I'm just not one of them, right? Like I don't if I'm doing it, I'm doing it because I want to do it because I can

do it because I'm able to do it. So, I don't ever need anything back. But if if

I ever work with someone, I have an opportunity to to teach them something. I I do take the time now to do that.

before when I was in the field trying to run everything and working with Daniel and and and Crystal and you know

everyone else like all the you know the hundreds of people that I've been fortunate enough to to teach at least

one thing. Um I was not pleasant to work around when I had deadlines. I was not

the pleasant person and I miss being in the field. I'll be honest like I miss

being able to do it every day and and that's why I said that to you about it. It's got a little place in your heart,

right? like because you remember but now I can do it. Show them something really

quick and then and then I'm back over here. Yeah. Come on, Jorge. You know I love

you. Come on, Georgie.

Uh, you know, it's it's

it's really not I mean, you and I did have this conversation like offscreen.

um probably a couple of times that yeah were very similar in that manner. Like

I almost get uncomfortable when I get too many too much, you know, hey, great

job or whatever. I just get a little uncomfortable. Um maybe that's something I've got to work on because I've done

better recognizing that, hey, people want to tell you something. At the very least, accept it for their benefit, if

not for your own. And so I've gotten a little bit better at it. But man, you

know, I just I I grew up uh at a time because I'm I'm 50

and with a a a father and an uncle in the trades that

was just like they're they're not they're paying, you know, paying you to do something and they expect the best

out of you. And my dad used to tell me, "It doesn't matter if you're a trash man, you be the best damn trashman

ever." That was his his thing. You be the best trash man ever. And

so, you know, not searching for the affirmations,

but you know, they when you do a good job or you work hard, you do get some of

those accolades. And um I got to remember that just because you and me

both that just because we don't necessarily need it or even in some

cases desire it, others do. Other people have um other people have

Rin said I'm getting old. That's why I started laughing. I seen it pop up. I'm like, "Oh, great."

Um but to remember to give it to others and that's that is not doesn't come

natural to me. So that means I have to build that skill. If I want others to feel appreciated

then I have to build the skill of being able to do that. You know what I mean? And uh offer that those accolades. And

like I said I do it better with my field. when I see them, I'm like, "Hey, dude. I seen that job. Dude, that looked

awesome." Or whatever. Um, but in the office, you know, we get a new job and

somebody shares, you know, we landed this project. I'm like, "All right, good job." And that's it. Like, it's just not

a lot of like and I I don't know, maybe the audience can help me. What am I

supposed to say? You know, oh, you're the best ever, you know? You know what's funny is um

well let me just touch base on when you said your your dad and your uncle right what they did is is they were a little

harder the old old school values a little bit harder but that's what helped you create your values and your outlook today. So they they inadvertently helped

you out the same way people inadvertently helped Daniel and I out. Um you take the things that you didn't

like and you you add to the things you did like and that's where we're at today. Um, now let me get back to the

old me. What do you What do you want me to come in there and tell you good job doing

your job? Yeah. Uh, you know, like that that's how I like

So I talk probably raised too. Yeah, that it is how I was raised. So like it's hard to shake that.

Um, I didn't change my my my thought process on that until I had kids, right?

That was when all of that changed. like cuz I want to build them up. I want to

build my I want my my kids to have confidence and and lately I've been switching over to the um you should be

proud of yourself instead of me telling them I'm proud of them. You should be proud of yourself, right? Because now

now I forget where I read or what book I was listening to where

just the change of like I'm so proud of you, right? They're not trying to keep me happy anymore. And now I'm trying to

show them they can find their happiness as well when I tell them they should be proud of themselves. You did that, dude.

You did that. You know, my little ladies, you did that. I didn't do that. You did that. And you should be proud of

yourself. And that and you can see them light up so much differently when I say it like that versus I'm so proud of you

because I don't want them to feel like they got to make me happy. I want them to understand that they got to make

themselves happy, which is going to give them hopefully the type of values that someone's gonna want later on in life

where they know they're doing it for them first and foremost and and then the rest

of it is just uh um what do you want to say? It's just a

a bonus that that you're you're helping others and and others are benefiting from your happiness, too. Well, there's

a lot to be said for putting God's gifts that he's given you to work in a productive manner. And for the religious

people out there, I being one of them, believe that, you know, you get these gifts and it's like if somebody gives

you a a a nice tool, but you never use it, that's kind of and you're like, "Hey, man. I I gave you that turbo power

groover, whatever, you know, uh why aren't you using it?" And I look at it

that way like uh not not f there's a lot of accomplishment that comes um from

putting the gifts that you've been given to work and we all have them. Everybody has gifts. You want to talk about what I

mean I your brother's not on here but look at the gift his wife just gave his

mother. Oh, you know what I'm saying? like yeah and and the the the fact that they're a

match and it's like right I mean we all have things we can do for other people

and and Daniel said it earlier Simon Syn cynic is all about what can you do for

others is what builds you up too and that comes true

and it's just you got to constantly remind guys like me that that lesson I'm

a hard-headed old fool full sometimes. And you know, got to remember that that

people need um that

sense of accomplishment and sometimes I don't know how to give it to themselves. And and you know what?

I think I don't know how to do that for myself. I talk to myself a lot while I'm doing something. And just like today in

the warehouse, I was one of the guys was struggling with one of the racking. I went out there, helped him take it apart

and we, you know, I bent some metal back and he's like, "How did you know how to do that?" I was like, "I didn't." And

then I'm sitting there pinching it and it made it look, you know, it didn't look brand new, but we fixed it. And I was just like, "Dang, Jose, you're so

good." And he just started laughing and I was like, you know, that just made me think like maybe it's just cuz I give

myself the compliments as I go, like either out loud like that talking to

myself or like, "Oh, you did, man. That's awesome. I can't believe that worked." I think I think he hit on

something. It just brought something to mind like guys that feel that accomplishment. One of the things I

loved about installing when I was in the field all the time is finishing a job and looking at it.

You know what I mean? Like I I would just look at it and be like, "Man, that looks so good." You know? I I don't I didn't

even really like, "Oh, I'm so good." It was just like, "That looks so good." Obviously, I know I did it, but it just

like that sense of accomplishment probably replaces the need for somebody

else to come and give me accolades because I like I get the sense of accomplishment when I do something

well and I use my gifts in a positive manner. I get a sense of accomplishment and so I

don't need it from other people. Maybe that's the the thing. Other people may not

get that sense of accomplishment on their own. And us as leaders, it's our job to recognize and and give the

accolades where they may be failing themselves in giving them. That leads

I'm just kind of hitting points um that I had written down. I had train and

advance and you guys are really really good at this training and building your

career. I wrote something down similar to that. So what what was yours?

I just because I I don't know the exact wording, right? But it was a long time ago I heard uh prep for success or

prepare to fail, right? So that's kind of like you got to prep and force in

order to be successful. You have to prep, right? Or you might as well prepare yourself to to find failure or

or not be successful, right? I I don't remember the exact words that I heard it in. But it's somewhere in in in those

lines. And that's one of those things that like just stuck with me for I don't

know, ever since I was a kid. Like I heard it when I was a kid. Um, like when I say a kid, like in elementary, like

literally in elementary school, somebody said something along those lines and I was just like, "Oh, I like that." And it

was similar to what you like what you have in your in your values. Values.

Yeah. But I wrote it down before you read that. Just just saying. Well, preparation, I mean, we we know

this term very well in flooring like prepping a floor. the be the beautiful floor without the proper prep is going

to look like right on a bad substrate. So preparation

in that manner like preparing for the final product or preparing for an event,

preparing for a a podcast, preparing for a meeting. that preparation

is an important precursor to you executing at a high

level and you know go and as you get

better and better at those things less and less preparation is needed but that doesn't mean that it's not there you

know what I mean um and so yeah I I think that you're you're exactly right

like preparing for these things or for any event. I remember we, you know,

we just got back from Tyson and preparing for that mentally for me took took some effort. Um, being in front of

a bunch of people hosting and you and us and all the technology your brother was

handling like that took we were in there for hours ahead of time, you know, making sure we were ready for that.

Yeah. And and it was a collaboration, a team effort, right? And and not only that is we had a couple meetings going

into there um with uh the panelists too to to kind of prepare and make sure that

we got to know each other a little bit before we just you know jumped on stage and said hey tell tell me tell me what

your thoughts are on this right so um I I guess uh preparation and that

comes in in a lot of different variations a lot of different forms uh sure

you know and I like what Rollins said. Oh, go ahead. No, go ahead.

Oh, I was just going to say I like what Rollins says here. He's talking about a server like going to a restaurant. He

says the simple thing of asking your server their name, then calling them by their name when asking for something

makes them feel wanted. Note the service that you will receive

will surprise you. So, how do you apply that in businesses?

That's a simple example of just recognizing somebody, you know, uh making sure to say hi to them and and

making sure that they their day feels, you know, I had an installer in early this morning and um he was going

somewhere out of town. One of our uh um other PMs had him going out of town to

do a a formentioned punch list for another crew.

And um you know I asked him about that. I asked him what's on your agenda today

like what do you got going on? And he tells me and you know he's you can just

see that it made him happy that I gave a darn. um

continuing to get better at that and keeping that I because I think it could be toxic to have this attitude like hey

I pay you to do a job do it I pay you to do a job well and that like that's all

you need that's how I was raised and that can be a real toxic environment if

you're not careful right then um the just a little bit of

interaction too right like showing interest in something other than are you

why haven't you left yet? You know, are you on the road? You know, be safe and just say, hey, what are you going to do?

Oh, man. You're going to do that? How you going to approach it? Right. And then you're asking them their insight. And

I remember and still now I'm still excited to tell someone about something that I'm going to do when I'm excited

like, oh, I'm going to this is what I'm going to do and I want to do this first. Sometimes it's just me rambling, you

know, and and and in that process too is, you know, maybe he's going to say something

and and and maybe he'll be able to ask you for some advice

and like, but I just don't know about this one thing right here. How would you approach it, right? Like excited to tell

you what he's going to do and yeah, thank you for trusting. And some of that's the trust thing.

They're trusting me to go over here and fix somebody else's stuff. like they they look I'm I'm viewed in that high a

regard where they trust me to remedy this. Um, I didn't

that's a good point that probably needs to be brought up at our company meetings with our we we meet with uh Joel, I

should say, and Shawn, our head of the field, meet with our employees every Friday, go over next week's schedule,

talk about safety, do all these things. And the

the point being brought up like, "Hey guys, when we ask you to go do this because we trust you."

Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna have to I'm gonna I'm gonna bring that up. You know, that's a good point.

When when before we started preferred in the place I was working, that was what I had to tell myself

because that when you know, I left and went and worked for another company around the US and traveled quite a bit.

Um the the same company that Mr. Jerry Mcnite may work for or may have worked

for for a while, but I worked with them for a little bit as well. And when I came back, I came I was like, "Hey you

guys, I've been gone for like three, four weeks, but I'm going to be bored for the next five days before they ship me off again. Do you have something I

could do?" And that's what I would do. They I minivan and I would go punch out projects for them or fix. And at first I

was like, "Ah, okay. I'll do it. I asked for it. I'll do it." But then it's like,

you know what? They trust me to fix this. They trust me to fix it. So now it's my it they trust me to fix this.

Let me go in there and do the best. Show them I can do this. Right. Right. And remedy it. And it was

it was testing myself too. And uh I learned a lot. I learn probably

learned more coming behind other installers than I did figuring it out on my own because you can learn a lot that way for sure

reverse engineering it. But it also helped me when we when we did start

preferred and that's when I told Daniel that was our ultim ultimate goal was become the best installation company

right like I couldn't see past installing at that point the best installation company uh around and

because I was reverse engineering everything and dissecting everything like all right I know what not to do

and that's what helped us create the the first values we had. Yeah. And just to point out something

your brother uh said here. He said to Rollins point, we ask the crew how they

feel about things and if they have any input, although we won't adopt everything, we will listen. And that's

that's what I was getting at earlier. when we hire somebody, we're like, at least get acclimated and do doing it our

way and then we'll listen to any input you have about how we can improve as a

company. Uh, one thing I would ask your brother and you is in those instances,

how do you decipher between um, somebody's input for themselves?

Meaning, it's just going to be easier or faster or simpler or what have you for

them versus for the overall crew, project, company?

Um, or do most of your because you guys got a good team. So, I mean, a lot of it

does a lot of them may already think that way, but yeah, I think um,

look, you got to you got to be fluid, right? And and and this is where where it comes in. Um, you know, there's more than one way

to skin a cat and and we know that, right? So if someone comes up with an idea that might be better suited for

them, like maybe they don't have um you know the physical ability to do it the same manner as someone else, right?

Maybe they're, you know, they're like me when I was at my biggest, I couldn't contort certain ways. I couldn't move certain ways, so I did it the way that

my body and my brain would allow me to do it. We don't mind being fluid enough to entertain that. um and you know and

and and go that route but if the outcome doesn't yield the same results then then

we defer back to a standard and you know most of the time

I like how we're we we almost always go back to the field stuff but I do have something to bring up when you're done

uh about yeah like office workers so we re revert back to the standard

because because it works and you know and nine out of 10 people can do it that

way and there's always that one person who either can't or just doesn't agree

with that method. But either way, as long as we're getting that to the same um endpoint and the outcome's the

same, we we'll we'll adopt whatever we need to as long as safety protocol is followed and the the standard and the

outcome is the same. Well, we've all like learned our little tricks of the

trade, you know, that are maybe out not written down in the uh installation guidelines,

but the proper way to do that is to know the installation guidelines first. I mean, you got to have rules to break

them. You know what I mean? Like just doing it your own way with no

knowledge of the standard industry like recognized or industry

recommended or manufacturer recommended method. That's not that's not being

innovative. Innovation is having a way of doing things and then improving upon

that. That is 100% okay. but flying off the

seat of your pants and doing it your way because you think it's better, but you don't even know the standard in method.

And this applies to to the office even give you an example. I will name no

names, but we have a guy that constantly does things outside of our processes.

And we have to continually teach him that listen, the reason you have to do

it this way is because downstream there's four other people that touch this thing. If you don't do it this way,

it never gets downstream. It never makes it there for them to do their job right. And then the cascading

effect is is horrible for everybody including

you. So for example, if you don't place your order in the proper manner and the

then we don't have the proper paperwork to and confirmations to compare our in

invoices to and that invoice gets held up in approval.

And then that bill doesn't get paid and they put us on hold because we didn't pay a bill that you didn't do your job

right. And it all started with you just not doing your job right and now you

can't pick up materials because we we're arguing about this invoice. Now that does that particular scenario

doesn't happen but I had to make something kind of that that made sense

um because we have uh other systems that that this applies to. But

um it sounds like Ben might know who I'm talking about. But the um it must be Kevin. You must be talking

Kevin. I'm talking about Kevin. Um but the truth is is that you if you do it if

you're not doing it right uh and you're not teaching, you know, why the why is important for a lot of

people. I'm a why guy. I'd like to know why I should do it that way. Um then you

know usually it's it's downstream and and where the problem comes in. It's

same thing innovating out or or not innovating but flying the seat of your pants or doing it the best way for you.

And that's why I asked you that question is like deciphering what's best for the company,

the project, like larger groups um is what I see as important of of kind of

being able to decipher that. When someone brings me a new idea, I always got to think are they innovating or are

they flying off the seat of their pants? Because innovation again applies to the fact that they already know our systems

and the way we do it and they want to make that better. That's innovation.

Again, the other way is just doing it for yourself because it's easier or faster for you personally, but it's not

best for the whole company. So, I like I like the way you put that about the the innovation, right? So, and

maybe that's maybe we have to add that to our vocabulary when we're when we're teaching someone. um this is what we

expect, but if you want to be innovative, then we're all for it. As

long as as long as we're we're following protocol and right and it as long as they understand what

innovation really means, right? That's where people get hung up. Like they think innovation is just doing it faster

or a different way than what you're doing it. No, innovation is doing it your way and then making it better.

There you go. That or suggesting to make it better. And um

the comparison I have or that I was talking about is there's a difference between being right-handed and

left-handed, right? I can I can't teach a left-hander how to be left-handed and do things left-handed, but I can show

them a little bit. Um can I I am actually pretty good going I'm

amidextrious when it comes to to working flooring. I have no idea why. Oh, I do know why. because I always broke a thumb

or I cut off parts of my fingers and like had to learn how to cut with the other hand. I had to learn. Yes, I had to learn. So,

so I do know how to do quite a few things left-handed, but um that's that's

a way to put it is sometimes you just got to be left-handed and the outcome will be a little bit better. Um but

I would not want to be left-handed all the time. Yeah. Well, the last one I have uh just

as a a bullet point was share the love. And what I was meaning by that, we have

a profit sharing program here, but there's some companies do bonuses for

their their crews when they're doing good or they do we work as a company as

a whole. If the whole company's doing well, then everybody wins. if the whole company's not nobody's getting uh you

know or their profit share is smaller. So the

sharing the love is just like you know do the best you can to uh set up systems

to uh you know actually show appreciation more than just words.

sharing some of the success of your company um and some of the success stories of

your company with your your team. That's funny you say that when because

we're going back I'm going to go back to that I don't Whoa.

Okay, let's get Jose back on here. Yeah,

you dropped, brother. Yeah. What happened? How much of that did you I don't know. Uh, you were just getting started.

Oh, so so back what you just said reminds me back to the affirmation thing

when when I was getting more comfortable doing everything on my own and that they

would say, "Hey, thank you, man. That's you did a great job." I used to come back with, "You don't need to thank me.

Thank me on my check." Right. Like they used to Well, you come by it on you come by that

whole thing honestly. It sounds like Yeah. And um thank me on my check.

Yeah, thank me on my check. I used to say things like that like no wonder people just didn't like me for a while.

But that's okay. But yeah, it's um just one of those things where some people

are motivated by affirmation, motivated by dollars, some people are are

motivated by is probably probably some combination of the two. And finding the combination is

pretty good. I we have a good history of keeping long-term employees here and so

we're doing some things right and um you know I like to think that a making sure

that you don't bring toxic people into your company so hiring right um can

sometimes hurt us because we hire slow which is not the best. We got to find uh

and improve our processes around that. That's one of, like I said, we're we're revamping our hiring process as we

speak. And one of the things is smoothing that process out so we can

move somebody through the process faster and we can hire faster than what we do. Um, but it goes into bringing in the

right people, which is what you just popped up here for R. And what he says, he's he says, "For someone to work for

me, I set them down and see if they understand my values and are willing to work by them. I also ask them if they

like what they do. If it's just a job and not what they like to do, they don't

fit. I think, you know, essentially he's saying, "Hey, if if you love what you're doing and you can work uh and understand

my values and it's kind of interesting. He says understand and then willing to

work by them." Uh understanding and working by them uh are two different

things. And so he covered both bases. Um, but then he also cares that they are

doing something they like. And I've always said around here that if you don't like working here or what you

do, then I that is the fastest way to lose your job with me. And it's not it

doesn't have to be, you know, adversarial. It's just like if you're not happy here or you don't like what you do, then we got to get you somewhere

else, man. because life's too short to be doing stuff for 8, 10, 12 hours a day

that you don't like doing. Yeah. That's that makes for very long days. Um Yeah. And

one of the guys said too, uh look, I'm at work a lot. My family comes here, they bring me dinner, they hang out,

right? Like I'm here a lot. Um and a lot of it is because if I try to take my computer home, I am 100% distracted by

my family because I'm at home. I can't work from home. Dude, yeah, me

either. I'll be honest. Me either. I I just I am too easily distracted by this the simple things. And um he was like,

"Well, you know, you work a lot. Like, go hang out with the family." I'm like, "Well, they're going to come here." And you know, I don't really look at it

like, "Yeah, I come to work a lot, but when I'm learning all these new things and I'm trying to find a solution for

the the issues that that we have or potential issues and and Daniel's learning new things, I said that's

exciting." like that's like to me that that that's that's exciting and I I like being a part of

that. And then he's like, you know, I was part of it too. I remember when you started in the garage

and then you went to the storage unit and he he was like, I was there. Every time you made a move, I was there and I

appreciate you letting me be a part of that. And that I don't get to work with the guys often enough to listen to their

views and that that's cool. That made me show appreciation a little bit more and it

actually lit a fire under me, too. Like, all right, now I'm let me work with this guy. Let me let me see what we can learn from one another. Let me see what he

could teach me, what I could teach him while we're doing things that are outside of our comfort zone. Um, yeah.

You know, and at the end of the day, I'm like, I still got to get back to work, brother. So, I'd like to hang out with you more, but I got to get back in the office and do some work.

Yeah. Um, he's like, yeah, just go. I don't know why you're out here wasting my time anyway.

Well, we have uh come upon the end of our podcast and so thanks

everybody for joining us and commenting if you're catching us on our YouTube

channel. Um say thank you to Ashlin. She's the one who makes all that happen for us. And uh

we appreciate you. Give us a like and subscribe over there. Uh we do have some

metrics in that need uh a little more interaction from our audience. We got people that watch but don't follow or

don't comment or don't uh like and subscribe. Uh that's your prerogative,

but it sure helps us out if you do. So, uh give us some love on the platforms that you're wherever you're watching

this and let us know. We got uh we're always open to new topics and uh if you

think of anybody we should bring on the huddle, please let us know. Uh we get a uh we we do uh a lot of the guests and

um would love to know who you guys would like to have on. So uh shoot us an email

or let us know in the chat next week. We'll log it down and get them on. So,

for the uh uh those of you who were here

during uh the beginning and know that Daniel's wife and uh Daniel and Jose's

mom uh had a successful um uh kidney transplant

and they're in recovery. So, thoughts and prayers and good tidings to them and

uh we'll be thinking about them for sure. So, with that everybody, thank you for joining us and we will catch you

guys next week. Thank you everyone.