Hire Smarter with Tony Misura

The greatest leaders take on the toughest challenges. Successfully driving cutting-edge innovation in the home building industry is an enormous challenge. Garrett Moore, the CEO of Agorus [https://agorus.com/], has a mission of building homes from permits to keys in 30 days. How does a leader maintain the level of intensity and focus needed to tackle the boldest initiatives? Mantras help teams effectively maintain focus through the white noise and distractions life throws at them. Some of Garrett’s favorite mantras: Team, Teammate, Self – In priority order. No one is too big to pick up a broom – Humility starts at the top. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication – The simplest plan is the best plan. The only easy day was yesterday – Never rest on your laurels. Two is one, one is none – You need to have a backup.

Our guest today is Chalmers Brothers, a best-selling author, certified executive coach, consultant, and speaker. In this episode, Chalmers shares that we don’t need to be psychologists to be effective leaders - but to be emotionally literate and capable of utilizing our most effective tool, “the power of language,” does require a dedicated effort. We all have heroes, people who have held themselves to a higher standard whose level of success and how they achieved that success earns our respect. Chalmers Brothers is one of my heroes. We met at a Vistage event several years ago and read his book Language and the Pursuit of Leadership Excellence. I found his methods to be simple, effective, and actionable. I hope you learn as much as I have from Chalmers.

In this episode, Tony speaks with Levi Smith, the CEO & President of Franklin Building Supply, a standout independent LBM dealer. A full line lumberyard in Idaho, they generate over $300m in sales, with 750 people, 17 locations, including door shops and truss plants. What is your best story to effectively attract bright young talent to your company? A great story has three components: * A cast of characters that everyone cares about * The desire to accomplish something for someone else * A challenging obstacle to overcome Great leaders and excellent problem solvers create some of the most straightforward solutions. Levi’s insight and teaching are excellent.

In this episode, Tony speaks with Craig Webb, the decades-long editor of ProSales Magazine and current President of Webb Analytics, about the importance of excellent communication and how to hone in on your skills. Craig is easily one of the best speakers and communicators in the building materials and construction supply industry. Craig recommends we ask 3 simple questions: What combination of media selection is the best given the outcome objective? What is the clearest, simplest form for that message to be delivered effectively? What is the best feedback loop to refine the message?

Are you interested in building a sustained business model that thrives whether you are there or not?   Are you facing scaling or turnover challenges?   Are you curious about what drives a building products business to sell for 6-8x EBITDA instead of 3x EBITDA?   This episode’s guest is one of the building industry’s top operators, Kendall Hoyd, CEO of the Sharpen Group [https://www.thesharpengroup.com/]. His track record includes taking a $5m business that was red on the profit line to $25m with double-digit profits. He was a C-level leader with Trussway, a $250m company achieving high returns, then moved on to Residential Design Services/Interior Logic Group, a subcontractor installing cabinets, countertops, and flooring. There he inherited $110m and grew it to $375m, with ownership evolving from founders to private equity to a publicly-traded structure.