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FMI Built-In Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by FMI Corp.
The FMI Built-In Podcast is FMI Corp.'s podcast for those in the built environment. More than just a construction podcast, we'll talk to industry leaders and subject matter experts about best practices, challenges and opportunities, the underlying economic trends, and insights to help executives and managers better lead their companies. We'll uncover the characteristics of top firms and explore what makes great leaders. We'll dive deep into various market segments, and we'll have conversations that help those with a passion for continuous improvement better their management and their companies.
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- 3 weeks ago30 min
How Strategic Compensation Drives Performance and Retention
How can firms treat compensation as an investment in talent, performance and retention rather than a cost? In this episode of "Built In," FMI Consulting President Scott Winstead speaks with Priya Kapila, partner and head of FMI's Compensation and Rewards team, and Kenia Washington, principal in FMI's compensation practice, about how firms can use compensation to improve performance, keep key employees and grow the business. Drawing on FMI's 2026 Compensation Trends Study, they examine the growing use of long-term incentives, how clear pay ranges and career paths can reduce turnover, and how to reward performance while staying flexible. The study found that 54% of surveyed companies now offer long-term incentives, up from a historical 30% to 40%. They also discuss pay for employees on remote projects and three questions leaders should ask about their compensation plans: Do the plans meet company goals? Are they competitive with the market? Do employees understand them?
- Sep 8, 202632 min
Inside FMI's First 'Energy & Power Overview'
Roughly $1 trillion of investment is headed into U.S. energy and power over the next five years. Whether the industry can build it is the harder question: transformer lead times now run three to four years, permitting fights drag on with local jurisdictions and everyone is bidding for the same small pool of skilled labor. Backlogs have never been bigger, and this conversation keeps coming back to whether these companies can deliver the work they have already won.In this episode of FMI's "Built In" podcast, Scott Winstead, president of FMI Consulting, is joined by four colleagues from the firm's consulting and investment banking arms: Blake Angelo and Evan Fairmont, partners who co-lead the Energy & Power practice, and Russell Clarke and Andrew Henderson, managing directors with FMI Capital Advisors. Angelo and Fairmont's work spans more than $6 billion in energy infrastructure projects, and all four helped author FMI's inaugural "Energy & Power Overview," the first time the firm has broken this market into its subsegments.What we cover:Where the $1 trillion goes: half into transmission and distribution, with $300 billion in distribution alone.Spending rising from about $158 billion to $255 billion a year, a compound annual growth rate near 10% (twice the pace of the past four decades).Five-year forward peak demand up sevenfold since 2022, from 24 gigawatts to 166.Data centers tripling their share of U.S. electrical demand, from about 3% to 9%, and the one-third of new projects planning to bring their own power behind the meter, three-quarters of it natural gas.The three constraints — procurement, permitting and people — and how even basic materials went from order-as-needed to 16-week lead times.Why the old plan-engineer-procure-build sequence is breaking down, with equipment ordered before the engineering is finished.How owners now hand a single contractor a whole portfolio of projects instead of bidding them one at a time.Companies that convert backlog into finished projects track portfolio risk in their information systems and keep accountability clear as work moves between engineering, procurement and the field.Investors are putting money into the pinch points: engineering talent, craft labor, tier-two and tier-three equipment producers and the interconnection queue.Premium valuations track how hard a business is to copy, not its growth rate or its data center exposure.The trap in a record backlog: sellers who think they have hit their peak and the ones who will peak again in six months and again in 12.Buy versus build, and why firms tend to overestimate what they can do in-house.Whether this is a cycle or a decade, why small nuclear reactors can't be built fast enough to help and what would change the team's view.This podcast is produced by FMI. Investment banking content in this episode reflects the perspectives of FMI Capital Advisors, Inc., a FINRA member broker-dealer. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a solicitation, or an offer to buy or sell any securities. FMI Capital Advisors provides M&A advisory services to companies in the energy and power sector and may seek advisory relationships with companies discussed. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Forward-looking statements reflect current market conditions and are subject to change.
- Aug 11, 202636 min
Your Fleet Is a Capital Decision, Not a Maintenance Department
For a heavy civil contractor, the fleet is often the single biggest capital position on the balance sheet. So why does the person who runs it usually hear the strategy after it's set?In this episode of Built In, FMI Consulting President Scott Winstead talks with Mike Clancy, FMI partner and strategy practice leader. Mike has spent 25 years in construction and advised more than 100 CEOs. His diagnosis is blunt: most contractors don't have a fleet problem; they have a capital allocation problem.He explains why a fleet that can account for close to 30% of total assets still gets managed like a maintenance department: internal rates that go years without a reset; over- and under-recovery that can swing 15% to 25% and move 100 to 300 basis points on a job; project managers renting from outside while owned iron sits idle and depreciates. The company loses money twice, and the equipment account can balance the whole time.Scott and Mike then work through the four-stage maturity model, where the distance between a company's self-assessment and its actual practice tracks with how much margin it gives away. They cover how the best firms decide what to own versus rent, and why Mike now thinks in terms of access to equipment rather than ownership.It all comes back to one test: whether the capital tied up in the fleet earns a return. Keeping the iron running is the job description, not the measure. Mike closes with a question: if the fleet function disappeared overnight, would you rebuild it with the same structure, the same hire, the same metrics?Key Topics Discussed:Why most fleet problems are capital allocation problems, not equipment problemsInternal equipment rates that go years without a reset, and the 15% to 25% over- and under-recovery that followsHow a profitable-looking equipment account can hide years of losses in the fleetThe four-stage fleet maturity model, and why roughly 40% of contractors sit in stage oneWhat to own and what to rent: strategic assets, the 70% utilization test, and access over ownershipHow COVID-era rental shortages and the electrification of Class 6-8 trucks changed the own-versus-rent mathThe pickup truck problem: a talented fleet manager spending 60% to 70% of his time on assets that don't set the company apartWhy the shop foreman path to fleet manager no longer fits the job, and the financial fluency it now takesThree questions a CEO can ask Monday morning, and why the team's response is the real diagnostic
- Jul 13, 202654 min
Why Culture Is Your Greatest Competitive Advantage
What if your organization's greatest competitive advantage isn't your strategy, technology or market position, but your culture?In this episode of Built In, FMI Consulting President Scott Winstead sits down with Paul Grunau, Chief Learning Officer at API Group, a global provider of life safety, security and specialty services with more than 29,000 team members operating across 20-plus countries. Together, they explore how API has built leadership development into the fabric of its organization, using culture as the foundation for sustained growth, successful acquisitions and long-term business performance.Paul shares his journey from business owner to executive leader, reflecting on the lessons learned through acquisition, leadership and building an enterprise where developing people is viewed as both a responsibility and a competitive advantage. He also discusses how API scales leadership development across a decentralized global organization, creates shared beliefs that shape culture, and why meaningful cultural change requires long-term commitment from leaders at every level.Whether you're building future leaders, integrating acquisitions, or working to strengthen your organization's culture, this conversation offers practical insights on creating a people-first organization that delivers lasting results.Key Topics Discussed:Why culture can become a lasting competitive advantageBuilding leadership development into an organization's purposeScaling culture and leadership across a global enterpriseCreating shared beliefs that drive consistent behaviorsThe role of CEOs and senior leaders in shaping cultureWhy successful acquisitions begin with cultural alignmentLessons on leadership from a career spanning owner, operator and executiveWhy developing leaders is a long-term investment, not a short-term initiative
- Jun 9, 202641 min
Scaling with Purpose: Preserving Culture While Driving Growth
What does it take to grow a business while staying true to the values and culture that made it successful in the first place?In this episode of Built In, FMI Consulting President Scott Winstead sits down with Tony Bond, President and CEO of BOND Brothers, a fifth-generation family-owned construction and utility infrastructure company serving the Northeast. Together, they explore how BOND has navigated significant growth, expanded into new markets, and evolved its strategy — all while preserving the culture and identity that have defined the company for more than a century.Tony shares his perspective on strategic planning, capital allocation, leadership, talent development, and the importance of intentional communication as organizations scale. He also reflects on the lessons learned from entering new markets, developing future leaders, and balancing growth opportunities with long-term sustainability.Whether you're leading a family business, managing growth, or refining your organization's strategic direction, this conversation offers valuable insights on scaling with purpose and maintaining focus in an ever-changing market.Key Topics Discussed:Defining strategy through the lens of "where to play and how to win"Balancing growth opportunities with organizational focusPreserving culture during periods of rapid expansionLessons learned from entering new geographic marketsThe role of communication in successful leadershipTalent development and creating clear career pathwaysManaging risk while pursuing long-term growthBuilding an organization designed to thrive for generations
- May 12, 202643 min
Nate Koetje on the Field-First Operating Philosophy Behind Feyen Zylstra
In this episode of FMI's Built In Podcast, FMI Consulting President Scott Winstead sits down with Nate Koetje, CEO of Feyen Zylstra. Feyen Zylstra is a 600-person commercial and industrial electrical contractor headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with offices in Nashville, Charlotte, and Charleston. Since stepping into the COO role in 2008 and becoming CEO in 2013, Nate has led one of the more disciplined growth stories in the trades. But he pushes back hard on the idea that there was ever a master plan. Scott and Nate get into the four phases every construction CEO lives through, why "the process is the goal" became Feyen Zylstra's operating philosophy, and what it actually takes to build a field-first culture at scale. What we cover:The four phases: entrepreneurial grit, "culture is king," financial discipline, and process is the goalWhy field-first is an operating constraint, not a sloganHow to think about geographic expansion without ever making an acquisitionThe case for not having a growth strategyWhat to look for when selecting leaders who can handle adversityNate's advice to his younger self: dream big, act small
- Apr 14, 202644 min
Building an Ownership Culture: The Emery Sapp & Sons Growth Story
What does it take to grow a construction company from $27M to over $1.5 billion — without losing your culture along the way? In this episode, Scott Winstead sits down with Tim Paulson, Co-CEO of ESS Companies, to unpack the philosophy, decisions, and hard lessons behind one of the industry's most remarkable growth stories.Tim shares how becoming an ESOP in 1999 unleashed an ownership mentality across the organization, his "3D diversification" framework for sustainable growth, and why ESS invests 70% of its marketing budget internally — on its own people. He also gets candid about the growing pains of tripling in size through three simultaneous acquisitions in 2019, and what he'd tell his 30-year-old self about staying through the hard seasons.If you're thinking about culture at scale, leadership development, or what it really means to build a company where people have a genuine stake in the outcome, this conversation is for you.
- Mar 10, 202636 min
Operationally Elite: What Separates the Best Contractors from the Rest
What separates elite contractors from the rest?In this episode of Built-In, Scott Winstead sits down with FMI Partner Scott Kimpland to unpack the fundamentals behind operational excellence in construction. From disciplined project selection and bid-day cost accuracy to labor productivity tracking and process compliance, Scott shares practical insights drawn from decades advising top-performing firms.They discuss why chasing revenue can backfire, how two bad projects can erase a year’s profit, and why labor—not overhead—is the number leaders must obsess over. If you want to protect margin, improve field performance and build a culture of continuous improvement, this episode is for you.
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About FMI Built-In Podcast
The FMI Built-In Podcast is FMI Corp.'s podcast for those in the built environment. More than just a construction podcast, we'll talk to industry leaders and subject matter experts about best practices, challenges and opportunities, the underlying economic trends, and insights to help executives and managers better lead their companies. We'll uncover the characteristics of top firms and explore what makes great leaders. We'll dive deep into various market segments, and we'll have conversations that help those with a passion for continuous improvement better their management and their companies.
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