Mary Tebeau: So, for over 20 years we have had a program, driven by our members, where we go out and talk to middle school and high school kids about careers in construction, a variety of different careers. Accounting is even included in that.
Doug Houser: From Rea & Associates Studio, this is, unsuitable, a management financial services podcast for entrepreneurs, tenured business leaders and others who are ready to look beyond the suit and tie culture for meaningful measurable results. I'm Doug Houser.
Doug: Your business is part of a larger economic ecosystem and as such you undoubtedly share several key commonalities with others in your industry, specialization and even geography. Because of these shared traits, whether you know it or not, help, insight and professional expertise is never really hard to find as long as you know where to look. There are more than 90,000 trade and professional associations in the United States and each one is committed to helping like-minded companies and professionals grow their professional network, learn valuable skills and drive sustainable growth.
Doug: As the executive director of the Builders Exchange of Central Ohio, Mary Tebeau, has seen the value of trade associations firsthand. Today she joins us to talk about what her organization is doing while diving into the overall value professional associations can bring to the table. Welcome Mary.
Mary: Thank you Doug, thanks for having me.
Doug: Good to see you again as always.
Mary: Good to see you as well.
Doug: Yeah. So you've had a long and varied career with a number of trade associations, primarily in the construction segment. So, talk to me a little bit about what you've learned over the years in terms of your roles in those organizations.
Mary: Hmm, yeah. So I've been in construction association management for over 20 years, which essentially just means I'm old. Was that ever a career that I thought I would get into? No. Association management is not something that you think of, but what drove me to it was learning about an industry, construction, and being able to help the contractors be better contractors. And so that's really what we do. And that's what's driven me for the last 20 years.
Doug: Right. I think that's fantastic. And one of the things that I personally admire about your organization, the Builders Exchange, is that you have such a varied approach in terms of providing that help. And so many organizations that I'm aware of, it's only one facet of their business and I've always been very much an admirer of how the BX goes about all facets of a client's business. So talk to me a little bit about that in terms of what you do across the spectrum to help companies.
Mary: Yeah. Yeah. So thanks. We, exist to help members who are construction companies, commercial construction companies, to meet, learn and grow. So we want our members to be the best of the best. And so through that, we offer a variety of programs, networking options, educational opportunities. We are not, my staff are not experts in construction in and of themselves, but our job is to be intuitive enough and listen to them and be cognizant enough of what's going on in the industry to be able to bring things to them here in central Ohio that they may not have access to themselves. Whether that's a great training session, some new type of education or certification, an awards program, something like that to make our industry more attractive.
Doug: And beyond that, it's also networking and learning from your peers as well. I try to tell our business owner clients that we have, get together with your peers. It's not that you have to share trade secrets per se, but just you'll pick up things, right, and then learn.
Mary: One of the things that's unique about the Builders Exchange is that we are not actively engaged in government affairs, lobbying and legislation. So we represent all aspects of the commercial construction industry, whether they are general contractors, subcontractors, specialty contractors, associate members like accounting, law firms, anyone who does work or somehow works in the construction industry. There are different trade associations that represent the general contractors or that represent union or represent nonunion companies, but we represent the broad breadth and scope of all the companies. So that's something unique about us, when we approach a program, whatever it is that we're able to help everyone in their different facets. So, when those different members come to our meetings and come to our classes, that kind of thing.
Mary: One of our goals is for them to share best practices and get to know each other. Construction is a competitive business, especially in public construction you're bidding against other companies. but if you know the owner of the company, the guy submitting the bid across the room, it's a little bit different, just knowing what they bring to the table and that hey, they're trying to make a living too. And you've had a conversation and a relationship before.
Doug: And I think that's again, the power of a great organization, trade organization like yours is that you remove that thinking that it's a zero sum game. We have so many businesses out there that think, well I win and you lose, and it doesn't again, your MO is, it doesn't have to be that way. We can all sort of help each other. Is that part of the, kind of the thinking?
Mary: Yeah, that's correct and several of our leadership programs, we actually kick one off, it's a yearlong program, our executive leadership program. And they are 24 executives, all in the room, many are competitors. And when we kick off the session for the year, we tell them, this is a safe space. We're going to be talking about situations that involve hiring, firing, succession plans, many scopes of your business. And we want you to be able to share and talk to the expert, the speaker that we have that day and learn from each other in this safe space. And oftentimes that then leads to conversations between companies, offline or them becoming mentors and friends later on. So that's something that's great to see.
Mary: One of the things that I take pride in personally is collaboration and introducing a contractor to another contractor that I think might get along or might have mutual interest or might be able to assist each other in some way. And then having those two or those two couple of companies hit it off and create partnerships together and share workloads, and share practices and or staff, things like that. That's exciting to me.
Doug: Yeah, no, I wholeheartedly agree. I think, we always talk about being a trusted advisor and you hear that from not only the accounting firm like Rae, but you hear that say from the attorney or the bank. And I always tell people, don't forget about your industry, your association because that is also part of your, essentially your peer group and your advisory group. And that is a huge piece of it, especially with all the resources available. So, is there any one area, you talked about you provide obviously education in the industry, there's networking, there's growth through different type of programs. What's one area that you see more than any other where folks need assistance? Is anything you can pinpoint or?
Mary: Overall it's training and education. Right now, currently, workforce development is huge and every industry is wanting more workers, wanting more people in the industry and we're fighting for people. But another way to look at that, and we're kind of changing the conversation is, okay, there's only a finite number of people, of individuals and there's so much stealing back and forth that we can do between construction companies. So what can we do to better automate processes, whether it's a craft or a trade in the field, whether it's a system in the office that we can streamline that we don't need as many estimators or as many project managers, what can we do to need fewer people and change the workforce development that way? But education is always an overriding something that contractors need and want, even during downturns, even during the low years. Of course, a company has less time and or money to send someone to a class and to invest in employees, but the need is still there.
Doug: And one of the other things that I see that I admire with your organization is that ability to provide education from top to bottom throughout an organization. In other words, you can do everything from the executive level on down to brand new employees, right, and their various programs depending on what their needs are.
Mary: So we've got several different leadership programs. 10, 15 years ago, we surveyed our membership, 700 and some companies in the central Ohio area and they wanted in depth more than just showing up for a class for a couple of hours, but in depth the leadership training. So, over the course of those years we've developed three. One is for executive leaders. So that's for the top level folks in the company who are running a company, getting ready to run a company, maybe a vice president, but someone very high up in the company making executive level decisions. So that's one of the series. Another one is for rising leaders. And so we partnered with Ohio State's Fisher College of Business and we are in the 13th year.
Mary: So, companies will identify a young person in their company who's a rising leader, a high potential person. They attend a yearlong program, taught by Fisher faculty, MBA level faculty on a variety of issues. And they learn how to manage from the middle, which is really where these young rising leaders are and how to kind of go up that ladder and how to improve themselves, how to look at themselves as a brand, brand you is how we kick it off with the first session. And we look at great brands like Disney or Starbucks and what makes him a great brand. So then what does someone think of when they think of you and your own brand?
Mary: So that's for the rising leaders, but we have the field leadership program as well. So that's a six month program for individuals who are leading a crew in the field. So a lot of superintendents, a lot of superintendents, project leaders, and oftentimes someone who becomes a project superintendent out in the field is someone who is great at their craft. So they're a very good electrician or they're a great carpenter, or they're a good Trosil layer, and so they get promoted. Okay, you run these 10 guys on this project and coordinate with all the other trades to get this project done. But they're not given the leadership skills to be able to lead a team. They know how to do the work, but they don't know how to.
Mary: So that is actually one of the most enjoyable series for me to sit through because you see light bulbs go off in these guys' heads. They're like, oh! They take the disc profile, which is your communication style. It's kind of like Myers-Briggs, but specifically for communication. And we talk at length about that and they start to think about, oh, that's why I can't stand that one guy in my crew. Or I tell him a million times, this is what needs to be done, but it doesn't get done because he's communicating from this style. I'm his opposite. So maybe if I change how I word things a little bit or how I can improve my communication. So that field leadership series is our newest series, but one that I just love because I see the biggest change from start to finish with the individuals that complete that class.
Doug: Interesting. Yeah, that's awesome. So you feel like you're really adding value for those people.
Mary: Right. Right. And ultimately, hopefully their projects are going better-
Doug: Yeah, absolutely.
Mary: ... new projects getting built.
Doug: And beyond that you can do, you have individual class topics and sessions such as pertinent HR issues, things like that that maybe aren't directly involved with doing the job, per se. But still as an owner of a business, you need to be aware of these things, right?
Mary: Right, right. So those are the three series leadership programs that cover the different levels, but yes, we have lots of one off, one night, one afternoon classes on a variety of topics, things like how to read construction blueprint drawings, how to perform proper rigging and signaling. When you're running a crane, how to do estimating, how to do surveying. But then we will have HR classes, legal classes, accounting classes. Oftentimes, one of the things that we have, we have very large companies and then we have small companies, mom-and-pop companies, and oftentimes in the smaller companies you have individuals wearing multiple hats. So you don't have an HR department per se, but you have someone who handles HR and safety, and payroll, and maybe something else. So we'll have classes on specific topics, maybe a law case that came out and how it's going to impact your business in the construction industry. And sometimes these companies may not have a counsel, an attorney to turn to one-on-one, but attending a class and understanding this is something more affordable for them and they're getting the information.
Doug: And at least they can sort of understand, where my risks might be or things that I need to think about, right-
Mary: Right.
Doug: ... as I try to grow my business. That's kind of the nurturing part that you talked about in terms of growth. So, I think that's phenomenal. Obviously the construction segment right now is very robust. You talked about the challenge with people, but you and I both lived through the downturn that we saw 10 years ago or so. So, what did you see and learn through that period, perhaps, that you could offer as maybe sage advice now for folks?
Mary: Yeah, 10 years ago was definitely a tough time in the construction industry and that was a period where we lost a number of workers. Some who were close to retirement, retired early, some went to other careers. And meanwhile we have a lag of new individuals, young up and comers coming into the industry. So, as far as sage advice, it's going to happen again.
Doug: Yeah.
Mary: Nobody knows when it's going to happen again, but then it's going to swing up again. I mean, it's the economy it's cyclical, so it's going to happen. So just weather the storm. You always see a lot of changes in the industry that occur from an economic downturn and some of that is automation in a different way to approach and do things. So, you saw a little bit of that during the last downturn.
Doug: Yeah. In essence, be prepared. And one of the things that Builders Exchange and organizations can do is help those companies in the industry be prepared, that's the thing. If you could outline for folks, I mean, because we run into people that think, well, I don't have time for that. So, time commitment in terms of being involved in a trade organization, what are your thoughts there? I mean, to get the most out of it, how much time and energy should somebody devote to it?
Mary: That's interesting, Doug, because that's a double edged sword. I mean, you get out of something what you put into it. However, time is finite and individuals only have so much time. So, we always encourage a company to get as involved as they can or to share information with different departments, something that may benefit a different department within a construction company. Keep your eye on the pulse of what is important to you as far as education and classes, but I would recommend hitting the big networking events. We have several hallmark networking events each year. One being our annual meeting, which is coming up in November, attended by between seven and 800 construction professionals. So anybody who's everybody is there, down at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. So, just putting in your time in there and running into people that oh, you might've been trying to get ahold of on the phone or wanting to meet possibly for the first time. That's definitely the place to meet and see. So if someone's time is limited, I would say maximize, pick those types of events to get your biggest bang for the buck.
Doug: Sure. I think it's, I always tell people since I'm obviously a finance and accounting person, it's a great return on investment and when you think about it, you're going to get such a phenomenal return by just putting in the time and sharing information and learning from the other people that are a part of the organization. And it makes you feel like you're supporting your industry as well. I think ultimately that's what we all want, right?
Mary: Well, and one, as far as giving back and then getting things from it, my board members, when they roll off the board, one of the things that they'll say is, I feel like I got much more from this than I gave just with meeting their peers across the table. people that are running companies but coming together once a month to make decisions on behalf of the organization. But one of our hidden programs, where I think you get the same benefit, is our outreach program. So for over 20 years we have had a program, driven by our members, where we go out and talk to middle school and high school kids about careers in construction-
Doug: That's great.
Mary: ... a variety of different careers. Accounting is even included in that because accountants are important in construction.
Doug: Absolutely. Got to keep score.
Mary: So we have about a hundred members who have been trained to go out and just talk about their career and we send a notice out to the middle school and high schools, they know us now. We've been around doing this for quite awhile and they'll book a day or half day and then we will send a notice out to them, who wants to speak at this school or that school. And we provide a short video, seven minutes, a matching game where they match all the different careers that are involved in construction. And then we give out prizes because they always like something to take away, backpacks and pens, and things like that. Something with our website to encourage them to check it out.
Doug: That's fantastic.
Mary: And one of my favorite things, so, we also have a foundation where we give out scholarships to students pursuing construction-related degrees two year or four year. Last year we gave out over 110,000. One of the students who applied, and I'm reading his application, he said, "I remember a couple of years ago in high school, some guy came in and talked about construction." And it was the outreach program, and I thought, this is what I want to do for a living. Oh, this is great.
Doug: That is awesome.
Mary: Because the hard part for us in the outreach program is we can't measure how many people, students we talked to, how many end up in the trades because don't have access to that data and can't follow the students, they're minors. But hearing that in a scholarship and then he was a construction science management major at Ohio State, that he's pursuing what he wants to do.
Doug: Yeah, that's great.
Mary: So it is making a difference and that's a way for someone to share their career path with young kids and get questions that are always interesting, if you've ever heard kids questions.
Doug: Oh, yeah.
Mary: And it kind of is a reminder to our member who is volunteering, oh, this is why I got into this and oh, this is fun. And hopefully I can encourage some other people to get into it too.
Doug: Yeah. No, I agree. We want to encourage business owners out there to think beyond, again, your normal trusted advisors such as your accountant and banker, and attorney, and surety provider and all that, and include your trade organization in that because you really are helping grow not only their business but the industry as a whole. So, that's fantastic. So, one personal question I got to ask you, have you been back to Philadelphia at all recently?
Mary: I have.
Doug: We both have some Philadelphia connections, so.
Mary: Yeah, we went back, actually I went back in July-
Doug: Okay.
Mary: ... for the Rolling Stones concert.
Doug: Nice.
Mary: The rescheduled Rolling Stones concert-
Doug: Fantastic.
Mary: ... if you remember.
Doug: Yeah. Good show?
Mary: It was a great show.
Doug: Good.
Mary: It started raining and they changed it and broke into what is it, born in a crossfire hurricane, Jumping Jack Flash.
Doug: Oh, okay. Nice.
Mary: Yeah. They broke into that song so, just as the rain came down. So yes, it was good, outdoors at the Eagles Stadium.
Doug: There you go. Did you hit up Monk's when you were there or no?
Mary: I did not hit up Monk's, no.
Doug: Next time.
Mary: Didn't have time. That was a rescheduled trip. That was a quick in and out for me.
Doug: Next time. Next time.
Mary: Next time.
Doug: Well, thanks for joining us, Mary, really appreciate it.
Mary: Thank you.
Doug: If you want more business tips and insight or to hear previous episodes of Unsuitable, visit our podcast page at www.reacpa.com/podcast. Thanks for listening to this week's show. You can subscribe to unsuitable on iTunes or wherever you like to get your podcasts, including YouTube. And while you're there, leave us a review. I'm Doug Houser. Join us next week for another unsuitable interview from an industry professional.
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