Many construction leaders know what good leadership looks like—but somewhere between deadlines, travel, and constant problem-solving, those fundamentals slip. This month's book recommendation is a 117-page leadership reminder titled The Way of the Shepherd by Dr. Kevin Leman and Bill Pentak.

This episode speaks directly to leaders who feel stretched thin, disconnected from their teams, or stuck in firefighting mode and want to regain clarity, control, and purpose.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• How a simple leadership reminder can dramatically improve trust, communication, and engagement on your team
• A practical framework for truly understanding your people beyond their job titles
• Why great leaders repeat values and mission far more than they think they should—and how it drives performance

If you want to lead your construction team with more focus, purpose, and control—without adding complexity—press play and discover why this short book delivers massive leadership impact.

Thank you to Dave Reichert, Ray Hayles, and Josh Hendrickson for the recommendation in the years 2017, 2024, and 2026, respectively.

At Bradley Hartmann & Company, we help construction teams improve sales, leadership, and communication by reducing miscommunication, strengthening teamwork, and bridging language gaps between English and Spanish speakers. To learn more about our product offerings, visit bradleyhartmannandco.com.

The Construction Leadership Podcast dives into essential leadership topics in construction, including strategy, emotional intelligence, communication skills, confidence, innovation, and effective decision-making. You'll also gain insights into delegation, cultural intelligence, goal setting, team building, employee engagement, and how to overcome common culture problems—whether you're leading a crew or managing an entire organization.

Have topic ideas or guest recommendations? Contact us at info@bradleyhartmannandco.com.

New podcasts are dropped every Tuesday and Thursday.

This episode is brought to you by The Construction Spanish Toolbox —the most practical way for construction teams to learn jobsite-ready Spanish in just minutes a day over 6 months.

I know, I know.

You're probably too cool to watch Taylor Swift's docu-series on Netflix about her Eras Tour.

But, if you want to see great leadership in action during a nearly two-year movable construction project, watching Taylor in action might be one of the best decisions you make this year.

If you've ever tried to keep crews engaged, schedules intact, quality high, and burnout low while margins are tight and pressure is relentless, you already understand the challenge Taylor Swift solved.

Her Eras Tour wasn't entertainment—it was a $2 billion, multi-year, zero-cancellation logistics operation. This episode breaks down exactly how her leadership principles translate to construction job sites, teams, and executives.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The seven leadership behaviors that kept a massive operation running smoothly under extreme pressure
• How clear standards, preparation, and generosity directly impact execution and retention
• Why the best construction leaders obsess over experience, not just outcomes

Hit play to discover how elite leadership—not talent, not luck—is what allows massive projects to run calmly, profitably, and with teams that actually want to stay.

At Bradley Hartmann & Company, we help construction teams improve sales, leadership, and communication by reducing miscommunication, strengthening teamwork, and bridging language gaps between English and Spanish speakers. To learn more about our product offerings, visit bradleyhartmannandco.com.

The Construction Leadership Podcast dives into essential leadership topics in construction, including strategy, emotional intelligence, communication skills, confidence, innovation, and effective decision-making. You'll also gain insights into delegation, cultural intelligence, goal setting, team building, employee engagement, and how to overcome common culture problems—whether you're leading a crew or managing an entire organization.

Have topic ideas or guest recommendations? Contact us at info@bradleyhartmannandco.com.

New podcasts are dropped every Tuesday and Thursday.

This episode is brought to you by The Construction Spanish Toolbox —the most practical way for construction teams to learn jobsite-ready Spanish in just minutes a day over 6 months.

Construction leaders are being told—daily—that AI, automation, dashboards, and optimization are the future. But what if the very things we're rushing to automate are the things that actually make leadership work?

In this episode, Bradley Hartmann explores a surprising case study: the resurgence of Barnes & Noble, a 140-year-old, paper-and-ink business thriving in the age of AI and Amazon.

Using the Barnes & Noble turnaround as a lens, this episode breaks down two leadership capabilities AI will never replicate—and why they matter more than ever in construction:

• Being a genuine fan of the work, the customer, and the people doing the work
• Taste and human judgment—knowing what matters, what doesn't, and when timing matters more than data.

This isn't a story about books.

It's a story about leadership, accountability, and change in old, complex industries—just like construction.

This episode will help you:

• Identify where your organization may be over-centralized or over-optimized
• Reclaim leadership leverage that no software can replace
• Make better decisions about what to abandon, not just what to add
• Lead change without losing trust, judgment, or accountability

You'll walk away with a clearer lens on what great construction leadership actually requires in the age of AI.

If Barnes & Noble can come back by falling back in love with books, imagine what could happen in construction if leaders fell back in love with building—and the people who make it happen.

https://www.honest-broker.com/p/what-can-we-learn-from-barnes-and

https://substack.com/@tedgioia

At Bradley Hartmann & Company, we help construction teams improve sales, leadership, and communication by reducing miscommunication, strengthening teamwork, and bridging language gaps between English and Spanish speakers. To learn more about our product offerings, visit bradleyhartmannandco.com.

The Construction Leadership Podcast dives into essential leadership topics in construction, including strategy, emotional intelligence, communication skills, confidence, innovation, and effective decision-making. You'll also gain insights into delegation, cultural intelligence, goal setting, team building, employee engagement, and how to overcome common culture problems—whether you're leading a crew or managing an entire organization.

Have topic ideas or guest recommendations? Contact us at info@bradleyhartmannandco.com.

New podcasts are dropped every Tuesday and Thursday.

This episode is brought to you by The Construction Spanish Toolbox —the most practical way for construction teams to learn jobsite-ready Spanish in just minutes a day over 6 months.