EP 71 · 2023-11-21 · 50:20
Why Culture Drives Your Construction Business (Procore's Culture Team)
Procore's culture team on why company culture drives construction business outcomes.
LO
Lisa OBrien, PCC, CPCC
⟶ The story, written up — a sharp read with every fact on the record. Or skip straight to the moments that matter, as clips.
// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
0:00Intros and Groundbreak highlights — Dan introduces the three Procore culture-team guests across three time zones and they recap takeaways from Procore's Groundbreak event, including talks on mental health, mentorship, and raising up new leaders.4:47Culture Academy framework — Yasmeen explains Culture Academy: a 2.5-day white-glove executive experience offered three times a year, capped near 20 people, expanding in 2024 to Tampa and Austin. Key design choice: send at least two reps per company so change has a partner back home.9:56Defining culture: 'how we work together' — The guests define culture as the 'how' of operating together, not a poster on the wall, and argue your culture defaults to the worst behaviour you tolerate. Culture shows up under pressure; healthy cultures became more vivid through the pandemic.16:05Culture drives business (and the flywheel) — Discussion reframes culture as a business strategy: executives work IN the business and forget to work ON it. High-performing teams punch above their weight with the same headcount, lowering turnover and safety incidents.24:25Procore's internal culture and Project Engage intro — Yasmeen shares the 'take your lunch hour' story as proof Procore's people-first words match actions. Dan pivots to Project Engage, a six-month leadership development program.30:08Project Engage program design — Craig details Project Engage: a partnership with AGC of California, construction-only, starting March 2024, in-person bookends with virtual cohort work and ICF-certified executive coaches, sized for 4-10 people per company at any leadership level.32:46Procore as industry partner, not tech company — Lisa insists Procore wants to be seen as an industry partner, not a tech vendor, framing construction as the most complex, passionate industry and a future 'industry of choice.' Reflection on meaning and the next-generation labour force.40:29Culture Consulting and the generational knowledge transfer — The team describes Culture Consulting for organizations with acute culture challenges and names the central coming shift: an entire generation leaving construction, requiring simultaneous knowledge, digital, and human transfer.45:34Closing thoughts and call to engage — Guests close on the people side as the critical lever in every industry problem, from talent attraction to burnout, invite listeners to reach out, and reaffirm the community-first mission Procore shares with the podcast.
// THE INTRO
Host Daniel Arsenault interviews three members of Procore's Industry Culture team (Lisa O'Brien, Yasmeen Tonnos, Craig Fischer) about why workplace culture is a business driver, not a fluffy buzzword, in construction. They walk through Procore's culture offerings to the industry: the two-and-a-half-day Culture Academy executive experience, the six-month Project Engage leadership program (a partnership with AGC of California), and bespoke Culture Consulting. The throughline is a community-and-people-first message aimed at owners and executives facing generational handoff, tech adoption, and labour shortages.
// THE LESSONS
See all 12 lessons ▸Your culture defaults to the worst behaviour you're willing to tolerate, whether you've articulated it or not.
“your culture is usually determined by the worst behavior that you're willing to accept”
Culture is the 'how' of working together, distinct from what a company does or why it does it.
“culture is actually how we work together”
Culture and business form a flywheel: invest in culture as a strategy and let business reinvest into culture.
“culture drives business and business drives culture and that's why we think culture needs to be such a priority”
Executives default to working IN the business and forget to step back and work ON it.
“they forget at the executive level to take a step back and work on the business”
Send at least two leaders to any culture program so change has a partner instead of one lone champion.
“the more leaders that we can get on board from day one the more successful that will likely be”
Culture reveals itself under pressure: healthy cultures get more vivid, weak ones break apart.
“if you operate outside of your stated values Under Pressure that becomes your culture”
High-performing teams do multiples of the work per FTE with lower turnover and fewer safety issues.
“cultivating High performing teams do to five whatever x amount of work for the same FTE”
Construction's coming generational exit requires knowledge, digital, and human transfer in tandem.
“you can't have one or two of those you need to take all three together in tandem through this pipeline of change”
People-first culture is proven by actions matching words, not mission statements on a wall.
“procor words line up with their actions”
Position your firm as an industry partner, not a tech vendor, to build durable client trust.
“we do not want to be seen as a tech company actually uh we want to be seen as an industry partner”
What the next-generation labour force wants most is meaningful work, which construction is well-poised to offer.
“what people want out of their jobs is meaning and it seems to me that this industry is incredibly well poised for that”
Treat consultants as coaches who add capacity and perspective, not operators who do the work for you.
“we're there to be a resource because they have to vote with their time and their language”
// CLIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Hot take · 14:39
“a lot of times people talk about culture and they'll say”
Framework · 15:00
“so I just to add to that like you've see culture come alive”
Hot take · 35:35
“it is the most complex industry I believe in the world”
Hot take · 17:11
“if I'm being honest I think a lot of people maybe even more so in this industry”
Framework · 5:57
“so Dan culture Academy some people are familiar with others aren't”
Story · 28:17
“I remember during our first couple of weeks we happened to have a call over lunch”
Emotional · 39:22
“having experience from other Industries before joining too”
Framework · 16:05
“yeah it's like that old saying diamonds are formed under pressure”
Framework · 20:05
“I love that perspective because I think one of the things that we notice”
Hot take · 44:14
“like what we know is coming in the next decade”
Framework · 24:28
“and back to the sports analogy Craig like teams that win the Super Bowl”
Hot take · 32:46
“100% we do not want to be seen as a tech company actually”
Exchange · 43:23
“and these are really practical things that companies are dealing with”
All 12 lessons from this episode, on one page.
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// FEATURED BUSINESSES
// FACT-CHECKED ✓ web-verified, with sources
✓ VERIFIED
Procore wants to be seen as an industry partner, not a tech company.
This is a consistent and repeated public message from Procore across its Industry Culture materials, press releases, and blog posts. The framing is confirmed as an intentional brand positioning.
SOURCE ▸// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
Procore Technologies, Inc. ▸Lisa OBrien, PCC, CPCCYasmeen Tonnos, CPCCCraig FischerProcore Culture AcademyProject Engage Leadership Development ProgramAssociated General Contractors of CaliforniaFred MillsThe B1M ▸
// PROJECTS NAMED
Procore Culture AcademyProject Engage Leadership Development ProgramCulture ConsultingGroundbreak
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · a5FcLGzIz8M