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Business runs on people, and people do not leave their real lives at the door. We’re joined by Cayley Van Hemman, Business Manager at Turner Construction in Vancouver, to talk about what work-life integration actually looks like in a high-accountability construction leadership role and why mentorship only works when we bring the whole context, not just the job title.

Cayley walks us through her path from civil engineering co-op student to intern at a seven-person startup-like Vancouver office, then through a career built on deliberate range: superintendent experience, project management, finance, business development, and operational leadership. We talk about returning from maternity leave straight into a new role, managing the nerves that come with bigger scope, and what a business manager really does when every day brings different “fires,” strategic decisions, and client needs.

We also zoom out to the BC construction industry and Vancouver construction market: the whiplash from post-COVID indecision to a red-hot market, then uncertainty tied to tariffs, residential slowdown, and public projects being repaced. Along the way we get candid about developer perceptions, public versus private delivery speed, and the fine line between moving fast and bringing in the right stakeholders. We close with what’s next for builders, including IPD and progressive design-build, plus where AI in construction and better data can remove friction in processes like RFIs.

If you got value from this, subscribe, share it with someone leading a team, and leave a review so more builders can find the show. What leadership habit has helped you support people without lowering the bar?

PODCAST INFO:
the Site Visit Website: https://www.sitemaxsystems.com/podcast
the Site Visit on Buzzsprout: https://thesitevisit.buzzsprout.com/269424
the Site Visit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-site-visit/id1456494446
the Site Visit on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5cp4qJE5ExZmO3EwldN1HH

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Profit can feel weirdly random in construction: one month you’re slammed, the next you’re chasing late payments, and somehow “growth” still doesn’t show up in your personal bank account. We sit down with Dr. Ben Ashikoi, the Profit Doctor, to name the problem and fix the thinking behind it: profititis, when revenue rises but net profit stays flat or slides backward.

We dig into a simple but powerful practice Ben calls Operation Dog Catcher: reviewing your last few years of projects to find the worst jobs that quietly cancel out the wins. From there we talk real-world constraints contractors live with, especially payroll and overhead that can’t be switched off. Ben shares the “No Bad Months” mindset, pipeline KPIs, and ways to reduce feast-and-famine by making part of your delivery capacity more variable with subcontractors or on-demand labor, plus the discipline to say no to work that forces you to overstaff.

We also get tactical on cash flow and money management. If you’re managing by bank balance, you’re not alone, but it can hide serious issues. We talk Profit First-style account structure, spending psychology, and how to keep leadership focused. Then we go into job costing and field accountability: man-hours versus budget, percent complete versus percent spent, and incentive systems that drive productivity without destroying quality or creating toxic “A team vs B team” dynamics.

If you want stronger construction profit margins, cleaner job costing, better cash flow, and a company that actually rewards the owner and the team, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a contractor friend, and leave a review with the one profit lever you’re going to pull next.

Ben Hansen
The Profit Doctor https://profitdoctor.com/

PODCAST INFO:
the Site Visit Website: https://www.sitemaxsystems.com/podcast
the Site Visit on Buzzsprout: https://thesitevisit.buzzsprout.com/269424
the Site Visit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-site-visit/id1456494446
the Site Visit on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5cp4qJE5ExZmO3EwldN1HH

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesitevisit
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesitevisit

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Keeping the wrong person “because replacing them is hard” is one of the most expensive decisions a construction company can make. We sit down with leadership coach and operator Ron Cox of RC Development Solutions to talk about what actually works when you’re trying to scale a team, protect culture, and keep projects moving even when the jobsite fights you every day.

We connect Stephen Covey’s people-first approach with EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) and get practical about role clarity, accountability, and the “right person in the right seat” idea that sounds simple until real life hits. Ron shares how tools like assessments and the Core Value Index can reveal strengths, limitations, and fit so leaders stop guessing and start aligning work with how people are wired. We also dig into the tough stuff: “body syndrome,” internal team members who never face the customer, and how to create feedback loops that make the cost of mistakes visible without turning the workplace toxic.

One of the biggest takeaways is culture and retention. Ron breaks down how command-and-control leadership and ego can drive people away, and what changes help move retention from disastrous numbers to a stable, committed workforce. We also talk compensation strategy across different cost-of-living markets, servant leadership, diversity of perspective, and the blunt truth that culture is what you tolerate.

If you got value from this conversation, subscribe, share it with a builder or business owner who needs it, and leave a review with the one leadership behavior you think companies should stop tolerating.

Ron Cox, Chief Executive Officer of RC Development Solutions,
https://www.rcdevsolutions.com/

PODCAST INFO:
the Site Visit Website: https://www.sitemaxsystems.com/podcast
the Site Visit on Buzzsprout: https://thesitevisit.buzzsprout.com/269424
the Site Visit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-site-visit/id1456494446
the Site Visit on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5cp4qJE5ExZmO3EwldN1HH

FOLLOW ALONG:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesitevisit
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesitevisit