Spencer Teel of Teel Construction shares how hitting a personal wall during COVID led to a leadership reset, a clearer company vision, and growth from $55M to $100M. Listen in, and continue on to read this great conversation.

Christina May: Welcome to The Breakout Moment!

Spencer Teel: So happy to be here.

CM: Happy to be here. I am really excited to hear about your journey. I'm more excited that we get to talk about how there was something that you read that was impactful. And then because so many of us read so many books and I don't know about you, but like, this isn't going to work for me or...

ST: You have to find one that clicks, right?

CM: Right! You have to find one that clicks. So I'm really, really interested in talking about the book, talking about your company, talking about how this really transformed things for you, and especially when it transformed things for you. So now that I've, like, unbelievably teed this up, with a little bit of anticipation. So, tell us just a little bit about Teel Construction, the short journey, your journey. And then we'll talk about this book that everybody wants to hear about.

ST: Awesome. So, Teel is a 39 year old commercial general contractor based in Fairfax, Virginia. And you can trace our roots back to the mid-80s. When my father Parker, started the business. So I'm second generation. I've been in the company for going on 21 years. And it's been a journey from the ground up. Worked as a laborer, assistant superintendent, PM, VP, now president.

CM: So he put you to work really early?

ST:14 years old. Yeah. That's pushing a broom and learning, you know, grit and hard work and. And how that leads to, gratitude and success. And, that hard work ethic was instilled in me, certainly through my dad at a young age.

So, the company, is again mid Atlantic based and focused. We have a satellite office and we just opened, down the street in Frederick. And, have a senior PM down in Tampa, Florida, trying to get our southeast region churning

CM: Little less snow down there.

ST: Yeah. Less snow. Thank goodness. And the company's been built through relationships with some really great clients. We have a 92% repeat referred client route. So once we find a client that, aligns with our strategy and focus, try to do the best job we can to keep them for life.

CM: That's amazing. I love that. I love that. I love that generational that so many of us are influenced by somebody in our family or especially, you know, in this industry, in the trades and construction.

You know, my my grandfather was an electrical contractor. I'm obviously not an electrical contractor, but I got bit by the bug.

ST: Yep, yep. It's in your blood. All of this took some electrical engineering?

CM: Yeah. Seriously. I always joke with everybody when they come in. They're like, "it's like you redecorated the living room again." It's like, all right, well, yeah, but yeah, it definitely does.

So talk to me about so, you know, you've seen it all from 14 to now.

ST: Seen a lot.

CM: You've seen a lot. You've seen a lot. Talk to me about, specifically discovering this book. And, you know, that became this huge moment for you and, and especially the time in which you found it.

ST: So, rewind back to 2021. All of us were struggling with, you know, our time in Covid, you know, right in the throes of it. And I was burnt out. And luckily I found an advisory group called C12. And it's just a peer group that comes together on a monthly basis. And we talk about business challenges and everyone helps provide solutions.

One of the guys in my group introduced me to Cameron Harold's book, Vivid Vision. And the context of it in a nutshell is for leaders of an organization to go and do a mind map and try to visualize what his or her company looks like in three years time. You take that mind map back and you write out in descriptive detail how your business looks and feels so that someone who's reading this could really visualize themselves being in there, in that, in that three year period.

CM: It's almost like you're manifesting. I mean, not to get like, "woo woo" about it.

ST: No, yeah. Yeah. So the idea is, you share this with your organization, you share this with your vendors or subcontractors for us, or partners like our or banking, ensure new relationships to to give them a deeper insight of where the company is going. Not necessarily how we're going to get there, but a picture of in three years time, this is ideally where we want to be.

CM: That's amazing. And, what was the process of that? You know, like, it's one thing as a leader to, you know, you have your vision, but, you know, building that inclusivity with your team and getting them to buy into it and contribute to it, I feel, is where a lot of us get stuck, right? And creating that safe environment to do that. You know? What did that feel like for you guys?

ST: So, to rewind a bit, we we've had a strategic plan and we're we're an EOS company, inspired through Jim Collins' book, Good to Great.

CM: EOS, for anyone who is not in the know, it's basically an operating system for a business.

ST: Yep. So what comes with that is a is really foundational strategic plan. You've got a ten, a three year, and a one year plan. But putting that on paper without descriptive detail with just numbers and revenue goals or employee headcount, it doesn't provide a lot of meaning. So, again, using this vision as a bit more descriptive detail, really helps create that spark.

So when we launched it, in March of 2022, we did it at an all-hands quarterly meeting, and had or our team stand up and read, you know, a couple sentences or a paragraph from the vision. And it was incredible to see the immediate buy-in and excitement that the team really needed. You know, especially coming out of that, that time, they wanted, like an injection of adrenaline and that was a shot to the arm. That's what really delivered it.

CM: So do you think the was there something to do with the timing of the vision, with the timing of kind of where we were at the time...

ST: Oh, for sure.

CM: That made this just so much more impactful than maybe it would have been if we had just done it now or in 2019 or another time period.

ST: I think, you know, taking a a bit of a personal step back and reflection as leaders of organizations, at least I, had a tendency to wear some of my emotions on my sleeve. So, yeah, when the team could sense that I was burnt out, you know, that probably had, I won't say a cancerous effect, but probably a negative impact on some of the team without me really fully recognizing that and knowing it.

CM: When did you recognize that?

ST: When did I recognize it?

CM: Yeah. When did you recognize like, I knew you probably recognize you were burnt out, but when did you recognize that that was impacting the team?

ST: I think my wife probably called me out. I know she did.

CM: They're good at that.

ST: Yeah, she's fantastic. And she, you know, she saw this general sense of unhappiness and, you know, lack of fulfillment in my life. And she just was very candid in saying, "Hey, you know, this is impacting not only me and the family, but I'm sure your team."

And that's when I sought out some help from from my advisory board. Got this book and it really helped me formalize my thoughts. I had this vision, what the business looked like, but didn't ever have that ability to really translate that to people, to really get that understanding.

CM: And I think it's hard for us to do, you know, as leaders, as organizations as to we spend all this time in spreadsheets and numbers and, you know, you're keeping the lights on, right? At the end of the day as leaders of organizations, I mean, we got a really basic job description. You know, I move obstacles out of the way, and I find opportunities. And you live in a spreadsheet. You know, and whether or not you naturally gravitate towards the human side of it or not. That part of the job never goes away.

ST: Oh, for sure. And that was, a real important part of the vision is that was that realization that it's not just living in numbers on a spreadsheet, right? You know, really focusing in on our purpose, which is "Built to Serve" is our motto, why we exist. So it's we, to serve our clients, provide opportunities for our people and support for the communities we're building.

And, you know, everything that the vision, you know, revolves around is our people. And they are the ones that make everything a reality. So if you look beyond that spreadsheet mantra and focus and change the narrative to more of a people-first approach, the spreadsheet takes care of itself and the numbers take care of themselves. And that's where, I think, true success comes from.

CM: I think that's I think that's a really interesting takeaway for people because I think a lot look at it in the opposite way. The spreadsheet will take care of the people. If I provide the revenue, if I provide, you know.. you ever heard the term money solves problems? Creates problem too!

But I think we, you know, taking that and turning that on its head, is a different way for someone to look at it and go like, yes, the math has to math. But if I'm taking care of my people than the spreadsheet takes care of itself. Do you think the key component of that is because they're taking ownership now of that spreadsheet, so to speak. Not just leadership.

ST: I think if you have an environment where people feel truly appreciated, supported and are encouraged that their success leads directly to the company's success, I think that's where the results are really going to speak for themselves. I credit a lot of, you know, that that breaking point, that turning point, on both sides to that book and, and again really honing in on, on our purpose and people-first approach.

CM: When you guys were pulling together the purpose, you know from the outside in a lot of times our purposes, our mission, our vision, they sound very cliche.

ST: Yeah. For sure.

CM: Right. I mean, everybody can say I care about my people. I care about my community. It has been such a massive impact, and I want to talk about that here in a minute, on your business. Talk to me about, obviously you have earlier adopters, but, you know, getting an entire company to buy in on that culturally, I think, is where a lot of people get stuck, especially on the purpose side of it. Is there anything there that you can share through that journey that you went through with your team? Because obviously that core has created success for the company and where you are now.

ST: So before Cameron Harold's book, back in 2021, like before my breaking point, I prayed in the shower. "Lord, you got to give me a sign like, I'm at my wit's end. I need something to really reinforce while I'm here." Got out of the shower, flipped on the TV, and, no joke. The first thing that comes on is a Built to Serve commercial featuring, Dodge Rams' Built to Serve line of pickup trucks for first responders and veterans.

And it was like, you know, it was God's sign to me that, you know, this is why the company exists: to serve others. So, that component has always been part of our company's DNA, crediting my dad, you know, really living behind our take on the golden rule, the platinum rule: doing unto others as they would have them do unto you. So really reverse the the table. And understand what motivates others and then act on it. So it took that to really provide that clarity to our people.

So I think to your question, it just it was a natural, again, reinforcement to what we already had, just in a very clear and concise manner. So I think we just naturally got buy-in and once that all fell into place was outlined in the vision and components of the vision, really all just helped feed into that philosophy. For programs like, Teel Construction University, TCU, getting our training platform together over the course of those three years, built and out to the team to really support their learning and growth.

So, does that answer your question?

CM: Yeah. Totally answers my question. I think something that I wanted to pick up on, you know, that you said too is, the vision kind of brought everybody together. Reflecting back on when you were first bringing this into the team, what were some of the first signs that that you saw?

I think it's, like you talk about Teel University, that's a three year process. But what were some of the.. I think sometimes we get a little lost in the sauce so to speak. And you need like, to your point, a sign like: "keep going I'm doing this". What were some of the early signs that you saw like, yeah, I'm on the right path.

ST: The initial immediate reaction of excitement was energizing and reinforcing to me that this was a good thing that we did. But I think, more so like the the cohesion and team dynamic and sort of rowing in the same direction as an organization. Everyone now had that clear view of where the company was going. So, a lot more alignment.

CM: So tactically, how do you how do you fold that in. So like employee reviews, or what are some of the tactical ways that you make sure that you guys stay in alignment with the vision. Like in the day-to-day.

ST: That's that's a really good question. Just by practicing what we preach. Yeah. People are, recruited and evaluated based off of their alignment of our core principles. And I think those have always been a guiding source for the company. Again, which really drive and and fill up to the Built to Serve purpose. So I don't think I answered your question.

CM: No, no, I think that's a great answer. I think that's, you know, when I mean, we talk about when we're hiring somebody or even with clients, you know. Right. Customers, if you're not in alignment in how did you how you do business, how you treat others, it's not going to work well, right. So you know, your vision, and your core values as a company.

And you're hiring somebody, you want to make sure that their values are in alignment with yours. And if they're not, it's not going to be a good fit for either one of you. So I think that that's actually a really good takeaway for anybody is to, you know, don't just hire for the skill set, or the personality. Right? We all have heard of personality hires. But hire for your values, your culture fit. We call it culture, but it's really about value.

ST: Yeah for sure. So part of our offer letters have a contingency that they are aligned, meaning that they've read the vision and are on board with where the company is going.

CM: That's a great takeaway right there. I think that's it. That nugget to include your vision as part of your hiring process and make sure people sign off on it. So real quick, you guys have had so much growth since then. Talk about the growth that you had since implementing this.

ST: You know, going back to like the balance sheet and then looking..

CM: Back into those spreadsheets! We got out, now get back in.

ST: I mean, so we had, 65 people on the day that we issued that first vision back in 2022. We had booked about 55 million in revenue, in '21. And, that next year, it shot up another 20 million. And this year we're expected to do over 100 million with, we've got 93 people right now.

CM: Congratulations.

ST: So gradually, it's been a, I won't say meteoric growth in any way, but, organic and very controlled and, healthy growth for the company.

CM: And is that growth, does it does it actually reflect that vision that you've manifested?

ST: Oh for sure.

CM: There you go.

ST: All these incredible, policies and tools that we now have in place that help distinguish Teel from our competitors, that were inspired from that vision, or lived out every day donating our first change order for the charity volunteer time off or our director of community our zero punch list Hall of Fame. Like these are all, factors that really help set us apart.

CM: I love that.

ST: Me too

CM: That's definitely a moment. That is definitely a moment.

ST: Very proud of where the company you know has come, our growth, but even more excited for what the future holds.

CM: You get to manifest what that looks like too. Awesome. Well, thank you for coming on and sharing that with us today.

ST: Thanks for having me.

CM: I think everybody should pick up a copy of this book.

ST: Oh for sure, it's a must read for any leader of an organization. But even you could take it on a personal level and chart out how you see your family dynamic changing and growing over that three-year period. It's really powerful stuff.

CM: That's amazing.

ST: Thanks for having me.

CM: Thank you.