A construction company has problems that generic business advice does not always address.
The handoff from preconstruction to construction. Project information that is incomplete when the field starts. Superintendents who need answers that should already exist. Customers asking the same questions because communication is inconsistent. Owners trying to put the right people in the right seats while reducing how much the company depends on them.
Those were some of the challenges Kris Miller and his team wanted to solve.
In this episode of The Construction Leading Edge Podcast, Kris shares what changed after working through construction-specific systems for accountability, preconstruction, handoffs, and customer communication—and how those changes are helping him move closer to his goal of dramatically reducing his day-to-day involvement in the company.
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Who This Episode Is For
This episode is especially relevant for construction business owners who:
- Have tried generic business coaching without getting construction-specific solutions
- Struggle with the handoff from preconstruction to construction
- Start projects with only enough information to get moving
- Want clearer roles and accountability across a larger team
- Need to get the right people into the right seats
- Have customers asking repetitive project-status questions
- Want a better weekly communication rhythm with clients
- Have systems they know need improvement but cannot change everything at once
- Want the company to run with less owner involvement
- Are trying to reduce their workweek without returning to the same overloaded role later
Problems This Episode Helps Solve
- Why does generic business coaching sometimes fail to address construction-specific problems?
- How can I improve the handoff from preconstruction to construction?
- How do I stop starting projects with just enough information to begin?
- What is a simple way to reduce repetitive client questions?
- How do I create clearer accountability across my team?
- How do I determine whether employees are in the right roles?
- How quickly should we implement new systems?
- How can I systematize the business without overwhelming the team?
- How do I reduce my involvement in day-to-day operations?
- What systems need to exist before the owner can sustainably work fewer hours?
Episode Summary
Before working through the program, Kris Miller says one of the company’s known weak points was the transition from preconstruction into construction.
The team could get projects moving, but they often entered construction with what Kris describes as enough information to start—not necessarily everything they needed to finish.
Important answers were still being worked out during production.
For a long time, that seemed like a normal part of construction.
One of the biggest changes was realizing it did not have to operate that way.
Instead of treating the gaps between planning and production as unavoidable, Kris and his team began laying more groundwork before projects started and intentionally improving the systems behind the handoff.
One deceptively simple change produced an immediate result: a weekly customer update.
Each week, a team member gathers information from the project manager or superintendent and sends the customer an update covering what happened that week, what is coming next, and where the project stands.
Kris says that simple communication rhythm eliminated many of the questions customers had been asking throughout the week.
The episode also addresses one of Kris’s initial concerns about joining the program.
He had dealt with business coaching before and felt much of the advice was generic rather than designed around construction companies. What he found different was the focus on construction-specific challenges such as systematizing the company, accountability, preconstruction, and project handoffs.
The accountability chart and the process of putting the right people in the right seats became another important area of focus.
Kris is clear that the work is not finished. Some roles are still being evaluated, and the company is intentionally rolling out changes in stages rather than trying to implement everything overnight.
That gradual approach matters because each improvement can represent a significant amount of work across a larger team.
The larger goal for Kris is owner freedom.
He says he had already reduced his workload from roughly 80 hours per week to about 40 over the previous couple of years. His next goal is to get closer to approximately 10 hours per week—and, more importantly, make that reduced involvement sustainable instead of stepping away temporarily and returning to a pile of unresolved work.
During his first extended trip after completing the program, Kris noticed that his involvement in day-to-day operations was already significantly lower.
Key Takeaways With Timestamps
04:03 – “Enough to start” was creating problems after the handoff
Kris says the company often entered construction with enough information to begin and worked out remaining answers during production.
05:37 – Construction chaos does not have to be accepted as normal
One of the important shifts was realizing that the friction between preconstruction and construction could be systematically improved instead of treated as unavoidable.
07:24 – A simple weekly client update reduced repetitive questions
The team now sends customers a consistent report explaining what happened that week, what is coming next, and where the project stands.
09:27 – Kris wanted something more specific than generic business coaching
His concern was that previous business advice was not sufficiently tailored to the realities and systems of running a construction company.
12:03 – The accountability chart helped clarify who belongs in which seat
Kris and his team began looking more deliberately at roles, responsibilities, and whether each person was positioned correctly.
12:06 – Nailing the Handoff provided a clearer picture of how work should flow
Mapping the process helped the team visualize how a project should move from initial customer contact through preconstruction and into production.
13:22 – System implementation does not need to happen overnight
Kris is intentionally rolling changes out in stages so the team can adopt each piece instead of receiving an overwhelming amount of change at once.
14:07 – The goal is sustainable owner freedom, not a temporary break
After moving from roughly 80-hour weeks toward 40, Kris wants the systems and people in place to sustain a much smaller day-to-day workload.
Key Concepts From This Episode
Construction-Specific Systems
Generic business principles can be useful, but construction companies also have operational challenges that require industry-specific solutions.
Those include preconstruction, project handoffs, field execution, scopes, selections, superintendent communication, and project information flow.
Just Enough to Start
The “Just Enough to Start” pattern happens when a project enters production with enough information for initial work but important decisions and planning remain unfinished.
Those unanswered questions then become production problems.
Weekly Customer Update
A weekly customer update gives clients a predictable communication rhythm.
Kris’s team gathers project information and communicates what happened, what is coming next, and where the project currently stands.
Accountability Chart
An accountability chart focuses on the roles the business needs and who should own those responsibilities.
The goal is to get the right people into the right seats rather than continuing to design the organization around whoever happens to be available.
Nail the Handoff
Nail the Handoff is the process of deliberately designing how a project moves from the office and preconstruction team into production.
The objective is to reduce missing information and give the field what it needs to execute.
Sustainable Owner Freedom
Reducing the owner’s workweek is not enough if stepping away causes problems to accumulate.
Sustainable freedom requires the right people, responsibilities, systems, and processes so the company can continue operating when the owner is less involved.
Resources Mentioned
Construction Leading Edge Resources
Partner Mentioned
Recommended Next Step
Start with one of the simplest ideas from Kris’s interview: create a consistent weekly client update.
Include:
- What was accomplished this week
- What is planned for next week
- Where the project stands
- Any important decisions or information the customer needs to provide
Send it on the same day each week.
Then look at the bigger system behind the project.
Ask:
- What information is still missing when construction starts?
- Which questions does the field repeatedly have to send back to the office?
- Which customer questions keep appearing because expectations are unclear?
- Are roles and responsibilities clear?
- Does everyone know who is accountable for each major function?
- Could the owner leave for an extended period without coming back to a pile of unresolved problems?
If the answers expose gaps in your handoff, organizational structure, or systems, apply for a Business Evaluation Call.
Client Success Stories
Want to see how other construction business owners are applying these ideas?
Watch client success stories from builders, remodelers, and general contractors who have worked with Construction Leading Edge to reduce chaos, improve their systems, and build companies that run with less owner dependency.
Related Episodes
Episode 430: Nail the Handoff System: Build a Rock-Solid Preconstruction Checklist Your Team Actually Follows
Learn how to design a stronger preconstruction-to-production handoff with team input so field leaders receive better information and recurring project problems are solved upstream.
Episode 458: What To Do When Your Construction Business Finally Runs Without You
Explore the people, systems, documented processes, and operational visibility required to reduce owner dependency—and what happens when the freedom you were building finally becomes real.
Episode 459: How to Design Your Construction Business for Growth, Profit, and Freedom with Tom Raisanen
See how another construction owner is intentionally building preconstruction, handoffs, accountability, delegation, and CEO habits before growth turns the company into a business that consumes him.
FAQ
Why might generic business coaching be less useful for a construction company?
Kris says one of his concerns from previous coaching experiences was that the advice was not sufficiently tailored to construction. His team needed help with specific issues such as preconstruction, handoffs, accountability, and project processes.
What was wrong with Kris’s preconstruction-to-construction handoff?
The company often had enough information to start the project but still needed to find answers during construction. Kris describes realizing there was a better way to prepare projects before production.
What weekly communication system did Kris implement?
The team sends customers a weekly update summarizing what happened during the current week, what is coming next, and where the project stands.
Why can weekly customer updates reduce interruptions?
Customers receive project information proactively instead of having to contact the team repeatedly to find out what is happening or what comes next.
What did the accountability chart help Kris’s team do?
It helped them think more clearly about roles, responsibilities, and whether the right people were in the right seats. Kris says that work was still ongoing at the time of the interview.
Should a construction company implement every new system at once?
Kris chose not to. His company is rolling improvements out in stages so employees have time to adapt and the team can build each part properly.
How can systems help a construction owner work fewer hours?
The episode points to clearer accountability, stronger processes, better handoffs, and improved communication as ways to reduce how often daily operations require the owner’s involvement.
Todd Dawalt
Founder of Construction Leading Edge and host of The Construction Leading Edge Podcast
Todd Dawalt is the founder of Construction Leading Edge and host of The Construction Leading Edge Podcast. Since 2014, Todd and the Construction Leading Edge team have helped construction business owners systematize their companies, reduce chaos, improve profitability, and build businesses that run with less owner dependency.
Full Transcript
00:00
Welcome to the Construction Leading Edge podcast from constructionleadingedge.com. My name is Todd DeWalt, spelled D-A-W-A-L-T. I’m your host. And here at Construction Leading Edge, we are all about helping construction business owners have more freedom, more impact, and more wealth by systematizing your construction business. Think self-managing company, a business that runs without you.
00:23
Chris Miller is the president of KLM construction and they do commercial, multifamily and residential construction in the Denver, Colorado area. Recently, Chris sat down with Leah Hostetter, who is our director of customer success here. And here’s what Chris shared in this interview you’re about to hear. It was a light bulb moment that Chris had about a simple communication strategy that eliminates a lot of questions from customers. You may want to jump on that strategy.
00:48
There’s the issue that Chris has with the American work, work, work, work, work mentality and what he prefers instead. Chris talks about some problems that he had with business coaches that he’s dealt with in the past. Chris talks about the importance of getting the right people in the right seats, especially for a large team like he has. What nailing the handoff did for Chris and his partners and his team. Chris talks about why he wanted to move from 40 hours a week to an eight hour.
01:17
work week and how things are going with him on that and why Chris joined our systematize your construction business program and what’s different for him and his team as a result. without further ado, let’s get to this interview with Chris Miller, president of KLM construction. Enjoy. Hey, it’s Todd here. And if you want a construction business, especially remodeling, custom home building or commercial GC, let me ask you a few questions.
01:44
How often do you wake up in the middle of the night thinking about project details, financial issues, or something else in your business? Are you spending more than 10 hours a week working in the business, putting out fires, doing low rent activities, or you don’t have enough time to work on the business? Do you have good documented systems and processes, or is everything pretty much in your head?
02:09
How good is your handoff of projects from the office to the field? How would you grade it? A, B, C, or D. Is your business designed around you? In other words, is it designed to fail without you or is it designed to run based on systems and processes? Do you feel stuck? Like, maybe you feel like you need to grow but you’re scared to or reluctant to, or you just don’t know how to do it. Maybe it feels like you need to hire but you’re afraid to make a mistake and you’re worried you can’t afford them.
02:38
Well, if any of that resonates with you and you want your business to be a source of more freedom, more impact or wealth, if you want your business to have less stress, less chaos, there’s a proven process to systematize your construction business. And my team here at Construction Leading Enches helped over 400 construction business owners do just that. And we can help you too. If you want help, the first step is to schedule a business evaluation call by clicking the link in the show notes.
03:06
Or you can simply go to constructionleadingedge.com forward slash apply. Now let’s get back to the episode. All right, Chris, thank you for joining me today. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and your business. My name is Chris Miller. We, myself and two partners have a construction company in Denver, Colorado. We started out doing custom residential homes and then we branched into commercial tenant improvement work.
03:37
medical work, odds and restaurants, and a lot of high-rise tenant improvement work. That’s her about 12 years old now. And, you know, we actually do quite a bit of multifamily as well. had a little bit of touch, it did everything. So, you just finished wrapping up the SYCB program a few weeks ago. Can you take us back to before you started this program? And what was life like for you in the business before the program? Some of the main problems were transitioning from
04:06
from pre-construction to construction, I guess, was one of our hurdles that we knew existed, but then we didn’t know to the extent where it was deficient. So we would muddle through and we would go through pre-construction and we would get things done. Then we would hand a project off. And I guess to your guys’ point, we would have enough to start. So, and then we would get through, we would get a lot of our answers during construction. And then we thought.
04:34
And that was just the way of life and the of business. The biggest thing for us now is we weren’t, I don’t think we were in a terrible place, but we were, we’ve seen the light, I guess now in the way things should be done versus we thought we would, we thought we were doing okay, but we knew, we knew we had hiccups and we wanted to, you know, streamline the process and that, and that’s what we feel like we are coming out. We haven’t implemented every single thing that we’ve learned in the course and what we plan to do so within the next
05:05
Yeah, we started the course January 1. We plan to by the end of this year to have everything implemented. didn’t want to roll everything out at once. We kind of want to piecemeal the sections together to make them more adaptable and get them adapted by our team, I should say, as well. So it’s going to be a much better process than what we were doing. We look forward to that. The stuff we’ve implemented already is working quite well. And it’s just, it’s a lot of information to process and a lot of things to change over.
05:34
and it’s not all going to happen overnight, but we’re on the right track. There’s so many things in there that I appreciate that you said, Chris, and one of them, you you recognize that there was probably a gap between your pre-construction and your construction, and you thought that, this is just the way that it is. A lot of our clients, a lot of us in construction think that, you know, there’s a bit of a culture of chaos, if you will, or frustration in construction, and think that’s just the way it is. But what you’re saying is…
06:02
He had like this light bulb moment in the program where you’re like, wow, it doesn’t, it doesn’t have to be like that. It can run a lot smoother what we’ve been doing. And funnily enough, had this house built for us. I’m in Australia right now, three years ago, and I met with my building yesterday just to get a few things fixed. He’s a really nice guy and he is in the same, I can see the lights in the back of his head doing exactly what my head used to do, which is just.
06:31
left and right constantly. How am going to do this? How am going do that? So my foot, I actually felt yesterday, I was like, oh, I should tell you about this course. Right before our meeting this morning, I was like, oh, I’m to email Liam about this because I think he could benefit. He is a bit smaller builder than us, but I think he could benefit from some of the systems that go down in here. that might be a good candidate for your purview.
06:59
Yeah, yeah, I think that is it’s a pretty typical place to be in that, you know, I meant frustration and chaos. And I think that’s where a lot of builders, lot of contractors just think this is just what it is. But there’s another way, right. And so I’m curious, I know you’re not as far along as you want to be. said by the end of this year, hopefully everything is implemented. But what is how is life different for you now and for your team now that you’ve started implementing some of these things?
07:24
laying out the groundwork on the latest projects that are kind of rolling off to get started. Right. Okay. We’re not, we need to get all of this information, XYZ, A to Z, diamond dial in, uh, before we get going. And this is going to solve, you know, this problems. The other thing that we’ve done, uh, we implemented pretty much one of the very first things we’ve been straight away was a weekly report to all of our customers, which was a light bulb. That was the usual terminology, the light bulb moment throughout the
07:54
course where my, and my partner, Mike, is sitting in the course going, that is such a simple fact of something to do. Are we idiots? Why didn’t we think of that? No. Um, I mean, yeah, reconstruction was solved problems all day long. And that was a very simple one that we has worked out really well. So we have one, one of our team members that touches base with our project manager or superintendent every week gets an update on where their project is.
08:22
You know, does the dictation, does the notes, and then compiles the email and sends it off on behalf of that project manager. And CC’s human and some of the executive team, so that they know it’s been done. And then that eliminates a lot of questions from customers throughout the week. Basically what happened this week and what’s happening next week? Where are we in the timeline? Where are we in the schedule of the instructions?
08:51
We found out that was one of the, that was a big thing that we’re like, oh, well, if this is the rest, you know, and I think that came on pretty early on and it was like week one or two. And we’re like, oh, if we keep getting little nuggets of information like this, even if this whole program doesn’t work, that’s, that’s good. Yeah, absolutely. think communication tends to be one of the main things that either can create a really great experience with your customers or it can kill it.
09:20
And it’s such a simple thing, you know, but you’ve obviously seen some, great benefit of implementing that part of it alone. I won’t, well, I did have concerns at the beginning and I think you were probably the brunt of my main concern at very start where I was like, you know, I’ve approached business coaches and so forth in the past and the information they’re doing isn’t construction related. So it’s not targeted towards construction companies and it’s not beneficial. So.
09:49
when you use a lot of similar keywords and stuff like that, as you well know, your program isn’t that. It’s not a business coach coming in telling you the fundamentals of small business and how to do this and how to do that. And it’s a different program. It’s a construction-based program for people that need help systemizing their business. And that’s what it’s provided. So, yeah. Hey, Todd here.
10:18
Let me know if this sounds familiar. Your phone never stops ringing every subcontractor question, every supplier issue, every schedule change, every customer request lands on your desk. Instead of leading your business, you’re spending all day managing the details of putting out fires. Sound familiar? And you probably want your business to grow, right? But when you’re already stretched thin, the gaps in your business start to grow too. And that’s when things start to fall apart. Here at the Construction Leading Hedge Podcast,
10:47
We talk a lot about building a business that runs without you, but we understand that can be hard to take the step and actually start, especially when you already have a million other things pulling at your attention. Our friends at Belay make it easy. They pair you with a US based assistant who takes over the operational tasks that prevent you from leading your business. And they do the vetting, the onboarding and the matching for you.
11:15
All you gotta do is schedule a free call, tell them what you need, and they’ll find the right assistant for your team, budget, and workflow in as little as a week so you can start building a hands-off business right away. One of the simplest ways to start getting your time back. So text the word EDGE, E-D-G-E, to 55123 or visit the link in the show notes to learn more about Belay and connect with them. Reclaim your time for what?
11:44
matters most. Text the word EDGE to 55123 or click the link in the show notes or the description to take the first step. I know you’ve talked about a few different parts in the program, but was there one particular piece that we introduced here that we shared with you that you and your team are like, wow, this is going to change everything for us? Yeah, I think it was the flowchart. The accountability chart? Yeah, exactly. The accountability chart was one of them.
12:10
when we stuck the processes up on the whiteboard and with the posts of notes, so they kind of do it in chart as one and finding the right and putting that the right people in the right, you know, seats. I think that’s huge. And I think we’re still working through that part, to be honest. I think we’re still trying to figure out if we have, I know we have one person, I know we have one person that’s, you know, a hundred percent in the right seat and our project superintendents are in the right seats, but we’re trying to fill other, like other voids that we’re like, ah, I don’t know if this person
12:39
is right for that particular role. So that was good, but, but nailing handoff with the, you know, how, how you want to do business and how you want to see the process move forward in the future was, was, was a little bit of a light bulb for us for sure. Like, oh, but then also with that, what comes with that is, okay, it’s all very well and good to put all these posts that notes up there and do this. This is how you want the flow from initial customer contact to
13:08
hey, handing it off to the superintendent or project manager. But along with that, each little piece of paper represents how well it worked. That was also a daunting time. We’re like, okay, this is great. This is how we want it to flow. This is how we want it to work. But you can’t make it happen overnight. No, we can’t. And I’m happy you brought that up actually, Chris, because we give you a lot of information and it’s in a short amount of time, but it will take some time to turn a ship, to make it go in a different direction. You probably turn that ship pretty quickly.
13:37
if you’re trying to do it over, you know, a vast, you know, maybe a couple of different divisions or a larger employee base, then it’s going to take a little bit more time if you. Yeah, it will. But that I think is, it’s wise of you and your team to recognize that it will take time to implement it, but that where you’re going to be here for now is going to be significantly different from where you were last year.
14:00
It’s all that progress really. How is life different for you now? And is there anything else about the program that you’d like to share in general? My whole goal with this program was to remove myself from the business as much as possible from the day-to-day operations of the company and make sure we had the right people in the right seats in the right processes. And we’ve been trying to do this for a couple of years and we always run into roadblocks in certain areas, which is one of the main driving reasons we did this course. So main driving reason for me.
14:30
have a lot more time, you know, take myself, I take myself down from 80 hour weeks down to basically 40 hour weeks in the last two years. But I wanted to move from 40 hour weeks to basically 10 hour weeks. So what has changed? I’ve been trying to implement that for a while and I’ve got down there, but I keep running into roadblocks. So I think by the end of this year, we’ll be in a good place where I will be at that 10 hour week mark and be able to stay there versus, I can do it for.
15:00
couple of months, which I’ve been doing for a few years. But then I come back to a, I come back to a pretty big plate. But what I’ve noticed since, do you doing this? So this is the first time extended trip I’ve taken since the course has been completed and my level of involvement, shall we say in day-to-day operations is significantly less than before. So that’s good. That is good. Fantastic. I love that. Wow. From a couple of years ago of 80 hour weeks down to 10 hour weeks at the end of this year.
15:29
That’s a pretty big change. I’ve never really bought into the whole American mentality of work, work, work, work, work. We can go and play a little bit. And I like to play, play, play and work a little bit. I’ve worked, worked, worked a lot for a long time. And now I’m back. I’m like, okay, I’ve done that. I’m back to my roots. need to play more. I agree with that. I’m on board with that one too. That’s fantastic. Oh, that’s great, Chris. Thank you so much for sharing that. Is there anything else you’d love to share before we finish up?
15:58
Thanks for a big force and I think it’s beneficial to somebody who wants to transform their chaotic construction company into something a little bit more stable and manageable. It’s not as hectic. Awesome. Well, thank you so much. All right. No problem. Hey, one more thing before you go. If you own a construction business and you’re tired of waking up in the middle of the night, thinking about project details or tired of sitting at the dinner table with your family, working out some sort of problem in your head. If you’re tired of spending too much of your time putting out fires and spending it
16:28
doing low value activities. If you realize your business is not designed for growth, but if you unfortunately realize your business is designed to fail without you, we can help. We can help you systematize your construction business. There’s a proven process. We’ve helped hundreds of people do this and you can be the next one. If you want to hear from some of our clients, go to constructionleadingedge.com forward slash results. You can hear them talk about how they did it.
16:57
If you know it’s time to do something, if you’re tired of having a year of almosts, another year of almost making progress, another year of almost fixing it, basically another year of the same, if you’re tired of that, the first step is to go book a business evaluation call with my team. You can click the link in the show notes or go to constructionleadingedge.com forward slash apply. A P P L Y. Thanks for listening. I appreciate it. See you next time.
