Episodes

As everyone slowly, but surely (and safely!) gets back to work in the construction world, we’ve been talking with a lot of clients about how to start getting a handle on keeping track of all of the impacts we’re seeing as a result of the quarantine, the new safety protocols and the effect of returning to work all at once. It’s always important to keep an eye on impacts in construction, but possibly even more important (and more complicated) right now! We talk about: • Excusable, noncompensable...

In Episode 53 – How Are You?, we talked about the way that the COVID crisis has been impacting Arcade and our business model (in short – being a company who focuses on bringing people together in a classroom and playing games together is a little rough right now!) In Episode 54, we’re talking about how we decided to pivot. The pivot is an essential tool of any successful business. In short, something stops working, and you find a way to reinvent what you do that (hopefully) addresses whatever w...

Lately, we have been talking a lot about the impact that the current pandemic has on the economy. Work has been shut down in so many industries, and so many people have been vaulted into economic insecurity, it’s hard to begin to grasp the impact this will have. We’ve been talking about the impact on the construction process – with new restrictions still in place, and work just getting running again, we need to understand and pay for all the special COVID safety considerations. It’s a lot to pr...

It’s been quiet here on the podcast for the past couple of weeks as we get our heads around this ‘new normal’ that everyone is talking about. We have been busy, re-imagining a lot of the work we do as we convert our training to remote sessions and take on lots of new challenges, but that’s not why we haven’t recorded an episode lately. We’ve been looking for the right subject matter for a new podcast, as we have been struggling ourselves with trying to put the current pandemic into perspective,...

Last night, Washington state announced a ‘Stay Home, Stay Healthy’ order, in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Today, everyone in the construction industry is scrambling to understand what it means to us and our work. Today we cut an episode, talking about current assumptions about the interpretation of the order. Tonight, another announcement is expected that may change all the information in this episode. Welcome to the internet age, ladies and gentlemen! Still, there is plenty of information ...

Unless you have been hiding in a bunker beneath the city, you are probably aware of the fact that things are a little different in Seattle (and the US) right now. With COVID-19 making the rounds, most companies are making compromises and sending as many people to work from home as possible. While this isn’t how we expected to spend our milestone 50th episode, it seemed like the right time to make an episode about the ins and outs of working at home. We talk about: Finding ‘Focus Tasks’ that n...

This week’s episode topic was a request from longtime listener and previous guest Jason Lange, who wanted to hear more about managing schedule on a construction project. As it turns out, we had a lot to say about schedule – so much, in fact, that we are covering schedule for two episodes. This week, we’re talking about the steps to take, and the pitfalls to watch for at the beginning of the project, when you’re setting your schedule up. If you know us at all, you won’t be surprised to hear that...

Delegation is tough! We talk to leaders every day who want to give their teams the freedom to make decisions, but can’t seem to get to the place where they can hand over that authority. Often, we jump to the conclusion that team members can’t handle the responsibility, when in fact our delegation issue is more of a communication issue. This week, we’re talking about a really cool model for understanding delegation, built by Leadership Expert Jurgen Appelo. By working to understand and communica...

We’re back! After a not-so-short unplanned hiatus over the holiday break, we are back in the saddle and turning out episodes again! We’re starting with the single topic we spend the most time addressing in January: Performance Reviews. Back in Episode 34 we talked about setting up a good system for Performance Management, but this episode is about holding the session itself – what to do, what not to do and how to keep things as productive and positive as possible. We talk about: Review of met...

This week, we are talking about the sometimes complicated topic of being grateful. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, you know that while we’re all enjoying a giant holiday meal with whatever your family’s favorite dishes may be, the underlying meaning of the holiday is right in the name – giving thanks. We’re talking about why some of us in the modern world can have a complicated relationship with gratitude, and some ways to tap into the positive parts of that emotion while sidestepping some of th...

This week, we’re talking about one of Jason’s pet peeves – Project Management Software. We see all kinds of PM Software issues, from software that we have to continually work around, to software that just doesn’t do what we want it to do. In this episode we’re going to talk about why that happens and how you can make your PM Software work for you. We talk about: Learning the basics of Project Management with a Yellow Notepad Why Software reflects workflow, and why that matters The disconnec...

Last week, we were the ‘Big Top’ Sponsors for ABC’s circus themed Fall Event, and we promised a surprise. We had a lot of fun with the sponsorship, the event and this episode. We’re talking about: Taking the Risks that we’ve always wanted to take The times when you have to just take a leap Circus classes at Emerald City Trapeze Arts in Sodo We took a chance to do something fun, and had a blast doing it. This week we’re talking about why sometimes, it’s totally worth the risk! The post Epis...

Back in Episode 31, we talked about keeping track of all of your tasks in one place. This week, we’re talking about what the benefits are of keeping your whole team’s tasks in one place with Team Tasking. Team tasking is a great way to make sure that everyone is on the same page, from keeping managers apprised of what’s happening at a glance, to letting teammates know what to ask about, or what not to tackle to avoid redundancy. We talk about: Minimizing Interruptions Supporting your Reports...

This week, it’s our favorite holiday – Halloween! (Check out the podcast image to see Bowie, our new pet dragon skeleton!) We’re talking to some longtime Arcade friends and family, as well as some newcomers about spooky safety stories. Tune in, if you’re in for a scary good time! Crack open your favorite Halloween candy and let’s talk safety! The post Episode 42 – Spooky Safety Stories appeared first on Arcade Construction Academy.

This week, we spoke with another special guest – Jason Lange, Chief Operating Officer for AM Exteriors. We asked him what he’d want to discuss on the podcast, and he had a great idea for a really relevant topic – leaving a job well. After his recent experience of spending some time away from AM Exteriors, and then coming back to the fold, he had a lot of great advice to share! We talk about: Reasons for leaving, and how they affect the way you leave Leaving without burning bridges How much ...

We help construction companies. Being in a line of work like that puts us into contact with other organizations who do the same all the time. We work with several different trade organizations in a few different capacities, but always to the same end – helping subcontractors and GCs to do their work more efficiently, more safely and with fewer headaches. Often we meet contractors who ask the question, “What can a trade organization do for me?” We know some good answers, but we thought it was a ...

Halloween is coming, and if you hadn’t heard, we’re big fans of Halloween at Arcade. (Hence the upcoming Halloween party – #GetPunk’d2019) In preparation, we thought we’d record a podcast episode in the holiday spirit, so this week, we’re comparing Project Management to a Zombie movie! Often, we get involved with a project that is already well out of control. This week, we talk about why that’s like the scene in a zombie movie where some hapless character walks into an open square and is quickl...

In the construction industry, it’s pretty common for companies to be busy all summer long. When the summer ends and the Seattle rainclouds come back out, a lot of our clients use that shift to start thinking about the coming year, so we’re talking this week about Planning. Whether you bring your team together for a 3 day resort stay, or just huddle around the whiteboard for an afternoon, looking ahead at the coming months and spotting obstacles and creating goals is essential for staying on the...

This episode is the second and final part of Storytime with Arcade. In this episode, we talk about our lives and work after we moved back to the Pacific Northwest from Toronto. Also, more (and possibly a tiny bit too much) scotch. As with last week, if you’re looking for business development information, you’ll find lots of that in previous and forthcoming episodes, but for 37 we’re talking about our story. Watch for it! The post Episode 37 – Storytime with Arcade (Part 2) appeared first on A...

This week’s episode is a little different than our usual episode. After 35 episodes of talking about business development and company culture, we thought it might make sense to make an episode about where we came from, and how we came to this line of work. If you’re looking for business development information, you’ll find lots of that in previous episodes, or you can feel free to skip ahead to episode 38, but for 36 (and 37) we’re talking about our story. Watch for it! Also, welcome to yet an...

This week, we’re talking about our upcoming training series, The Art of War with ABC. People often ask us why we named the series The Art of War. When we read Sun Tzu’s book of military advice of the same name, we couldn’t help but feel like it was relevant to the contracting world today. We’re getting into the details about what, exactly, Sun Tzu said and how we think it applies to the companies we work with every day. We talk about: The Art of War Training Series (Starting next week at ABC’...

All month, we’ve been talking about the ways you can tune up your organization with regards to taking care of your team. This week, we’re talking about the misunderstood black sheep in the HR toolbox – Performance Management. On the one hand, we hear all the time that it’s everyone’s least favorite time of year. On the other hand, lack of feedback on performance is far and away the most common complaint we hear within teams. It’s a complicated subject to be sure. We discuss: What the Jetpack ...

This month on The Critical Path, we’re focusing on all of the little tweaks you can make to run a tighter ship. We talked about tasking, about compensation, and now we’re getting into the brass tacks of Organizational Mapping – the art/science of informing your teams of what they’re expected to do and how their responsibilities relate to one another. It’s vastly important, and often under-executed at the companies we have seen, so strap on your jetpacks and get ready for all of the details! We ...

We talk a lot about company culture and the fact that money isn’t the only factor in a good hire. That being said, compensation is still an important factor to navigate if you want to strengthen your teams with every new hire. This week, we’re talking about compensation – about how to sort out what to pay, why it’s so important and what kind of messages we are sending when we structure our compensation plans. We talk about: The connection between investing in tools and materials and investing...