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The Nail the Handoff Framework: 4 Crucial Handoffs to Increase Profit and Eliminate Chaos | EP 442

Release Date: 05/04/2026

How to Turn Customer & Employee Excuses Into Action | Ep. 461

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

Every construction business owner hears the same objections: now isn't a good time, this will take too long, and it's too big to tackle. In this episode, Todd Dawalt breaks down the three excuses that keep customers and employees from taking action, and the calibrated questions that get them to move. ⚡Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team: 👉 If you run a construction company, you already know the moment. A prospect tells you now just isn't a good time, and the job stalls out and dies. Or you ask an employee to take on a new process and they say they...

Why Starting Projects Too Soon Is Killing Your Profit | Ep. 460

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

Todd Dawalt explains why starting construction projects before they're fully ready creates "dead days," the hidden overhead that bleeds profit out of your business. This episode breaks down the "just enough to start" trap and how a complete pre-construction handoff and buyout protect your schedule and margins. ⚡Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team: 👉 Most construction companies are rewarded for movement. Everybody wants to see sawdust and smell diesel, so jobs kick off the moment there's "just enough to start." Todd Dawalt calls this the just enough...

How to Design Your Construction Business for Growth, Profit, and Freedom with Tom Raisanen | Ep. 459

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

Designing a construction business with the right systems and processes from day one is how you build for lasting profit and freedom. New Hampshire home builder Tom Raisanen shares how he set up pre-construction, project handoffs, a CEO schedule, and his first hire so the company can eventually run without him. ⚡Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team: 👉 Here's how to build a construction business that runs without you, starting with the systems most owners wait too long to put in place. After 15 years in his family's construction business, Tom...

What To Do When Your Construction Business Finally Runs Without You | Ep. 458

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

You systematized your construction business and now it runs without you, so what do you actually do next? Todd Dawalt and CEO Alliance coach Monish Khadye break down the operator-to-owner shift and how to build a construction business that supports the life you want. ⚡Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team: 👉 Most construction business owners spend years chasing the same goal: a company that runs without them. But what happens once you actually get there? In this episode, Todd Dawalt sits down with Monish Khadye, a coach who leads the CEO Alliance...

The Skywalk Collapse & The 5 Decision Questions Every Construction Leader Must Train Their Team On | Ep. 457

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

The 1981 Kansas City Hyatt skywalk collapse came down to one unchecked decision, and it holds a hard lesson for every construction business owner. In this episode of the Construction Leading Edge podcast, Todd Dawalt shares a decision-making framework of five questions and four tips to train your team to make better calls in the field and in pre-construction. ⚡Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team: 👉Your team makes dozens of decisions a day, and most were never trained on how. In this episode I break down the five questions and four tips that help...

How To Hold Employees Accountable: The Big 5 System | Ep. 456

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

Todd Dawalt breaks down how to hold employees accountable in your construction business using the Big 5 Accountability System. It's a simple, repeatable way to build ownership across your team without micromanaging or hovering all day. ⚡Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team: 👉If you're constantly repeating yourself and correcting the same mistakes, this episode hands you a five-step system to hold your team accountable without chasing everyone down. Hit play to build accountability into your business instead of carrying it on your shoulders. If...

How Builder CEOs Get Sh*t Done (Without More Willpower or Fixing Your ADHD Brain) | Ep. 455

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

If you stay busy all day but the work that actually grows your construction business keeps getting pushed to tomorrow, the problem probably isn't your willpower or your ADHD brain. In this episode, Todd Dawalt breaks down the deep work system builder CEOs use to cut interruptions, protect their time, and get the important work done. ⚡Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team: 👉 You start the week knowing exactly what you need to work on, then somehow reach Friday having answered every email and put out every fire while the work that actually moves your...

How Cody Scaled His Custom Home Business to Increase Profit and Win Back His Life | Ep. 454

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

Custom home builder Cody Reimer went from a burned-out two-man crew to running a 12-person company that operates without him in the day-to-day. Todd Dawalt breaks down the construction business systems and the paid pre-construction process that moved Cody out of the field and into a real CEO role. ⚡Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team: 👉When Cody Reimer reached out to Todd Dawalt, he was close to hanging up the belt. He had a two-man operation and a crew that had left one guy at a time. Worse, he was starting to see that he was the bottleneck. As...

Why Waffle House Is More Systematized Than Your Construction Business | Ep. 453

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

If you're a contractor working 60 to 80-hour weeks and still putting out fires, here's an uncomfortable truth: Waffle House is probably more systematized than your construction business. Todd Dawalt sat at the counter during a lunch rush and walked out with four systems lessons that show exactly where your company is bleeding time and profit. ⚡Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team: 👉 It started with a cook's shirt that read "$2 Million Club." That sent Todd down a rabbit hole into how Waffle House runs its line with no iPads, no kitchen displays, and...

The 5-Step Hire Right System: How Construction Business Owners Can Hire Better with Justin Landry | Ep. 452

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

Hiring for your construction business shouldn't feel like an emergency every time you do it. In this episode, Todd Dawalt sits down with JL Talent Solutions founder Justin Landry to break down a five-step system for hiring better construction employees without leaning on gut feel. ⚡Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team: 👉 Most construction owners only start hiring when someone quits or the team is already stretched past its limit. Justin Landry calls this the reactive hiring trap, and it's why so many builders end up hiring for skills when the thing...

More Episodes

EPISODE 442:

Most construction business owners are managing 20 things at once and wondering why the job still falls apart. They've got good people, solid clients, decent projects — and somehow it still ends in chaos, rework, and fires they didn't see coming.

The problem usually isn't the building. It's the handoff.

In this solo episode of The Construction Leading Edge Podcast, Todd Dawalt breaks down a framework he calls Nail the Handoff — a simple way to identify the three or four points in every construction project where the most damage happens and where your time and energy will have the greatest return. Drawing on 30 years in construction and work with over 400 companies, Todd walks through each handoff point: customer to contractor, sales to estimating, estimator to subs and suppliers, and pre-construction to operations. At each stage, he shows what breaks down, what it costs you, and what one tool can fix it.

👉 If your jobs seem to start smooth and then deteriorate — or if you're still the person holding all the pieces together — this episode is worth your full attention. Tune in.

Key Takeaways:

00:02 The 20-plates problem — why construction chaos isn't random

01:20 Introducing the Nail the Handoff framework

02:20 The 2020 Olympic relay disqualification and what it means for your business

04:45 What botched handoffs actually look like in construction

10:45 Handoff #1: Customer to contractor — needs assessment and expectation setting

17:30 Handoff #2: Sales to estimating — what a complete handoff looks like

21:15 Handoff #3: Estimator to subs and suppliers — bid packages and scope clarity

27:15 Handoff #4: Pre-construction to operations — the loan closing model

36:05 Bonus move #1: Work right to left

37:35 Bonus move #2: Build processes with your team

38:30 Bonus move #3: Get paid for pre-construction

40:10 Real results — Andy Culp and John Springs on what changed

44:20 Grade your handoff — and what a weak one is actually costing you

Additional Resources:

☎️ Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team HERE

⚡ Download the How to Buyout a Construction Project Playbook: HERE

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⚡Visit The Construction Leading Edge for more information: HERE

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time.

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