"It’s a drug and we’re hooked!” is what I said to my brother, Richie, about the fix I felt we got from doing the really big monster commercial and residential jobs for what we felt were lots of dollars.

A client called me awhile back because he wanted to know what my family did with the scrap metal from jobsites, and he wanted to know what the other companies I work with do on this matter too.

The old adage goes, “Do something good for someone and they’ll tell 10 people. Do something bad to someone and they’ll tell 100 people.”

It was still hot and sweaty in the midday sun just a couple of days after Labor Day in New York, and at first glance, you’d think we were out in the yard in the dead of winter.

I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with some great contractors over the years. I shared what I had learned along the way at my own company, and I brought those insights and systems to their companies to help them grow and succeed.

I got an email from a client the other day that instantly reminded me of how I once delivered “poop sandwiches” to my own employees.

I’m lucky enough to work with a lot of good-hearted contractors. What I know is contractors in general, despite the skewed view of the media to the contrary, want to do the right thing for their customers and their community.

What does getting employees to “released” mean?

For more than 17 years, I’ve been helping contractors learn and practice good habits. It has improved their lives, their employees’ lives and even the lives of the customers they serve.

When I was the last of the three brothers to enter the family business, my dad said to me, “I owe you an opportunity, not a guarantee.”