Construction Hot Takes
by Ascent Consulting
Latest episode
Your Tech Stack Doesn't Need More Software
Your Tech Stack Doesn't Need More Software
About this podcast
Hosted by Adam Cooper, CEO of Ascent Consulting, alongside Senior Consultants Gregory Gorman and Jeff Robertson, Construction Hot Takes show dives into the gritty, unfiltered realities of building a profitable construction company. With nearly 100 years of combined experience, they’ve been there—from carrying gear on job sites to leading Ascent, a consulting powerhouse that exclusively serves construction companies across North America.
Each episode is packed with insights, strategies, and insider knowledge from the industry’s top consulting firm for contractors. Discover what big national contractors know about growing a business, get actionable advice on boosting efficiency, and learn how to supercharge your project pipeline. Tune in, get inspired, and gain the knowledge to take your construction business to the next level.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 65 episodes
- Your Tech Stack Doesn't Need More Software · 29 min · Episode 64A contractor wanted to get off Excel because they had 30 versions of the same spreadsheet, one for every guy in the field. Was the fix new software? Not necessarily. Adam and…
- Changing Software in Construction: Early Adopters, Fence Sitters & Resistors · 21 min · Episode 63When a company invests in a major technology transformation, buys the new system, and spends the money, but nothing actually changes, the problem may never have been the software…
- Is Buyout Just a Nicer Word for Shorting Your Subs? · 11 min · Episode 62Is buyout just a nicer word for shorting your subs? Sometimes, but it doesn’t have to be. Buying the work competitively is the job, and it crosses a line when a GC takes a…
- Whose Fault Is a $25M Overrun, Estimating or Engineering? · 7 min · Episode 61How do you lose $25 million on one job? By building exactly to the construction spec while a second engineering spec, signed off by your own leadership, sat unread until the…
- Will AI Replace Your Superintendent? · 13 min · Episode 60Will AI replace the superintendent who won't use it? Not completely, but it could help your most experienced employees perform better and share their knowledge. A superintendent…
- Job Costing Fundamentals: Are You Actually Making Money on Each Job? · 25 min · Episode 59You can feel the money moving. You can't tell if any single job is making it. In this episode, Greg Gorman breaks down job cost management and why hidden jobs that quietly bleed…
- Your Data is All There. Why Can't You See It in One Place? · 25 min · Episode 58In this episode, Adam Cooper and Jeff Robertson break down how contractors go from siloed systems to one source of truth for their data, why Procore is built for projects (not…
- Do We Even Need General Contractors? Reacting to Your Construction Hot Takes · 28 min · Episode 57Holding your hot takes to the fire in this episode, Adam Cooper, Jeff Robertson, and Greg Gorman take on what our audience actually posted: Do we even need general contractors?…
- CFO vs. Controller: Which Does Your Business Actually Need? · 27 min · Episode 56In this episode, Greg Gorman and Jeff Robertson breaks down the key differences between a CFO and a Controller, why so many growing construction companies hire without clear…
- Don't rely on AI to fix this part of your business. It makes it WORSE. · 31 min · Episode 55In this episode, Jeff Robertson and Adam Cooper uncover why adding more software and even AI won't solve your biggest operational problems. If your systems don't communicate…
- Why Most ERP Implementations Fail Before They Begin · 25 min · Episode 54In this episode, Greg Gorman, Jeff Robertson, and Adam Cooper get into why companies change their ERP's and why the "why" has to come before the "what." Is the need to change…
- Ops vs. Estimating: The $200,000 Miss (And How to End the Tension) · 32 min · Episode 53Why is there so much friction between the field and the office? In this episode of Construction Hot Takes, we dive deep into the healthy (and sometimes not-so-healthy) tension…
- The Key to A.I. for Construction Companies is NOT A Software Choice... · 31 min · Episode 52In this episode, Jeff Robertson, Adam Cooper, and Greg Gorman discuss why AI readiness starts long before choosing an AI tool. They explain why clean data, consistent processes…
- How To Scale Your $5m-$10m Construction Business · 25 min · Episode 51In this episode, Adam Cooper, Jeff Robertson, and Gregory Gorman dive into a topic that is so interesting: how to scale a smaller construction firm. Typically working with larger…
- Owning Your Narrative in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (in Construction Firms) · 26 min · Episode 50In this episode, Katherine Cooper brings her deep knowledge of A.I. in construction industry digital marketing to deliver a powerful message. Joined by Adam Cooper, she discusses…
- Adam, Jeff, and Greg React to HOT TAKES About The Construction Business · 25 min · Episode 49Everyone loved Part 1, and Part 2, so we are doing Part 3! In this episode, Adam, Jeff, and Greg react to five HOT TAKES about the construction industry and decide whether they…
- From Journeyman Electrician to 350+ Companies Helped: How Adam Cooper Built Ascent · 39 min · Episode 48Big contractors don't scale by accident — they scale through systems. Adam Cooper spent 20 years inside the largest electrical contractors in the country before founding Ascent…
- Choosing the Right Hammer: Approach YOUR Construction Problem the Right Way · 16 min · Episode 47In this gameshow edition of the Construction Hot Takes podcast, we play a game that illustrates the reality of many construction firms looking to grow. In the construction…
- New Software Gone WRONG: The BIGGEST Tech Issue for Construction Companies · 18 min · Episode 46In this episode, Adam Cooper and Jeff Robertson talk about an all-too-common issue found amongst growing construction companies. They purchase the latest software with all the…
- Your Subcontractor Might Be About to Burn You · 17 min · Episode 45In this episode of Construction Hot Takes, host Jeff Robertson dives into the often-overlooked but critical process of subcontractor pre-qualification. From identifying red flags…
