The IGNITE Construction Summit will always have an important place in my life, not just as the Editor-in-Chief of Pavement Maintenance, but because it was the firs place I started to build my own relationships with people in the industry.
For the first few months I was in this job, all the relationships with blacktop workers, owners, and everyone in-between, were ones that I inherited. Ones I was and am still very thankful for! But nothing can replace building relationships of your own, and every year I make new ones that become increasingly important to me (shoutout to Kyle from Bart's Asphalt!).
That's really the whole vibe of IGNITE. It's not a trade show. There aren't any booths or pieces of equipment. That's what PAVE/X is for! No -- the IGNITE conference is for your sales, management, and ownership people who want to learn from some of the best in the industry to do it. With that being said, here are four short insights that I came away with from this year's gathering in Clear Water, Florida:
Insight 1: Quality Is Not Enough
On the second day, during the first sessions, a tag-team teaching duo of Todd Eichholz (A&A Paving) and Justin Lanham (Alpha Paving), and they absolutely crushed it! They probably could have doubled their session length and no one would have been upset, because they were dropping serious "process knowledge" on the audience for them to take back to their businesses and their teams.
The biggest moment for me, however, was when they asked the audience how they plan to stand out against their competition. The room held silent as everyone considered, but Eichholz brought down the hammer. He said, "Quality is not enough." and went on to explain that doing the highest quality work is the STARTING POINT. That is the bare bottom. What will set you apart is what you start doing beyond that.
Insight 2: Make Your Own Metrics
The first panel was all about scaling, and that's a big buzzword these days, as much as it's ever been. However, the panelists had a diverse set of paths describing how they achieved their individual growth. What's more is that they each represented companies at different stages of their development.
What stuck with me most was Dejah Anderson (Anderson Striping) talking about how they had to first figure out what their metrics were to measure their own success. They couldn't use someone else's, or they'd risk selling themselves far shorter and failing to celebrate the wins they'd had. Short and sweet version? You can't know your succeeding until you decide what your success looks like.
Pat Brown
Insight 3: When It Comes To Risk, Mitigation Is The Only Defense
Josh Ferguson a partner at the law firm Freeman, Matthis and Gary, did a wonderful presentation on the sorts of litigation that construction contractors frequently face. He revealed the fact that 90 percent of contractors will face legal action sometime during their careers, and that there has been a steadily increasing rate AND payout for civil litigation settlements by insurance companies. The best way to mitigate this risk? Documentation, documentation, documentation.
Now, that won't prevent lawsuits from happening, but from, "bidding to building," you need to be documenting and retaining as much paperwork as you possibly can. This way, when the litigation comes, you have all the necessary proof that you did exactly as expected, and that all parties were satisfied. You can never have too much.
Insight 4: Some Things Take More Time Than Others
This one didn't come from a speaker or a panel, not even the one that moderated. But it's based on my reflection from the week's messaging. There are always a lot of things that you can be doing to improve your business, your sales, your training, your technology, your machinery, or your company culture. HOWEVER, most of these things cannot be reformed over night.
For sure, you can decide to make these changes in a moment, but to make lasting improvements and truly transformative evolutions -- it takes a lot of planning, adaptation, and commitment. Pick something, pick just one thing, and make it your Q1 target for 2026, and when the time comes, look back and evaluate how the changes are working (or not).
And whatever you do, don't miss out on IGNITE next December!
See you on the road!
