What if the labor shortage in construction could be solved by tapping into a powerful, often overlooked workforce? In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin talks with industry leadership expert Dr. Gretchen Gagel, CEO and Founder of Greatness Consulting, about why bringing more women into construction isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s essential for the future of the trades.

Dr. Gagel shares her incredible journey from being disowned for studying engineering to leading multimillion-dollar construction projects and now authoring a groundbreaking book: Building Women Leaders. She opens up about unconscious bias, microaggressions, and how businesses can transform their culture to be more inclusive, respectful, and productive…for everyone.

If you’re serious about building a sustainable workforce and evolving leadership in the trades, this episode is your blueprint.

Episode Takeaways:

• [00:16] Why Gretchen left a Harvard acceptance to study engineering and never looked back.
• [02:01] What inspired Building Women Leaders, and why it’s not just for women.
• [04:47] Understanding unconscious bias and how it shows up on job sites and in hiring.
• [08:36] Tips for recognizing and reducing unconscious bias in your company.
• [14:31] Is construction getting better for women? Here's what the data says.
• [16:52] What makes women in the trades feel exhausted and how leadership can change it.
• [17:27] The small ways male allies can make a big difference in workplace culture.
• [20:38] Advice for aspiring women leaders entering the trades.
• [24:28] How construction businesses can take real steps toward inclusion and representation.

Connect With Dr. Gagel:

Website: https://gretchengagel.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gretchen-gagel/

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Building-Women-Leaders-Blueprint-Construction/dp/1394251386

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Can investing in your employees' personal dreams actually improve performance and company culture?

In this powerful episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin sits down with Collin Jewett, Dream Manager at The Annex Group, to talk about what it really means to care for your people. Collin shares how his role, focused solely on helping employees pursue their personal goals, is transforming team morale, engagement, and retention in the construction and property management space.

They dive into the logistics of running a Dream Manager program, how to scale it, and why you don’t need a big budget to start creating space for personal growth in your workplace.

Whether you’re in construction, the trades, or any people-first business, this episode will challenge you to rethink leadership.

Episode Takeaways:

• [00:32] What is a Dream Manager and how does it fit in a construction company?
• [01:31] From engineer to employee advocate: Collin's journey into coaching and development.
• [05:09] How The Annex Group launched its Dream Manager program and how it actually works.
• [07:48] Why separating job performance from personal goals matters more than you think.
• [08:38] The first step any company can take to implement a Dream Manager mindset.
• [12:25] The simple metrics that show if your team is really growing.
• [15:03] What triggered leadership at The Annex Group to invest in this initiative.
• [17:38] Managing relationships with 130+ employees.
• [22:35] Why presence matters more than strategy.

Connect With Collin:

Website: https://www.theannexgrp.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collinjewett/

Support Titans of the Trades:

If you found this episode insightful, please subscribe, share, and leave a review for Titans of the Trades. Your support goes a long way in helping us bring more impactful discussions your way.

Is your CRM slowing down your sales team? In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin reconnects with Adam Honig, CEO of Spiro.ai, to explore why traditional CRMs are broken, especially for industries like construction and manufacturing. They dive into how AI is transforming the sales process by capturing tribal knowledge, reducing manual data entry, and making your salespeople more productive without sacrificing the human touch.

Adam shares the story behind Spiro’s creation, inspired by the film Her, and how AI-driven automation is solving real-world problems that construction and manufacturing leaders face every day - from sales team retirements to labor shortages and lack of customer data transparency.

If you're in construction, manufacturing, or any blue collar industry that relies on people and relationships to close deals, this is a must-listen.

Episode Takeaways:

• [01:38] Adam introduces Spiro.ai and why it's not your typical CRM.
• [03:53] How AI helps automate the parts of sales everyone hates, like data entry and follow-ups.
• [06:00] A generational shift: younger leaders are driving AI adoption in manufacturing.
• [07:58] The tribal knowledge crisis - how AI can capture what your retiring sales team knows.
• [09:32] Spiro as the Iron Man suit for your sales team.
• [11:31] How Spiro pulls from emails, meetings, and ERP data to surface smart recommendations.
• [13:02] Balancing automation with the human touch in relationship-driven industries.
• [17:09] The future of AI in business communication: Think Star Trek, not spreadsheets.
• [20:27] How AI might collaborate across companies to solve problems more proactively.
• [22:48] Where to connect with Adam and explore Spiro’s anti-CRM platform.

Connect With Adam:

Website: https://spiro.ai/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhonig/

Support Titans of the Trades:

If you found this episode insightful, please subscribe, share, and leave a review for Titans of the Trades. Your support goes a long way in helping us bring more impactful discussions your way.