Co-founders of Let's Fix Construction, Eric D. Lussier and Cherise Lakeside discuss CONSTRUCT (www.constructshow.com). CONSTRUCT, which will be held in Long Beach, CA from October 3-4, 2018, is the only dedicated national trade show and educational conference for the commercial building teams that spec, source and purchase building products and coincidentally, is where they met in Phoenix in 2011.  

Eric and Cherise talk about their past personal experiences at CONSTRUCT, some of the professional benefits they have received in attending and presenting, the people they have met and the value of an event that includes education from many disciplines in the built environment. 

Learning sessions at CONSTRUCT are selected by an Education Advisory board, which both Eric and Cherise took part in for Providence in 2017 and will again for 2018. 

They close the podcast with a call to the listeners to consider submitting for the opportunity to share their expertise, knowledge and solutions in a presentation at the CONSTRUCT Show.  The call for sessions is due by January 23, 2018 and information on how to submit is located here

Read a summary on CONSTRUCT in Providence 2017, including quotes by attendees & exhibitors by visiting here.

Podcast Introduction and Outro: By Mel Allen www.therealvoice.com

Podcast Theme: "Let's" is performed by Milton Busker www.miltonbusker.com

Podcast Episode 004: Pursue Opportunities at CONSTRUCT

Co-founders of Let's Fix Construction, Eric D. Lussier and Cherise Lakeside, open by discussing the movie 'Groundhog Day' and its premise of reliving the same day over and over again is much like construction and how we do the same things over and over again and expect different results: the definition of insanity!

Cherise kicks off by talking about how one of her major peeves is the lack of coordination with keynotes on the architectural drawings and the disconnect between the design team and the architectural specifier or whomever is taking lead on the standards.

Eric's first Groundhog Day insanity is how the typical building product marketer leads off a typical sales call by regurgitating marketing speak: the age of their company, how they've never had a product failure and how wonderful their warranty is.  Meanwhile, they aren't achieving what they should be tackling: ensuring that they answer the questions and delivering the answers that the designer wants to hear. Cherise is able to offer the importance of billable time when it comes to her role as an architectural specifier and how crucial observing timeframes are when she allocates 15 minutes to a building product marketer who is making a sales call. 

Coordination with consultants and Division 01 General Requirements, a topic that is touched on in the Let's Fix Construction Episode 3 (http://www.letsfixconstruction.com/podcast/ep-003) is echoed as the next part of Groundhog Day insanity.  This topic was what kicked off Cherise's public speaking career and is an LFC workshop: http://www.letsfixconstruction.com/aecoordination.html 

Eric closes the podcast by discussing his biggest issues that he deals with as a sports flooring subcontractor: concrete moisture and condition of the concrete. For 12 years, Eric deems concrete as the bane of his existence and seemingly from job to job, he deals with the same issues with concrete. He suggests that having a conversation about expectations up front will save lots of headaches and money at the 11th hour.

Podcast Introduction and Outro By Mel Allen www.therealvoice.com

Podcast Theme: "Let's" is performed by Milton Busker www.miltonbusker.com

Podcast Episode 005: Just Like Groundhog Day

Show Notes: Co-founders of Let's Fix Construction, Eric D. Lussier and Cherise Lakeside, host the first podcast in five months! Where does the time go?  2018 is half done and we've had the opportunity to speak at numerous locations. This episode looks back at the past five months and the live workshops that Eric and Cherise have hosted since the last episode went live.  
It started with the 'Communication & Ramifications of Specifications (Part 1) at the FCICA Annual Convention in Biloxi, MI (fcica.com) on March 20th at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, which was the 'Specs 101' workshop renamed. Delivered to flooring contractors, distributors, manufacturers and installers, this presentation was extremely well received. The Specs 101 is needed as architectural specifications are not being introduced to design professionals in architecture school and are certainly not being given or even discussed to industry professionals.  
After Biloxi, Eric and Cherise visited the CSI South Central Region Conference in Frisco, TX on April 6 and delivered 3 presentations, including the Let's Fix Construction Workshop, Social Media & the AEC Industry and a brand new workshop, Protectors of the Future: Empowering and Engaging Tomorrow's Leaders.  Cherise revisits how she was introduced to the industry as a young professional and how she feels the need to give back. We felt the need to put together this new presentation to get the people to understand that the information they're reading & hearing has existed about every generation before them. 
The 'Social Media & the AEC Industry' may in essence be a 101 course, but from experience, we know that this information is still needed, especially for those that only dip their toes in social.  LinkedIn is the most important professional network, and it is a MUST to be found as Google loves LinkedIn. It is not just for job seekers.
Quickly following Frisco, we were back on a plane for the CSI Southwest Region Conference in Las Vegas from April 19 - 21, 2018. Our friend, Robin Snyder of Spectra Consulting put together an outstanding conference and had us host FOUR programs, including an impromptu Empowering Young Professionals roundtable discussion, as well as the pre-planned Specs 101, She’s a Specifier, He’s a Product Rep: Different Roles, Same Goals Workshop and our flagship Let's Fix Construction Workshop.
Eric and Cherise had a chance to go international when they presented to the CSC Conference (Construction Specifications Canada (http://csc-dcc.ca/) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on May 24th.  This workshop was followed by a special PROSOCO Round Table Discussion at the IA Conference 2018 in New York, NY on June 22. 
No further workshops are on the schedule until CONSTRUCT in Long Beach, California, from October 3 to the 5, but Eric & Cherise will be heavily involved. In addition to being on the Education Advisory Council for the second consecutive year, they'll be hosting and or moderating five different sessions.  The fourth annual Young Professionals Day kicks off CONSTRUCT (www.CONSTRUCTshow.com/ypday) with Cherise leading the way and Eric being one of many mentors during the speed mentoring sessions. In addition to the Let's Fix Construction workshop, Eric and Cherise will be delivering a new presentation called 'Facing Danger: Public Speaking for Non-Public Speakers', which speaks from Cherise's non-traditional background. 

in Las Vegas, four industry young professionals will speak directly about their experiences in AEC.
CONSTRUCT is CSI's annual meeting and affiliated tradeshow and is THE place to be this October.  Be sure to check out CONSTRUCTshow.com for more details.
Podcast Introduction and Outro By Mel Allen www.therealvoice.com
Podcast Theme: "Let's" is performed by Milton Busker www.miltonbusker.com

Episode 006 Playing Catch Up

Co-founders of Let's Fix Construction, Eric D. Lussier and Cherise Lakeside, host the latest episode about social media, concentrating on the LinkedIn platform, which was the topic of the latest LFC blog post.  

Eric's social media history stretches back 10 years, starting on LinkedIn and Facebook and just about as long on Twitter. Cherise has about six years of experience and she was introduced to the benefits of social from Joy Davis, former Marketing and Communications Manager for the Construction Specifications Institute, after attending one of her presentations. Cherise states that social media is "one of the single biggest benefits to her career and her network in the last six years that she could have ever dreamed was possible"

Eric's pointer before anyone dips their toes into the water on a social platform they don't use is to listen first and interact second. A 101 level of instruction for even the most common social media platforms is needed, even in 2018, and that is what LFC offers with our 'Social Media & AEC' presentation, that alike the Specs 101 (on architectural specifications) workshop that we offer, is needed in the AEC community, and tends to be much more than a traditional 101 class. 

Cherise talks about how she sees Facebook (NOT for business), how she views Twitter for relationships, and how she first started with LinkedIn, including sending out "about 6,000 connection requests" right off the bat.  Going into LinkedIn jail for 3 months, barring her from sending out new requests, demonstrated to her how to properly listen in and engage with those connections that were accepted. 

Eric gives his biggest LinkedIn tip and that is personalizing your connection request. Make sure you have a profile picture and then be sure to add a personal note. So few people set themselves apart by customizing their LinkedIn invitation. 

After being downsized in August of 2017, Cherise had a first-hand experience about the power of LinkedIn and how just updating your headline and then an official post about a job loss can lead to hundreds of messages and tens of thousands of views. These messages and views led to job offers and the realization that even when you think people aren't watching or listening, that is certainly not the case.

Eric discusses the importance of being found when you're in sales. Utilize your profile to detail product lines that you represent, including your contact information and more.  Ultimately, you want to be found when your business is in sales. And if you want to be found, then LinkedIn is your friend, because Google LOVES LinkedIn, yet not all professionals are using LinkedIn properly, and some not AT ALL.