March 11, 2025 • 32 mins
In this episode of the FMI Built-In Podcast, Scott Winstead sits down with Ed Kutschke, executive vice president at Aldridge Electric, to explore how the company has stayed ahead of the competition in their more than 70 years in the infrastructure space. Specializing in electrical infrastructure and large-scale transportation and power projects, Aldridge built a reputation for field-first innovation and operational excellence.
Listen now to learn how Aldridge continues to lead in a competitive market.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
Welcome to another episode of FMI's
built -in podcast and thank you
for listening. I'm your host, Scott
Winstead, FMI consulting president.
I'm really excited to share my conversation
with Ed Kutzke with you today. Ed
is an executive vice president with
Aldridge Electric and industry leader
in electrical and foundation construction
solutions for the transportation,
mission critical and power sectors,
(00:22):
whose portfolio includes deep capabilities
in the transportation. renewable
energy, emission critical, substation,
transmission distribution, foundation
solutions, industrial infrastructure,
government and defense, and communications
and technology sectors. Last year,
the firm surpassed $900 million
in revenue for the first time. And
in his role as EVP, Ed is responsible
(00:44):
for corporate business development
and strategic accounts and markets
at Aldridge. Said another way, he
is ultimately responsible for the
growth and diversification of existing
and emerging business segments.
He brings a wealth of experience
from several leadership positions
over his 38 years in the electrical
contracting business. Our conversation
will touch on a range of topics,
(01:04):
but we're going to focus primarily
around the topics of growth strategy
and business development. Welcome
to the show, Ed. It's great to see
you and thanks for being here. Thanks
for having me, Scott. Glad to be
with you. Well, I thought it might
be appropriate to do a bit of a
look back to look forward to get
us started just for some context.
And so I would love it if you would
go back in time, maybe five, 10
years ago, and how would you have
(01:25):
described the Aldridge electric
of back then versus how you would
describe it today? Yeah, sure. So
about 10 years ago, we were in the
process of a generation transfer,
let's say that a third generation
Ken Aldridge was a CEO and had been
leading the company since the late
70s, 1980 exactly, and he had a
(01:48):
very specific transition to the
next generation that went over 10
years. We were mostly a regional
transportation and power contractor,
mostly based in the Midwest, and
we had some national operations.
We pursued some transit projects
across the country, mostly with
Mass and Q -IT relationship. Then
we started expanding more, I'd say
(02:08):
probably seven, eight years ago,
more into the regional transportation
opportunities on the East and West
Coast. And then since put some offices
there, I'd say like 10 years ago,
we're about 250 million in revenue,
500 people. I've put some context
around it. Currently we're just
under 2000 people with over 900
million in revenue. So substantial
(02:31):
growth over the last seven, eight
years, we had a pretty good size
growth strategy going on the transportation
side, as well as the power side.
So there was a significant amount
of growth over the last 10 years.
I think the industry offered that
opportunity. The electrical industry
has been pretty strong over that
time period. I appreciate the context
and kind of framing the anchor points,
kind of then versus now, because
(02:52):
that's kind of where I'd love to
take this conversation if you're
up for it. Just quite a tremendous
success story. Those kinds of success
stories don't just happen. There's
a lot of intentionality, a lot of
foresight, a lot of planning, a
lot of expertise, and ultimately
a lot of really good effective execution,
all of which says easy does hard.
As you and I were talking, kind
(03:13):
of leading up to this, I'm parroting
one of my colleagues who made the
comment, you know, Aldridge, it's
a lot more than your typical electrical
contractor. which is how we think
of you all. And I would love it
if you would just take a second
and talk about what's been the through
line or what's been your view of
the secret sauce that's kind of
taken you from even back to the
80s to this inflection point that
(03:36):
you've grown through in the last
10 years. Yeah, that's a great question.
It's really kind of fun to reflect
on it. My 35 plus years at Aldridge,
I think that the Key to success
has always been the people. I think,
you know, Ken Aldridge has always
invested in passionate people and
I'll talk about our culture a lot.
It's a family business. They have
(03:58):
a lot of care and concern for their
people and developing leadership
to build the company and continue
to grow has always been the forefront,
call it the secret sauce. I'd say,
you know, from a tactical standpoint,
we're self -performer. Um, we really,
um, you know, when I started in
1990, the, I couldn't believe how
(04:19):
it was early in my career or how
the craft at Aldridge was celebrated.
And just really the, the amount
of respect that, you know, Ken Aldridge
as an owner and all the leadership
Warren, his brother, and they all
had for the field was remarkable.
You know, we're a self -performing
electrical contractor. I mean, over
the years we've primarily been,
(04:39):
you know, an installer. And I think
it was that. start those routes
that led to innovation, that led
to different methodologies. You
know, when you're an installer,
you have to compete and you have
to continue to compete and evolve
in the market. And I think that's
built the culture of, of self -performing
innovators, differentiating, we'll
talk about, but like, that's part
(05:01):
of the secret sauce, right? Is,
is building the company around passionate
leaders that are, that want to build
and that want to continue to evolve.
Right. And so It's not enough to
kind of stay still. It's kind of
looking for the next innovative
way to install cloud cable, cloud
duck systems along the railroad
right away, or put in airport lighting
(05:22):
on a runway under an eight -hour
closure overnight. And some of those
things really forces you to be creative
and to change your methodology to
stay ahead, to be competitive, and
to continue to grow, which kind
of, again, it's a cycle, right?
the growth and attracting new leaders
and then continuing to grow and
(05:43):
evolve at the same time so you maintain
opportunities. So that's a little
bit of the secret sauce. You mentioned
in this, it's an observation we've
certainly had of you all is that
this emphasis on the field and on
the craft. I think even our founder
back 70 some odd years ago made
the comment, the best performing
firms glorify the field. If you
(06:06):
really think about it, everybody
on the org chart essentially exists
to support the effective putting
of work in place in the field. If
you kind of think about how can
firms really take that to heart
and make sure that crews are set
up for success, you know, materials
are staged appropriately so they're
not having to be moved six times
(06:26):
on the job site. But there's a big
emphasis on making sure the field
is kind of the center. And for the
financial types out there, if you
look at a P &L of any type of a
contractor, you know, 80 to 95 %
of every dollar runs through the
field in some way shape or form
in terms of the decisions made and
so that emphasis I would certainly
agree with in terms of what we've
(06:47):
observed with you all. Yeah I think
you know from the roots right it
comes to the to the actual building
when you're small and then as you
grow the field still is imperative
in terms of the way things get built
no matter your the self -performing
if you're general contracting and
running the field still has to coordinate
and operate and they're also the
keepers of the innovation methodology
(07:09):
means and methods right which differentiates
you from your competition so we
have a subject matter expert program
that we have that we and we have
an ambassador program so we kind
of celebrate our our leaders that
have that builder mentality well
you mentioned something else had
that i want to come back to it a
little bit, but just to mention
it so I don't forget it later. But
(07:30):
the type of work you all do, you
know, is not your garden variety,
run -of -the -mill electrical work.
I mean, it's pretty complex. It's
pretty hairy. I think that attracts
a certain type of person that wants
to tackle those kinds of kinds of
opportunities. And so this concept
of like -minded people tend to seek
each other out. I know you spend
(07:51):
a lot of your time both in helping
develop and codify the firm's growth
strategy and also from an outbound
external business development type
of a role. So maybe talk a bit about
how you approach growth strategy
and what goes through your mind
when you're thinking about where
the firm needs to place its bets.
Yeah, it's a collaborative effort
(08:12):
with the leadership team. We're
a pretty diverse company, as you
mentioned. In terms of our transportation
and power offerings, the other part
of our business is we've always
been strategic planners. And Ken
Aldridge always emphasized strategic
growth. And I think one of the things
we did with strategic growth is
(08:33):
we continued to evolve and realizing
that we couldn't stay the same.
We couldn't do the same installations.
We couldn't do the same projects.
We had to continue to evolve, take
on more risk, take on more complex
projects. And again, that gave us
opportunity to grow the company,
which gave us opportunity to employ
higher people that kind of fit that
(08:54):
mold. So our growth strategy has
always been to evolve, to do things
better, do things differently, understand
the needs of our customers. and
be innovative in the way we approach
the work. So as you take on more
risk, the field shrinks a little
bit in terms of your competition.
And if you're able to manage the
risk, it's contracting 101, right?
(09:15):
Manage the risk, and then you can
achieve some profitability. But
it's a tight business, and it always
has been, right? High risk, low
return business, but continuing
to evolve, I think, has probably
been our strategy. So we look at,
in trying to match our core values
to the markets that we pursue. So
we have what's called a strategic
(09:36):
approach at Aldridge, which is made
up of the value drivers we bring
to the market, the type of markets
we serve, the programs we'd like
to get involved in, and then our
internal support systems that provide
us the ability to go execute. And
we always try to match up the strategic
approach for Aldridge to the markets
(09:56):
that we're pursuing. So not only
are we looking at a market based
on its geography, its longevity,
its competitive nature, the general
contractor market, all those things
we look at in terms of approaching
the market, but then we also have
to apply what it is we're good at,
(10:16):
what our strategic approach is to
make sure that we can fit or provide
value in that particular market.
And that's the other half of the
research that we do on market approach.
We're constantly milling ideas around
what we call a growth model. This
maybe is a little bit ahead in our
discussion, but if you'd take a
minute and just build out more on
(10:38):
the strategic approach that you
mentioned, because to me that seems
like a differentiator. It's one
thing to be it and say it internally,
but how do you communicate that
value to the market and those firms
that are going to ultimately hire
Aldridge? Well, so just a little
more around that our competitive
and what we think is our competitive
advantage is project execution,
(10:59):
right? Like risk, taking on the
risk, understanding it and giving
a certainty of performance. I mean,
we have a depth of resources, not
only in our people, but our equipment
and our means and methods. And I
think an area that we continue to
try to push is upfront building
drivers, meaning that we're getting
involved in the process early, as
(11:20):
we've evolved as a company. Should
have mentioned earlier, I mean,
primarily what I've noticed is that
our appetite to take on bigger and
bigger projects, and we're what
was a crazy $10 million job is now
$500 million in this day and age.
And our people just continue to
push towards bigger projects. We're
not a maintenance contractor. We're
(11:40):
not a small jobs. We're not a recurring
business type. We're a major project
builder. And so our appetite continues
to. to rise in terms of the size
of jobs. And that takes a certain
type of people that we recruit for
and we retain and we train for,
and then it takes a certain market.
(12:01):
So again, as we evolve into that
type of large project market, which
on the transportation side and the
power side, we're both seeing major
projects evolution. We continue
to try to provide the upfront value,
meaning that it's super important
that you're strategically teaming
on the jobs, that you're getting
(12:21):
the attention of not only the owners,
but the general contracting community,
and as well as engineering. So you've
got three or four components there
that you're trying to assemble and
make the right bets, but push yourself
up a little further in the value
chain so you're not just an installer.
I think that's been a big evolution
of ours over the last five years.
(12:41):
to go from not installer but more
of a strategic positioning and we
only approach the projects where
our value can be realized or appreciated
by any owner and if we can convince
them of that then we can get on
a team and execute to our differentiator
and make hopefully make a couple
bucks. Well it's interesting you
know I talked about this before
but you know we talk within our
(13:03):
strategy practice a lot about the
four pillars of what good strategy
looks like. you know, and it's focus,
choice, systems, and mindset, right?
You need to have all four of those.
They need to hang together. And
so focusing on the markets and the
segments where you can provide that
unique value, where you're more
than just using your words, a competent
installer of electrical systems,
(13:23):
and then choosing this is what we're
going to do, and this is what we're
not going to do. And the latter
is a lot of times a lot more important
than the former. These are the things
that we're not going to waste our
time on, these shiny objects. Then
you've got to have the systems,
the strategy, the structure, the
compensation model, the meeting
cadence, governance, all that's
got to hang together in support
of whatever that strategy is. And
(13:46):
then it's ultimately about mindsets.
How do we have the right risk -adjusted
appetite? How does that inform our
go -no -go decision checklist? And
then once you decide to go after
something, it's all hands on deck.
You really increase your odds of
winning the work. Remind a lot of
times it's really easy for firms
(14:06):
to conflate strategic planning with
strategy. They're not the same,
right? There's a lot of firms that
go through an annual strategic planning
process. But at the end of the day,
it's not a real strategy. I think
what you've just framed in terms
of your strategic approach, how
you think about markets and how
you think about going after work,
prioritizing the business functions
(14:27):
accordingly is a bit of a differentiator
from our perspective. So I appreciate
you sharing that. You know, I'd
love to maybe pick up on that and
talk a second about structure, you
know, kind of going back to what
we just talked about. If ultimately
structure should follow a strategy
in the ideal world, figure out where
you want to place your bets and
then make sure you organize the
business to pursue those opportunities.
(14:49):
So maybe take a second and talk
about how you all think about organizational
structure. Yeah, it's a great segue.
Our structure has always been around
the seller -doer model. We have
P &L leaders. We have about eight
different P &Ls across the country
and across the markets, and that
adds and flows. I mean, it could
(15:10):
be 11. The seller -dealer model
is a complete owner of the P &L,
basically is responsible to obtain
the work and execute the work with
a team and return the profit, and
everybody else supports them, much
like my function in business development.
And it seems to be a model that
works in the construction industry
and for us, right? Because we are
(15:30):
such a self -performer, but we are
very diverse. So we have to have
passionate leaders in each of those
positions. And that's kind of the
most critical piece, especially
when you're expanding into new markets
or different geographies, finding
that right, passionate leader that
will live and breathe that market
to succeed and everyone else supports
(15:53):
them. We've also, I think, done
a really good job in this market
of being able to be flexible in
terms of our P &L groups. So we've
had a lot of ebb and flow between
transportation and power. And I
think getting into some of the hot
markets, but taking advantage of
a hot market and moving people around
(16:15):
has become a strength, I'd say.
You know, we're holding people's
summits where we're analyzing leadership
and moving people into positions
a year or two before they're needed
as a result of planning. We're also
on the fly, pick up a big job. We're
all hands on deck trying to staff
a 90 person job, which is, you know,
(16:36):
half management say, right? So it's
a lot of moving parts and it takes
a lot of discipline, organizationally.
It takes a lot of leadership synergies.
Our current organization structure,
I mentioned the organizational transition
that happened and formally have
new CEO, CIO and the Aldridge family
and then COO structures. We have
(16:58):
two COOs on the operational and
one on power and transportation
and one as a corporate services
COO. So that whole structure had
changed from what was formerly.
Ken Aldridge, Steve Reedy, Tom McClendon,
some of our former president, CEO,
and that happened over the last
five years and it's still the transition
that's taking time. But having that
(17:21):
ability to have a new leadership
in place that's able to be more
currently configure each other out
and has an opportunity to do things
a little differently than they have
in the past, it's one of the things
I've heard is such an interesting
thing of generational or leadership
changes as the opportunity to change
what may be need fixing, right?
And so part of our structure now
(17:44):
is about having the adaptability.
The power market has been taking
off and the transportation market
has grown, but in a steady state.
So while most of our growth has
been on the power side, we continue
to grow on both sides and need support
on major transportation projects
as well. But that ability to move
(18:05):
people between the P &Ls and and
take advantage of what's in front
of us has been a big part of our
success over the last few years.
You know, just to reinforce a couple
concepts that you talked about,
I think the notion of finding and
identifying passionate leaders that
are really good and maybe move them
into leadership roles a year or
two prior to when on paper they
(18:25):
may seem to be quote ready. For
us, that's a tell. And again, I
talked about there's sometimes,
you know, lines and boxes on an
org chart can cloud what's really
important. If you kind of do an
exercise and say, here are the 10
most talented, effective leaders
we have in the organization, regardless
of what their title is today, and
then compare that to the list of
(18:46):
what are the 10 most important roles
as you define import, whether it's
revenue, P &L, customer service,
field ops, whatever, however you
define what's important. And how
many people on that first list of
10 are filling roles on that second
list of roles? is a pretty effective
exercise at pointing out gaps. And
if there's a lot of gaps, then that
(19:07):
can be a problem. And so you all,
real time, correct for that or account
for that by this notion of when
we feel like somebody is ready or
has the raw material and they're
passionate and have a constituency,
we're going to go ahead and move
them, provide the support necessary.
But also, we're not going to hold
them up by some artificial reason
(19:27):
that maybe they need another two
years of seasoning. Yeah, it's a
good good points there we it goes
both ways really I mean you gotta
you know You have to make the decisions
right and form decisions Put the
people in the roles and then you
have to support them like our executive
team Needs to support the leaders
we bring in whether they're Leaders
(19:48):
that run around the company for
a long time when we just elevate
to a position or whether we bring
them in from the outside We've done
a lot more of that over the last
five ten years because of the growth
in the market and it's such an important
part being able to take leadership
from outside the organization and
put them in at a higher level. We
spend a lot of time on assimilation,
a lot of time on executive touch
(20:08):
points for all of our leaders across
the company. And then we're also
not afraid to make changes if things
aren't working out, right? There's
a lot of collaboration and, you
know, it's almost it's to the point
where, you know, everyone's got
to kind of get along. Everyone's
got to kind of see the benefit.
And it's really that that's part
of our culture. is being collaborative.
(20:29):
So when we have a good collaborative
environment, it works well. If we've
got problems, if we've got things
that don't look right, it sticks
out, right? And we need to address
those. Otherwise, they're continuing
to be a problem. And I think, again,
the new executive team is really
good at embracing the collaborative
nature and trying to address any
(20:51):
leadership issues we have. you know,
openings or opportunities there
to make changes. It's very important.
You mentioned something earlier
that I want to touch on before we
go too far, which is just, you know,
that you're focused on hot markets
and moving resources into those
markets. Maybe if you would take
a second and talk about how you
all are thinking about markets and
(21:11):
market selection and what markets
or what segments are you looking
at now that you feel really bullish
about? Yeah, so I say this all the
time. It's a great time to be in
the electrical contracting field
I think I've got about 40 years
going on four years in the business
and I It's an unbelievable time.
I mean, we're seeing both power
and transportation Markets being
(21:32):
very bullish and then the transportation
side Again, you know not as good
of growth, right? But you know certainly
been strong funding and that The
focus on infrastructure seems to
be bipartisan, and it's always been
really well supported. And then,
obviously, technology changes. We're
looking at more connectivity, e
(21:52):
-mobility, and everything's going
to continue to get automated. And
we'll see that with connected autonomous
vehicles. Eventually, we'll see
that with more of the electric mobility.
Unfortunately, now, it's been a
slow start, I think, because a lot
of the manufacturing is not. kept
up with maybe the demand of the
consumer, I'll say, and a lot of
(22:14):
the different happens we look at,
but we still are, you know, we're
still looking pretty close at e
-mobility. The ITS, intelligent
transportation, ATMS market, automated
traffic management systems has become
really important. And I think a
lot of our major clients across
the country, certainly our major
transportation hubs have been really
proactive because, you know, moving
(22:36):
traffic around and Having smart
highways is a great way to utilize
resources and maximize the throughput
on the road. So we're looking at
those markets. The mobility market
will come back. We've seen a lot
of the public transportation busing
in the larger markets that are going
electric. So we see a lot of that.
Our major pursuits, the mega jobs
(22:58):
in transportation continue to be
very strong as the infrastructure
needs continue to be present across
the country. We're not seeing the
megaprojects go away and that's
an arena that we'd like to plan
for the reasons we talked about
earlier. So we're really focused
on the megaprojects and we were
constantly pursuing the projects
over 50 million per single project
(23:18):
just on the electrical install.
And then the power center, we see
mission critical, everyone's talking
about the data center markets, right?
And continues to evolve. We're involved
in a lot of data center projects
have been for the last four or five
years. is an area that we're primarily
playing in the electrical site distribution.
So again, we're more of a niche
player. We've always been more of
(23:41):
a site contractor than we have a
building contractor. So we've kind
of carved out that niche and we
continue to work on it again. We
have to compete every day in that
market, even though it's a very
robust market right now. And who
knows, right? We know all growth
will end. So we don't really know
where that's coming. That's it's
(24:01):
such a hot market. I think the industry
is trying to figure that out. And
we've seen some news in just yesterday.
That's kind of significant deep
secret. So that's on top of our
mind. At the same time, we're doing
research projects on how to figure
out the market and continue to thrive
in the market. So those are all
(24:22):
parts of contracting. And again,
on the power side is just the idea
of electric demand. Should electrification
take over for more of the petroleum
industry? That's to be seen right
and but certainly the demand side
seems to be projected to go up.
We haven't seen it actually come
to fruition, but it certainly is
(24:43):
more talk of it and and then which
brings in the the grid the infrastructure
grid and reinforcement. So, you
know again an aging infrastructure
on the electrical side needs reinforcement.
A lot of the renewable energy initiatives
that have been going on, we'll see
what happens with them now going
forward. But they seem to have been
penciling out a lot more renewable
(25:04):
energy on the grid, which gives
us opportunities for doing interconnects
and building out electrical infrastructure
to support renewable generation
growth. That's been a great niche.
And then the grid resiliency is
another thing that's a big market
that we're looking at. There's a
lot of technology around grid resiliency
that comes in when you're putting
(25:25):
in new different kinds of generation
across the grid, and then the interconnection
of all of that. So it's a robust
time in the power grid, power industry,
as well as transportation. For those
reasons, that's kind of where we're
looking. To your point earlier,
two really attractive markets that,
(25:46):
from a fundamentals perspective,
look to be pretty resilient, pardon
the pun, for a long time to come.
And sprinkled throughout the conversation,
you've kind of talked a little bit
about your approach and philosophy
with respect to business development.
But just to call it out specifically,
if you would maybe take a second
and just talk about your approach
(26:07):
to business development as an organization.
Yeah, it's interesting, Scott. I
just touched about this with our
executive team yesterday. I gave
an update on, you know, just our
business development group. It's
a small group. And I, you know,
I've got my I've got my views on
it, so this will be coming from
Ed Koczki's editorial, but our approach
(26:28):
is business development is a support
function, just like IT, just like
accounting, safety. We support the
P &Ls, the people that are building
the jobs, taking on the risk, managing
the risk, and delivering the profit
to the bottom line, right, and growing
the company. We support that 100%.
So our major functions in business
development are three. Three areas
(26:49):
that we strategically focus on.
primary focus is project pipeline,
second would be our client interface,
and third is the industry interaction,
industry presence. And again, we're
a small group of about five in a
company of 2000. So between pipeline,
client, and industry, those are
(27:10):
our guiding lights, just as a way
of structuring on our, if I mentioned
the two sides of our business on
our transportation business, our
transportation. I found that the
industry and transportation is very
regional, meaning that there are
national players in the transportation
business, but they operate very
regionally. So if there's major
projects in Southern California,
(27:31):
they want to talk to the Southern
California folks. So what we have
is market segment leaders where
we put all our expertise in development
and we stack up the teams to be
able to handle regional major projects
as well as everyday projects in
the market. So we're doing that.
Southern California, Chicago over
the Midwest area, and then the DMV
area, the Mid -Atlantic. And that
(27:52):
serves the transportation industry
very well. You have executives,
I think, and major transportation
companies that tend to flow across
the country. But when it comes down
to pursuing projects and executing,
it's a regional focus. On the other
hand, our power business is very
much more national, and the players
(28:13):
act more nationally. Of course,
you have your owners and utilities
and developers are all operating
in various regions. But the business
does translate a little bit more
into being much more national focused
when it comes to business development.
So we have we have leaders in our
business development assets and
the mission critical business as
(28:34):
well as our foundation business
and their utility business. So at
which they do operate a lot more
nationally and that businesses.
just the way it's been built and
the way it operates on a fundamental
industry scale, we see those being
much more national. So that's kind
of our BD approach. Again, it's
really a support function that tries
to inform from the outside to kind
(28:56):
of help our inside operating groups
function better and grow. But yeah,
I can certainly appreciate the outside
-in view, right? It's what happens
outside the four walls of the business,
and that's where the market is,
that's where the action is, and
that's where you kind of can sense
themes, market themes, and where
things are headed. Well, as always,
Ed, this has been a great conversation.
(29:18):
I really appreciate you taking the
time that you have. I would like
to ask one final question if I could,
shifting gears a little bit. As
you talk, approaching nearly 40
years in the industry, you know,
you've had a lot of roles. done
a lot, seen a lot, had a lot of
success. If you could go back in
time and talk to the young Ed Kutzke,
you know, what's one piece of advice
(29:38):
that you would give yourself? Yeah,
it's an interesting question. I
appreciate being prepared a little
bit ahead of time because this is
a tough one on the spot, but I've
been fortunate 80 % of my total
career has been with Aldridge. And
so I've had a great opportunity
to be with a great business and
a great family and a business that
I love. One thing I could say they
(30:00):
feel very fortunate but then I can
say they if when the younger self
might be to you know, I I have the
idea was just keep your head down
and work and great things will happen
maybe maybe to kind of like pick
her out of every once in a while
look at the big picture because
you know, I was certainly a believer
and you know just do that do your
job really well and you know get
(30:21):
more and then you'll do more and
they'll give you more but you know,
there's some I think there's some
for young professional these days
a little bit more guidance that
they can do self -guiding in their
own career. And it really revolves
around doing what you love. And
I've talked to several of my nieces
and nephews these days about finding
something that you love and that
you're passionate about. And I think
(30:41):
that's a great advice to young people.
You've got a long time to work and
a long career to go into. And I
think a lot of people these days,
too, are just looking at it from
a pure joy standpoint, right? Like,
where do I find my pure joy? And
I think there's a balance there,
right? we can craft and maybe that's
a maybe that's a piece of interest
(31:01):
right that you kind of strike that
balance between what it is you like
to do and what's available and I
really appreciate that perspective
and reminds me of a of an executive
coaching certification program I
went through not that long ago where
one of the big points of emphasis
was where do you take energy from
you know what what gives you energy
(31:22):
and what takes energy and if you
can spend most of your life, trying
to engineer ways to do things that
give you energy, then that's a good
life, which is sort of a take on
what you essentially just shared.
Yeah, I think it's really important.
I've heard that as well as executive
coach points. Certainly at this
point in our career, we want to
do things that give us energy. But
(31:46):
thinking about the earlier self,
there's that balance that I think
my young self would have appreciated
is you get the hard work. And then
you have the rewarding part, right?
So they both have to coexist. You
can't just do whatever you feel
like you want to do and succeed,
but you also don't have to be, you
know, head down, not really guiding
(32:06):
yourself. So I think that balance
is really important and something
that I would think about advising
myself on 30 years ago. That's a
great piece of advice for the young
ad as well as anybody else out there
that's getting started. But again,
Ed, thanks so much for doing this
and please give our best to the
team at Aldridge. Thanks so much,
(32:26):
Scott. Always good being with you
and I appreciate the opportunity
today. Thanks. Thank you for listening
to another episode of Built In.
And please remember to like or subscribe
to the podcast so you don't miss
an episode.
Welcome to another episode of FMI's
built -in podcast and thank you
for listening. I'm your host, Scott
Winstead, FMI consulting president.
I'm really excited to share my conversation
with Ed Kutzke with you today. Ed
is an executive vice president with
Aldridge Electric and industry leader
in electrical and foundation construction
solutions for the transportation,
mission critical and power sectors,
(00:22):
whose portfolio includes deep capabilities
in the transportation. renewable
energy, emission critical, substation,
transmission distribution, foundation
solutions, industrial infrastructure,
government and defense, and communications
and technology sectors. Last year,
the firm surpassed $900 million
in revenue for the first time. And
in his role as EVP, Ed is responsible
(00:44):
for corporate business development
and strategic accounts and markets
at Aldridge. Said another way, he
is ultimately responsible for the
growth and diversification of existing
and emerging business segments.
He brings a wealth of experience
from several leadership positions
over his 38 years in the electrical
contracting business. Our conversation
will touch on a range of topics,
(01:04):
but we're going to focus primarily
around the topics of growth strategy
and business development. Welcome
to the show, Ed. It's great to see
you and thanks for being here. Thanks
for having me, Scott. Glad to be
with you. Well, I thought it might
be appropriate to do a bit of a
look back to look forward to get
us started just for some context.
And so I would love it if you would
go back in time, maybe five, 10
years ago, and how would you have
(01:25):
described the Aldridge electric
of back then versus how you would
describe it today? Yeah, sure. So
about 10 years ago, we were in the
process of a generation transfer,
let's say that a third generation
Ken Aldridge was a CEO and had been
leading the company since the late
70s, 1980 exactly, and he had a
(01:48):
very specific transition to the
next generation that went over 10
years. We were mostly a regional
transportation and power contractor,
mostly based in the Midwest, and
we had some national operations.
We pursued some transit projects
across the country, mostly with
Mass and Q -IT relationship. Then
we started expanding more, I'd say
(02:08):
probably seven, eight years ago,
more into the regional transportation
opportunities on the East and West
Coast. And then since put some offices
there, I'd say like 10 years ago,
we're about 250 million in revenue,
500 people. I've put some context
around it. Currently we're just
under 2000 people with over 900
million in revenue. So substantial
(02:31):
growth over the last seven, eight
years, we had a pretty good size
growth strategy going on the transportation
side, as well as the power side.
So there was a significant amount
of growth over the last 10 years.
I think the industry offered that
opportunity. The electrical industry
has been pretty strong over that
time period. I appreciate the context
and kind of framing the anchor points,
kind of then versus now, because
(02:52):
that's kind of where I'd love to
take this conversation if you're
up for it. Just quite a tremendous
success story. Those kinds of success
stories don't just happen. There's
a lot of intentionality, a lot of
foresight, a lot of planning, a
lot of expertise, and ultimately
a lot of really good effective execution,
all of which says easy does hard.
As you and I were talking, kind
(03:13):
of leading up to this, I'm parroting
one of my colleagues who made the
comment, you know, Aldridge, it's
a lot more than your typical electrical
contractor. which is how we think
of you all. And I would love it
if you would just take a second
and talk about what's been the through
line or what's been your view of
the secret sauce that's kind of
taken you from even back to the
80s to this inflection point that
(03:36):
you've grown through in the last
10 years. Yeah, that's a great question.
It's really kind of fun to reflect
on it. My 35 plus years at Aldridge,
I think that the Key to success
has always been the people. I think,
you know, Ken Aldridge has always
invested in passionate people and
I'll talk about our culture a lot.
It's a family business. They have
(03:58):
a lot of care and concern for their
people and developing leadership
to build the company and continue
to grow has always been the forefront,
call it the secret sauce. I'd say,
you know, from a tactical standpoint,
we're self -performer. Um, we really,
um, you know, when I started in
1990, the, I couldn't believe how
(04:19):
it was early in my career or how
the craft at Aldridge was celebrated.
And just really the, the amount
of respect that, you know, Ken Aldridge
as an owner and all the leadership
Warren, his brother, and they all
had for the field was remarkable.
You know, we're a self -performing
electrical contractor. I mean, over
the years we've primarily been,
(04:39):
you know, an installer. And I think
it was that. start those routes
that led to innovation, that led
to different methodologies. You
know, when you're an installer,
you have to compete and you have
to continue to compete and evolve
in the market. And I think that's
built the culture of, of self -performing
innovators, differentiating, we'll
talk about, but like, that's part
(05:01):
of the secret sauce, right? Is,
is building the company around passionate
leaders that are, that want to build
and that want to continue to evolve.
Right. And so It's not enough to
kind of stay still. It's kind of
looking for the next innovative
way to install cloud cable, cloud
duck systems along the railroad
right away, or put in airport lighting
(05:22):
on a runway under an eight -hour
closure overnight. And some of those
things really forces you to be creative
and to change your methodology to
stay ahead, to be competitive, and
to continue to grow, which kind
of, again, it's a cycle, right?
the growth and attracting new leaders
and then continuing to grow and
(05:43):
evolve at the same time so you maintain
opportunities. So that's a little
bit of the secret sauce. You mentioned
in this, it's an observation we've
certainly had of you all is that
this emphasis on the field and on
the craft. I think even our founder
back 70 some odd years ago made
the comment, the best performing
firms glorify the field. If you
(06:06):
really think about it, everybody
on the org chart essentially exists
to support the effective putting
of work in place in the field. If
you kind of think about how can
firms really take that to heart
and make sure that crews are set
up for success, you know, materials
are staged appropriately so they're
not having to be moved six times
(06:26):
on the job site. But there's a big
emphasis on making sure the field
is kind of the center. And for the
financial types out there, if you
look at a P &L of any type of a
contractor, you know, 80 to 95 %
of every dollar runs through the
field in some way shape or form
in terms of the decisions made and
so that emphasis I would certainly
agree with in terms of what we've
(06:47):
observed with you all. Yeah I think
you know from the roots right it
comes to the to the actual building
when you're small and then as you
grow the field still is imperative
in terms of the way things get built
no matter your the self -performing
if you're general contracting and
running the field still has to coordinate
and operate and they're also the
keepers of the innovation methodology
(07:09):
means and methods right which differentiates
you from your competition so we
have a subject matter expert program
that we have that we and we have
an ambassador program so we kind
of celebrate our our leaders that
have that builder mentality well
you mentioned something else had
that i want to come back to it a
little bit, but just to mention
it so I don't forget it later. But
(07:30):
the type of work you all do, you
know, is not your garden variety,
run -of -the -mill electrical work.
I mean, it's pretty complex. It's
pretty hairy. I think that attracts
a certain type of person that wants
to tackle those kinds of kinds of
opportunities. And so this concept
of like -minded people tend to seek
each other out. I know you spend
(07:51):
a lot of your time both in helping
develop and codify the firm's growth
strategy and also from an outbound
external business development type
of a role. So maybe talk a bit about
how you approach growth strategy
and what goes through your mind
when you're thinking about where
the firm needs to place its bets.
Yeah, it's a collaborative effort
(08:12):
with the leadership team. We're
a pretty diverse company, as you
mentioned. In terms of our transportation
and power offerings, the other part
of our business is we've always
been strategic planners. And Ken
Aldridge always emphasized strategic
growth. And I think one of the things
we did with strategic growth is
(08:33):
we continued to evolve and realizing
that we couldn't stay the same.
We couldn't do the same installations.
We couldn't do the same projects.
We had to continue to evolve, take
on more risk, take on more complex
projects. And again, that gave us
opportunity to grow the company,
which gave us opportunity to employ
higher people that kind of fit that
(08:54):
mold. So our growth strategy has
always been to evolve, to do things
better, do things differently, understand
the needs of our customers. and
be innovative in the way we approach
the work. So as you take on more
risk, the field shrinks a little
bit in terms of your competition.
And if you're able to manage the
risk, it's contracting 101, right?
(09:15):
Manage the risk, and then you can
achieve some profitability. But
it's a tight business, and it always
has been, right? High risk, low
return business, but continuing
to evolve, I think, has probably
been our strategy. So we look at,
in trying to match our core values
to the markets that we pursue. So
we have what's called a strategic
(09:36):
approach at Aldridge, which is made
up of the value drivers we bring
to the market, the type of markets
we serve, the programs we'd like
to get involved in, and then our
internal support systems that provide
us the ability to go execute. And
we always try to match up the strategic
approach for Aldridge to the markets
(09:56):
that we're pursuing. So not only
are we looking at a market based
on its geography, its longevity,
its competitive nature, the general
contractor market, all those things
we look at in terms of approaching
the market, but then we also have
to apply what it is we're good at,
(10:16):
what our strategic approach is to
make sure that we can fit or provide
value in that particular market.
And that's the other half of the
research that we do on market approach.
We're constantly milling ideas around
what we call a growth model. This
maybe is a little bit ahead in our
discussion, but if you'd take a
minute and just build out more on
(10:38):
the strategic approach that you
mentioned, because to me that seems
like a differentiator. It's one
thing to be it and say it internally,
but how do you communicate that
value to the market and those firms
that are going to ultimately hire
Aldridge? Well, so just a little
more around that our competitive
and what we think is our competitive
advantage is project execution,
(10:59):
right? Like risk, taking on the
risk, understanding it and giving
a certainty of performance. I mean,
we have a depth of resources, not
only in our people, but our equipment
and our means and methods. And I
think an area that we continue to
try to push is upfront building
drivers, meaning that we're getting
involved in the process early, as
(11:20):
we've evolved as a company. Should
have mentioned earlier, I mean,
primarily what I've noticed is that
our appetite to take on bigger and
bigger projects, and we're what
was a crazy $10 million job is now
$500 million in this day and age.
And our people just continue to
push towards bigger projects. We're
not a maintenance contractor. We're
(11:40):
not a small jobs. We're not a recurring
business type. We're a major project
builder. And so our appetite continues
to. to rise in terms of the size
of jobs. And that takes a certain
type of people that we recruit for
and we retain and we train for,
and then it takes a certain market.
(12:01):
So again, as we evolve into that
type of large project market, which
on the transportation side and the
power side, we're both seeing major
projects evolution. We continue
to try to provide the upfront value,
meaning that it's super important
that you're strategically teaming
on the jobs, that you're getting
(12:21):
the attention of not only the owners,
but the general contracting community,
and as well as engineering. So you've
got three or four components there
that you're trying to assemble and
make the right bets, but push yourself
up a little further in the value
chain so you're not just an installer.
I think that's been a big evolution
of ours over the last five years.
(12:41):
to go from not installer but more
of a strategic positioning and we
only approach the projects where
our value can be realized or appreciated
by any owner and if we can convince
them of that then we can get on
a team and execute to our differentiator
and make hopefully make a couple
bucks. Well it's interesting you
know I talked about this before
but you know we talk within our
(13:03):
strategy practice a lot about the
four pillars of what good strategy
looks like. you know, and it's focus,
choice, systems, and mindset, right?
You need to have all four of those.
They need to hang together. And
so focusing on the markets and the
segments where you can provide that
unique value, where you're more
than just using your words, a competent
installer of electrical systems,
(13:23):
and then choosing this is what we're
going to do, and this is what we're
not going to do. And the latter
is a lot of times a lot more important
than the former. These are the things
that we're not going to waste our
time on, these shiny objects. Then
you've got to have the systems,
the strategy, the structure, the
compensation model, the meeting
cadence, governance, all that's
got to hang together in support
of whatever that strategy is. And
(13:46):
then it's ultimately about mindsets.
How do we have the right risk -adjusted
appetite? How does that inform our
go -no -go decision checklist? And
then once you decide to go after
something, it's all hands on deck.
You really increase your odds of
winning the work. Remind a lot of
times it's really easy for firms
(14:06):
to conflate strategic planning with
strategy. They're not the same,
right? There's a lot of firms that
go through an annual strategic planning
process. But at the end of the day,
it's not a real strategy. I think
what you've just framed in terms
of your strategic approach, how
you think about markets and how
you think about going after work,
prioritizing the business functions
(14:27):
accordingly is a bit of a differentiator
from our perspective. So I appreciate
you sharing that. You know, I'd
love to maybe pick up on that and
talk a second about structure, you
know, kind of going back to what
we just talked about. If ultimately
structure should follow a strategy
in the ideal world, figure out where
you want to place your bets and
then make sure you organize the
business to pursue those opportunities.
(14:49):
So maybe take a second and talk
about how you all think about organizational
structure. Yeah, it's a great segue.
Our structure has always been around
the seller -doer model. We have
P &L leaders. We have about eight
different P &Ls across the country
and across the markets, and that
adds and flows. I mean, it could
(15:10):
be 11. The seller -dealer model
is a complete owner of the P &L,
basically is responsible to obtain
the work and execute the work with
a team and return the profit, and
everybody else supports them, much
like my function in business development.
And it seems to be a model that
works in the construction industry
and for us, right? Because we are
(15:30):
such a self -performer, but we are
very diverse. So we have to have
passionate leaders in each of those
positions. And that's kind of the
most critical piece, especially
when you're expanding into new markets
or different geographies, finding
that right, passionate leader that
will live and breathe that market
to succeed and everyone else supports
(15:53):
them. We've also, I think, done
a really good job in this market
of being able to be flexible in
terms of our P &L groups. So we've
had a lot of ebb and flow between
transportation and power. And I
think getting into some of the hot
markets, but taking advantage of
a hot market and moving people around
(16:15):
has become a strength, I'd say.
You know, we're holding people's
summits where we're analyzing leadership
and moving people into positions
a year or two before they're needed
as a result of planning. We're also
on the fly, pick up a big job. We're
all hands on deck trying to staff
a 90 person job, which is, you know,
(16:36):
half management say, right? So it's
a lot of moving parts and it takes
a lot of discipline, organizationally.
It takes a lot of leadership synergies.
Our current organization structure,
I mentioned the organizational transition
that happened and formally have
new CEO, CIO and the Aldridge family
and then COO structures. We have
(16:58):
two COOs on the operational and
one on power and transportation
and one as a corporate services
COO. So that whole structure had
changed from what was formerly.
Ken Aldridge, Steve Reedy, Tom McClendon,
some of our former president, CEO,
and that happened over the last
five years and it's still the transition
that's taking time. But having that
(17:21):
ability to have a new leadership
in place that's able to be more
currently configure each other out
and has an opportunity to do things
a little differently than they have
in the past, it's one of the things
I've heard is such an interesting
thing of generational or leadership
changes as the opportunity to change
what may be need fixing, right?
And so part of our structure now
(17:44):
is about having the adaptability.
The power market has been taking
off and the transportation market
has grown, but in a steady state.
So while most of our growth has
been on the power side, we continue
to grow on both sides and need support
on major transportation projects
as well. But that ability to move
(18:05):
people between the P &Ls and and
take advantage of what's in front
of us has been a big part of our
success over the last few years.
You know, just to reinforce a couple
concepts that you talked about,
I think the notion of finding and
identifying passionate leaders that
are really good and maybe move them
into leadership roles a year or
two prior to when on paper they
(18:25):
may seem to be quote ready. For
us, that's a tell. And again, I
talked about there's sometimes,
you know, lines and boxes on an
org chart can cloud what's really
important. If you kind of do an
exercise and say, here are the 10
most talented, effective leaders
we have in the organization, regardless
of what their title is today, and
then compare that to the list of
(18:46):
what are the 10 most important roles
as you define import, whether it's
revenue, P &L, customer service,
field ops, whatever, however you
define what's important. And how
many people on that first list of
10 are filling roles on that second
list of roles? is a pretty effective
exercise at pointing out gaps. And
if there's a lot of gaps, then that
(19:07):
can be a problem. And so you all,
real time, correct for that or account
for that by this notion of when
we feel like somebody is ready or
has the raw material and they're
passionate and have a constituency,
we're going to go ahead and move
them, provide the support necessary.
But also, we're not going to hold
them up by some artificial reason
(19:27):
that maybe they need another two
years of seasoning. Yeah, it's a
good good points there we it goes
both ways really I mean you gotta
you know You have to make the decisions
right and form decisions Put the
people in the roles and then you
have to support them like our executive
team Needs to support the leaders
we bring in whether they're Leaders
(19:48):
that run around the company for
a long time when we just elevate
to a position or whether we bring
them in from the outside We've done
a lot more of that over the last
five ten years because of the growth
in the market and it's such an important
part being able to take leadership
from outside the organization and
put them in at a higher level. We
spend a lot of time on assimilation,
a lot of time on executive touch
(20:08):
points for all of our leaders across
the company. And then we're also
not afraid to make changes if things
aren't working out, right? There's
a lot of collaboration and, you
know, it's almost it's to the point
where, you know, everyone's got
to kind of get along. Everyone's
got to kind of see the benefit.
And it's really that that's part
of our culture. is being collaborative.
(20:29):
So when we have a good collaborative
environment, it works well. If we've
got problems, if we've got things
that don't look right, it sticks
out, right? And we need to address
those. Otherwise, they're continuing
to be a problem. And I think, again,
the new executive team is really
good at embracing the collaborative
nature and trying to address any
(20:51):
leadership issues we have. you know,
openings or opportunities there
to make changes. It's very important.
You mentioned something earlier
that I want to touch on before we
go too far, which is just, you know,
that you're focused on hot markets
and moving resources into those
markets. Maybe if you would take
a second and talk about how you
all are thinking about markets and
(21:11):
market selection and what markets
or what segments are you looking
at now that you feel really bullish
about? Yeah, so I say this all the
time. It's a great time to be in
the electrical contracting field
I think I've got about 40 years
going on four years in the business
and I It's an unbelievable time.
I mean, we're seeing both power
and transportation Markets being
(21:32):
very bullish and then the transportation
side Again, you know not as good
of growth, right? But you know certainly
been strong funding and that The
focus on infrastructure seems to
be bipartisan, and it's always been
really well supported. And then,
obviously, technology changes. We're
looking at more connectivity, e
(21:52):
-mobility, and everything's going
to continue to get automated. And
we'll see that with connected autonomous
vehicles. Eventually, we'll see
that with more of the electric mobility.
Unfortunately, now, it's been a
slow start, I think, because a lot
of the manufacturing is not. kept
up with maybe the demand of the
consumer, I'll say, and a lot of
(22:14):
the different happens we look at,
but we still are, you know, we're
still looking pretty close at e
-mobility. The ITS, intelligent
transportation, ATMS market, automated
traffic management systems has become
really important. And I think a
lot of our major clients across
the country, certainly our major
transportation hubs have been really
proactive because, you know, moving
(22:36):
traffic around and Having smart
highways is a great way to utilize
resources and maximize the throughput
on the road. So we're looking at
those markets. The mobility market
will come back. We've seen a lot
of the public transportation busing
in the larger markets that are going
electric. So we see a lot of that.
Our major pursuits, the mega jobs
(22:58):
in transportation continue to be
very strong as the infrastructure
needs continue to be present across
the country. We're not seeing the
megaprojects go away and that's
an arena that we'd like to plan
for the reasons we talked about
earlier. So we're really focused
on the megaprojects and we were
constantly pursuing the projects
over 50 million per single project
(23:18):
just on the electrical install.
And then the power center, we see
mission critical, everyone's talking
about the data center markets, right?
And continues to evolve. We're involved
in a lot of data center projects
have been for the last four or five
years. is an area that we're primarily
playing in the electrical site distribution.
So again, we're more of a niche
player. We've always been more of
(23:41):
a site contractor than we have a
building contractor. So we've kind
of carved out that niche and we
continue to work on it again. We
have to compete every day in that
market, even though it's a very
robust market right now. And who
knows, right? We know all growth
will end. So we don't really know
where that's coming. That's it's
(24:01):
such a hot market. I think the industry
is trying to figure that out. And
we've seen some news in just yesterday.
That's kind of significant deep
secret. So that's on top of our
mind. At the same time, we're doing
research projects on how to figure
out the market and continue to thrive
in the market. So those are all
(24:22):
parts of contracting. And again,
on the power side is just the idea
of electric demand. Should electrification
take over for more of the petroleum
industry? That's to be seen right
and but certainly the demand side
seems to be projected to go up.
We haven't seen it actually come
to fruition, but it certainly is
(24:43):
more talk of it and and then which
brings in the the grid the infrastructure
grid and reinforcement. So, you
know again an aging infrastructure
on the electrical side needs reinforcement.
A lot of the renewable energy initiatives
that have been going on, we'll see
what happens with them now going
forward. But they seem to have been
penciling out a lot more renewable
(25:04):
energy on the grid, which gives
us opportunities for doing interconnects
and building out electrical infrastructure
to support renewable generation
growth. That's been a great niche.
And then the grid resiliency is
another thing that's a big market
that we're looking at. There's a
lot of technology around grid resiliency
that comes in when you're putting
(25:25):
in new different kinds of generation
across the grid, and then the interconnection
of all of that. So it's a robust
time in the power grid, power industry,
as well as transportation. For those
reasons, that's kind of where we're
looking. To your point earlier,
two really attractive markets that,
(25:46):
from a fundamentals perspective,
look to be pretty resilient, pardon
the pun, for a long time to come.
And sprinkled throughout the conversation,
you've kind of talked a little bit
about your approach and philosophy
with respect to business development.
But just to call it out specifically,
if you would maybe take a second
and just talk about your approach
(26:07):
to business development as an organization.
Yeah, it's interesting, Scott. I
just touched about this with our
executive team yesterday. I gave
an update on, you know, just our
business development group. It's
a small group. And I, you know,
I've got my I've got my views on
it, so this will be coming from
Ed Koczki's editorial, but our approach
(26:28):
is business development is a support
function, just like IT, just like
accounting, safety. We support the
P &Ls, the people that are building
the jobs, taking on the risk, managing
the risk, and delivering the profit
to the bottom line, right, and growing
the company. We support that 100%.
So our major functions in business
development are three. Three areas
(26:49):
that we strategically focus on.
primary focus is project pipeline,
second would be our client interface,
and third is the industry interaction,
industry presence. And again, we're
a small group of about five in a
company of 2000. So between pipeline,
client, and industry, those are
(27:10):
our guiding lights, just as a way
of structuring on our, if I mentioned
the two sides of our business on
our transportation business, our
transportation. I found that the
industry and transportation is very
regional, meaning that there are
national players in the transportation
business, but they operate very
regionally. So if there's major
projects in Southern California,
(27:31):
they want to talk to the Southern
California folks. So what we have
is market segment leaders where
we put all our expertise in development
and we stack up the teams to be
able to handle regional major projects
as well as everyday projects in
the market. So we're doing that.
Southern California, Chicago over
the Midwest area, and then the DMV
area, the Mid -Atlantic. And that
(27:52):
serves the transportation industry
very well. You have executives,
I think, and major transportation
companies that tend to flow across
the country. But when it comes down
to pursuing projects and executing,
it's a regional focus. On the other
hand, our power business is very
much more national, and the players
(28:13):
act more nationally. Of course,
you have your owners and utilities
and developers are all operating
in various regions. But the business
does translate a little bit more
into being much more national focused
when it comes to business development.
So we have we have leaders in our
business development assets and
the mission critical business as
(28:34):
well as our foundation business
and their utility business. So at
which they do operate a lot more
nationally and that businesses.
just the way it's been built and
the way it operates on a fundamental
industry scale, we see those being
much more national. So that's kind
of our BD approach. Again, it's
really a support function that tries
to inform from the outside to kind
(28:56):
of help our inside operating groups
function better and grow. But yeah,
I can certainly appreciate the outside
-in view, right? It's what happens
outside the four walls of the business,
and that's where the market is,
that's where the action is, and
that's where you kind of can sense
themes, market themes, and where
things are headed. Well, as always,
Ed, this has been a great conversation.
(29:18):
I really appreciate you taking the
time that you have. I would like
to ask one final question if I could,
shifting gears a little bit. As
you talk, approaching nearly 40
years in the industry, you know,
you've had a lot of roles. done
a lot, seen a lot, had a lot of
success. If you could go back in
time and talk to the young Ed Kutzke,
you know, what's one piece of advice
(29:38):
that you would give yourself? Yeah,
it's an interesting question. I
appreciate being prepared a little
bit ahead of time because this is
a tough one on the spot, but I've
been fortunate 80 % of my total
career has been with Aldridge. And
so I've had a great opportunity
to be with a great business and
a great family and a business that
I love. One thing I could say they
(30:00):
feel very fortunate but then I can
say they if when the younger self
might be to you know, I I have the
idea was just keep your head down
and work and great things will happen
maybe maybe to kind of like pick
her out of every once in a while
look at the big picture because
you know, I was certainly a believer
and you know just do that do your
job really well and you know get
(30:21):
more and then you'll do more and
they'll give you more but you know,
there's some I think there's some
for young professional these days
a little bit more guidance that
they can do self -guiding in their
own career. And it really revolves
around doing what you love. And
I've talked to several of my nieces
and nephews these days about finding
something that you love and that
you're passionate about. And I think
(30:41):
that's a great advice to young people.
You've got a long time to work and
a long career to go into. And I
think a lot of people these days,
too, are just looking at it from
a pure joy standpoint, right? Like,
where do I find my pure joy? And
I think there's a balance there,
right? we can craft and maybe that's
a maybe that's a piece of interest
(31:01):
right that you kind of strike that
balance between what it is you like
to do and what's available and I
really appreciate that perspective
and reminds me of a of an executive
coaching certification program I
went through not that long ago where
one of the big points of emphasis
was where do you take energy from
you know what what gives you energy
(31:22):
and what takes energy and if you
can spend most of your life, trying
to engineer ways to do things that
give you energy, then that's a good
life, which is sort of a take on
what you essentially just shared.
Yeah, I think it's really important.
I've heard that as well as executive
coach points. Certainly at this
point in our career, we want to
do things that give us energy. But
(31:46):
thinking about the earlier self,
there's that balance that I think
my young self would have appreciated
is you get the hard work. And then
you have the rewarding part, right?
So they both have to coexist. You
can't just do whatever you feel
like you want to do and succeed,
but you also don't have to be, you
know, head down, not really guiding
(32:06):
yourself. So I think that balance
is really important and something
that I would think about advising
myself on 30 years ago. That's a
great piece of advice for the young
ad as well as anybody else out there
that's getting started. But again,
Ed, thanks so much for doing this
and please give our best to the
team at Aldridge. Thanks so much,
(32:26):
Scott. Always good being with you
and I appreciate the opportunity
today. Thanks. Thank you for listening
to another episode of Built In.
And please remember to like or subscribe
to the podcast so you don't miss
an episode.
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