MOST CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS can tell you exactly how to pour a foundation, read a blueprint, or manage a complex build schedule. But ask them about client lifetime value, strategic margin decisions, or P&L management, and you’ll often find a gap.

Kristin Prudhomme has spent 20 years in construction watching this pattern repeat itself. “Most of the folks that are in the construction industry, they’re subject matter experts,” she explains. “Their background and foundational work are really around solving technical problems, and that’s great. You definitely need to know how to build in construction. But you also need to know how to run a business.”

That gap became crystal clear when Prudhomme took the helm as CEO of a general contracting firm. When projects became difficult, teams focused on protecting individual job margins without considering the broader client relationship. In an industry facing margin pressures and workforce challenges, that distinction matters more than ever.

The Technical Excellence Trap

Engineers spend four to five years learning how to build. They master structural calculations, material specifications, and code requirements. What they don’t learn is how to read a P&L statement, assess project risk beyond the technical scope, or calculate the actual value of a client relationship.

“They went to architectural, civil, or mechanical engineering school,” Prudhomme notes. “They learn all about how to build things; that’s their entire focus.”

The same project manager who can precisely calculate concrete volumes might miss the strategic implications of a difficult client relationship. The problem emerges when companies promote their top technical people into leadership roles without addressing the business knowledge gap.

Understanding this gap is the first step. Addressing it requires looking beyond individual project margins to see the bigger strategic picture.

Playing the Long Game: When Giving Up Margin Makes Business Sense

Construction projects are often three-year grinds that test relationships and strain budgets. By the end of a difficult build, project teams are ready to walk away. The natural instinct is to protect the current job’s margin and prepare for arbitration. That’s where executive-level thinking becomes critical.

Prudhomme recalls a difficult project that exemplifies this. Pre-existing conditions created challenges, and the project team wanted to aggressively pursue change orders. But Prudhomme saw something different. “Let’s look at the bigger picture,” she told her team. “This owner is an up-and-coming developer and is probably going to do several more projects of similar size.”

The math was straightforward once you expanded the timeframe. They might give up some margin on this project, but this client would likely build again, with each future project worth roughly $30 million. The architect’s relationship opened doors to an entire segment of work.

“Sometimes it takes an executive to come in and do that when the project teams are so close,” Prudhomme explains. “Don’t be afraid to escalate conflicts upward and get higher-level, unemotional executives involved.” She formalized this through executive stewardship meetings where leaders from both sides could see beyond current pain points.

The project ended without arbitration, resulting in repeat work. The short-term margin sacrifice generated long-term revenue. Making smart strategic decisions about clients requires having the right team in place to execute those decisions.

The Trifecta: Hiring for Market Share Growth

When Prudhomme took on a sales organization at a large service company, she wasn’t just filling positions; she was architecting growth through deliberate hiring decisions. This was right after COVID, during a market downturn when most companies were contracting.

She had twelve sales manager positions to fill, each with a specific profile she calls “the trifecta.” First, P&L experience—people who have run a business unit. Second, direct selling experience—individuals who had carried a bag themselves. Third, sales management experience, because understanding how to sell yourself is different from knowing how to lead a team of sellers.

The company achieved its most significant market-share gains during what should have been a down period. “I know it’s a direct result of that team hiring for that profile, and then driving the change through them,” she says.

But the strategy went deeper than skills. Prudhomme is adamant about team cohesion over individual performance. “If you have bad attitudes on your team, if you have cancers on your team, I don’t care if that person is the highest performing individual, you may need to exit them,” she states. “Because you’re not going to get to the next level.”

A cohesive team of solid performers will outpace a fragmented group of superstars every time, especially on long-term projects that define construction work. Having the right team matters, but even the best people need good systems to be effective.

Process Plus Flexibility: Building Something That Lasts

The real test of leadership is what happens after you leave. “A good testament to your leadership is when your team can take over and they don’t need you anymore,” Prudhomme explains. “We’re all replaceable. But if you hoard information, you don’t build the winning team, you don’t put in good processes, it’s not going to be sustainable.”

That sustainability comes from good processes, the right people, and critically, enough flexibility so the processes can evolve. “The best ideas and the best processes come from the field. They don’t normally come from headquarters,” Prudhomme notes.

Her role at a home services company illustrates this. The company wasn’t tracking margin properly, so she started with a weekly report showing low or negative margins. The first step was building awareness, so she asked, “Sales managers, did you know that your salespeople were selling projects with negative margin?” When they admitted they didn’t know, she had her opening: “Then I think we should all agree that this report is valuable.”

Rather than dictating controls, Prudhomme challenged the sales managers to develop their own processes. They came up with solutions she wouldn’t have thought of and uncovered systemic issues in the estimating system.

“It took a good three months, but by month three, they came up with the process, they’ve fixed the low-hanging fruit.” The volume of negative-margin jobs dropped significantly, and the system continues working because the people using it designed it themselves.

Building sustainable systems matters not just for operational efficiency but also for attracting and keeping the talent needed to execute your strategy.

Retention in a Tight Labor Market

Finding skilled workers is the perpetual challenge in construction. Many leaders assume people leave for money. Prudhomme sees it differently. “People don’t take jobs for the money. What drives people is working towards the common good, and that they like who they work with.”

Prudhomme’s approach starts before someone accepts the job. During the recruiting process, she’s brutally honest. “We’re going to be growing the revenue from X to Y, it’s going to be hard and challenging, and I’d really like you to be part of it,” she’ll tell candidates, making clear this is a long-term commitment.

Once people are on board, retention requires one-on-ones, skip-level meetings, quarterly team meetings, and development reviews. Real conversations about where someone wants to grow. “Do I trust the leadership? Do I understand where they’re going? Is somebody thinking about my career?” Prudhomme asks. “If you tackle those things, that’s normally how you retain the talent.”

People leave when they don’t feel the company is moving forward, or when they aren’t advancing personally. Retention becomes even more critical amid the industry’s current uncertain economic conditions.

Navigating Today’s Market Headwinds

Interest rates have created challenges across virtually every construction segment, making money expensive and forcing clients to delay projects. In the home services sector, the lack of housing inventory is putting pressure on the market. Both single-family and multifamily construction are suffering.

“No matter what, people have to be looking at costs,” Prudhomme emphasizes. “They need to run leaner, they need to run meaner.” Sales cycles are longer, and clients are taking more time to make decisions. The companies that will thrive are those that can maintain operational excellence, run more efficiently, and identify where growth still exists.

These realities underscore what separates good construction leaders from great ones.

The Complete Construction Leader

Construction will always need people who understand how to build. But technical excellence alone doesn’t create sustainable growth. The competitive advantage comes from leaders who can combine builder’s logic with business strategy.

Prudhomme’s career illustrates what that combination makes possible: twenty years across multiple cities and organizations, each location left better than when she arrived, teams that continued to thrive after her departure. These results came from applying business thinking to construction challenges.

The framework isn’t mysterious. P&L literacy throughout your organization, not just at the executive level. Strategic thinking about client lifetime value so you’re not sacrificing relationships to protect short-term margins. Cohesive teams rather than individual superstars. Simple, flexible processes that evolve as field teams discover better ways to work. Transparent communication about where the organization is headed.

“If you’re thinking, if you have a growth mindset, you understand the P&L, and then most importantly, you understand the client, that combination really helps with growth,” Prudhomme explains. Notice that technical construction knowledge doesn’t make the list, not because it doesn’t matter, but because it’s assumed.

The measure of sustainable leadership is whether your business would thrive if you stepped away tomorrow. That requires building systems, teams, and culture that work independently of any single person. When interest rates pressure margins and clients delay decisions, the organizations that position themselves for future growth will be led by complete construction leaders. Leaders who understand both how to build and how to run a business.

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Kristin Prudhomme has more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry, spanning both trade partner and general contracting roles, working in most major U.S. cities and internationally. Kristin is an executive who prides herself on staying closely connected to the field. Throughout her career, she has driven substantial revenue growth, implemented meaningful process improvements, and strengthened customer loyalty at every organization she has served.