Men and women working in the construction and trades industry get paid to build things. As Nic and Tarina discuss, it’s important for everyone, and especially those just starting out, to see they are also building relationships.

Chapter 2 of Nic’s book, Know This. Do That, is about being on time. Someone building a career (see Chapter 1) aims to build good relationships. The first step to building good relationships, especially with your boss, requires you to be on time. Why? Because it shows initiative and helps you become known as someone the boss can trust.

Nic and Tarina also talk about Chapter 3: Move Like a Shark. An apprentice who shows up on time and is always moving is someone who is considered valuable to the operation. As Nic shares, you won’t get fired if you at least show up, but that’s not enough to help you advance your career.

Your employer sees when you care about your job and support the team. It’s their job to observe you and your work. The two behaviors discussed in this episode show the right people that you are someone they can trust.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

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🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

Nic and Tarina jump into Nic’s book, Know This. Do That. Over three years, Nic collected written answers to three key questions from foremen and supervisors. He asked what they would like apprentices to know to be successful in their work.

In this episode, they discuss the first chapter about building a career. Nic shares how it’s important to know the difference between having a career mindset versus a job mindset. He shares the example how someone with a career mindset is willing to invest in themselves; whereas someone with a job mindset expects to get paid to read a book or spend a day in training.

They talk through various examples, identifying the tradeoffs. It’s about expanding your perspective, appreciating how short-term gains often mean long-term loss.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and get something from listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the LIKE button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

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🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

In this episode, Nic and Tarina explore how you to see yourself from moment to moment as a Struggler, Thinker, Doer, or Achiever and then give yourself what you need.

They talk about Nic’s recent week of air travel and how after multiple delays (way more than normal) he identified his own Struggler Mindset. Tarina shares how she managed home and hearth in Nic’s absence—recognizing how both her Achiever Mindset and Struggler Mindset worked for and against her at times. Together they discuss a major family transition. As their daughter prepares her move to college, they appreciate their own difficulties in preparing themselves to be ready for the possibility their daughter may fail at times. As parents, Nic says, our job is not to pave the way and make our kids’ lives easy. Why? Because they need to be able to make a bad decision and learn how to recover from it.

This episode is about meeting yourself and your mindsets in the wild as life happens.

Shoot Nic an email at info@nicbittle.com if you want a cheat sheet on the Four Mindsets.

If you enjoy Nic and Tarina’s podcast and enjoy listening to “all this Nic Bittle Crap,” please hit the like button, share it with a friend, or both. Your recommendation goes a long way in helping us reach more people.

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🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

What The Achiever wants is teamwork. What The Achiever needs is a resource. Even if you cannot be a contributing member of their team, you might be able to provide them a resource. As Nic and Tarina discuss, how you talk with The Achiever matters—just like how you talk with the other mindsets.

In this episode they also tie together the four mindsets. For example, Tarina may have The Achiever mindset in a situation which throws Nic into The Struggler mindset. As Nic says, The Struggler is just an Achiever in a temporary moment of struggle.

The key to mastering the mindsets starts with being aware of the mindsets. You may remember how in the first episode on mindsets, Nic and Tarina talked about having a framework for communication. It’s like having X-Ray vision into human relationships. This framework gives you—whether you’re a spouse, a parent, or a foreman—the know-how needed to build real connection.

Shoot Nic an email at info@nicbittle.com if you want a cheat sheet on the Four Mindsets.

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🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

What The Doer wants is action. What The Doer needs is a sense of urgency. Perhaps you’ve seen the sign: “A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” While that’s one way to handle The Doer, Nic and Tarina discuss the importance of managing the relationship with The Doer, rather than putting too much stock in the thing that needs to get done.

Listen for Nic’s “Rule #2.” You know you’ve handle the relationship right with The Doer when she says to herself, “I called the right guy.” For most people, The Doer is a temporary mindset just like The Struggler and The Thinker. When you’re working with your spouse or your foremen and they have a list of things that need to get done right now, take a moment to seek clarity on the deliverables and the timeline. Nic’s framework for better communication does not take a lot of time, but it does require a higher level of awareness and patience.

When we pause, we increase our ability to curb our knee-jerk attitude and we demonstrate that we care. We show that what’s important to The Doer and is important to us.

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🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

“The Thinker” is anyone who struggles to make a decision. A confused mind says, “No.” When someone can’t make up their mind, a lot of foremen and parents make the mistake of making the decision for them. In this episode, Nic and Tarina talk about how when an individual is stuck or says “No,” it’s really a call for help.

Nic tells the story about his son, at 5 years old, with an unlimited number of options, was trying to pick out a treat at the gas station. A perfect picture of the second mindset: The Thinker. But, as Nic reflects, if you take away the choice from The Thinker, you rob them of the joy that comes from making a decision. Choices are real and personal—and because The Thinker wants to make the right decision, helping them achieve clarity is an act of kindness. Unfortunately, impatience leads many to make The Thinker feel stupid rather than walk them, in the moment, through the process.

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🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

The hard part about being good with people is there’s no widely used framework. We are out doing our own thing or just winging it. In this episode, Nic and Tarina talk about the first of four mindsets that people exhibit when they receive new information or presented with a novel situation. The mindsets are not permanent or a personality types. These are a useful framework when communicating because they can give insight into where the other person—and even yourself—is coming from.

Nic and Tarina build on their previous podcasts about communication. As a foreman or site manager, this framework offers you curbs and gutters as you seek understanding before being understood. Like a lot of things in your trade, a framework is a tool you use to do the job of communicating better. Whether you’re a foreman or a parent, you step into our Boulder Bag with suspenders so you have on-hand the approach you need to help solve the right problem, not just what you think the problem is.

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🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.

What role does emotion have in conversations? How important is communicating details? In this episode, Nic and Tarina resume their discussion about how to communicate and the challenges in doing it well. Nic shares his own best practices for reducing the heat in the moment, which might help avoid miscommunication.

They echo the value of not making assumptions and asking clarifying questions. As they talk about, the mistake a lot people make is not pausing. You’re a better foreman, speaker, or parent, if you take a breath and learn to be comfortable with a bit of silence. Listening is a clear sign to others that you care and it also gives you time to verify what you’ve heard. As Nic has said in previous episodes, much of what he shares comes from mistakes he’s made.

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🧰 Check out Nic’s new solution for foremen: The Foreman's Inner Circle

💬 To subscribe to Nic’s Leadership DRIP, please text the word “DRIP” to 866-998-4545 then follow the prompts.

❓ If you have questions or comments for Nic & Tarina, please send an email to info@nicbittle.com.

🎬 Check out Nic's Work Force Pro YouTube channel.

📚 Nic has written 4 books. You can decide which one is best for you here.