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- 40 lessons from construction (at 40)
40 lessons from construction (at 40)
Your essential guide to dominating the civil construction world with the latest tech, market trends, and wisdom.

I turned 40 this year. When I look back, construction isn’t just the business I grew up in - it really shaped me.
It taught me how to lead and how to follow. It taught me that craft matters, character matters, and people matter most of all. Every scar and story on a job site has a lesson in it if you pay attention.
I wrote these 40 as a reflection - part gratitude, part reminder. Some came from mentors. Some came from mistakes. All of them are still teaching me.
The List
- Calm, grounded, firm, fair, and supportive beats anger 
- The beginner’s mindset starts with one word: Why? 
- If you’re thinking about promotion, you’re not ready 
- Extreme autonomy - especially to fail - is the best gift you can give 
- Start at the bottom. Learn the work. Then no one can bullshit you at the top 
- Great leaders explain the why and never stop reinforcing it 
- There are boundless opportunities to cheat, lie, and steal. None are worth it 
- Let your team create, decide, and have fun. Don’t hang them out to dry 
- The ultimate compliment: She did what she said she would 
- When a team is aligned on mission and values, little can stop them. When misaligned, even good jobs struggle 
- Safety, quality, and profit all come from planning 
- Trust with owners yields profit 
- Trust what you can see with your own eyes - not just what you’re told 
- Face-to-face > phone > text > email. Email never dies. Problems are solved by talking 
- Anyone can build easy jobs. Growth comes from the hard ones 
- Great superintendents are like doctors or chefs - they’ll amaze you 
- When you win a job, study the money and specs before the plans. Where’s the money? Labor, materials, subs? Know your variables 
- If you can build and sell, you are unstoppable 
- Bad days are solved by walking the job and engaging with people 
- Things happen because people make them happen 
- Do the hardest thing first. The rest gets easier 
- Ignore the checklist, say “we got this because we’re _____ LLC,” and you’ll get your ass handed to you 
- Don’t lower your standards because someone else won’t raise theirs 
- Culture is what happens when nobody’s watching 
- Building is a craft - like painting, writing, cooking. It’s only a paycheck if you treat it that way 
- I used to get Sunday scaries. Planning on Sunday makes them vanish 
- Simple “please” and “thank you” go a long way 
- Only when I systematized everything did I find freedom 
- They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care 
- The best managers know every detail that matters. Delegating and forgetting isn’t management 
- A simple compliment means the world to someone flagging traffic in 100-degree heat 
- If crews work weekends, show up. Bring cold Gatorades or hot coffee. People don’t forget 
- Seeing others is a superpower. Everyone wants to be seen 
- Some people are just difficult. If they don’t work for you, move on 
- The few times I yelled, I looked like a fool 
- Millions hate their jobs. If you don’t, be grateful 
- You don’t need a degree to be a builder 
- Who didn’t complain? 
- The best field leaders show up early and don’t make excuses 
- We’re conditioned to assume the worst. It’s never as bad as you think 
Closing
Construction is a teacher that never retires. The work is humbling, and it’s endless - but that’s why it stays meaningful.
At 40, I know I’ve only scratched the surface. These lessons came from building infrastructure, but they’re really about building people, culture, and purpose. If even one of them helps you this week, then this list did its job.
P.S. This is just my 40. What’s one lesson you’d add? Hit reply - I’d love to feature a few of yours in an upcoming issue.
And if you need a little fire heading into the weekend, below is my favorite new motivational video.
Why do I love it? Because it’s about action over despair. The future is bright. Doomers never got anything done. Builders don’t wait around - they go make things happen.
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Tristan Wilson is the CEO and Founder of Edgevanta. We make AI agents for civil estimating. He is a 4th Generation Contractor, construction enthusiast, ultra runner, and bidding nerd. He worked his way up the ladder at Allan Myers in the Mid-Atlantic and his family’s former business Barriere Construction before starting Edgevanta in Nashville, where the company is based. Reach out to him at [email protected]
