True Innovation: Small Changes Create A Significant Impact with Eric Whobrey - ARCO Construction

Building Scale

We interview successful Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) business leaders to learn how they use people, processes, and technology to scale their businesses.

True Innovation: Small Changes Create A Significant Impact with Eric Whobrey - ARCO Construction

E102 • Aug 20, 2024 • 59 mins

Eric Whobrey from ARCO Construction shares insights into his role and the company's approach to small incremental innovations. He addresses the challenges of naming conventions and change management in innovation. Eric discusses ARCO's business structure, venture capital insights, and entrepreneurial mindset for expansion. The conversation covers scaling challenges, standardizing processes, and measuring innovation ROI. Eric explains how Airtable streamlines project management and improves subcontractor rating processes. He highlights the role of technology in scaling, addresses automation and job security concerns, and emphasizes the importance of standards. Eric offers advice on embracing failure and leadership in innovation.

Key Points

Introducing new technology requires experimentation and thoughtful implementation to determine its suitability and impact.
ARCO Construction's innovation group focuses on making processes more efficient and reducing risks by centralizing and standardizing information.
The entrepreneurial spirit and merit-based reward system have driven ARCO's significant growth, while current efforts aim to balance innovation with standardized processes to maintain scalability.

Connect with Eric Whobrey - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericwhobrey/ Website: https://thearcoway.com/ Connect with Justin & Will - Will's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willforet/ Justin's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justneagle/ Learn More & Connect With Spot Migration - Website: https://www.spotmigration.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spot-migration Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spotmigration Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Spotmigration Do you want to be a guest on the show? Go to https://buildingscale.net/guests Need to discuss your IT and Cybersecurity Strategy? Go to https://buildingscale.net/help

Speakers

Eric Whobrey

Guest • 66%

Will Foret

Host • 19%

Justin Neagle

Host • 15%

Will Foret

Host • 0%

Chapters

0:00	Introduction and guest Eric Whobrey's background
5:24	Eric Whobrey's role at ARCO Construction
6:59	Small incremental innovations at Arco
8:27	Tackling naming convention issues
14:04	Change management challenges in innovation
20:29	Arco's business structure and venture capital insights
23:38	Arco's entrepreneurial mindset and expansion strategy
26:31	Scaling challenges and standardizing processes
30:19	Measuring Innovation and ROI
31:15	Streamlining project management with Airtable
34:34	Improving subcontractor rating processes
39:41	Process improvement benefits and challenges
44:26	Role of technology in scaling businesses
45:41	Addressing automation and job security concerns
46:50	Achieving scale through innovation
49:02	Subcontractor ratings to prevent costly errors
51:28	Recognizing limitations when scaling
52:54	The significance of standards in scaling
54:27	Eric's advice on embracing failure
56:10	Leadership in innovation and learning from failure
57:09	Connecting with Eric Whobrey
58:02	Closing remarks and sponsor mention

Transcript

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