Inspiring People & Places: Architecture, Engineering, And Construction BJ Kraemer, MCFA

As we continue to edge toward graduation and internship season, we felt there could not be a more fitting guest to join BJ on the podcast than our latest co-op, Isabella Damasceno. 
 
Isabella is currently a third-year student at Drexel University, pursuing a dual major in marketing and business analytics. 
 
Join us as we dive into details surrounding Isabella’s co-op program and how the process of matching students with co-op programs works. She shared her thoughts on how her program helped her figure out what she does and doesn’t want in her future career. 
 
Tune in to hear what students like her are looking for from a professional environment and the differences she noticed in her expectations versus the reality of working. 
 
Enjoy the episode!
 
Key Points From This Episode:
 
•   The recruiting process works to match students with co-ops.
•   How her co-op experiences have helped her figure out what she wants (and doesn't want) to do in her future career. 
•   Expectations versus experience: marketing in the engineering industry at MCFA.
 
Quotes:
 
“I think when you are introduced to something that you don’t know anything [about], you can either really hate it and be really intimidated or you can be inspired and motivated.” — Isabella Damasceno 
 
“I think, a lot of what I learned [in my co-op] was hands-on. And a lot of what I learned was [from] words. From just asking questions and talking to people.” — Isabella Damasceno 
 
“With every mistake that you make, you [also] learn from it.” — Isabella Damasceno 
 
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
 
Isabella Damasceno on LinkedIn
The Clay Studio
Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) on Spotify
Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life
The Surprising Key to Achieving Happiness and Success in Life and Business With Bill Watkins
Inspiring People & Places Podcast
MCFA
MCFA Careers
BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

As we continue to move closer to graduation and internship season, we delve further into the talent equation. 
 
Today on the podcast BJ is joined by a repeat guest, Colin Mottola. Colin is one of our Construction Managers and engineers at MCFA. He also happens to be one of our very first interns.
 
Join the conversation as we explore Colin’s experience, from landing an internship to working on a construction project in an active hospital during a pandemic. He also gets into the various lessons he’s learned and his thoughts on the philosophy of why making mistakes is the best path to your development. 
 
Be sure to tune in to see how someone can receive the advice they need at the right moment, with the perfect message conveyed by the ideal messenger. Enjoy. 
 
Key Points From This Episode:
 
•   A behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to work on a construction project, in an active hospital, during a pandemic. 
•   Why making mistakes is the best path to your development.
•   The two components of extreme ownership.
 
Quotes:
 
“With every problem, there is a solution.” — Colin Mottola 
 
“Extreme ownership goes two ways. One is, ‘Yes I can do this and yes I’m going to own it when you volunteer’. — Extreme ownership is also raising your hand when you say, ‘Look I’m ahead of my skis and I need some help.’” — BJ Kraemer 
 
“The level of how connected this industry is, is crazy, and I’m trying to do that for ourselves with our intern(s).” — Colin Mottola 
 
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
 
Colin Mottola on LinkedIn
The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now
Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown
Inspiring People & Places Podcast
MCFA
MCFA Careers
BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

As graduation and intern season approach, we want to dive into a topic we all have faced—just-in-time talent.  
 
Join BJ as he discusses the talent equation, including why we should always be recruiting, regardless of whether we are hiring or not.  
 
BJ addresses the debate between sourcing external talent and developing internal talent, his perspective on on-the-job training, and where the secret sauce of growth lies.  
 
Don’t miss out; start listening now! 
 
Key Points From This Episode: 
Why we should always be recruiting, even if we aren’t hiring at the time. A look at the debate between sourcing external talent and developing internal talent. What you need when you’re developing internal talent. How do you get it to be just-in-time talent?  
Quotes: 
“As I’ve said before, our talent is our brand. Our people are our brand. Our people are the most important asset.” — BJ Kraemer
 
“The best referrals are the people who are experiencing what is going on at MCFA.” — BJ Kraemer 
 
“Your best recruiters and your best sellers are your people.” — BJ Kraemer 
 
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: 
 
Christopher Schaefer on LinkedIn 
DoD to AEC on LinkedIn 
Jesse Gemberling-Johnson on LinkedIn 
Are Veterans A Solution To The Talent War, With Jesse Gemberling-Johnson, MCFA's Director of Talent Recruitment and Development 
Inspiring People & Places Podcast 
MCFA 
MCFA Careers 
BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn 

It’s time to wake up to your life. 
 
It’s time to count your Mondays. 
 
Here to tell us more about it is Jodi Wellman. Jodi is a motivational speaker, author, and Founder of Four Thousand Mondays. Her upcoming book called, You Only Die Once: How to Make It to the End with No Regrets is a “live like you mean it” book.  
 
Join the conversation as we dive into Jodi’s story, which includes her time at Penn in the Positive Psychology Program and her thoughts on the infamous bucket list. She also unpacks the concept behind Four Thousand Mondays and delves into living wider and deeper, understanding the “give and take” ebb and flow of life. 
 
Be sure to tune in to hear more about attacking your Mondays with insightful advice, including practical action steps and much more! 
 
Key Points From This Episode:
•   .Jodi’s thoughts on the infamous bucket list.
•   The concept behind Four Thousand Mondays.
•   Paradigm shift: death bed regrets as a motivation to do the hard things.
 
Quotes:
“My mission is for us to wake the F up to life.” — Jodi Wellman 
 
“Challenge is built into the good life — The good life does not exist, in my mind, without having the problems and foibles that life gives us. It’s the salt that has to be there with the sweet.” — Jodi Wellman 
 
“The number one [action] step always, always, always is to count your Mondays.” — Jodi Wellman 
 
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Jodi Wellman on Instagram
Jodi Wellman on LinkedIn
Jodi Wellman
Monday Morning Calculator
Jodi Wellman TEDx Talk
Jodi Wellman Linktree
Positive Psychology Center
Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness
Christopher Peterson
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
You Only Die Once: How to Make It to the End with No Regrets
14,000 Things to Be Happy About
Hunter S. Thompson
Inspiring People & Places Podcast MCFA MCFA Careers BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn

As vital as it is for peace and transformation, the importance of leadership (and leadership itself) is still widely misunderstood. When leaders fail to fulfill their roles (after not understanding what they entail in the first place), it creates a space for trauma to thrive. 
 
Today we are joined by Larry Yatch, a Navy SEAL-turned-education and business consultant, and who explains what leadership looks like from the perspective of a Navy veteran. 
 
We learn about Larry’s life before the SEALs, what he did during his Navy career, and why he chose to pivot the way he did after being medically discharged from the Navy. Larry also defines and explains the relationship between leadership, management, and coordinating action, and why many of us do not properly understand either term. 
Key Points From This Episode:
•   Exploring the hypocrisy of “freedom” in entrepreneurship. 
•   Redefining success, and the relationship between accomplishment and fulfillment. 
•   Larry’s definitions of leadership, management, and coordinating action, and how they relate to each other. 
•   A short lesson on trauma.   
 
Quotes:
“In the effort of fighting for freedom – as you know from being in the military – you’re not free. There’s hardly any freedom at all. That’s really what made me say, ‘Well, maybe it’s my turn to experience some freedom.’ And that’s what led me to entrepreneurship.” — Larry Yatch 
 
“Anywhere you have leadership, you don’t have bullying. Everywhere you have bullying, you don’t have leadership. Leadership is using your power to help people, bullying is using your power to hurt people.” — Larry Yatch
 
“Fulfilment can only come from acting towards an internally derived, deeply-held purpose.” — Larry Yatch
 
“Respect is understanding how something impacts your world and choosing to act in accordance with it.” — Larry Yatch  
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Larry Yatch on LinkedIn
Larry Yatch on YouTube
Larry Yatch on Facebook
SEAL Team Leaders 
How Leadership (Actually) Works 
Men in Green Faces 
Jimmy Vreeland on LinkedIn 
Getting Things Done 
Iron War
Sealed Mindset 
Final Survival Plan
Inspiring People & Places Podcast
MCFA
MCFA Careers
BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn 

We occasionally feature guests on our show who specialize in the transition from the Department of Defense to Architectural Engineering and Construction (DoD to AEC). In the industry, there are notable talent and leadership gaps that persist, and the DoD to AEC program aims to address these by tapping into the skills of military personnel who transition to civilian roles. 
 
Joining BJ on the show today is ‘Colonel-soon-to-be-retired’ Adam Sawyer. Adam has over 23 years of experience successfully leading and transforming diverse teams in organizational development, education, program management, and strategic planning. He has achieved objectives in complex environments; both domestically and globally. 
 
Adam is a member of our skill-bridge program. He discusses his previous active-duty assignment as the Director of the Department of Military Instruction at West Point. He also shares his thoughts on the synchronization between the leadership talent pool and the built environment and the highlights and lessons learned from the skill-bridge program. 
 
To hear more of his viewpoint on leadership development and much more, don’t miss out on this episode of Inspiring People & Places. 
 
Key Points From This Episode:
•   Why Adam thinks Cadet Leadership Development Training (CDLT) is one of the best things they do at West Point.
•   Adam’s thoughts on the difference between leader development and leadership development.
•   His belief on how leaders are both born and made. 
 
Quotes:
“The special sauce of our leader development recipe, — is [that] every cadet has to serve in a leadership position in the summer.” — Adam Sawyer 
 
“If there’s two things that the Army has prepared me to do it’s leadership and problem-solving.” — Adam Sawyer
 
“What’s great about the United States Army is that we empower down to the lowest level.” — Adam Sawyer
 
 
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Adam Sawyer on LinkedIn
West Point
Department of Military Instruction (DMI) at West Point
Camp Buckner
CLDT at West Point
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 15th Anniversary Infographics Edition
Center for Servant Leadership
Inspiring People & Places Podcast
MCFA
MCFA Careers
BJ Kraemer on LinkedIn