PCG Connect

Host: 00:05

Hey there, everyone. Welcome to Pop Culture. This series will focus on all things that are related to the people of performance. Get it? People of performance, pop, pop culture?

Host: 00:16

From individual interviews to hearing more about the programs in place to make all of our lives better, pop culture is here to tell you what's new in the performance people biz. So today, we are going to spend some time with Jason Martin to learn more about a day in the life of a general manager. So welcome to the studio, Jason.

Jason Martin: 00:42

Thank you for having me.

Host: 00:44

You're welcome. So you, you work in Austin

Jason Martin: 00:47

Correct.

Host: 00:48

Currently. And how long have you been in the GM role?

Jason Martin: 00:52

Let's see. So I moved to Texas August 1, 2018.

Host: 00:58

Okay. Has it been that long already?

Jason Martin: 00:59

As an ops manager.

Host: 01:00

As an ops manager.

Jason Martin: 01:01

So they gotta fill you out for about a year. Yep. And then, then you get the promotion. So been a GM for about 4 years.

Host: 01:08

Okay. So let's go in our, hot tub time machine here and go back. Let's, learn a little bit more about you. So what part of the country are you from? Georgia.

Host: 01:18

Some from Georgia.

Jason Martin: 01:19

Small town you never heard of. South Georgia, right between Savannah and Augusta.

Host: 01:24

Give it a shout out.

Jason Martin: 01:26

Sylvania, Georgia. Just like the light bulb.

Host: 01:28

Oh, okay. How many people? What are we talking?

Jason Martin: 01:30

Oh, 2 a school. We had a McDonald's. No Walmart. Closest Walmart, maybe 35 miles.

Host: 01:38

Okay. That's actually a very good description. I have a theory. There's, subway towns Mhmm. Pizza Hut towns, and then McDonald's.

Host: 01:45

So you're kind of

Jason Martin: 01:46

We had a parties.

Host: 01:48

Okay.

Jason Martin: 01:48

And then I think I was maybe a freshman, and we got a McDonald's. That was a big deal.

Host: 01:54

A big time. So how many kids are in your graduating class?

Jason Martin: 01:57

Maybe a 100. Okay. A 120.

Host: 02:00

So did you have did you grow up around construction? And, you know, how are you interested? And where where did you go to college?

Jason Martin: 02:05

Went to Georgia Southern. Okay. GATA. That's our saying.

Host: 02:09

What is it again?

Jason Martin: 02:10

Yara, g a t a.

Host: 02:12

What does that mean?

Jason Martin: 02:13

Get after that ass.

Host: 02:18

Is this official, like, on merch?

Jason Martin: 02:20

You can buy you can buy merch. You can buy stickers, bumper stickers, license plates. You name it.

Host: 02:26

That's awesome. So did you study construction there?

Jason Martin: 02:29

Or Let's see. I wanted to be a physical therapist when I went to college. So I had a couple of surgeries, been through PT. I thought I wanted to be a physical therapist. I quickly realized that I didn't wanna go to school for an additional 2, 3 years.

Jason Martin: 02:47

Yeah. So I had a friend that was Chris. He was in the construction management program. I was like, that's a thing. And he was like, yeah.

Jason Martin: 02:57

So did a little research, looked into it. They had, I think, 98, 99% job placement.

Host: 03:03

Oh, wow.

Jason Martin: 03:03

I was like, I'm in. So switched over.

Host: 03:06

So you never, like, in the summers, helped family friend roof or anything like that?

Jason Martin: 03:11

Not really. I did a lot of landscaping. I helped my dad build some stuff, but

Host: 03:16

nothing no. Okay. So you you go there. You switch it's cons

Jason Martin: 03:20

Switch majors.

Host: 03:21

Construction science. Is that Mhmm. And then, how did you wind up with PCI? Did you go to work for another company first, or is this your first job?

Jason Martin: 03:28

I'm a lifer.

Host: 03:29

Wow. One and only professional job. Okay.

Jason Martin: 03:32

So way before Robin or Michelle, and then Robin, there was Dale Dale Michael.

Host: 03:39

I remember Dale. Yeah.

Jason Martin: 03:41

One person you don't remember would be, Jason Brown. He's a ghost.

Host: 03:47

I don't.

Jason Martin: 03:47

So they did a a recruitment thing. It wasn't even a what do they call it? The career it wasn't even the career fair. It was a PCI is coming, and they're gonna be in this classroom tonight with a presentation. I showed up, and this guy named Jason Brown, his business card was senior estimator, and he was out of our installation division out of Washington DC.

Host: 04:13

Oh, okay. So you talked to Jason, and he's like

Jason Martin: 04:17

I was kinda listening. I've talked to him a little bit, and then boom, he pulled up the wealth builder. Yeah. Game changer.

Host: 04:23

Yeah.

Jason Martin: 04:24

Yeah. So

Host: 04:24

that that's the that's the spreadsheet that goes over the, you know, our ESOP program. And so your ears were perked at that point.

Jason Martin: 04:32

Well, it's like all I got I mean, get from small town in South Georgia, and you got all I gotta do is go to work for this company for for 25 years and just keep my job, and I can have $2,000,000 Yeah. Like, that is a lot of money.

Host: 04:46

Think how many McDonald's cheeseburgers you could buy with it.

Jason Martin: 04:49

Right?

Host: 04:49

Yeah. Right? Yeah.

Jason Martin: 04:50

So I was all in. I was like, wow, sign me up.

Host: 04:53

So did you go to 2nd interviews? Did they have that formal process?

Jason Martin: 04:56

I actually took him out to the bars that night, and he had a great time. So he stayed in touch.

Host: 05:01

He's like, your name is Jason.

Jason Martin: 05:02

Yep. You were

Host: 05:03

a good time at the bar. And so he stayed in touch. And then, where were you? Was this like your senior year? It was

Jason Martin: 05:09

I think it was like my junior year. I started my junior year. So, Craig Perler actually graduated

Host: 05:16

Yeah.

Jason Martin: 05:16

A year year and a half maybe and went to work for PCI. So I called up Craig and was like, hey.

Host: 05:22

He went to Georgia too.

Jason Martin: 05:23

He went to Georgia. So I was like, hey, Craig. What's up with this company, PCI? And he was out in Oregon at the time.

Host: 05:29

Okay.

Jason Martin: 05:30

Just like, are they legit?

Host: 05:32

Is this real?

Jason Martin: 05:33

Is this real? He's like, yeah. That's great. Love it. Good company.

Jason Martin: 05:37

It's like, alright. They offer me an internship. So I might think I wanna take it. He was like, let's go. So part of our curriculum was if you had above a certain GPA, you didn't have to do a senior project.

Jason Martin: 05:48

You could do a internship.

Host: 05:49

That's cool.

Jason Martin: 05:50

So I waited until the very last thing. That's all I had left. So I didn't do the traditional summer internship, and I don't even think we had it structured like it is today.

Host: 06:00

Probably not.

Jason Martin: 06:01

So I called up Dale, and I said, hey. I need a I need a internship. Do you have anything for me? And he said, yeah. We've got something in Portland.

Jason Martin: 06:09

I was like, awesome. I'll go work with Craig. Yeah. Then he called me up, like, 2 weeks later and said, hey. It's actually gonna be Seattle.

Host: 06:16

Close. Close enough.

Jason Martin: 06:17

I was like, okay. A funny story here. We, I sold everything I had that I didn't wanna keep. I sold my car. I bought a

Host: 06:27

Okay. Wait a second. What kind of car was it?

Jason Martin: 06:30

It was a 91 Nissan Maxima.

Host: 06:33

Nice. What color?

Jason Martin: 06:35

Pearl white. Okay. Yep. I

Host: 06:37

thought you were gonna say purple there first.

Jason Martin: 06:38

It had some big wheels on it too. Like, 17. So we're big back in the day. So I sold my car. I bought a Expedition.

Host: 06:45

Okay.

Jason Martin: 06:45

I packed everything I owned in it that I wanted to keep, and I drove to Seattle, anticipating on the fact that they would make me a job offer

Host: 06:56

Oh, wow.

Jason Martin: 06:57

And start work January 1.

Host: 07:00

So all you had a guarantee for was an internship for what, 3 months or so?

Jason Martin: 07:03

For 3 months, and I packed and moved.

Host: 07:06

Was was was part of the was part of the strategy there, like, feel sorry for me, guys. I already moved my entire life here.

Jason Martin: 07:15

I don't know if it was confidence or what. It was like, I guess if it doesn't work out, you can you can always move back home.

Host: 07:21

You know? The greatest thing you're, what, 22, 23.

Jason Martin: 07:24

Right.

Host: 07:24

Yeah. You could do you could do that. It's not as easy now. So you so you started out there, and, so who did you report to and kinda what were you started? Was it, after the internship?

Host: 07:34

So after you first when you were hired, you came on as an associate project engineer?

Jason Martin: 07:38

So Mark Eiseman Okay. Hired me. We were a small branch. We did $13,000,000.

Host: 07:45

And it was primarily was it drywall?

Jason Martin: 07:47

And All all drywall and ACT.

Host: 07:49

Okay. Any clean room work yet for Intel?

Jason Martin: 07:52

Nope. Nope. Nothing. Okay. Well, that's all done in Portland.

Jason Martin: 07:54

So

Host: 07:55

That's true. Yeah. So drywall and acoustical ceiling.

Jason Martin: 07:58

So I remember I was an intern. I came in one day from lunch, and there was a contract sitting on my desk. And I walked into Mark's office with it. I was like, hey, Mark. What's what's this?

Host: 08:08

Somebody left us on my desk.

Jason Martin: 08:10

Yeah. And he was like, I don't know. The guy who bid the job doesn't work here anymore. Like, do a takeoff, put together a budget, start your submittals, negotiate the contract, just start going. So I started running my own job.

Jason Martin: 08:24

That was my first job.

Host: 08:25

What was it?

Jason Martin: 08:26

Lake Washington VOTE Technical College, the ACT package.

Host: 08:30

Who is the customer?

Jason Martin: 08:31

Lightig Construction.

Host: 08:33

Can you remember how much it was?

Jason Martin: 08:34

It was $87,000.

Host: 08:36

Okay.

Jason Martin: 08:37

Made 22%. George Bruce was the project manager for Lightig. Still friends to this day. I think he just retired though.

Host: 08:44

That's very cool. Yeah. So 22%. Not too shabby.

Jason Martin: 08:48

Not too shabby for your 1st job.

Host: 08:49

And an acoustical day. That's awesome.

Jason Martin: 08:51

As an intern. Well, I ran it as a PE or this is yeah.

Host: 08:55

Hey, that's the way you learn. Right?

Jason Martin: 08:57

It was very interesting. We back then, we we, ate what we killed. So we you bid work, you ran work, you bid work, you ran work. So we did we weren't divided into, you know, operations and sales.

Host: 09:08

Right. So How many you said it was small. Like, how many people are in the office at that time?

Jason Martin: 09:13

I think we had maybe maybe 12, 13.

Host: 09:17

So how long were you in the associate role before you you move to the next? Do you can you remember or kind of I

Jason Martin: 09:24

don't even remember what like, we're so much better today with titles and structure and communicating. You know, this is your yours is your career path. You know, back then, it was just you just showed up to work and busted your butt every day and tried to move up. I think my title on my business card said estimator estimator slash project manager.

Host: 09:45

Okay.

Jason Martin: 09:45

Like, you didn't get a you didn't get a business card that said PE on it. You know? Yeah. You could make your title and your email say whatever you wanted. It was I was probably, I don't know, 3 years before I got a vehicle allowance.

Jason Martin: 10:00

I remember that it was a big day. It's like, okay. Vehicle allowance. This is legit.

Host: 10:04

You still have the expedition or were you like, I'm gonna I'm gonna upgrade?

Jason Martin: 10:08

No. We so we got, it was, I should say, allowance. It means you went to fleet.

Host: 10:13

So Yeah. That's back when it was like a a pool vehicle you were assigned.

Jason Martin: 10:16

Yeah. My first one was the Equobox. Oh, okay. The the Chevy Equinox. But the very first year they came out, I mean, they were pretty boxy.

Jason Martin: 10:24

We called it the equal box. Yeah. And then I actually never it's funny. I worked for this company for 15 years. The truck I drive today is the first truck I've ever bought because we were always on the allowance.

Jason Martin: 10:39

On

Host: 10:39

the pool.

Jason Martin: 10:40

Are always in the pool. And then when they did make it optional, I switched to the allowance, and I just bought my pool vehicle because it was the best deal. Yeah. So, I finally bought a truck in 2021, and that was the first, quote, nice vehicle I'd ever, ever owned.

Host: 10:58

So I don't think we said anywhere in here. So it's 2,002 is when you were hired on.

Jason Martin: 11:03

So I went on that's why my adjusted service date is, like, September of 2002. So I started Jan I went back, walked, graduated, spent the holidays, came back and started salary on January 1, 2003.

Host: 11:16

So everybody in that time frame. So then talk about what was the next major step after that? I you know, a lot of people listening, you're you're always like, what what is the path? How do I get there the fastest? And I don't think there's really a typical path.

Host: 11:32

So that's what I like hearing, how how people kinda navigated their way.

Jason Martin: 11:37

So I started out we were split as a branch into the acoustical division and the drywall division. So I started on the acoustical side, bidding work, running work. And Mark told me, he said, you know, I was trying to understand, like, how do I move up? How do I do this? How do I do that?

Jason Martin: 11:53

Well, we gotta grow their product lines. Well, we gotta if we create this business big enough, then it'll have a ops manager over this and ops manager over that. Or we grow the wall panel big enough. And I was like, oh, okay. So we gotta grow the business and to create opportunities.

Jason Martin: 12:07

And then he flat out told me, he said, Jason, if you ever really wanna make it in this company, you gotta be in the drywall side. And I was like, because they were slow on the acoustical. It wasn't really penciling to have another person there. Larry Bryant. I don't know if you remember that name, but he was they called him the sheriff.

Jason Martin: 12:26

He was, he was pretty tough to work with. Find a lot of bridges for us up there, but they're like, Mark was like, go work with Larry, you know, filter the bad, learn from the good. So I moved over to the drywall side, started estimating around my own work. This is back when I mean, we got we faxed out bid proposals. Mhmm.

Jason Martin: 12:46

We, there was one guy, Ron Auster, used to smoke in his office and do green sheet takeoffs

Host: 12:54

Oh, yeah.

Jason Martin: 12:54

With a calculator. And somebody, Blano, was fancy. Blano had a digitizer. I mean, that was highfalutin if you had a digitizer.

Host: 13:02

He was living in the year 2020. Yeah.

Jason Martin: 13:05

The rest of it was at,

Host: 13:06

Was it the one that was like, boop, boop, boop? Yeah. I remember.

Jason Martin: 13:10

And then the page would mess up, and you have to start over. But we had a I had a Minerva Minerva Minerva. That's the little wheel that you roll.

Host: 13:18

Mhmm. So that's

Jason Martin: 13:19

how we learned to do takeoff. And then, I wanna say it was about 2004, maybe 2005, we hired Michael Roberts. Yeah. And Michael, we hired him from our competition, and he opened up the world to OST.

Host: 13:35

On screen take off, baby. Yeah.

Jason Martin: 13:37

So then things got easier and projects projects got bigger.

Host: 13:41

Can I ask you a quick question? So when you talked about how there were kind of two sides of the business, the acoustical and the drywall, at the time, even if it was the same project, was the customer still giving 2 different contracts?

Jason Martin: 13:54

Oh, 2 different contract. Yeah.

Host: 13:56

Well It was hit or miss.

Jason Martin: 13:58

It was hit or miss. Sometimes it was one contract, but the funny thing is is that we would back charge each other. Yeah. Like, for the see the ACT guys would would back charge the drywall guys for, you know, a hump in the wall or drywall not being there, having to come back or and it was just like, guys, y'all are the same company.

Host: 14:16

That's really building team spirit there. But but at the time, the way it was set up, you know, it was kind of like hunger games. Right? Oh, yeah. You're you're, yeah, you're fighting for it.

Jason Martin: 14:27

Well, the you know, and some of this hasn't changed today, but they all came from the same union. You know, they're all carpenters, but the good guys get to they get to work in air conditioned space and, you know, the framers The push job. Yeah. The framers are outside, you know, wind and rain blowing sideways in 40 degrees. So and they get the same on their paycheck.

Jason Martin: 14:49

So there's a little bit of tension there.

Host: 14:50

Yeah. Yeah. So, you moved over and into drywall, and so now kind of the opportunities opened up. And at the same time, the the branch was getting bigger and bigger. I can remember, I worked at Kansas City Interior.

Host: 15:08

We were acquired in 2000. And right around when you probably came on, we had a competition. I think it was for revenue who would wind up with the most revenue. And, if we won, Seattle was supposed to send us, like, seafood. And if they won, we had to send them barbecue.

Host: 15:27

And, I went out and bought some barbecue

Jason Martin: 15:32

That's right.

Host: 15:32

And, and shipped it. And it was like those two branches were neck and neck, and then just Seattle took off, like the market out there just completely exploded.

Jason Martin: 15:43

It was probably well, early on the our first, I guess, gross steps were 1, we brought on Michael. That was a huge asset, you know, so that changed the way we do our our takeoffs and our estimating. Second thing we did was, you know, I mentioned earlier that we kinda eat what we kill type of deal. Well, what we realized that is if everybody's bidding work and then everybody's running work, nobody's bidding work. So you're if you're not if you're running work and you're not bidding work and you're not securing work and then you stop, you don't have any work, you had to go bid work and

Host: 16:15

Not efficient.

Jason Martin: 16:15

Not efficient. We manpower in the field was going up and down and up and down and learning curves over and over and over. And so we finally separated estimating and project management, and that's when we really could build a field and, you know, sustain that. You don't not going through the the learning curve over and over and the the PCI safety culture over and over and over. So

Host: 16:40

And that's when you get the real talent because now you get the guys that are at the top of the game and women at the top of their game that know they're gonna have solid work.

Jason Martin: 16:49

Right.

Host: 16:49

Right?

Jason Martin: 16:49

Right. So So I I went to the project management side. Okay. That was my strength. So I actually, I think the first two towers we received from, Hanover Construction in Bellevue, I ran those 2 towers.

Jason Martin: 17:02

I wanna say it was about 2006.

Host: 17:04

Okay.

Jason Martin: 17:05

And then the next, so that was one thing that kinda took us from the 12,000,000 to, you know, say, 30, $40,000,000 branch. The next thing was our biggest competitor in town, PCS, shut their doors.

Host: 17:17

Oh, okay.

Jason Martin: 17:18

And when they did that, we plucked all their best talent. Shout out Eric Taylor, Brent Kymig. So Eric came over, Chris McCleese.

Host: 17:26

Mhmm.

Jason Martin: 17:27

All those guys came over from PCS, and with them came their field, the top talent in their field and their relationships. I mean, these guys, we were always PCI was, I don't know, we'd fight for spot number 3 or 4 in town. Mhmm. Maybe 5, some years. It depends.

Jason Martin: 17:44

When they came over and made that move, we immediately overnight went to number 1. Okay. And more resources, more relationships. And then I think maybe a year or 2 later, Rick Harris joined the team and, you know, it was off and running. So then we went from 40 to 60 to 9.

Jason Martin: 18:02

I think when I left in 18, they were doing 90 and the next year they did a 100 and a 120. And, I mean, they're just rolling.

Host: 18:09

So when things like that happen, how did they integrate without I mean, were you personally threatened? Okay. Now you have all this talent coming over from another company, and I think some people could be like, okay. Is that person gonna take away one of my opportunities here? I don't I don't know your story.

Host: 18:28

I've seen it in other places, but how does that did you even have those thoughts? And if so, kind of or did were you just like, nope. Open arms. Come on in. You're gonna make my wealth builder better.

Jason Martin: 18:42

Both. Let's see. Let's back up a little bit. So Tom Gallagher, we had a lot of acting branch managers.

Host: 18:48

Kind of.

Jason Martin: 18:48

So so Vaughn Vaughn was our acting branch manager.

Host: 18:51

But not permanent because he was like Yeah.

Jason Martin: 18:53

He was out of Portland. And then Tom Gallagher was our acting branch manager, and he oversaw us in Spokane. And there was there was always that carrot. It was kinda hang on there. Like, you know, Jason needs a little bit more time.

Jason Martin: 19:04

Jason needs this. Jason needs that. But that position was there. So so as soon as we started bringing in Eric Taylor well, we brought in Dave Gas. Dave went off Dave left Portland and went off to remember the ERP program?

Host: 19:17

Oh, I spent many hours Oh, yeah. In a conference room with Dave. Yeah.

Jason Martin: 19:21

So Dave was gone for, what, 18 months maybe from Portland? So I

Host: 19:25

think it was 24 years. Yeah.

Jason Martin: 19:28

So they obviously backfilled, you know, his Yeah. Them there. So he needed a home. So Dave was the first person to come in.

Host: 19:35

Mhmm.

Jason Martin: 19:36

And, you know, Dave's gonna be a new GM. Like, alright. Cool. There's still construction manager. I was like, there's still room for advancement.

Jason Martin: 19:44

No worries. Whatever. And then Eric came over, and Eric came in as a construction manager. I was like, okay. Well, that spot's filled.

Jason Martin: 19:51

And then the next spot and then Rick Harris came over, and it's like, okay. But to answer your question, did they come with welcome, you know, open arms? Absolutely. Dave Gas always he always said, you know, Jason, we would because we said, we'd have a lot of conversations behind closed doors. And what would you do if it was Jason Martin drywall?

Jason Martin: 20:10

And I'm like, well, that's an easy answer. I I hire Eric Taylor, like, today. Mhmm. But what you know, fast forward a couple of years, what do you do if it's Jason Martin? Well, I hire Rick Harris, not hiring today.

Jason Martin: 20:22

You know? So you, you know, you show up to work, you put your egos aside, you check your titles at the door, and, you know, you do what's best for the branch.

Host: 20:31

How old around like, how old were you in all of that?

Jason Martin: 20:35

So I was 38. I was so I was a senior project manager at the time when they came in, and I was in that position for, I wanna say, 8 years with really no forward advancement.

Host: 20:46

But that's like when things are going gangbusters and it's Oh, yeah. Growing like crazy.

Jason Martin: 20:50

Yep.

Host: 20:51

So now we'll get into, like, how you went from Seattle to Austin. But, now looking back with what you know now and you're sitting in the job, if they would've say PCL? PCES?

Jason Martin: 21:08

PCS.

Host: 21:08

PCS. Say they hadn't gone out of business or whatever, and and Eric wasn't there, Dave, you know, didn't come up, if you would have become GM

Jason Martin: 21:17

Well, Dave would have been there. Dave Gas, he would have came up.

Host: 21:20

But if he wasn't.

Jason Martin: 21:21

Okay.

Host: 21:21

If, like, if you would've been put in the role Mhmm. From the get go, do you think you could've survived?

Jason Martin: 21:28

Could I could I have done what Dave did? No. No. What he did, I don't wanna say it was a miracle. It was what he does.

Jason Martin: 21:35

But, no, he was definitely the right man for that job. Yeah. And even the, you know, even the growth with their relationships that Eric had the field relationships and the foreman that trusted and believed in him because he came out of the field. And then Rick Harris had the

Host: 21:52

Business development.

Jason Martin: 21:52

Development relationships around town. So, no, I couldn't hold a candle to either one of those 2. So it was definitely the right decision.

Host: 22:00

So when did you get the opportunity to to go to Austin? Because at this point, you're looking around and

Jason Martin: 22:06

Well, I had a choice. Before Austin, I had, Rick came to me and asked if I wanna go to Vegas.

Host: 22:12

Oh, really?

Jason Martin: 22:13

Yeah. So

Host: 22:14

And what year is that?

Jason Martin: 22:16

Same year. I think it was late 17, early 18. And, you know, my answer was, you know, the company's done right by me. Mhmm. Always been good to me and my family, and I'll I'll do whatever I can to to help the company or to give back.

Jason Martin: 22:31

So I would definitely explore the options. So, actually, Lauren and I flew down, and we checked out Vegas.

Host: 22:39

Mhmm.

Jason Martin: 22:39

They needed someone. I think the term was bridge the gap between the the younger guys, and I think at the time, I think Nolan was gonna retire soon. Adam was gonna move up. Yeah. You know, there was just there was a gap there that I could play a significant role and fill that gap, but we just made the decision that for me

Host: 23:01

Didn't feel right.

Jason Martin: 23:02

For me, Vegas is

Host: 23:03

Yeah. You're not.

Jason Martin: 23:04

I'm not I go there for 2 or 3 days and have a good time and go home. I didn't I didn't wanna raise a family there.

Host: 23:08

Where's, Lauren, your wife? Where's she from?

Jason Martin: 23:11

She's from Georgia.

Host: 23:11

She's from okay. So she's from Georgia. Yeah. Alright. So Vegas was, you weren't vibing?

Jason Martin: 23:16

When when Phil in Vegas, crazy market up down, very volatile. Not what I was used to. So I think 3 or 4 months passed by and Rick approached me one day and our our monthly one on one. And he said, hey, You turned down Vegas. Is that because you is you're you're staying in Seattle forever?

Jason Martin: 23:37

And I was like, no. You know? Like I said before, if there's an opportunity, I'll explore it. And he said, well, we've got an opportunity in Austin. And I don't even think I'd let him finish.

Jason Martin: 23:46

I was like, sign me up. No. They, so I came home that night, and I remember talking to Lauren. I was like because we had just bought our forever home.

Host: 23:56

Oh, really? Okay.

Jason Martin: 23:56

Air quotes were on the radio.

Host: 23:58

Do you have any kids yet?

Jason Martin: 23:59

Oh, yeah. We had kids.

Host: 24:00

So how many kids at this time?

Jason Martin: 24:01

So we got Jake and Jacks, awesome boys. Now they're 12 and 14. They were what is that? 9 and 7.

Host: 24:09

Okay. So they're in school and Oh, yeah. Yeah. All that. Okay.

Jason Martin: 24:12

Oh, yeah. So but her parents are in Atlanta. My parents were in Tennessee. You know, that would have Texas would cut that commute in half Yeah. As far as visiting.

Jason Martin: 24:22

So we came down, we looked at it, and I was like, yes. Let's do this.

Host: 24:26

So when you got there, you're an ops manager and and it was was there an existing business there or kinda what was the what did the lay of the land look like?

Jason Martin: 24:36

The 116 branch and 549 were sharing an office. So they were doing it was an ISS branch that was doing interiors work.

Host: 24:44

Okay. Kind of like what Memphis had. Yeah. Mhmm. So you go down and and traditionally and I lose track of the years, but the the San Antonio ISS for years was kind of the the bigger market

Jason Martin: 25:00

Mhmm.

Host: 25:00

Compared to Austin. And so that was kind of a recent

Jason Martin: 25:04

shift Switch.

Host: 25:05

Over.

Jason Martin: 25:05

Yeah. So you

Host: 25:06

go down there and you're the ops manager, and, you said you were there about a year before you got the GM role. But in that role, you were really kind of like an an acting GM. Correct. So you're finally in the seat. And at this point, you know, you'd been in the company for all you know, quite a while.

Host: 25:24

Was it easier or harder than you thought it would be? And I think you had a special circumstance because it's not like you were walking into an existing there were other changes happening. So it wasn't just like you were inheriting something to continue or having to refine things at the same time. So harder or easier, or what were your impressions?

Jason Martin: 25:41

It was just it was eye opening, I guess. Being a lifer at PCI, you just assume I mean, we've got these policies and procedures, and you assume that everybody in the branches do everything the same way. So when I walked into this, and it was just like, we don't do what? And we don't do this, and we don't so I don't know that I'd say hard or easy. It was it was really just a reset button.

Jason Martin: 26:04

Let's get back to the basics. Let's know, you know, this is proven, tried, and true. Let's get back to the fundamentals and go be PCI.

Host: 26:14

Yeah.

Jason Martin: 26:15

And so the first thing I did was we we got out of the shared office space. So we we found a new space. We built out an office and took off running.

Host: 27:23

So what do you think the fundamentals are? Like, is there is there a formula that you have? So if it's, for example, like, here's here's a philosophy I have. I think there are quite a few fundamentals. One is the relationship between, like, a GM, the BA, and a controller as kind of like the nucleus.

Host: 27:44

Mhmm. Like and when that those relationships are good and and and solid, then it creates efficiencies and all of that. So that I gave you one. That's my nugget. But Well if it's labor control or whatever it is No.

Jason Martin: 27:57

You hit the nail on the head. Like, we had good people. Mhmm. They just there was a lack of leadership in their lives or in in their in their work lives.

Host: 28:06

Mhmm.

Jason Martin: 28:07

Casey was awesome from day 1. Like, I leaned on her, Nick Jordan. Awesome. So if you got a strong BA and you have a strong controller and you've got good people that just need guidance, you can do it. You can make it happen.

Jason Martin: 28:21

So, open lines of communication, the support, you know, Burnham was there.

Host: 28:28

Sean Burnham.

Jason Martin: 28:29

Oh, man. He was there. Sean was great. He was he was there to give me the confidence that I could do the job, but at the same time, he didn't micromanage how I did the job, And you go out, you you you you find out where your skeletons are. Alright?

Jason Martin: 28:46

Who who who are we working with? Who are we not working with? What are we good at? What are we not good at? So, you know, you go around, you ask for forgiveness, you ask for, hey.

Jason Martin: 28:55

I like the the opportunity to earn your business. Hey. This is who I am. You know? I'm Jason Martin.

Jason Martin: 29:01

Do you know who PCI is? And, you know, I know we're this all over the country, but we're not this here in this market yet. You know, you would throw out the yet, but we're gonna get there. We're gonna be there, and we need partners like you to do that. So I need you to give me some work.

Jason Martin: 29:14

I need this. I need that. And in return, we're gonna grow, and we're gonna service you, and we're gonna be the PCI that you know in other parts of the world or in other parts of the country.

Host: 29:24

Mhmm.

Jason Martin: 29:25

So I think if you, as a leader, if you if you respect, if you value, and you communicate to your employees, and they know that and they trust in you, then they're gonna produce and they're gonna work and they're gonna you know, you're all working towards the same goal. You know, we're all working to grill the stock. We're all working for December 15th. And, you know, I think there's a sense of call it PCI pride, but when in the end of the day, we we wanna put out a good product, and we want customers to wanna work for us. I think culture within your branch and within your people is huge, and I really try and limit any thing that will jeopardize that.

Jason Martin: 30:07

Like, if any form of little cancer tries to creep in, it's it's gotta go. Yeah. So you gotta get rid of it. Yeah. And you you have some of that over the years, but you get rid of it and you move on.

Host: 30:18

What's the biggest difference between, you know, when you were, I'll call it an individual contributor, you know, when you're an estimator project manager, whatever, to now, like, when you're a general manager, like, skill set wise or?

Jason Martin: 30:31

As a manager, you have to create opportunities. Like, I go back to when I first started, we were talking about when I was talking to Mark about, you know, how do I get to here? How do I get to there? Well, you have to grow the business. So as a manager, it's fun to watch people develop.

Jason Martin: 30:48

It's fun to create opportunities for those individuals, create those stretch assignments. You know, you when you're a $12,000,000 branch, you don't need a recon manager and a construction manager. When you're a $60,000,000 branch, you need this position and this position and this position. So by telling the people, hey. We're gonna do this.

Jason Martin: 31:10

Trust me. It's not gonna happen overnight, but we're gonna do it. And then you do it, and they see that. They're like, okay. Well, he said he was gonna do it.

Jason Martin: 31:18

We did it. Mhmm. We did it together. And now so and so is getting promoted, and so and so is getting promoted. And when I first got there, we couldn't we we subbed out all of our labor.

Jason Martin: 31:29

There are only union guys who are foreman.

Host: 31:31

Oh, you're kidding.

Jason Martin: 31:32

Yeah. It's and, well, we can't we can't. The union can't provide us labor. Yes. We can.

Jason Martin: 31:36

We haven't tried. We just I said, guys, we're not taking no for we're not hiring a broker if the union their guys are crap. I don't care if they're crap. We'll train them. We're hiring them.

Jason Martin: 31:46

If they have guys, we're hiring them. And we went from 90% union or 90% brokers to, I think, you know, if we're running a 100 guys, we've got 2 or 3. And they said it couldn't be done. Yeah. So it can be done.

Jason Martin: 32:03

It's just it doesn't happen overnight. You just you have to commit to it. It's a process. It takes time.

Host: 32:08

Yeah. That it was easy, everyone.

Jason Martin: 32:10

Right.

Host: 32:11

Or someone else would have figured

Jason Martin: 32:12

it out.

Host: 32:13

Yeah. So what what does a typical day look like? You know, so just to generalize, wake up, wash your hair, have some coffee.

Jason Martin: 32:23

You come to work, probably got this from Bill, you know, bring your best self to work every day. You try, you can't. Got this from Bill, you know, bring your best self to work every day. You try. You can't.

Jason Martin: 32:28

But typical day, you roll into the office, and I try and I go get coffee. And on your way to get coffee, you say good morning to everyone that you can. And once you get your coffee, then you kinda you go and you interact with your people when you have those touches. And how are you doing? What are you doing?

Jason Martin: 32:45

How are things? And you just make sure you get a pulse for how the branch is doing. How how's your team doing? Always. Well, Nick's not there anymore.

Jason Martin: 32:52

You have stolen me here, but, you know, you stop by and you see your your your key people. Hey. What do you got going? What's hot? You got anything from me?

Jason Martin: 33:00

Do you need anything from me? Rick Harris used to always say, how may I service you? What can I do for you? But you I spend the first probably hour, if I can. Not really an hour, probably a half hour, Just walking around and making sure that who's here, who's not, who's where.

Jason Martin: 33:22

Everybody good? Someone's doesn't look right. You need anything. Just checking the pulse of the branch. Mhmm.

Host: 33:29

Any fires pop up

Jason Martin: 33:30

over night? Any you know, half the time you if I was gone the previous day or been out of town or been in Dallas or been in San Antonio or, you know, up here to the summit or whatever, you know, like, what I miss? What's hot? What's going on? What's new?

Jason Martin: 33:44

Landing work lately, any issues on the job, how'd you get this figured out? You know, just just kinda keeping your finger on the pulse.

Host: 33:52

How how much time do you spend, with the field? And, like, I mean

Jason Martin: 33:58

Not enough. Not enough. Why do

Host: 34:01

you say that? What ideally, what what do you think it should look like? And then what gets in the way, I guess?

Jason Martin: 34:06

The other stuff gets in the way. I'd like to say I walk jobs every week, but I don't. I love to get out to the field. That's kinda I like the things that force me to get to the field. Job reviews.

Jason Martin: 34:19

When Gil comes to town, Gil loves to walk jobs, and it helps me get out. So I love that. Matt Murphy is, you know, he acts as our he's a senior PM, but he runs our ops team.

Host: 34:31

He's Carl's dad.

Jason Martin: 34:33

That's right. You know Carl?

Host: 34:34

I know Carl.

Jason Martin: 34:35

I know Carl. Carl and Duke are best friends.

Host: 34:37

Oh, are they? That we're talking about dogs, you guys. Yeah.

Jason Martin: 34:39

Yeah. Carl and Duke are best friends. They have pool parties together. But Matt does a great job of I guess I sleep easy at night because I don't get in the field enough because I know that Matt does. He's because

Host: 34:54

you know he's doing a good job?

Jason Martin: 34:56

Oh, he's out there. He's I mean, we've got a 100 employees and 95% are Hispanic, and Matt knows 98% of them's name. Talks to him, speaks to him, knows who they are, and he's only been he he's been there less than I have. So, Matt, I sleep easy at night knowing that, no, I don't get to the field enough, but I know that George and I know that Matt and the rest of our ops team, they are and they do.

Host: 35:24

Yeah. So surround yourself with good people and get out of the way. That's what John McCleary used to tell me.

Jason Martin: 35:29

Yeah. Absolutely.

Host: 35:30

And, so what's the kind of stuff that gets in the way? I mean, I think there's a lot of things you don't, necessarily realize if it's, hey, bid reviews, approvals, FAW review. I mean, you got

Jason Martin: 35:42

box approvals. You gotta access approvals. You've got Dayforce. You've got you name it. I mean, and it's not that it gets in a way.

Jason Martin: 35:50

It's all necessary. It's all part of the process, but it's time consuming. You've got, you know, union stuff to deal with. You've got customer relations.

Host: 36:01

All the things.

Jason Martin: 36:02

Business planning. All the things. It's just you're just busy.

Host: 36:05

Is the job what you thought it would be?

Jason Martin: 36:08

And then some. Yeah. Yeah. I've enjoyed it. I like, I like the success of the team.

Jason Martin: 36:15

I like watching us grow. Like I said earlier, creating the opportunities for others. We've got a, you know, we've got a great team. We've got a young team, but I'd put them against anybody. They're solid.

Host: 36:28

So when you say young

Jason Martin: 36:32

I would say that 80% or less than 4 years and 30% or less than 2.

Host: 36:41

Okay. Yeah. So young team. Yeah. So speaking of that and thinking back, what are some just throughout your career, some challenges you've had?

Host: 36:51

Can you remember the first job you lost money on?

Jason Martin: 36:54

I do. LA Fitness Bellevue. I was sick to my stomach.

Host: 36:57

Did you sleep?

Jason Martin: 36:59

I just didn't hold my head high when I walked in the office. It was, don't even know if I lost money. I think it was the first job I ever had that didn't make at least 10%, and that made me sick.

Host: 37:10

Have you ever had just like a real a real,

Jason Martin: 37:13

I think I'll block them all

Host: 37:14

out. Stinker.

Jason Martin: 37:18

We went to

Host: 37:20

I don't mean to throw anybody under the under the buzz there, but I think

Jason Martin: 37:24

Went to court on 1.

Host: 37:26

Okay.

Jason Martin: 37:26

But I came through Mike Metcalf can tell you we came through with the smoking gun email at the last minute and saved the day.

Host: 37:33

But I think all those experiences, you know, we have, PE boot camp and you try to give people advice, you know, when you're hungry and you wanna move up and okay. What are the experiences I need to have? You I can't stand in front of the room and say, you need to lose money on a job.

Jason Martin: 37:50

Right.

Host: 37:50

Because counterintuitive. Duh. But You need

Jason Martin: 37:53

some scars on your back.

Host: 37:54

You need and it's and it's hey, everybody does it at one point or another. I don't think anyone has a perfect record. And so it's how you react and when you communicate it and all the things. Right? And actually can kinda you can turn it around.

Host: 38:12

But so you didn't have any real real stinkers.

Jason Martin: 38:14

I know I did. I mean, we had some tough jobs up at the base. We went to lost we broke even on a few jobs on a Bellevue was a hard place to work, still is to this day, bless their heart.

Host: 38:27

So from that, did you learn see you. I'm a husband. So, I mean, so that first one that went to claim. Right?

Jason Martin: 38:36

Right.

Host: 38:36

So did did it make you look at things differently, obviously, you know, like your emails and everything's just yeah.

Jason Martin: 38:43

Yeah. And it makes you, you know, dot your i's, cross your t's, document, document, and then, like, woah, Jason. Why are you why are you putting me on notice? And I'm like, well, I just got out of court last, you know, on the last job. We did a job for, Lee Crutcher Lewis down at the, Tacoma University at UW in Tacoma, and Bill Lewis had to write us a check for $700,000, and people got fired.

Jason Martin: 39:06

And, I mean, it was a tough job.

Host: 39:10

Like our people? Or the GC?

Jason Martin: 39:12

The GC's people got fired because we documented and documented and documented, and we had our ducks in our boat. Terry Kastner was the PM on it, and it was, I was the PE, and it was not good.

Host: 39:27

Mhmm.

Jason Martin: 39:28

This I mean, nobody wins when you're in that situation, but you learn what not to do. Yeah. It's it's not good. You never you never love a job or want a job that gets to that point, but you need one you need one every 3 or 4 years, a little bit of one.

Host: 39:42

Why? To keep your ego in check or something?

Jason Martin: 39:44

No. To keep the to make you appreciate the good ones because then you start to take them for granted. And even to this day, like, if you go a year or 2 or 3, and you're like, man, everything's good, and everything's been good. And what's about to happen? Because if you look back over a 20 year career, it's like, you got a doozy every 4 or 5 years that

Host: 40:05

Yeah.

Jason Martin: 40:05

That's not good.

Host: 40:06

Yeah. What's on the horizon?

Jason Martin: 40:09

San Antonio. We just, I just acquired a new group. Congratulations. Yeah. October 1, officially, I guess.

Jason Martin: 40:17

But a couple months back, I have the opportunity to lead the 116 ISS operation.

Host: 40:26

Very cool. So what's the plan there? You're gonna expand and

Jason Martin: 40:30

We're going to you know, what a lot of deja vu from back to 2018. We're gonna get back to the basics, and we've already started. You know? We're getting we're splitting up, estimating and ops. We're getting people on the right seat on the bus.

Host: 40:49

You have to, you have the same labor challenges down there? Are they yep.

Jason Martin: 40:55

The same different union. So I got a whole new relationship to go work on.

Host: 41:00

How do you do that? A lot of dinners? What's

Jason Martin: 41:02

No. Not really. Accountability. Holding them accountable. You can never let off the gas.

Jason Martin: 41:08

You gotta you gotta if you say you need guys, you need guys, and you you keep telling them you need guys. And it's easy to say, well, they can't provide us guys, so I'm gonna stop asking. But you gotta keep asking and you gotta keep documenting and you can work. You can they'll come through. I mean, if you squeaky wheel.

Jason Martin: 41:26

Yeah. You know?

Host: 41:27

Like, we need to get this guy shut up.

Jason Martin: 41:29

So we've got a great relationship with the carpenters. Not that they can do everything that we ask of them, but we have a great relationship, and that's important. So gotta get there with the insulators, And then we're gonna just piggyback on their relationships and start growing some drywall business in San Antonio. Looking for a new space. They they let their lease expire last year, so they're right now, like, in a temporary we work type of atmosphere, so we gotta get out of there.

Jason Martin: 41:59

Just working with, Gil on that today, actually, and Corey Dean. So

Host: 42:03

Get you on space. So Mhmm. Earlier, you mentioned, like, when you first started faxing, have we still fax stuff and all that. What are some other things that have really changed since you started?

Jason Martin: 42:16

I'd say the communication has changed.

Host: 42:19

In what way? Like, in in what communication too? From corporate or

Jason Martin: 42:23

Yeah. I think the big swing was probably with, you know, Bill's People First. I think I was was that Bill?

Host: 42:29

Mhmm.

Jason Martin: 42:30

Yeah. Yeah. We I mean, we didn't really don't know if it's good or bad, or if it's just the way it was, but we didn't communicate. We didn't know what was going on up the ladder, big, you know, big vision, big picture. So I think that's way better today.

Host: 42:47

Hey. There's still work. We're still working on it. But

Jason Martin: 42:50

yeah. But it's I mean, you know, how it used to be. Mhmm. Working amongst branches, the the whole one PCG thing is, at least in Texas, has been great. We, constant communication, the support, the we versus me.

Jason Martin: 43:07

You know? Like, everybody you know, 10 years ago, everybody was just concerned with their branch, and how does this affect me, and what does it do for us? And now it's like, how do we grow? How do how do I help them grow? How do I help them get into this product line?

Jason Martin: 43:21

How do they help me get into that product line? So that whole, I guess, cultural shift in how do we grow as a company, and how do we grow the stock and we grow as owners. That's, that's definitely at least it's changed in my perspective.

Host: 43:40

Yeah. Well and I mean, check the results. When we work together, margins are higher and all of all of that good stuff. So what else what else is different since you start? What else looks different?

Jason Martin: 43:51

Our new hires. They are they are way smarter today than we were when when we 20 years ago.

Host: 43:59

So in what in what way? Like street smarts or just like I don't

Jason Martin: 44:02

know about street smarts. We we've gotta have to work in that category, but, I mean, I just think they're sharp. They I think the, curriculum must be better. They work hard. They they get it.

Jason Martin: 44:14

They put in the time. They put in the effort. They learn quick. I just I go to these 2nd round interviews, and I would have hate to had to get up there and and do a 5 minute presentation on myself when I was 22 years old. And these kids get up there, and they nail it.

Jason Martin: 44:30

And their resumes look amazing coming out of college, and then they come to work for you, and they're just superstars. They they kick ass.

Host: 44:39

So what's your advice on what makes somebody stand out? What are you looking for? What do you think in your opinion?

Jason Martin: 44:45

Self motivated.

Host: 44:47

Okay. Talk about what that means to you.

Jason Martin: 44:49

It means that you have to don't wait to be told to do something. Do do your best at it. And then, you know, come to come to your your your leader, your manager, whoever it is. Come to them with something. You know, if they ask you to do something, then then give it your best shot.

Jason Martin: 45:04

Don't do nothing. And, well, I didn't understand this or I didn't understand that.

Host: 45:08

So take initiative.

Jason Martin: 45:09

Taking the initiative and just get after it. I mean and they do. Yeah. They do. That's what you're looking for as a manager.

Jason Martin: 45:18

You're looking for somebody who they don't have to be micromanaged. They are a self starter. They take initiative, and they grind.

Host: 45:28

So what, what's your advice for anybody new? Or let's say for an associate project engineer that's just getting started. What's your advice for them?

Jason Martin: 45:37

You know, go to work, get it done, get after it, learn as much as you can. Be proactive. You've got to be self motivated. And then when you when you get invited to functions or corporate or you finally make it up on the big stage with, you know, the world class or whatever that might be, you know, know your audience. You don't get to meet or be around, you know, leadership group or or whoever.

Jason Martin: 46:05

You might only get a couple of times a year to make an impression on them, so know your audience. That's good. That's good. I think PCI does a really good job of allowing you to advance. There's no I mean, this isn't rocket science.

Jason Martin: 46:19

You you if you wanna move up, you can you can outpace the guy beside you. You just gotta go do it. So do the job that you want. You know? You're we're not great all all the time with with their correct titles, but don't let that stand in your way of doing the next next job.

Jason Martin: 46:36

Yeah. So there's a there's a there's a quote in our on one of the signs in our office. It says, the only thing standing your way is the bullshit excuse you keep telling yourself. Yeah. And there's a lot of there's a lot of truths in that.

Jason Martin: 46:50

So just go get after it and get it done. Don't take no for an answer, you know?

Host: 46:55

Well said. Yeah. So let me look here. I have something.

Jason Martin: 47:02

Uh-oh. What do you have?

Host: 47:03

I forgot about these.

Jason Martin: 47:05

You have pictures?

Host: 47:06

So we did this, we did this with Wes. I wanna know what's happening in this photo so that I'll explain for the people listening. Okay. What is going on here? So there is a picture of Jason with a fish that's probably the size of one of his sons, I would imagine.

Host: 47:26

He's got a got a smile on his face. This looks like it's up in the northwest somewhere, and that's one of the ugliest fish I've ever seen.

Jason Martin: 47:34

That is a very large lingcod, and that is in Alaska. Fishing with customers, I caught that fish. And, unfortunately, it was outside of the slot limit that you could keep. So I had to throw it back, but definitely wanted to picture with it first. It looks like a prehistoric.

Jason Martin: 47:51

Look at those teeth.

Host: 47:52

I mean, a fish with teeth. Do all fish have teeth?

Jason Martin: 47:54

No. Not all of them, but that one that one sure did.

Host: 47:57

It's, yeah. That is an ugly damn fish. Did you weigh it?

Jason Martin: 48:02

I did not. We had to get it back in the water because it was Yeah. Yeah. But it was I mean, that's gotta be a 60 pound fish.

Host: 48:11

I would say I would say so. What? Like, at least 4 and a half feet?

Jason Martin: 48:15

Oh, yeah.

Host: 48:15

If not, 5.

Jason Martin: 48:16

Oh, yeah. It could be as big as we want. They can't see.

Host: 48:20

What'd you catch it with? Do you remember?

Jason Martin: 48:22

I have no idea.

Host: 48:23

Was it just a whole bunch of you out on the boat?

Jason Martin: 48:25

We were fishing when you're fishing for halibut, there's no telling what you might catch, so we were fishing for halibut. We were you go out in the morning, you try to catch your king salmon, then you switch over to silvers, and then you fish for halibut. You get your halibut, and then you go finish off your lima to silvers. So if, while you're fishing for halibut, you catch yellowtail and lingcod and rockfish and whatever.

Host: 48:52

You then you can turn back, or you can only keep what? Is it like

Jason Martin: 48:55

So when I say there's a slot limit, it's like, alright. You can keep from, 22 inches to 36 inches. So if it's shorter than 22, you gotta throw it back. And if it's bigger than 36, you gotta throw it back. So if it's not in that limit or if it's in that slot, you can keep it.

Jason Martin: 49:10

Okay.

Host: 49:10

So that's an avid fishbowl.

Jason Martin: 49:13

Oh, yeah.

Host: 49:15

Just call me Cappy. Oh, okay. This one's even better. What is happening in this picture? There's a picture

Jason Martin: 49:24

of, That's my Venmo profile picture.

Host: 49:30

So first of all, I wouldn't even know this was you. You've got your baseball hat on backwards. You look like an advertisement for a fraternity, and you're holding what at first looks like a cell phone from the nineties, like Saved by the Bell Zack Morris phone.

Jason Martin: 49:45

Mhmm.

Host: 49:46

But upon closer inspection is a stack of cash. Whole lot of money there.

Jason Martin: 49:52

You didn't you didn't see the shirt, though.

Host: 49:53

And then the shirt, yeah, there's, my wife. What's the first one?

Jason Martin: 49:59

My wife, your wife.

Host: 50:00

Yeah. My wife, your wife. So the your wife just looks like the standard logo on a women's restroom, and the my wife is Superwoman.

Jason Martin: 50:08

That's right.

Host: 50:08

Very nice. Yeah. Where's the money from? Did you sell that fish?

Jason Martin: 50:15

I don't know if I can talk about this or not. Let's just say that that was on a bachelor party.

Host: 50:19

Enough said. Say no. You look like you're on a bachelor party.

Jason Martin: 50:24

Yes. That was, that was a very old picture, but a great one.

Host: 50:29

More important question. Did you buy that shirt or did your wife buy that shirt?

Jason Martin: 50:33

I bought that shirt. My wife is Superwoman.

Host: 50:35

That's awesome. That's very that seriously doesn't even look like you. What yours?

Jason Martin: 50:40

That is I don't know. When did JD Whiteside get married?

Host: 50:44

Oh, it's JD's? Okay. This looks like it was day 2.

Jason Martin: 50:48

That was, Yeah. That was that was South Lake Tahoe. Had to have been 10 years ago.

Host: 50:54

You're looking you're looking I say day 2. You look a little puffy there. I like

Jason Martin: 50:57

Oh, yeah. And I didn't have any gray in my beard yet, so I know it was pre pre Texas.

Host: 51:03

Okay. Yeah. Okay. So for everybody listening, we will,

Jason Martin: 51:07

Oh, great.

Host: 51:08

We will put these pictures up. I mean, they're good. I don't know that you need to pull over on the side of the road and look at them, but

Jason Martin: 51:13

That's a classic Venmo profile pic, though.

Host: 51:16

That's that's yeah. 10 out of 10 on that.

Jason Martin: 51:21

Not good for much else.

Host: 51:22

Yeah. When I seriously, when I first saw it, I did think it was, a Zach Morris phone.

Jason Martin: 51:27

I need to talk to, Robin. I don't think you're allowed to cruise my Facebook pictures. That's against policy.

Host: 51:33

It's public.

Jason Martin: 51:34

Oh, okay. You gotta be careful what you put out there, people. They're looking.

Host: 51:39

Okay. You ready for some rapid fire?

Jason Martin: 51:41

Sure.

Host: 51:42

What was your first concert?

Jason Martin: 51:44

Master P and the No Limit Soldiers 1997 Savannah Civic Center.

Host: 51:50

Who'd you go with?

Jason Martin: 51:52

A guy named Jason, that I met in the apartment complex.

Host: 51:58

That's awesome.

Jason Martin: 51:59

Freshman in college.

Host: 52:00

What's your most recent concert?

Jason Martin: 52:02

Most recent concert, Garth Brooks.

Host: 52:04

Oh, nice.

Jason Martin: 52:05

Small venue, less than 2,000 people. Phenomenal. Private, like a fundraiser.

Host: 52:11

Do you take advantage of South by Southwest?

Jason Martin: 52:13

I I stay out of the city when that comes to town.

Host: 52:17

Jason. That's something an old man would say.

Jason Martin: 52:20

I know. I'm I'm getting old.

Host: 52:24

What was your favorite, TV show when you're a kid?

Jason Martin: 52:27

MacGyver.

Host: 52:28

Nice.

Jason Martin: 52:28

Yeah. 18? There's some good ones back in the day. Mhmm.

Host: 52:32

Have you seen the new MacGyver movie?

Jason Martin: 52:34

I have not. Worth it or disappointing?

Host: 52:38

It's funny. Yeah. It's a good it's a good, movie to watch on an airplane.

Jason Martin: 52:42

Okay.

Host: 52:43

Yeah. And there's some, I like to quote movie lines. So there's some good quotable movie lines in there.

Jason Martin: 52:49

Okay.

Host: 52:49

What's your favorite movie?

Jason Martin: 52:51

Like favorite movie or like I have to watch it every time it's on?

Host: 52:54

Okay. That good question.

Jason Martin: 52:56

Okay.

Host: 52:57

So let's start with what's the one when you turn it on, if it's on the screen, you don't change the channel. You'll you'll watch it.

Jason Martin: 53:04

Shawshank.

Host: 53:05

Oh, I hear you.

Jason Martin: 53:06

A new one is kinda slipping into that same category is, draft day.

Host: 53:11

What's that?

Jason Martin: 53:13

Kevin Costner, draft day with Jennifer Jennifer

Host: 53:19

Love Hewitt? The brunette. Coolidge? No. Jennifer, Garner?

Host: 53:25

Yeah. So then what's your favorite movie movie?

Jason Martin: 53:28

I like The Accountant. With Bigfoot?

Host: 53:31

It's a pretty good one.

Jason Martin: 53:32

Yeah. It's up there. I don't know if I have a favorite. It's up there, though.

Host: 53:36

So what's your favorite stupid comedy?

Jason Martin: 53:39

It depends on what mood you're in. Will Ferrell's sometimes, and I'm like, not feeling him though. And Adam Sandler, but sometimes you're not feeling them, you know. Yeah. I would say Friday is a comedy.

Host: 53:48

Yes. That's a good that's a good

Jason Martin: 53:50

one. Friday.

Host: 53:51

Okay. Good one. One question I wanted to ask. Did you have a mentor? I'm I'm guessing you probably had more than 1.

Host: 53:57

Who who were they, and how did they kinda help you out?

Jason Martin: 54:01

I mean, I've had multiple mentors throughout my career. You know, my dad's always been there. He's always been somebody that I could pick up the phone and call, and and, he would give me some advice whether I took it or not. You know, Mark, if I if I had to put in a timeline, Mark Eisenman, who hired me, was very influential to what I needed to do, what I needed to be to be successful with PCI. He bled PCI through and through.

Jason Martin: 54:30

And then probably the next person that stepped into my life would have been Dave Gas. Just his ability to analyze and think outside the box and ideas and time right time, right place, and, you know, let's start planting seeds here. We'll water it over the next few years and see what we can't change down the road. Learned a a ton from Dave Gas. And then, you know, I guess these are big transition points in my life, and, you know, and then burn them when when I when I did take that step and relocate to to Texas with the family and the new role and the new team and walking away from 15 years of all my customers and people and relationships and just starting fresh.

Jason Martin: 55:18

I mean, he was he was there to bump me up and let me know that I could make it. Oh, you're gonna do it. You're doing great. You can do this. Keep it up.

Host: 55:30

Yeah. So So when you retire

Jason Martin: 55:33

Mhmm.

Host: 55:34

What do you want your legacy to be? So you just sat and you were talking about Dave Gas, you know, like thinking outside the box and all these things he's done. So what do you want people to say about you? Like, what you just said about Dave? Like, man, that Jason, he really

Jason Martin: 55:48

I guess if if when I retire, if if PCI is a common name and the, I mean, we're a common name in Texas as far as ISS and and but if we are the the interiors PCI that our customers know nationwide, you know, we didn't have that 5 years ago. So if we're doing drywall in Dallas and we're doing drywall in Houston and clean rooms and, you know, it's a $500,000,000 business in Texas on the interiors or, you know, it's one PCG now, but I guess, you know, I I started that or helped start that or helped get that going. You know? That'd be pretty cool.

Host: 56:35

Yeah. Expanding this this Yeah. Definition of what we do.

Jason Martin: 56:39

Well, you know, if you have a if you've got a a g a GM and a ops manager or an ops manager and a precom manager and a construction manager in in San Antonio and in Austin and, you know, it's through that growth you're creating all those opportunities for, you know, the next generation, the future employees. Like, that's pretty cool. But as far as a legacy, I guess, I like that guy. He was fun to hang out with.

Host: 57:06

That's a good one. Yeah.

Jason Martin: 57:07

That's a good

Host: 57:07

one to have. Well, thank you for coming in.

Jason Martin: 57:10

Hey, thanks for

Host: 57:11

having me. I hope

Jason Martin: 57:12

you had a good time.

Host: 57:13

This was a blast.

Jason Martin: 57:14

Well, thank you very much. Alright.

Host: 57:16

Thanks, Mel. Thanks, Jason. Do we have a clip?

Jason Martin: 57:32

Seen you haven't seen draft day?

Host: 57:34

No. I'll put it on the watch list. I, like, stabbed myself earlier if you're wondering why I'm bleeding, but

Jason Martin: 57:40

I didn't do it.

Host: 57:41

Jason hit me, you guys.