Boone White grew up with a stutter. Public speaking was something he avoided until years of running weekly safety meetings forced him to figure it out. He got better by going shorter, ditching the scripts, and replacing bullet points with stories. Now he's a general superintendent at ICM Construction, a construction influencer, and one of the more honest voices in the trades about what it actually takes to shift a jobsite culture from the inside.
In this episode, Jesse and Boone get into what it looks like to lead crews who've been doing this longer than you have, why systems matter more than blame, and how tools like Last Planner can either build a team or blow one up depending on how you roll them out.
What you'll hear:
• How Boone turned a childhood stutter into a communication strength — and why story-driven toolbox talks land harder than scripted ones
• What it looks like to lead hardheaded, old-school crews without losing their respect or your standards
• The honest story of how he butchered Last Planner on his first try — and why Lean tools get weaponized against the culture they're supposed to build
• The workforce pressures forcing construction to get serious about how it treats people, whether it wants to or not
• Inside ICM's Align Academy and the Old Dog Community — and why experienced supers need a peer group as much as anyone
• Boone's push to change how Mississippi bids and delivers work
Boone's a working super who figured things out the hard way. This one's worth the listen.
00:00 Facts and Introductions
02:15 Why Boone Speaks
02:39 Stutter to Confidence
04:29 Toolbox Talks That Stick
05:15 Stories Over Scripts
08:08 Leading Older Crews
09:31 Firm Leadership Balance
13:41 Old School vs New
16:54 Workforce Change Storm
19:11 Treat People Like People
22:26 Lean Books Breakthrough
26:25 Butchering Last Planner
27:21 Weaponized Collaboration
28:21 Identity Shift to Lead
31:51 Enemy Is Waste
32:37 ICM Culture by Design
35:16 Why Boone Joined ICM
38:52 Inside Align Academy
44:31 In Person Training Wins
46:40 Listening as a Skill
49:13 Old Dog Community
53:06 Promise for Mississippi
55:09 Where to Connect
55:49 Podcast Wrap Up
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