Greg: Welcome to the Tim Faller Show. There we go. Production is paramount, and we discuss the tools, time and people associated with getting jobs done and making a profit.

Steve: I on today’s episode of The Tim Faller Show, we will be talking about Tim Faller with Tim Faller. I am Steve Wheeler, and along with Greg Woleck, here is the Tim Faller Show.

Greg: Hello, everyone, and welcome to The Tim Faller Show. I am clearly not Tim Faller. My name is Greg Woleck, and it’s a really exciting for all of us to be here today. You’re all tense. Let’s give a hand for Tim, please.

Greg: So possibly a little bittersweet. This is the last episode of The Tim Faller Show, and Tim and I will, or Steve and I will introduce something. I’m going to do that a lot. I’m going to call you Tim all the time.

Steve: It’s okay.

Greg: So we’re going to do something at the end of this. But picture it is February 1964. You’re in the Ed Sullivan Theater and the Beatles have landed and you are screaming. You can’t hear them play. All my love. And that was the song that they were playing because you are screaming at the top of your lungs. So there’s so much energy in that room.

Greg: There was so much excitement. You knew you were in rare air. And I’ve spent a lot of time in rare air with this man for the last year or so and beyond. So when I am with Tim and I’m in his presence, you know, I get overwhelmed. I think about these just wonderful experiences I’ve had. And I recognize that he is our, you know, John, Paul, George and Ringo all rolled up into one.

Greg: I think he prefer Hank Williams senior, though, right? That’s who you would rather be. So I first encountered Tim, like most of us did. Lead Carpenter training lead Carpenter Handbook, early 2000. JLC live in Providence. I went to a full day, lead carpenter training, and, he was still using an overhead projector there, and that’s how long.

Greg: That’s right. That’s right. But a fun fact about Tim is that he has attended every single JLC live event, and he’s presented at all but one. Right. He’s very secretive. Why he didn’t presented that one.

Tim: I didn’t get invited. I don’t know why, but.

Greg: So a little over a year ago, I joined R.A. And, when when I was asked to join, I had a couple of hours to kill, and, and Tim and I went and had a cup of coffee and it was an out-of-body experience for me. I’m sitting in this this cafe. It was Dunkin Donuts. I know Lindsay doesn’t wanna hear that, but we’re sitting, sitting in a cafe, and, for two hours, and I said it was out-of-body experience.

Greg: I could see myself looking down. And this conversation I was having with Tim, we talked about our families. We talked about the job, we talked about the company. And I know that. Have I not gotten the gig that two hours would have been worth it? It was a very precious time to me. And it’s, something I’ll never forget.

Greg: So we’ve had a lot of these conversations over the last year. We’ve talked about production process, people, whiteboards. That was a pretty good. Yeah, we had. And every time I get to talk to Tim, I do feel the same way. And I know how blessed I am, how blessed we all are. To have Tim’s wisdom shared with us.

Greg: He has been a fantastic colleague, a great advocate for me, and, truly a great friend. So it’s been a wonderful, wonderful run. But before we dive into the interview, Steve, could you give an introduction to the man that needs.

Steve: I would love to. Tim Faller is widely respected leader in the remodeling industry, known for his passion, knowledge, dedication to helping others succeed. A graduate of the Ohio State University with a degree in agriculture, Tim’s career took an unexpected turn when he moved to Georgia as a youth minister. There, he discovered a love for construction. Learning the trades hands on while working with a skilled carpenter.

Steve: Tim’s journey in remodeling truly began when he returned to the Washington, D.C. area to work for Hopkins and Porter, where he quickly advanced to production manager and championed the lead carpenter system. His love for sharing knowledge led him to become a key figure in training, co-developing Mary’s certified Lead Carpenter program and speaking at industry events nationwide. Beyond his technical expertise, Tim is known for his kindness, leadership, and commitment to people.

Steve: Through his two books, his work with Remodelers advantage. His role as an advocate for the industry education. He has continued to inspire and guide others, making a profound impact on the industry. A 2022 inductee to the National Remodeling Hall of Fame, he will leave a lasting legacy of excellence, mentorship and a vision for a collaborative or human centered approach to remodeling.

Steve: Tim Faller, welcome to The Tim Faller Show. Wow.

Steve: Looks nice.

Steve: Thank you.

Tim: You know, they say it’s not an RA meeting until someone cries.

Tim: It’s an R.A. meeting. So we’re ready to go here. Thank you very, very much. I’ve, just loved the journey and, had no idea where I was going when we started, but, I’ve had a great ride, and, we’ll we’ll get more of that.

Greg: So how does it feel to be in the guest seat instead of,

Tim: It’s really weird. It’s, you know, I’ve been on a couple of other podcasts as a guest. But this is, very, very different for me. Probably because as much as I want to deny it, I really do like to control things. And, I had no control over this.

Greg: So I.

Tim: Have no control over.

Greg: This. So let’s look back on the journey, okay? What’s the beginnings? You can go. You can start in Massachusetts if you want to.

Tim: So I, I got into remodeling because I decided not to be a youth minister anymore. And I learned this was in small town in South Georgia. I had no idea that there was even an industry or what was going on. I was just trying to make a living. And when I moved, back to the Washington, DC area, I went to work for Hopkins and Porter as a lead carpenter and then took on the role of production manager.

Tim: And that’s where my boss, Guy Sims, I had two bosses. Fantastic people. My boss Volun told me, to, present at the very first remodeling show, and I had no idea the what a trade show was, and I just was amazed. And, and then the same boss volunteered me to work with the local chapter on lead carpenter training.

Tim: And my reaction was the same. Like, what do I know about that? And he said, oh, you’ll be fine. You’ll do great. And, so I worked with a few other people, then and then, you know, it just kind of took off and I had the, the privilege, I guess, of being one of the first people that was actively promoting growth in the production side of the business.

Tim: There were sales trainers, and there were marketing people already. And that sort of thing. But I kind of took that first mantle. And so, I didn’t have any competition, which I guess is a good thing, because I was still learning, still growing, still figuring things out. But, that led to one thing, one thing to another.

Tim: And then I joke a little bit about about this when I do presentations. But in 2000, I decided it was a whole lot easier to talk about than it is to do it. And, and so I decided to just start talking about it. And then of course, recessions hit and I had to do it again. And then, eventually, was asked by Mark and Victoria to come on board full time.

Tim: And, have really loved the ride with Laura.

Greg: Over the journey, the evolution. What have you seen in the industry change? What stayed the same?

Tim: Well, I think, you know, from my vantage point I’ve really focused on production. And I think the biggest thing for me is just the professionalism of the production, particularly the production manager role. And I’ve seen that go from I’m just making sure that jobs get done to true to mid-level managers within the company. And I will say, I did production management for about six years, and the people that we work with in the production manager roles, roundtables are probably doing 10 or 15 times what I had to do.

Tim: I have a great deal of respect for those people because they’re managing budgets, they’re managing. They’re doing so much more work. But it’s a true, management position. So I think that’s one of the biggest changes that I’ve, I’ve seen. And, you know, the the challenge of getting a job built for a client is always the same.

Greg: Yeah.

Tim: That stays with us.

Greg: Is there any particular advice you’d give to Remodelers these days, like getting into the business new, like start now.

Tim: So I, I think when I work with companies, like, if I go visit your company, there are two places where the system falls apart. And that first one is the transfer of information from sales design to the production team. And, you know, it’s a constant struggle because these two groups of the company see the world differently. And so it it can be tension.

Tim: But the companies that are nailing that, stand a much better chance of succeeding. And then the second place is kind of funny because, I really advocate for project managers and lead carpenters to spend time before they ever get on the job site. Really detailed planning. How we going to succeed? And I love the write it down thing that went in the last, with with Mark and Victoria’s podcast because, everybody loves that idea.

Tim: But a lot of project managers and lead carpenters can’t find the time. That’s air quotes. You know, they can’t find the time. And yet that’s where projects fail. So in those two places, you know, we know how to build a house, we know how to remodel. We know how to solve the problem of how big the beam ought to be.

Tim: That’s easy stuff. The stuff that we miss is that up front hand-off of information, whether it’s incomplete or accurate. And then actually creating an active written plan for how this job is going to be successful. And I again, I joke a little bit about it when I do slides, it says it’s a plan, not a dream or a hope.

Tim: And I just hear so many people say, I hope the next one goes better. It ain’t going to go better unless you make a better plan. So I think those are kind of the two, you know, big things that if we can master those, then I think we’re going to do well.

Greg: These are the these are the conversations I’ve got to have over the last year with Tim. It’s just it’s great stuff. You want to talk a little about the podcast and.

Steve: Yeah. So, Jim, when I first, approached you, I know I had many conversations with Mark and Victoria, and when I first came to you, I said, Tim, we’re going to do a podcast. And your famous response was, what’s the podcast? Yeah. So we had the idea for The Tim Fallon show. And, when it first started, you had obvious expectations or thoughts, but I’m just talking about your expectations at the start of the show.

Steve: By the time the show had come around, your legacy had really been paved in many ways. But I think this show was kind of a launch point where your voice could reach many a larger audience. So looking at when it started to where it is, what was it and how has it changed for you? Well, I.

Tim: Had no idea what a podcast was on, and, I’m a little bit short on the technology and I can do Word and Excel and PowerPoint, but, you know, the rest of technology is, check can be a challenge for me. So I didn’t know what it was. And exactly what happened. I went like, what is that?

Tim: And I guess, honestly, I didn’t know what I was getting into. And I think the, the incredible all benefit to me was that we had lots and lots of really smart people on the show. Steve found some of them. I found a lot of them. We had people volunteering to be on the show, which, And then we’d hear ideas and, you know, I, I sometimes think of myself as, like an industry honeybee.

Tim: I’m picking up a little pollen over here and dropping it over here. And the podcast was a place where I just learned every show. Maybe not every, but almost every show, even though I kind of controlled the content, you know, that’s me. I kind of controlled it, but I was I was getting something new and I tried to tell everybody, and I’ve said it a lot of times, if I got excited about something, I was excited about it.

Tim: There was no theatrics for me. It wasn’t like, oh yeah, let’s everybody get excited. It was like, oh, this is cool. And you experienced it, Greg. You experienced it was like this excitement that I got from it. So, I will say that, the thing I didn’t expect was standing in the, rotunda, if you will, at the Orlando, convention for IBS and talking to Doug Howard and somebody else and about 20 yards away, somebody goes, I know that voice.

Tim: And there’s somebody I’ve never met before that wants a selfie with Tim, which I thought was kind of odd and. I guess I still do a little bit, but, but they had they recognize the voice. And I guess I also heard it like, at a home Depot one time I was walking out. Don’t ask me why I was at Home Depot.

Tim: Yeah. But, and I heard my voice coming out of somebody’s truck. It was really, really odd. Yeah. Very odd. So.

Steve: It’s the same.

Greg: Particular episodes. Anything, that you really look back on? And was there anything unexpected that you got from.

Tim: I think, I think, you know, because I kind of, controlled the content a little bit. Although people always came up with something new. I think the episodes that I, I really kind of struck me the most were non industry people who we either heard about or we actually, I would get emails from kind of like headhunters that said, this person would like to be on your podcast and I’d go like, okay, what do they talk about?

Tim: Christine Myles is a great example on listening, a professional on listening. And she comes on and and I think Steve and I both when we got done with that episode, it was like, this is one of our favorites. And I’ve been working with companies a lot on the art of listening, and I went back and listened to it again.

Tim: There was another fella and I can’t remember his name, but out of Albuquerque on culture and again, the same kind of thing, we came out of that thing going like, wow, everybody ought to hear this. I think we did two episodes with him. And so there were things, you know, the industry stuff. I would get little nuggets of, of stuff from, but those like brand new topics and it, it was from somebody who had studied sort of what I’m going to call up or level stuff.

Tim: It isn’t, you know, working with a trade contractor or stuff like that, that really, I think were the most fun and probably the most educational for me.

Greg: So personally, what in your life, like who is inspired you to do the things that you’ve done?

Tim: Gosh, you’re going to cry again. You know, I’m going to start with my wife.

Tim: And and, primarily because, she’s just been so supportive over the years.

Tim: Done tons of traveling. And, you know, she was home. So that’s like the first, inspiration. I think, many of you know, Linda Kay, she was the founder of Remodelers advantage. And when I first thought about doing something like this, going into consulting, I talked to one industry consultant and this person said, oh, people will never pay for that kind of stuff.

Tim: You don’t even bother nobody. Nobody, nobody will do that. Nobody cares about production. And I went like, oh, and then I talked with Linda. And Linda, on the other hand, said, come over to the office. We lived pretty close to each other, and Linda and Victoria said, go for it. This is needed. This is important. You can do this.

Tim: And, it started, you know, it gave me the courage to to really move forward. And I’ve been indebted to them ever since for that. Because it was a, it was that sliding doors that we, somebody mentioned the other day that’s like that one moment in time where I made a decision that changed my life dramatically. And, yeah, I guess that’s that’s the inspiration.

Tim: Yeah. All women.

Greg: So much more time here. But legacy. What do you want the industry to remember? How do you want the industry to remember Tom Faller or talk about Tim Faller?

Tim: Wow. You know, I guess I’m in that mode that says I’m not really that important to have a legacy. I don’t know. I think, you know, some people say, you know, you founded the lead carpenter system, and that’s not really true. Other people, I think Linda Case, when she actually was the production manager at Case Remodel Design in the DC and Walt stuff, well worth who some of you have heard about, has passed, but was a huge proponent of the lead carpenter system.

Tim: I think what I’d like to kind of be left with is that I gave legs or or systemized both lead carpenter system, as well as just project management within this industry. You know, there’s a lot of project management training out there in, in many other industries. But I think just giving it something that people could grab on to and say, this is this is it for remodeling.

Tim: And I think that’s, I think that’s probably what I, you know, want to be remembered for. Gave it legs, I guess. And, was able to be that honeybee that, you know, shared it all over the country. Yeah.

Steve: So, Tim, I guess it was a few weeks ago we were together, and I was telling you all about these framing videos I used to watch and Larry Hogan from Fine Homebuilding. And so Timmy used to frame without a pneumatic gun. Said I framed without a pneumatic gun. So you have seen a lot of changes since you first started?

Steve: Yeah, right. So two parter. What have been the most significant changes, whether it’s process or tools? What have been the biggest changes you’ve experienced over your time in the industry and for the next, let’s say, 10 to 15 years? What do you think will be the most significant challenges or opportunities?

Tim: So I figured out how to get the younger generation into this business. You make building a house by Game Boy controller.

Greg:

Tim: And so if anybody wants a nice challenge I think get robots going and you control them with a controller, you know, I think, you know, the pneumatic tools are one thing battery driven, but it has to be technology. And you just I mean, one of the reasons why I really appreciate Greg coming on board and taking my responsibilities is that he’s much more versed in technology than I will ever be.

Tim: Has used a lot of technology. Both the, you know, the, production management stuff, but also, you know, estimating and things like that. So I think that’s going to be the big shift. I think it will make our lives a little bit easier. As we move forward with that. So I think that’s a, that’s probably the biggest shift because I’ve been, you know, I was, you know, have I met the folks that own and run builder trend, like the very first JLC live that they ever went to and, you know, talk with them then and have seen the growth there.

Tim: Obviously job treads making a huge impact. But those systems are really impacting the way we manage jobs. And like I said, I think the building process is going to be the same for a long, long time, even though we may have guns that do it instead of, you know, hammer and nails. But, I think that’s going to be the big the big shift.

Steve: Yeah.

Greg: So we’ve shared a lot of books together, things and stuff like that. What’s what’s a go to business book for you that you would share with that?

Tim: Oh wow. I have a list of about 25 that I hand out to the production managers that I want them to to read, but, probably the Oz principle, if you haven’t heard about it, the, subtitle is, developing a Culture of Accountability. It’s, fantastic. Easy to read, fairly easy, thing to understand. And then, it takes some, takes some work to implement it.

Tim: But accountability is probably one of the biggest challenges that we face with people within management. First, break all the Rules, which is an older book, that was based on a study done by the Gallup Association on how to, how how mid-level managers, succeed. What what is it that they do? And it’s all about it’s got stuff on hiring.

Tim: It’s got stuff on yearly reviews or quarterly reviews as they and they also it also has a lot in it on company culture. And is your culture one that people want to work in? And it’s just I think it’s a foundational book for what I’ve been trying to get across to people. And, you know, Ken Blanchard stuff, everybody’s, the One Minute manager, although the best one minute manager book is the one minute manager meets the monkey.

Tim: If you haven’t read that, read the monkey book. It’s amazing. And, scrum and commonly called commonly referred to as the monkey book. And, it’s spectacular. It goes right along with the Oz principle in terms of accountability.

Steve: That to me, you mentioned at the beginning of this your love of control. So you’ll love that. I’m going to go a bit off script, but you, you were integral in the production manager roundtables. Yeah. Over the years, you’ve really spearheaded where that program has gone. Is there any production managers that you’d like to mention who have either in turn inspired you or that you’re most proud of?

Tim: Oh, yes. And, you know, there’s some pretty amazing people I already mentioned that I think most, many of the production managers in our roundtable have just do way more than I, ever was asked to do. But yes, I think, Chris Peterson from Schlegel Design build, you know, came up as a carpenter, lead carpenter, project manager, then production manager.

Tim: And that’s when I first met him. Now is co-owner with Charlie Schlegel of the company. And, the thing I like about Chris and Charlie is they’re always looking at a new, a new way to do something. And it’s not just the same old thing over and over again. And I appreciate that. Eric Bain, who’s from Innovative in Atlanta, he was actually a guest.

Tim: He and his, boss were our guests two years ago at summit. And, it’s like when Eric Wright. I’ve. I’ve been coaching Eric for probably four years, maybe started out every month. And but now when he writes me, it’s like, oh, no, what’s Eric want now? Because he’s asking me questions and I go, like, I don’t know the answer to the good news is I’m a pretty good problem solver.

Tim: And so we can talk and then we’ll come up with some stuff. But he’s a guy that just is pushing the envelope every time. He’s, doing anything. And so I’ve really, I’ve, you know, been pushed by both of those people to just think a little bit further down the line to really, keep growing, keep learning.

Tim: And so that’s just two right off the top. Anybody out here want to join? No, I’m getting all right.

Greg: Listen, I think if, you, Tim Faller talked about me, the way he talks about Eric being. That would just be, you know, that total a total win for me. Good. How many cups of coffee a day?

Tim: Oh, my goodness. You want to talk about, pictures of coffee or cups of coffee? No, I, I will drink a whole pot of coffee and easily in one day. I’m very fortunate that my daughter works for Starbucks, so I get free coffee, and, that. But, yes, I drink a lot of.

Greg: Coffee very often in the afternoon, I’ll get a text from him. It says latte.

Tim: Time. Lots of time. Yeah, yeah, about 3:00. So you you can join me today if you want to. We’ll have some fun.

Greg: Which time zone are we in for that? That’s right.

Tim: That’s right, that’s right.

Greg: Again, you’ve had such an impact on a lot of us in this. I mean, probably everyone in this room, to be honest with you. Everyone has had some impact and, is there a favorite moment? Is there is there any is there a moment that wasn’t favorable when you were you were doing these things or what stands out in your mind the most along this journey?

Tim: Oh, well, since we, we had the last speech, I can’t talk about anything negative. Right now. There have been a couple of times when I, I, you know, I said, wow, you shouldn’t have done that. You know, you and one of them was the remodelers advantage. The second group that we ever started was the Phoenix Group. We were meeting in Phoenix and a we had allowed a business owner and his production manager to come to the group, and, for whatever reason, I got really frustrated and just laid into him heavy, you know, had to go back and apologize later on for not being sensitive and so forth like that.

Tim: So that was one of the the kind of the negative things. I guess Rosie getting hurt too, was one of those that of meeting where we were all riding four wheelers in the desert and Rosie Romero got hurt. That was a really tough time, in this thing. But, for the most part, these these production manager groups have been is spectacular for me to not only learn, but for me to also, influence people on a, you know, a very personal, you know, kind of level.

Tim: And so I can’t really pick out anything, you know, specific on the positive side except just it’s been great, you know, across the board.

Steve: Okay. Okay. If I may, in a way, you’ll be passing the torch to Greg.

Tim: Yep.

Steve: You know, you’ve made this yours in, production space and very excited to see what Greg’s going to do. And, you know, just make his impact on the industry as well. Very bright future. You know, he’s going to make it. He’s he’s going to do a lot of things, to impact the industry. Is there anything you’d like him to keep in mind or he don’t change?

Tim: Oh, my. To keep your cool, and and, you know, just between you and me, because nobody else is here. Sometimes the business owners can be a little bit hard on you when, you know, when they work.

Greg: For a couple of years.

Tim: Yeah, I know there’s a couple sitting right out here. Yeah. But I think, enjoy it and keep learning. And, I think that’s I mean, we’ve talked about that a lot of different times that I, I love to keep learning. I love to be a problem solver. And that’s what, you know, productions all about. And I think you’re going to carry that on.

Tim: So, I’m, I’m excited about it, just in case, you know, you don’t know, I do endorse Greg 100%. He’s a little different than I am in some ways, but, has a lot of good experience and a lot of, knowledge about how jobs run and how process should be. So, fully, endorse his taking over this role.

Tim: We’ve we have not said he’s taking my place because nobody can take my place. Right.

Greg: Absolutely. Right.

Tim: But, we have said he is my successor.

Steve: So humility is a virtue.

Greg: And I think everyone has already told me how big his shoes are. They’re going to be definitely big to fill. Last nugget getting ready to wrap up here. What’s one last nugget you can give to everyone out there?

Tim: Oh, wow.

Greg: Gosh.

Tim: Be creative in your problem solving. You may learn from other people, but what I’ve seen, the thing that I’ve gotten most particularly from production Manager roundtables, is there’s be creative and figuring out the solution. Don’t give in to the we can’t do this. Figure out how to do it. And then the the business will just take off. Be creative and problem solving.

Greg: Steve, any last thoughts for Tim?

Steve: So, Tim. I by no means want this to mimic a eulogy because you have many bright years ahead of you. But in, in some ways, we’re putting a chapter to rest.

Tim: Yeah.

Steve: I need you know, it’s been an incredible honor to, Thank you. Get to know you, the person you are, spending many years watching your speaking, reading your books, reading your articles, getting to do the podcast with you was really a highlight for me. The highlight of my career. I can only wish that you move on to the next phase of life with your head held high, knowing that you made a big impact.

Steve: Myself, Greg, most people in this room, I want you to, just know that from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for all that you’ve done. And moving forward. I want you to catch every fish and lobster in New England.

Greg: You’ve been.

Tim: We don’t want to deplete the stock, but, Yeah, I intend on catching some lobster.

Greg: Yeah. How about a hand for Tim Faller? Yeah.

Greg: Okay.

Greg: So we all know that change is a part of life. And as we are closing out this final episode of The Tim Faller Show, we want to share another bit of change. And that’s, the new podcast which, Steve and I are going to host together. It is called the Why We Build podcast. We’re very excited to launch that.

Greg: The name changes. The focus will still be on helping all of you build strong companies, strong teams. So, Tim, we know you can’t stop or show without saying your catchphrase. So if you could, help us a little bit with launching the new podcast.

Steve: All right, here we go.

Tim: Everybody ready? Or remember, whether it’s The Tim Faller Show or the why We Build podcast, we’re here to help you remove it is what it is from your vocabulary once and for all.

Greg: And keep.

Greg: It.

Greg: Welcome to the Why We Build podcast. Join Steve Wheeler and our host, Greg Waller to explore the world of remodeling. Whether you’re on the production team, design team, or managing the whole show. You can expect insights, tips.

Greg: And stories that inspire and educate. So get ready for season one coming this October.