Podcast Summary: Dirt Talk by BuildWitt

Episode: Paul Jones w/ Solomon Builders – DT 390
Date: November 13, 2025
Host: Aaron Witt
Guest: Paul Jones, President of Solomon Builders

Episode Overview

This episode of Dirt Talk features a candid, in-depth conversation between Aaron Witt and Paul Jones, President of Nashville-based Solomon Builders. The episode centers on the evolution and resilience of Solomon Builders following the unexpected death of its founder, Ty Osmond, in 2020, and dives into topics of leadership, company culture, personal growth, the construction industry's changing dynamics, and the deeper purpose of building. Aaron and Paul also compare experiences in endurance sports, the importance of stress, and the value of real-life perspective (including memorable stories from mission trips).

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Company Evolution & Growth through Adversity

• Navigating Sudden Leadership Change:
  • Solomon Builders faced a crisis in 2020 when founder Ty Osmond died suddenly. His widow, Nancy, unexpectedly inherited the business.
    • “She came in and basically said, I don’t know anything about construction… I know about people and I know that this was what we were working towards… if you keep showing up, I’ll keep showing up.” — Paul (35:29)
• Succession Planning & Values:
  • Ty empowered his successors with clear, if unwritten, principles: hire good people, focus on mission and values, and trust the team to figure out the details.
  • The “exchange zone” analogy from relay racing: “Companies fail in the exchange zone. You can run all the fastest segments…but if the exchange isn’t right, they lose.” (36:00)
• Codifying Culture:
  • Pre-2020, culture and values were lived, not written. The new leadership made defining and writing down mission, vision, and values a top priority after Ty’s death.
  • Mission: “We build people, relationships, communities, and great buildings.” (32:36)
    • People come first; the lasting impact is on communities and relationships, not just the physical outcome.

2. Personal and Organizational Growth

• Learning from Hardship:
  • Both Aaron and Paul discuss how true growth comes from facing setbacks and discomfort, not just reading or secondhand advice.
  • “There’s no avoiding it…you’ve got to just touch the stove.” — Aaron (04:11)
• Grit, Challenge & Stress:
  • The difference between “distress” and “eustress” (beneficial stress): facing professional hardship can build organizational muscle, if handled right.
  • “That’s how your body builds muscle… we’ve built the muscle and now we’re ready to run.” — Paul (09:36)
  • The company values grit as a pre-requisite for hiring and success—building people who seek excellence through challenge.

3. Culture, Leadership, and Scaling

• Maintaining Culture Beyond the Founder:
  • Real culture can persist if values are authentic and owned at every level, not just emulated from the founder’s personality.
  • “It’s hard to define. But you know it when you see it.” — Paul (44:43)
  • Scaling culture is one of Solomon’s greatest ongoing challenges; becoming bigger can dilute relationships and soul.
• Hiring and People Development:
  • Focus on “hiring adults” and trusting them rather than over-managing or obsessing over rules; embracing common sense and adaptability.
  • Investing in young people and non-traditional career paths (e.g., hiring and advancing a high school grad as an APM, supporting online learning) is a point of pride and excitement. (77:19-80:19)
  • “To have the freedom to give a guy like that a chance…like, no, you don’t need a degree. Come on, dude.” — Paul (80:22)

4. Industry Changes, Challenges, and Observations

• Dynamics in Construction:
  • The local vs. mega-GC split: Local GCs are more connected to their communities, relationships, and the impact of their projects, while national/international GCs have become “soulless” and driven by contracts, litigation, and profit at the cost of relationships. (64:32–66:28)
  • Rapid project inflation is attributed more to market behaviors than macroeconomic policy like tariffs; the real world impact of tariffs on mid-sized GC projects is often overstated. (55:34)
  • “For us, the percent of tariffs on the percent of material, on the percent of total project—usually not that much…so might there be an increase? Maybe. Is it worth sidelining it? I wouldn’t.” — Paul (54:57)
• Purpose-Driven Projects:
  • Solomon focuses on projects with community impact: churches, nonprofits, YMCAs, counseling centers, emphasizing that the firm’s impact is “affiliation to what that building accomplishes.” (62:43, 91:35)

5. Building Perspective through Service and Travel

• Mission Trips & Broadening Worldview:
  • Company-sponsored international mission trips (Honduras) to build houses and offer medical missions—intended to build employee camaraderie and perspective.
  • “You stand in it, smell it, see it, experience it…it is just this perspective you cannot deny, and you cannot get rid of it.” — Paul, describing the dump in Honduras (86:56)
  • The company pays for the trips, reflecting their commitment to building people, not just business outcomes. (88:59)

6. Humor, Humanity, and Memorable Moments

• Frequent banter about “adult business,” the perils of too many rules, wearing hard hats/gloves when not needed, and the “fake” nature of industry “growth awards.”
• Joking about office culture, such as the jackalope trophy instead of a wall of awards (100:07).
• Stories about characters in construction: the superintendent roasting young guys about running or working out, and unexpected moments of seeing people’s humanity in mundane market visits abroad. (112:09–112:51)

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “You can’t really separate it. Like, you can’t say, man, I’m so glad I have these lessons…without separating it from the hard lessons along the way. Like, man, I really had to go through that.” — Paul (03:38)
• “I can’t teach it. I just hope that they have to go through hard stuff, because that’s how you get it. There’s only one way to get it.” — Aaron (04:49)
• “Our mission is: we build people, relationships, communities, and great buildings. It was always intentional…your buildings are actually not the most important thing to us.” — Paul (32:36)
• “No one has disrespectful as a value.” — Aaron (32:32)
• “If we get the order wrong (people over projects), the whole thing falls apart.” — Paul (33:35)
• “If I have to tell you all 50 steps to get there, are you the person, are you the team?...Companies fail in the exchange zone.” — Paul (36:00)
• “Individual time…If you eliminate that, that’s a recipe for disaster.” — Aaron (16:17)
• “When you become so big…there’s so many products you have to sell to keep someone happy you’ll never meet in your life…It calls you out of those relationships, out of those things you really need to do to have an impact.” — Paul (68:37)
• “I mean, the only reason what we do is impressive is because it’s affiliated with them. Our people are good at it, but as far as, like, that idea of having an impact, it’s our affiliation to what that building is gonna accomplish.” — Paul (91:35)
• “What’s the hardest part (of Ironman)? …You’re having to orient yourself really fast… you can’t see anything, and there’s not like a lane.” — Aaron (108:48-109:09)
• “Our only trophy in our office is the jackalope…that’s pretty cool.” — Paul (100:08)
• “The only problem we have is if we get to the end of the year, and someone’s not taking their vacation because that’s indicative—hey, you’re burning out…that’s a problem.” — Paul (107:10)

Timestamps of Important Segments

| Time | Segment/Topic | | ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00–05:13 | Resilience, learning from tragedy, maturity in leadership | | 06:27–09:53 | Stress, eustress vs distress, building grit | | 26:03–38:05 | Story of Ty’s death, succession, mission/values codified | | 49:01–55:34 | Market conditions, project inflation, tariffs | | 62:43–66:28 | Local vs mega-GCs, community impact, relationships | | 77:19–80:22 | Innovative hiring, young talent, degree vs experience | | 88:59–90:21 | Mission trips, perspective, company paying for experiences| |100:07–100:30 | The jackalope trophy & philosophy about “awards” |

Tone, Language, and Style

The tone is conversational, genuine, and self-deprecating, with plenty of humor and unguarded honesty. Both speakers highlight lessons learned, the importance of humility, and avoiding corporate pretentiousness. The episode is filled with stories and life lessons, offering practical insight for professionals at every level of the construction industry, as well as those interested in leadership, company culture, and personal development.

Final Takeaways

• Mission and purpose matter most: People and relationships are at the core of Solomon’s mission.
• Culture must be lived, not just written: Surviving leadership transitions requires foundational, shared values.
• Growth is not always good: Relentless expansion can hurt people and culture; “bad revenue is not worth it.”
• Service and discomfort build perspective: Direct experiences, especially outside one's comfort zone, are life’s best teachers.
• Work is about more than widgets: True fulfillment comes from seeing projects as contributions to communities and lives.

This episode is rich with industry wisdom, leadership insights, and classic construction stories—an essential listen for anyone interested in what it takes to build a lasting company and a meaningful career in construction.