Dirt Talk by BuildWitt – Episode Summary: SIMPLE, Feedback, and Migration (BuildWitt Update #11) – DT 359
Release Date: July 28, 2025
Host: Aaron Witt, Founder of BuildWitt
Podcast: Dirt Talk by BuildWitt
In the eleventh update of the Dirt Talk podcast, host Aaron Witt delves into critical strategic shifts within BuildWitt, emphasizing simplicity in prioritization, the introduction of a new feedback system, and the migration of customers to an enhanced platform. This episode offers valuable insights for industry leaders and team managers aiming to refine their operational focus and enhance team performance.
1. Simplifying Quarterly Rocks
Timestamp: 00:00 – 04:30
Aaron Witt begins the episode by discussing the company's strategic realignment of its quarterly priorities, referred to as "rocks." Previously juggling six or seven priorities, BuildWitt has streamlined this list down to three essential focuses:
- Growing and Supporting the BuildWitt Improve Product
- Expanding and Enhancing the Dirt World Summit
Notable Quote:
"Reducing them to three was essential. All three have to do with either growing or supporting our BuildWitt Improve product or growing and supporting the area Dirt World Summit."
— Bill at 00:45
Aaron emphasizes the importance of having memorable and focused priorities to ensure alignment across the business. Reflecting on past experiences, he notes that an overabundance of priorities diluted the company's focus and hindered effective messaging and execution.
Quote:
"If we as leadership can't recall these rocks and explain them very simply, we won't have alignment with the business, the rocks are worthless."
— Bill at 02:10
This strategic simplification is part of BuildWitt's broader objective to solidify its identity as a software-centric company within the construction and mining industries.
2. Emphasizing Software Focus
Timestamp: 04:31 – 07:15
Aaron elaborates on BuildWitt's pivotal shift towards being a software company, a decision underscored by the sale of their creative business unit. This move aims to concentrate resources and efforts on software development, thereby enhancing the company's core offerings and industry trust.
Notable Quote:
"The biggest move we made this year was selling the creative business to focus all in on software. But we need that focus across the board."
— Bill at 05:15
He underscores that maintaining a clear focus is crucial for business alignment and achieving substantial growth within the software domain. By anchoring their quarterly rocks around this focus, BuildWitt ensures that all team members are aligned with the company's primary objectives.
3. Promoting the Dirt World Summit
Timestamp: 07:16 – 11:00
Transitioning to event promotion, Aaron highlights the upcoming Dirt World Summit scheduled for November 5th to 7th in Dallas, Texas. Positioned as a high-caliber industry event, the summit aims to gather 1,500 leaders from approximately 500 companies to foster learning, growth, and collaboration.
Notable Quote:
"If you're a leader looking to elevate yourself, your team looking for like-minded individuals that are hungry, then look no further than the Ariat Dirt World Summit."
— Bill at 08:20
The lineup boasts industry luminaries such as Jesse Cole from the Savannah Bananas, James Clear of Atomic Habits, Kim Scott of Radical Candor, Mark Miller from Chick-fil-A Leadership, and Tim Grover, renowned trainer of Michael Jordan. Aaron encourages listeners to register early using the promo code AARON10 for a 10% discount.
4. Pausing Non-Essential Initiatives for Q3
Timestamp: 11:01 – 16:30
Aaron announces a strategic decision to pause two significant initiatives that previously consumed substantial executive and marketing resources. This pause aligns with the company's commitment to focus entirely on their primary objectives: enhancing the BuildWitt Improve product and elevating the Dirt World Summit.
Notable Quote:
"We have a lot of work we need to do on software and the event to make them world-class, to get our business to where they need to be."
— Bill at 13:45
He acknowledges the value of past initiatives in driving innovation and gaining industry insights but emphasizes the necessity of concentrating efforts to achieve strategic goals. This disciplined approach ensures that BuildWitt can effectively channel resources towards areas that directly support their mission and growth.
5. Expanding the Training Video Library
Timestamp: 16:31 – 20:00
In an effort to enhance their educational offerings, BuildWitt is re-editing existing vlogs into shorter segments to expand their training video library. With impressive metrics of 1.3 million hours (148 years) of watch time in 2025, the company sees considerable potential in repurposing this content.
Notable Quote:
"Our team is working through these vlogs, seeing what we can pull out and then making smaller points into those two, three, four-minute videos for the training platform."
— Bill at 18:15
These concise videos aim to provide targeted educational content on various topics, including earth moving, paving, concrete, and equipment operation. By diversifying content delivery, BuildWitt seeks to further engage and educate their audience, thereby adding value to their training platform and supporting customer development.
6. Introducing Quarterly Feedback Sessions
Timestamp: 20:01 – 26:00
A significant organizational development discussed in the episode is the implementation of quarterly feedback sessions for the entire BuildWitt team. This initiative mandates that every team leader dedicates at least 30 minutes to evaluate each direct report's performance and conduct individual feedback sessions.
Notable Quote:
"The feedback format is simple. Start, Stop, and Continue."
— Bill at 22:45
This straightforward approach encourages constructive dialogue by identifying actions to begin, cease, and maintain. Aaron highlights the benefits of this format in providing clear, actionable insights that help team members improve their performance while recognizing their strengths.
Quote:
"It allows you to correct course and it allows you to recognize great behavior. So I'm really excited for our company to be doing this now."
— Bill at 25:00
The introduction of this feedback system underscores BuildWitt's commitment to fostering a transparent and growth-oriented workplace culture.
7. Migrating to the BuildWitt Improve Platform
Timestamp: 26:01 – 33:30
Concluding the update, Aaron discusses the ongoing migration of existing BuildWitt training customers to the newly developed BuildWitt Improve platform. This transition involves transferring data from the former BuildWitt Training system to the improved, more robust platform introduced earlier in the year.
Notable Quote:
"We have to take the user data their people have generated from over here and put it over there."
— Bill at 28:20
The initial phase involves 15 companies serving as a pilot group to ensure a smooth transition and effective utilization of the new platform. Upon successful completion of this pilot, the company plans to extend the migration process to all remaining customers, ultimately phasing out the old training system.
Quote:
"Once that process is completed in the coming months, we can then sunset the old training platform and everybody will be on BuildWitt Improve, which is very exciting."
— Bill at 32:10
This migration is a critical step in unifying BuildWitt's offerings and providing enhanced features and functionalities to their user base.
Conclusion
In this episode of Dirt Talk, Aaron Witt outlines several pivotal strategies that BuildWitt is implementing to streamline operations, enhance team performance, and improve customer experiences. By focusing on simplicity in prioritization, introducing a robust feedback system, and migrating to a superior software platform, BuildWitt demonstrates a clear commitment to growth and excellence within the construction and mining industries.
Listeners gain valuable insights into effective business management practices, emphasizing the importance of focused leadership, clear communication, and continuous improvement. Whether you're an industry leader or part of a growing team, the strategies discussed in this episode offer actionable takeaways to drive your organization's success.
Stay Connected:
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