Podcast Summary: To The Point – Home Services Podcast
Episode: From Folding Table to Finding Legacy w/ Brian Gottlieb
Date: November 4, 2025
Host: Chris (RYNO Strategic Solutions)
Guest: Brian Gottlieb (Founder/Author/Keynote Speaker)
Episode Overview
This episode features home improvement industry veteran Brian Gottlieb, known for founding and scaling several multi-million dollar businesses, including Tunderland Home Improvement, Renewal by Andersen (multiple locations), and a Jacuzzi Bath Remodel franchise. Brian shares his journey from humble beginnings—starting with $3,000 and a plastic folding table—to building, scaling, and selling businesses with hundreds of employees, ultimately shifting his focus toward legacy, leadership, and elevating the blue-collar trades through training, culture, and leadership development.
The discussion centers on growth, leadership, company culture, operational excellence, and key lessons from Brian’s book Beyond the Hammer.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Brian’s Origin Story and Motivation
- Background: Brian started young, selling "pots and pans or home improvement projects," but did not go to college. Later, he enrolled in Harvard’s executive business education when his business hit $30M—a step he saw as crucial for personal growth and credibility.
"I barely graduated high school...I regret not going to college. When my business was doing $30 million…I looked in the mirror and said, I have no idea what I'm doing..." – Brian (02:05)
- Business Growth: He founded multiple home services businesses (windows, bath, etc.), scaling them to the point of 600 employees and multi-state presence, ultimately selling them to private equity and leadership teams.
"I opened up my first home improvement company with $3,000 on a plastic folding table…over time, it grew into several different businesses." – Brian (03:04)
- Purpose Today: Now focuses on making a positive impact by mentoring, writing, and speaking to help other entrepreneurs and managers in the trades.
"Today my purpose is…I just want to make a positive impact in this world every day, especially through the entrepreneur and the manager in the blue collar industry." – Brian (05:06)
2. Leadership & the Challenge of Scaling
- Leadership Growth Pains:
- Rapid growth outpaces systems.
- Many managers in trades are untrained for their roles.
"By the time you plug a system in, you’ve already outgrown it. Not everybody knows what they're doing...if I don't know, how can I expect my team to?" – Brian (07:00)
- People First, Always:
- Business growth = growing people.
- Managers are custodians of company culture.
"The lid of the business is directly connected to the lid of the people on the team…you have to commit to growing people." – Brian (07:33)
- Training Managers:
- Create a training organization — not "one and done" events but constant learning and feedback (e.g., daily quizzes).
"Training isn't like an event. It's got to be woven into the fabric of the organization." – Brian (09:28) "The quicker we can get someone proof of their learning, the better off we are." – Brian (10:31)
- Influence vs. Control:
- Managers need both levers—guidelines and empowerment.
"Massive difference between being right and being influential...We have to teach how to be influential with others." – Brian (14:00)
- Chaos vs. Discipline:
- Chaos produces revenue but only discipline creates profit and sustainable growth.
"If you don’t focus on your managers, you’ll have a very chaotic business. Chaos can produce revenue all day long, but it takes discipline to produce profit." – Brian (14:36)
3. Culture: Building, Protecting, and Turning It Around
- Defining Culture:
"A business culture is a shared set of thoughts, feelings and behaviors amongst your team when you’re looking and when nobody’s watching." – Brian (22:26)
- Culture serves the aspirational goals of the company—it’s not about perks or “cheerleading.”
- Biggest Lie in Building Culture:
"Biggest lie? Cheerleading...good benefits = good culture. It's ridiculous...how are people performing when nobody's looking?" – Brian (24:09)
- Turning Around a Bad Culture:
- Culture is shaped by the lowest level of acceptable behavior.
"What we tolerate, we attract more of." – Brian (25:54)
- Don’t keep high-performers who don’t fit the culture or low-performers who do—both set new low standards if tolerated.
"Each time you’re doing that, you’re creating a new set point on what the culture is…inspect what you tolerate." – Brian (27:10)
- Scoreboards and Progression Paths:
- Performance pay and individual KPIs help field teams know if they had a good day. Provide clear scoreboards and opportunities for advancement.
"When they got home…do they know they had a good day at work? If they don’t, that’s my fault." – Brian (31:23)
- Stay Surveys:
- Conducted twice a year to maintain feedback loops and “give a megaphone” to staff close to the customer.
"The further I am away from the customer, the more I have to give the people that are closest to the customer not just a voice, but a megaphone in the business." – Brian (16:56)
4. Systems & Execution: Simplicity Wins
- Simplicity over Complexity:
- Complexity is the enemy of execution.
"Complexity is very, very difficult to scale. The key to business is simplicity." – Brian (38:36)
- Most companies over-complicate with excessive or convoluted SOPs (standard operating procedures).
"Some of these SOPs are created by anomalies…before you know it, you get layers and layers and layers…it’s ridiculous." – Brian (42:56)
- Business Disciplines:
- Focus on simple, timeless business disciplines (like "the lead is sacred") over heavy SOPs.
"If they don’t have great systems and processes, they’ll be okay if they have clear disciplines and teach those to everybody." – Brian (33:52)
- Empowering Decision-Making:
- Train people on how to make decisions—instead of relying on a mountain of SOPs.
- Example exercise: give staff customer scenarios on index cards and discuss possible solutions as a team.
"It’s like a muscle…they have to build the decision-making muscle." – Brian (45:27)
5. Book: Beyond the Hammer
- About the Book:
- Written specifically for blue-collar leaders/managers.
- Half business parable, half actionable strategy ("not preachy…sticky and engaging").
"The first half…is a business parable. The second half...is strategy and execution on how to plug these pillars into the book." – Brian (49:21)
- Over 40,000 copies sold, used as a manager development tool in many businesses.
- Audiobook narrated by a professional, making it engaging.
- Key Pillars from the Book:
- Belief is transferable: Grow people’s belief in themselves.
- Leaders shape culture through purpose and direction.
- Leaders are aware of the echo of their voice: Your tone sets the day for your team.
- Model the business as a training organization.
- Managers need a checklist: 10 practices of high-performing managers (detailed in the book).
"If I'm going to grow a business, I have to grow people’s belief system that they can…do bigger things if I want them." – Brian (56:43)
- Motivation for Writing:
"I wanted to give somebody something they can turn to…it makes them better leaders and better human beings…for our industry." – Brian (52:49)
- Book available in hardcover, audio, and soon in airport bookstores.
6. Final Advice & Perspective
- On Legacy & Purpose:
"When you stick with a plan and execute, your wildest dreams start to feel more like your destiny...and when you go all in on developing others...you’ll realize the two most important days of your life are the day you're born and the day you finally figure out why." – Brian (59:08)
- Giving Back:
- Brian mentors and supports business owners but does not consult for pay; he volunteers his expertise to help the industry thrive.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On Business Purpose Shift:
"In the early days your only purpose is to stay in business another day. Today my purpose is to make a positive impact…it’s about legacy." – Brian (05:06)
- On Training:
"Training isn't like an event—it's got to be woven into the fabric of the organization." – Brian (09:28)
- On Measuring Good Days:
"When they got home at the end of the day and put their head on the pillow, do they know they had a good day at work? If they didn’t, that's my fault." – Brian (31:23)
- On Culture:
"Your culture is shaped by the lowest level of acceptable behavior…What you tolerate, you attract more of." – Brian (25:54)
- On SOPs & Complexity:
"Complexity is the enemy of execution." – Brian (38:36)
- On Advice for Those Just Starting Out:
"When you stick with a plan…your wildest dreams start to feel more like your destiny…and when you go all in on developing others...you’ll realize…the day you're born and the day you finally figure out why." – Brian (59:08)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- Brian’s Background & School Journey: 02:03–03:04
- On Purpose and Impact: 05:06
- Leadership & Growing Managers: 07:00–11:07
- On Culture, Influence, and Discipline: 13:09–14:51
- Stay Surveys & Keeping Pulse on Team: 16:56
- Turning Around a Bad Culture: 25:54–28:08
- Performance Pay & Scoreboards: 31:23
- Simplicity vs. Complexity in Systems: 38:36–42:01
- Decision-Making Training: 45:27–46:10
- Book Summary (Beyond the Hammer): 49:21–57:46
- Final Advice & Purpose: 59:08
Closing Thoughts
Brian Gottlieb’s journey illustrates the move from scrappy survival to intentional legacy-building, showing how operational discipline, leadership development, and a relentless focus on culture and training are the real levers for scaling a service business. His advice is both actionable and inspiring, with a pragmatic take: build people, clarify standards, simplify relentlessly, and always—always—protect the culture.
For leaders in home services and the trades, this episode is packed with wisdom, humor, and practical frameworks to "build beyond the hammer."