The Practice Builder Model with Joe Kaltsas
RSS Feed How do you build a company where people have the freedom to be entrepreneurial while having the support to grow something they can build on their own? Today on Leadership Blueprints, BJ sits down with Joe Kaltsas, the Executive Vice President at Kimley-Horn, to discuss his company’s version of the seller-doer model called Practice Builder and more! Tuning in, you’ll hear all about Joe’s career, how he ended up at Kimley-Horn, his current role there, what makes Kimley-Horn uniquely successful, and how they train their employees in business metric units even though they don’t have a P&L (profit and loss). He goes on to break down Kimley-Horn’s training and education model before discussing how Joe’s formative experiences have shaped his career trajectory and solidified his confidence in Kimley-Horn’s methods, as well as what he finds himself coaching young practice builders on most often. We even touch on the process of becoming a practice builder at Kimley-Horn, how the company came to fruition, and how they decide who gets shares of the company and when. Finally, our guest answers our rapid-fire questions and leaves listeners with food for thought. Thanks for listening!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Welcoming Joe Kaltsas to the show.
- An overview of Joe’s career and what his role at Kimley-Horn entails.
- The ‘secret sauce’ inside Kimley-Horn that makes it so successful.
- How the company teaches business metric units without a P&L.
- Joe breaks down Kimley-Horn’s model for training and education.
- A formative experience Joe had early on that shaped his career trajectory.
- What he coaches young practice builders on the most nowadays.
- How new employees elevate to become practice builders in the company.
- Joe shares a brief history of Kimley-Horn and how shares are divided.
- Our guest’s favorite books, quotes, and dream dinner guests.
- Why ownership models and innovation need more attention in the industry.
Quotes:
“We have a really robust training program [at Kimley-Horn] – I believe most of the best training happens in the field, on the projects. One of the things that you’ll see is that our young people are more involved in all the project components – earlier in their career.” — Joe Kaltsas [0:11:19]
“I think the biggest thing people could benefit from is trying to lift their head up every once in a while and look around [to expand their career trajectory].” — Joe Kaltsas [0:16:42]
“Ownership transition is sort of the silent killer in our industry.” — Joe Kaltsas [0:23:01]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
