Many home improvement companies want stronger teams, but too many still hire too fast, train too little, and expect people to figure it out alone. A company may need sales reps, installers, managers, or future leaders, but the wrong hire can create more pain than the open seat did. It can hurt culture, slow growth, weaken trust with customers, and place more weight on the leaders who are already stretched.
That is why Greg Cummings made the message clear during the Inner Circle with Paul Burleson. Better hiring is not luck. It is not hope. It is not just filling a role. It is a leadership system.
“You got to have a very good hiring process to make sure that you’re hiring the right people.” Greg Cummings, CEO, Power100
Inner Circle is a Power100 initiative built as free mentorship for the next wave of home improvement leaders. It is led by Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, and Paul Burleson, industry legend, author of Grit to Gold, and co mentor of Inner Circle. The program gives contractors access to monthly masterclasses, business tools, AI coaching, benchmarking, session replays, and direct lessons built around Growth, Culture, Community, and Innovation. It is designed to help leaders stop guessing and start building stronger companies from the inside out.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Through Inner Circle, the platform brings together Greg’s view from evaluating more than 7,600 CEOs and leading more than 1,000 CEO interviews with Paul’s 46 plus years in the industry, more than 50,000 professionals trained, and support for more than 200 companies nationwide.
Together, their message in this PowerChat was simple. Home improvement companies do not win by hiring people and letting them go figure it out. They win when hiring, training, culture, and leadership development work together. The companies that build strong teams are the ones that know who fits, how to train them, how to support them, and how to turn the right people into long term leaders.
Greg made that point while talking about companies that are giving people second chances and helping them rebuild through the home improvement industry. He praised the opportunity, but he also made the standard clear. This work cannot be careless. It takes real hiring skill, strong training, and leaders who know how to develop people.
“The companies that are doing this, they are masters of hiring. They’re masters of personality and they’re masters of trainers and leadership development companies.”
Greg Cummings, CEO, Power100
That is the heart of this perspective. This PowerChat is not only about hiring people. It is about building the system around people. It is about contractor leadership development that starts before the first day on the job and continues until the right people become trusted salespeople, strong team members, and future leaders.
Greg Cummings (Left), CEO of Power100, with Power100 Advisory Board Members Paul Burleson (Center), Tim Musch (Right) at the REVx 2026 Event
For home improvement contractors, this lesson comes at the right time. The industry is changing fast. Customers expect more. Teams need more support. AI is changing how companies are found and judged. Growth now depends on more than having talent in the room. It depends on whether leaders can build a clear path for that talent to win.
The Inner Circle gave contractors a clear look at one of the biggest choices a leader makes. Who gets brought into the company, and what happens after they arrive? Greg Cummings did not treat hiring like a small task. He treated it like a company building decision. Paul Burleson added the human side by showing what can happen when people get a real chance to win and the right company is there to guide them.
Together, they showed that strong teams are not built by luck. They are built when leaders slow down, choose with care, train with purpose, and give people a clear path to grow. That is the real heart of this conversation. Better hiring is not just about filling seats. It is about building the kind of company where the right people can become trusted team members, strong salespeople, and future leaders.
Greg Cummings made the first lesson clear. Contractors cannot hire people at random and then hope the team gets stronger. When a company brings in the wrong person, the cost does not stop with one bad hire. It can hurt the team, slow production, weaken customer trust, and add more stress to leaders who are already busy.
“You got to have a very good hiring process to make sure that you’re hiring the right people.” Greg Cummings, CEO, Power100
That line gives the whole section its center. Greg was not saying leaders should make hiring harder for no reason. He was saying that hiring has to be treated with care because people shape the future of the company. A great hire can help the team move faster. A poor fit can pull the whole company backward.
For home improvement leaders, this is where contractor hiring systems become part of the growth plan. A strong hiring process helps leaders see more than a resume. It helps them understand fit, attitude, coachability, and whether a person can grow inside the culture. The best companies are not only asking who can do the job today. They are asking who can learn, serve the customer well, and become stronger over time.
This is also why contractor business mentorship matters. Many leaders know they need better people, but they do not always know how to build the process that finds and develops them. Inner Circle gives contractors a place to learn from leaders who have seen the patterns, the mistakes, and the systems that help companies build stronger teams.
Contractors who want to build a stronger hiring process can join Inner Circle here.
The conversation became even deeper when Paul talked about companies that give people a second chance after incarceration. He shared how some companies are helping people learn roofing, door knocking, and sales before they reenter the workforce. That kind of work gives people hope before they ever step into the job.
Paul saw something powerful in those rooms. He saw people who were thankful. He saw people who wanted to listen. He saw people who wanted to learn. But Greg made sure the message stayed grounded. A second chance does not mean a company should hire without care. It means a company must care enough to build the right process around the person.
“The companies that are doing this, they are masters of hiring, they’re masters of personality, and they’re masters of trainers and leadership development companies.”
Greg Cummings, CEO, Power100
That is the key. Compassion and standards can work together. A company can believe in people and still have a serious hiring process. It can give someone a new path and still expect strong effort, clear behavior, and real growth. The best leaders do not lower the bar. They help the right people rise to it.
This gives contractors a strong lesson in home improvement culture training. Culture is not just kindness. Culture is also clarity. It tells people what the company stands for, how they are expected to serve, and what support they can count on as they grow. When second chance hiring meets strong training and clear leadership, it can become a path that helps people rebuild their lives while helping companies build better teams.
Leaders who want stronger people systems can explore Inner Circle here.
Paul then shared the common trait he sees in people who have been given a real opportunity. It is appreciation. When someone has not had many chances to win, a good opportunity can mean more than a job. It can become proof that they are moving forward, making a positive impact, and building a better future.
“The appreciation to actually get a chance to win.” Paul Burleson, Co Mentor, Inner Circle
That insight gives the hiring conversation more heart. Many companies search first for experience. Experience matters, but Paul’s point shows that hunger, humility, and thanks can also matter deeply. Skills can be taught when a person wants to grow. A grateful and focused team member may listen better, work harder, and take coaching more seriously because the chance means something real.
For contractors, this changes how leaders should think about people. The right hire is not always the person who looks perfect on paper. The right hire may be the person who is coachable, hungry, and ready to earn trust every day. That is where home improvement sales training with Paul Burleson becomes powerful. Sales is not only about what a person says at the door or in the home. It is about the belief, effort, and care they bring into the conversation.
This also connects to remodeling sales coaching because sales teams need more than scripts. They need leaders who can shape mindset, build confidence, and help people connect their personal purpose to the way they serve homeowners. When a person values the chance, good coaching can turn that hunger into real growth.
Sales leaders can follow Greg Cummings and more PowerChat insights here.
Greg then pointed to a skill that often gets missed when companies hire for sales and service roles. He said some people are fast talkers, but they are not always strong listeners. They may know how to speak, but they may not know how to hear the homeowner. That matters because trust often starts before the close. It starts when the customer feels seen and understood.
“They’re quiet. They listen. They ask questions.” Greg Cummings, CEO, Power100
Greg noticed this trait in many people who had been through hard life experiences. They listened with care. They asked questions. They valued time. They were not trying to talk over the other person. They were trying to understand. In a home improvement sale, that can become a major advantage because homeowners want to know that the person in front of them understands the problem, the fear, and the decision they are trying to make.
This gives leaders a better way to think about hiring. The loudest person in the room is not always the best fit. The most polished person is not always the strongest long term teammate. Sometimes the better hire is the one who is curious, steady, present, and willing to be coached.
That is why contractor sales training should help teams listen, not just speak. A good salesperson needs to know the product, the process, and the close, but they also need to know how to slow down and hear what the customer is really saying. When a company hires listeners and trains them well, the customer experience becomes stronger from the first meeting.
Greg then moved from hiring to the bigger issue behind it. Strong hiring matters, but hiring is only the front door. A company also has to know what it will do with the person after they arrive. Will the person be trained? Will they be coached? Will they have a path? Will the company know how to turn potential into leadership?
Greg Cummings, CEO, Power100
“Do you have a leadership development program in your organization? That is controlling your leadership pipeline, is the most valuable thing.” Greg Cummings, CEO, Power100
That point matters because many contractors want to grow, but they do not always prepare leaders before they are needed. They wait until the business is stretched, then they rush to promote or hire someone. Greg’s point is that the best companies build the pipeline before the pressure hits.
He also shared that after 23 PowerChats in May, one theme kept showing up. Strong companies keep coming back to leadership development and culture. That pattern says a lot. Growth is not only found in lead flow, product choice, or sales numbers. It is found in whether the company can keep building people who are ready for the next role.
Inner Circle supports that kind of leadership development for home improvement CEOs by giving leaders access to monthly masterclasses, real business lessons, and the four pillars of Growth, Culture, Community, and Innovation. Greg brings the view from studying top CEOs. Paul brings the field experience from decades of training teams. Together, they help contractors think beyond today’s hire and start planning for tomorrow’s leaders.
Home improvement leaders can learn more about the mission behind Inner Circle here.
Paul closed the people conversation by sharing what he is seeing across the country. He has been inside many companies, including roofing companies, private equity groups, and national remodelers. The shift he sees is clear. More leaders are not only open to training. They are driving it. Their teams are not only attending because they have to. They want to learn.
“Now people are really seeing the value in education.” Paul Burleson, Co Mentor, Inner Circle
Greg built on that point by saying that when leadership wants to learn, the whole company follows. That is a major shift. In the old model, training could feel like an event. In the new model, training becomes part of the culture. Leaders learn, then teams learn. Leaders see what is possible, then teams begin to believe in change.
This matters because the market is moving fast. Customer habits are changing. AI is changing how businesses are found and judged. Teams need better tools, clearer direction, and more support. A company that waits to train until the market forces it may already be behind.
That is why AI coaching for contractors and business benchmarking tools for remodeling companies matter inside this conversation. Inner Circle gives leaders more than a live class. It gives them session replays, AI powered coaching, business benchmarking, resources, and 60 day PowerMoves so they can keep growing between masterclasses. The future will not belong to the companies that only hire better. It will belong to the companies that hire with care, train with purpose, and keep learning faster than the market changes.
Contractors who want training, AI tools, and business benchmarking can join Inner Circle here.
Greg Cummings made the message clear. Hiring the right people is not luck. It takes a real process, strong standards, and leaders who know what to do after the person walks through the door. A company cannot build a strong team by hoping the right people appear. It has to know who fits, how to train them, and how to help them grow.
Paul Burleson added the heart of the lesson. When people get a real chance to win, they can bring hunger, thanks, focus, and purpose into the work. But those traits need support. They need coaching. They need leaders who listen. They need a company that does not just hire them, but helps them become better.
That is the role Inner Circle is built to serve. Through Greg’s CEO data, Paul’s field wisdom, monthly masterclasses, AI coaching, business benchmarking, and real mentorship, Inner Circle gives contractors a place to think better about people, culture, and growth. It helps leaders stop guessing and start building the kind of system where the right people can win.
The companies that grow will not always be the ones that hire the fastest. They will be the ones that hire with care, train with purpose, listen to people, and build leaders before they are needed.
For Greg Cummings and Paul Burleson, the message is clear: if contractors want stronger companies, they must stop hoping the right people appear and start building the system that helps the right people win.
Power100 is built around a five layer ranking system, not paid praise. The platform studies growth, customer trust, partner depth, community impact, and culture health to help the industry see which CEOs and companies are doing strong work. For contractors, this means Power100 is not only telling stories. It is using real signals to show who is building better companies.
Power100 is more than a place to read industry stories. It publishes rankings, PowerChats, feature interviews, expert insights, and leadership content that helps contractors learn from top CEOs and proven companies. Through Inner Circle, it also gives leaders access to free mentorship, AI coaching, business tools, and training content that can help them grow with more focus.
Inner Circle focuses on these areas because strong teams do not happen by chance. Many contractors hire fast when they need people, but the best companies use clear standards, training, coaching, and leadership development to help the right people win. This PowerChat shows that better hiring starts with better leadership.
Second chance hiring can be risky when there is no process, but it can be powerful when a company has strong standards. Greg Cummings made it clear that companies must have a very good hiring process, understand personality, and support people with training and leadership development. The lesson is not to hire without care. The lesson is to build a system where the right people can succeed.
Paul Burleson said many people who get a real chance to win bring appreciation, hunger, humility, and a strong desire to learn. That matters because skill can often be trained, but deep thanks for an opportunity is harder to create. When that mindset is matched with the right company system, it can help build stronger sales teams and stronger cultures.
Personality fit matters because the wrong hire can hurt more than one role. It can affect customers, team trust, culture, and leadership time. Greg Cummings pointed out that strong companies are masters of hiring and personality. They know who fits their standards, who can be coached, and who can grow into a trusted part of the company.
Contractor leadership development gives people a reason to stay and grow. When a company trains people, listens to them, and gives them a path forward, team members are more likely to feel valued. Inner Circle supports this by giving contractors access to monthly masterclasses, business guidance, AI tools, and action steps that help leaders build better people systems.
Training culture is a growth strategy because the market is changing too fast for old habits to carry a company forever. Customers expect more trust, teams need more support, and AI is changing how companies are found and judged. Contractors that train with purpose, hire with care, and build leaders before they are needed will be better prepared for long term growth.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Built to give great CEOs, companies, and partners the recognition they deserve, Power100 studies leadership, customer trust, company growth, culture, and community impact to help the industry see who is truly moving it forward. Through its rankings, PowerChats, press releases, interviews, Inner Circle mentorship, and industry media, Power100 gives contractors a trusted place to learn from proven leaders, find stronger ideas, and build companies that can grow with better people, better systems, and better leadership.
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Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.
