Many home improvement leaders want the same things. They want better teams, cleaner job sites, stronger systems, happier clients, and steady growth. But in a busy season, it can be easy for a company to drift. A missed detail on a job site, a weak handoff, or a team that feels out of sync can look like a field problem.
In his PowerChat with Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, Michael Flory, Founder & CVO at Custom Built Design & Remodeling, shared a deeper view. He said leaders must first ask what they really want and why they want it. That kind of self check is part of what has shaped Michael Flory of Custom Built Design & Remodeling into a leader with a clear heart for people, homes, and purpose.
For Michael, strong leadership begins before the next meeting, next hire, or next project plan. It begins with a leader being honest about the reason behind the work.
“Why do I want what I want?” said Michael Flory, Founder & CVO, Custom Built Design & Remodeling. “As we grow, as we grow older or things change, we have to sit back down as leaders and decide what is it that I really want.”
That message fits the heart of this PowerChat because it shows how personal truth can shape company culture, job site quality, client trust, and team growth. It also connects to the mission of Power100, which brings real leadership lessons to the home improvement industry through stories that help owners and CEOs grow with more purpose.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry.
In his PowerChat with Greg Cummings, Michael Flory shared a leadership lesson that many home improvement owners know but do not always stop to practice. When a company starts to drift, the answer is not always to blame the team, add more rules, or move faster. Sometimes the first move is for the leader to pause and ask a deeper question. What do I really want, and why do I want it? For Michael, that question is not soft. It is a serious leadership tool. It helps a company return to its values, protect the client experience, and make sure growth does not pull the business away from the people it was built to serve.
Michael Flory, Founder and the Custom Built Design & Remodeling team
Michael made it clear that when something feels off on the job site, he does not start by pointing at the team. He starts by looking at himself. That kind of leadership matters because job site problems often begin before anyone picks up a tool. A missed detail, a poor handoff, or a weak client update can be a sign that the company needs to return to its true standard.
“Let’s say we start drifting and we’re not doing as good of a job on the job site. Things are happening on jobs that we don’t want to be the way they are. I have to come back and look at myself.” Michael Flory, Founder & CVO, Custom Built Design & Remodeling
That idea gives remodelers a clear lesson. A strong job site is not only built by skill. It is built by vision, care, and a leader who keeps reminding the team what the company stands for. High quality work starts when the leader knows the kind of company they are trying to build and why that standard matters to the homeowner.
For Custom Built, this kind of reset is part of what helps the team serve families who are looking for a trusted remodeling contractor near Lansing. The client may only see the finished space, but behind that space is a leader, a team, and a set of choices that shape the whole experience.
Many leaders know what they want on the surface. They want more jobs, better margins, stronger teams, cleaner systems, and happier clients. Michael pushes the question deeper. He asks why those things matter. That one question can change how a leader makes decisions.
“Why do I want what I want? One of the things that I’ve really been working on, Greg, in my life is that why do I want what I want?” Michael Flory, Founder & CVO, Custom Built Design & Remodeling
This question helps leaders avoid building from fear, pride, pressure, or comparison. A company can grow fast and still lose its heart. A leader can win more work and still feel unclear. Michael’s point is that real clarity begins when leaders understand the reason behind the goal.
That kind of clarity matters in remodeling because the leader’s reason shapes the company’s behavior. A company chasing only volume will feel different from a company built around trust, care, and long term value. For a full-service remodeling contractor in Mid-Michigan, that difference can show up in every call, every design meeting, every job site visit, and every final walkthrough.
Michael did not stop at asking what he wants. He asked about the essence of it. That means looking past the goal and asking what feeling sits underneath it. A leader may say they want growth, but the deeper reason may be peace, safety, freedom, family, impact, or service.
“What is the essence of what I want? What’s the feeling?” Michael Flory, Founder & CVO, Custom Built Design & Remodeling
That question matters because goals alone can become empty if the leader loses touch with the reason behind them. A vacation is not only a trip. It may be about time with family. A larger company is not only about revenue. It may be about creating opportunity for people, serving more families, and building something that can last.
This connects closely to the work of remodeling. A homeowner may ask for a kitchen, a deck, a bath, or an addition. But the deeper desire may be a better place to gather, a safer place for family, a room that feels calm, or a home that finally works for the next season of life. That is why a kitchen renovation company Greater Lansing must understand more than measurements and materials. It must understand what the space means to the people who live there.
As companies grow, things change. More projects come in. More team members join. More systems are needed. More clients have to be served well. Michael shared that leaders have to keep sitting back down and asking what they want now, not only what they wanted when the company began.
“So as we grow, as we grow older or things change, we have to sit back down as leaders and decide what is it that I really want.” Michael Flory, Founder & CVO, Custom Built Design & Remodeling
This is an important lesson for founders and CEOs. Growth can be good, but it can also create distance. A leader can become so focused on the next level that they stop checking whether the company still feels like the company they meant to build. That is why self awareness becomes part of the growth plan.
For Michael, growth must stay connected to human growth. The company has to keep getting better, but the people have to keep growing too. That includes leaders, designers, carpenters, sales teams, production teams, and everyone who touches the client experience. Strong systems matter, but they work best when they are guided by people who understand why the work matters.
This is the kind of clarity that helps an award-winning home remodeler protect both quality and culture as the company grows.
Michael’s leadership lesson also speaks to the homeowner experience. A family may not use words like vision, values, or purpose when they hire a remodeler, but they can feel when those things are present. They can feel when the team listens. They can feel when the plan is clear. They can feel when the company cares about the home, not just the sale.
“We get to take places that people live and turn them into homes that they love.” Michael Flory, Founder & CVO, Custom Built Design & Remodeling
That line shows the heart of the work. Remodeling is personal because home is personal. It is where families eat, rest, talk, celebrate, grieve, and grow. When a company knows its deeper why, it can serve that space with more care.
This is why the best remodeling work starts with listening. A homeowner may ask for a new bath, but what they may really want is comfort. They may ask for a new deck, but what they may really want is a place to host family. They may ask for more space, but what they may really want is peace in the home.
Michael’s question about what he wants does not end with himself. It moves outward. It shapes how he serves his family, his team, his clients, and his community. That is the deeper power of self reflection. When leaders know the true reason behind their work, they can use the business to help others.
“To give our teams an opportunity to get out and serve, that’s what it’s like. All of a sudden the light bulb goes off. Man, I got to lighten up one person’s life.” Michael Flory, Founder & CVO, Custom Built Design & Remodeling
That service mindset gives the company a reason bigger than the next project. It shows up in the way Michael talks about young people, grieving children, trade based opportunity, and the chance to help someone see a better future. It also shows his belief that a remodeling company can do more than improve homes. It can help people feel seen, supported, and valued.
For leaders in the industry, this is the larger lesson. Looking inward is not about staying focused on yourself. It is about getting clear enough to lead others well. When the reason is clear, the work becomes clearer. The team knows what matters. The client feels the care. The community sees the impact.
Michael Flory’s message about knowing why you want what you want is not just a personal lesson. It is also showing up in the way Custom Built Design & Remodeling is being seen across Michigan. The company’s awards, leadership roles, media work, and building standards all point to the same idea. When a company is clear about its purpose, the work becomes easier to trust.
Michael co-hosts the Design & Remodeling Show
In 2024, Custom Built Design & Remodeling was named one of the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch. This honor is given to growing companies that help shape Michigan’s business story. For a Greater Lansing design build remodeling company, that recognition shows more than growth. It shows steady work, strong service, and a team that has kept building with care.
Michael’s impact also reaches beyond his own company. In 2020, he served as President of the Home Builders Association of Michigan after more than 10 years of local and state association service. That role reflects the trust he has earned from other builders and remodelers. It also supports the larger message of this PowerChat. A leader who looks inward before leading outward can help raise the standard for more than one team. He can help move an industry forward.
That same spirit can be seen in The Design & Remodeling Show, where Michael co-hosts with his daughter Isabelle Braeutigam, Custom Built’s Director of Marketing and Sales. The show gives homeowners clear ideas, helpful tips, and more confidence as they think about improving their homes. It also shows the family side of the business in a real way. Michael is not only leading a company. He is helping educate homeowners and bring the next generation into the work.
Custom Built’s focus on building performance and construction standards also adds to this picture. Michael’s background as a Building Performance Institute Certified Professional points to a deeper care for how homes work, not only how they look. For an award-winning home remodeler in Michigan, that matters. Homeowners want beauty, but they also want trust, safety, comfort, and a team that understands the full home.
Together, these points show what Michael and Custom Built are doing right. They are not only growing. They are serving homeowners, leading inside the building industry, teaching through media, and keeping standards at the center of the work. That is what makes this section of the story fit so well with the press release angle. Michael’s question, “Why do I want what I want?” becomes more than a thought. It becomes a way to build a company that knows what it stands for.
Michael Flory’s message brings the conversation back to a simple truth. When a company starts to drift, the first answer is not blame. It is reflection. Leaders have to pause long enough to ask what they truly want, why they want it, and whether the company is still moving in line with that purpose.
That kind of clarity can shape everything that comes next. It can help a team return to its values. It can raise the level of care on the job site. It can make communication stronger. It can help homeowners feel more trust because the company is not only focused on finishing a project. It is focused on serving the people who will live with the result.
For Custom Built Design & Remodeling, this is what makes the work matter. A kitchen, deck, bath, addition, or sunroom is not just a space. It is part of a family’s daily life. It is where people gather, rest, grow, and make memories. When leaders understand the deeper reason behind the work, the finished project can carry more meaning.
Through his conversation with Greg Cummings, Michael showed that the strongest leaders do not only chase goals. They ask what is underneath those goals. For Custom Built Design & Remodeling, that kind of clarity helps shape a company built around people, purpose, trust, and homes that carry real meaning for the families inside them.
Power100 uses PowerChat conversations to bring real leadership lessons to the home improvement industry. These interviews help owners, CEOs, partners, and contractors learn from leaders who are building strong companies, serving homeowners, growing teams, and shaping better customer experiences.
Power100 does more than list names. It shares the thinking behind strong leadership. Through rankings, interviews, PowerChats, articles, and expert features, Power100 helps the industry see what top leaders are doing right and why their work matters to homeowners, teams, and the wider market.
Custom Built Design & Remodeling offers real design-build remodeling services for homeowners. The company works on kitchens, bathrooms, basements, decks, additions, sunrooms, outdoor living spaces, roofing, and virtual design. Its work is built around helping homeowners plan, design, and build with one connected team.
A homeowner gets a more guided process from design to construction. Custom Built helps with planning, design, pricing, permits, building, and final walkthroughs. This can help reduce confusion because the homeowner is not trying to manage separate designers, builders, and project teams on their own.
Yes. Custom Built says its projects are backed by a Lifetime Workmanship Warranty. That means if something connected to workmanship is not right, the company says it will make it right for as long as the homeowner owns the home.
Michael’s message matters because remodeling is personal. A homeowner is not only buying a new kitchen, deck, bath, addition, or sunroom. They are trusting a team with the place where their family lives. Michael’s focus on asking why the work matters helps show that Custom Built is built around listening, care, and trust.
Custom Built has more than 20 years of remodeling experience, a design-build process, clear project planning, award recognition, and a workmanship warranty. For homeowners near Lansing, that gives them a local company with both service experience and a process built to guide them through a major home project.
Custom Built’s work connects to families, team growth, local leadership, and community care. Michael Flory’s message in the PowerChat shows that the company is not only focused on finishing projects. It is focused on building spaces that matter, developing people, serving homeowners well, and using the business as a place of purpose.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Created to support great CEOs, founders, partners, and companies in the home improvement space, Power100 shares rankings, PowerChats, leadership stories, company features, and industry insights that help the best leaders gain the recognition they deserve. Through conversations led by Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, the platform gives contractors, partners, and industry leaders a trusted place to learn from the people who are building strong teams, serving homeowners well, and helping move the industry forward.
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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.
