Welcome And Kirk’s Leadership Pivot

Julian Placino 0:00

Welcome to the Home Services Success Stories Podcast, powered by Peaksy, the number one AI platform for growing your home services business. I'm Julian Placino, your host, and we have another tremendous show in store for you today. Because today we have Kirk Cresto, who is the COO at Mast Roofing and Construction. Kirk, welcome to the show. How are you? I'm doing great this morning, Julian.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Thank you. Looking forward to our discussion today.

Julian Placino 0:25

Absolutely, likewise, and really excited to hear about your leadership experiences and how they translated to home services. So let's jump in. So, Kirk, you've led teams in the military, Fortune 500 environments, and now the trades. So, what drew you to mass roofing and construction at this stage in your career?

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Yeah, it's it's it's really an interesting story for me personally. And it really ties to, for me personally, my leadership legacy. Um, my leadership legacy is a 20-word statement that says, Sue Sponte, I would dream big, never quit, and do all I can to positively impact the lives of others. Um, you know, gaining the experience that I had at working at some of the very large uh companies and large institutions at this stage of my career, it's more about impact. And what I've realized is having that community impact at a smaller growing company uh is where I wanted to bring that level of experience and such too. As we've seen, Julian, over the last several years, a lot is changing on the large corporate scale. And I think the uh the fabric of of our economic boom is at the small business level. And that's where I wanted to make the focus of my, let's just say, my last decade uh in the workforce uh to be most impactful.

Julian Placino 1:45

Interesting. And what drew you to the trades specifically? What was it about the industry, the market, the customer base, customer base? Tell us about that.

From Utilities To Home Services

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Well, it what's interesting is that I can't say that uh the trades specifically that I sought them out as more as maybe they sought me out. And it was really uh my experience working for 25 years in the utility sector, as you can imagine, there's a lot of trades going on there. Uh, I'd done led teams risk management around building power plants, about building uh substations, transmission lines. Uh so a lot of construction in that aspect, hardening of assets in along Florida, along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts uh to prepare for hurricanes and such. So a lot of construction uh I'd been exposed to. But it was probably uh that exposure that why in on September 13th, 2018, when the Merrimack Valley gas explosion disaster happened in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts, and three towns, North Andover, Massachusetts, Andover, Massachusetts, and Lawrence, Massachusetts, were kind of blown back to the stone ages uh sadly. And uh there was a lot of some loss, some tragedy, homes burnt to the ground. Uh but 10,000 homes and businesses uh lost all gas, heat, and hot water on the brink of a New England winter. And I was running all of the risk management functions for a very large uh multi-billion dollar Fortune 500 company. But because of my experience in operations and leadership and such, and some of those experiences I've gained through the years at a utility, I was parachuted in to uh run the trades. Uh was very, very, very interesting. We we did a lot, we a lot around the logistics of getting 4,000 plumbers, electricians, uh 10 knockers, uh uh the HVAC folks into play so that they could uh easily move in and out on a daily basis to do basically 10 years' worth of work in three months uh on the brink of a New England winter. So I think that's where I started getting more into the home services side, where we call we call that non-jurisdictional or the behind-the-meter types of things. Um after completing that project very, very successfully, um, I stayed in the New England area. Uh, my wife uh has a passion for building and she's been a general contractor for many years. So I pivoted and started doing more in that space with her. And my consulting has led me to um the the home services, uh smaller construction types of companies. So long answer, but that's how it got how I got here.

Crisis Response And Trades At Scale

Julian Placino 4:33

Yeah, no, so it definitely sounds like there's some great technical relevance to what it is that you've done, leadership. And also you mentioned uh um all all the all the construction aspects. So, well, now having been in home services now, but also at the same time having led through national crisis, billion-dollar operations, what do you think about your background has sort of uniquely equipped you for what you're doing today as a home services leader?

SPEAKER_01 4:56

Well, I think the the number one thing is having a bridge in being able to understand the best practices at the larger companies and being able to be the bridge to implement those same best practices at the smaller home services companies. Um I've done a lot of research around that, you know, as we know as a changing workforce and such. Um, you know, AI is not going to replace uh somebody coming out to build a porch, to put a new roof on your home, uh, to take care of the your electrical panel, to put a new HVAC in. So the home services space is one that I think is a lot of upside opportunity. And again, it's it's what's about being that bridge of all that experience and information and being a bridge to see the ways that can implement that uh for smaller-based companies and make that impact.

Julian Placino 5:57

Gotcha. Tell us a bit more about like the brand of Mass, because Mass is very explicit about its mission, honoring God by serving others with excellence. So, how does that show up in the day-to-day, in how you lead your team and service your customers?

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Oh, yes, that's that is uh primary and number one. I think it starts. It starts from when the way we seek to hire uh who we look to bring on the team, uh, and into the way that we manage and lead on a day-to-day basis, um, treating uh people with dignity and respect, um, listening to our employees and giving them what they need to be the most successful and supporting them uh in the in their efforts uh in serving others in the community. Um have a manager who does a prison ministry, for example. Oh wow. That's that's very, very important, impacting lives. Um, people talking about their testimony and sharing that so that we can overcome challenges together. So I think that shows up, that's how it shows up for us personally uh in that. But then ultimately it's really to the to the client. Uh our clients uh are or it's about serving our clients. So uh in that context is serving them with great integrity uh from start to finish, from where when the when the initial phone call or interaction happens, uh creating that client experience that is second to none, uh, and doing it in a way that uh we build a long-lasting uh client relationship. One that's not just uh uh one and done, but one that is uh for the length of that homeowner, that that homeowner is in that home. Uh, or if they sell and they move and make an upgrade, that mass becomes who they want to call as their one-stop shop to all their exterior services.

Bringing Enterprise Best Practices To Small Business

Julian Placino 7:53

I like that. So it seems to permeate every aspect of the culture and the business into how you treat your team members as well as service or customers. I think that's great. Um, on the topic of your team, tell us a bit more about them because your team includes long-tendered employees, family members, even younger folks just entering into the trade. So so much of the success of a home services organization has to do with its people. So, how do you think about talent, developing people and creating real career pathways for your folks?

Faith-Driven Culture And Client Care

SPEAKER_01 8:22

Uh, well, the first thing is that I think that what we have adopt, I will say this, we have adopted a methodology uh that goes beyond um the standard of just uh resume and skill sets and interview processes. So we have added in uh we use psychometrics to understand the way people think. Basically, to give you a give you a sense of this, what we want to understand is is what animal on the farm are you? Uh there's a big difference between if if if on the farm you're a turtle, uh, but we need to hire a cow, uh, we we don't want to get that mismatch. So we want to make sure that we, in addition to those skill sets and and that interview for the match, we're also looking from the personality side of it, how do you see the world? And these things that we know through math and psychology are immutable and unchangeable. So we first seek to define um that seat on the bus, if you will, or as I the analogy I just used, what animal on the farm do we want uh for that role? Uh, because clearly uh the role of a cow is different than the role of a turtle. Uh they both have important aspects of what they have to do. Uh, but we want to make sure that we are hiring, if if it's for the cow, we want to be hiring more cows for that role, not the turtles, because that's when you end up getting um disjointed and uh have employee issues where they're not seeing, you're not seeing eye to eye and they're not able to self-actualize and be as fully engaged. Once they're on the bus, then it's a matter of taking that same information as a leader and ensuring that I know what nourishment to give them. How do I need to communicate with them? What do I need, how do I need to recognize them? Um, that becomes really vital because if you if you if you think about this for a second, um I use the cow, I use the cow and the turtle, but let's do as a cow and a tiger, for example. If I feed raw meat to the cow, it's probably gonna die. If I if I feed straw to the tiger, it's probably gonna die. Now notice the raw meat is the tiger's food and the straw is the cow's food. But if you get those two mixed up and you're giving nourishment to the wrong animal on the farm, uh then that's where we get uh disengagement, lack of productivity, lack of alignment with the mission and such. So I think that's really important then is how do we lead to give employees what they need. And then the last piece of that is is aligning each and every individual's why um to the company mission. Everybody's got it, everybody's at different junctures of their lives, and everybody has a as has different needs, wants, and desires. So we start off by trying to understand whether you're somebody, you whether you're that 17-year tenured employee or whether you're the up-and-coming young roofer, who I'm thinking one I just had a meeting with just a little while ago, who's got uh a young family, um, a working wife, a young son at home, and another one on the way. Uh, again, aligning the whys so that we can again give them what they need. Uh it's very, very different than myself, let's say, of what my needs would be as a uh as an empty nester who just found out that his uh ninth grandchild was on the way this past weekend. So thank you very much. It it's just it's it's a difference in what our needs as such are. So I think that's that's how I would wrap that up, Julie.

Hiring By Psychometrics, Not Gut

Julian Placino 12:04

Wow. I think that's very intentional and very um thoughtful in the process. So the first thing I heard is number one, when it comes to hiring the psychographics, the personality profile to make sure kind of the raw material is there. And then based on kind of their predispositions, you have a tailored kind of approach to nurturing them and growing them as a leader. And then lastly, it's connecting their why, their reason for working to the business. So everyone has a much more kind of intentional and purposeful state within the organization. Um, did I get that right?

SPEAKER_01 12:31

You did a fabulous job summarizing that.

Julian Placino 12:34

Um thank you very much. Yeah. Well, well, give us a tip on the psychographic aspects. If you're looking at all the top performers that you've seen in home services, let's say in the field, what are some of those commonalities that you look for in an interview?

Autonomy, Pace, And Role Fit

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Well, again, depends depends on the on the specific of the job. It really, you know, if it's a production manager is different than a construction foreman, is going to be a little bit different than a roofing laborer. Um, but at the same time, we're gonna seek what is that person's desires for the future, where are they at in their career path? Uh, because we may have a roofing laborer who that's where they want to top out and that's where they want to be. We may have another roofing labor who wants to eventually become a production manager. So depending on where they're at in their in their career journey and where they want to go, might color the way I would look at that. But with that said, I think that uh when when we look at what we're seeking to bring in the onto the team in the home services area, I think someone that has what we say higher autonomy, someone who has the ability to see the C360, who has the ability to uh make a decision at the point of attack, um, that becomes something very, very critical. That's a value add type of view. Um depending on the role, I'll just say from a sociability perspective, it depends on the specifics of the role. If it's more customer-facing, someone who has a little bit is a little bit more of an extrovert, a little bit more of uh who has the ability to uh to connect, empathize with clients might be necessary. If they're if they're not, if they're more swinging the hammer, uh then we could look at the the introverted aspect of that. The other thing I think is is important to note would be is again, as we seek to refine the role, is understanding the gas pedal to their personality, uh, their pace or their patience. Uh, we know that certain people are very task-oriented, calm, methodical. They're going to do step A. They won't move to step B until step A is completed 100%. Uh, they're just going to be very methodical in that process. We have others that are like, uh, I like to call them, they're the mosquitoes on Red Bull. Uh they they uh they're bouncing all over the place, or they're they're the carnival plate spinners and they have the ability to multitask. Multitask is is an overused term. Our brains really don't multitask, but it's more multi-sensory more than anything. And it's someone who has the ability to maybe complete 25% of one task, move on to the next thing, jump back to this one, and someone has the ability to handle those those things. So again, depending on what the specific role is, is we're gonna look at that. And then lastly, um, conformity to uh rules, policies, processes, and procedures. You know, in the home services business, especially ones that are seeking to grow and and scale, uh it's important to uh have people aligned with following the policies, processes, and procedures, um, and someone who's going to have an inclination to have a detailed view. You know, if you're if you're looking to create an incredible client experience and building a client that is that is decades in the making, uh and putting a you know, for example, a roof on a home is is got warranties that are that are of a lifetime. Uh, we want to ensure that the detail and the perfection aspects are there. So these are some of the kind of things that we would be looking at. Um, lastly, I will, I would, I'm sorry, there's one more I'll add on that, is is how they see the world or how they receive information. Uh, we believe that someone who receives information in a very analytical and deductive logical way is critical to our business uh in being able to ascertain and assess the different challenges that they have in the field.

Julian Placino 16:32

Wow. You know what's really interesting about this? I can totally see why you were sought out. Yes, of course, the the great breadth of the experience, but also just your emphasis on psychology and leadership and growing people. And having done this podcast now for a while, what's really interesting when we talk to home services leaders and we talk about kind of their keys to success in people, oftentimes it's not about the technical aspects of roofing or plumbing or whatnot. It's developing the human person and making sure you get the right people. And what very thoughtful insights you just shared. So thank you, uh, Kirk, for that. So um, so tell us more a bit about the business. So, what would you say Mass has done uniquely different than other uh home services companies to really stand out and really what makes you great and what are you known for?

Differentiators: Repairs, Tough Jobs, Care Club

SPEAKER_01 17:18

Well, I'm gonna I'm gonna build off of the 28-year legacy of our owner and founder, Kerwin Mast. And uh he answers that question. Uh, the differentiator is creating an incredible client experience from cradle to grave, if you will. Um, and that is something that is that is not a destination. We respect that as people change, as uh things happen in the broader macro and microeconomic environments, uh, that is something that's a journey that we constantly chase each day. Um and when we fall short, uh we we look at ourselves very introspectively and seek to learn from that. Uh again, seeking to serve to serve others. So I it is going to be definitely that whole client experience. And with respects, uh, and one of the things I've talked about here internally with our team is that we're not the only one who differentiates by an incredible client experience. So uh we we have to ensure that it is uh airtight, it's sound, uh, and it's something that we can analyze and understand on a go forward basis. Now, I would say that probably the other things that help differentiate us is that uh we are going to look at some of the harder jobs for our clients. Uh it could be that maybe a client uh does not need uh uh a full siding, roof, gutter types of replacements. Uh, and we have the opportunity to go out there and conduct maybe uh a simple uh siding repair or a simple shingle repair or roof cap comes off. So we have the opportunity during that repair on a lower dollar opportunity to begin establishing that relationship with the client. And and I think there's some other other other competitors out there who don't want to take on that kind of work. So we'll take on some of that, let's just say tougher work, smaller work, because we're we're seeking to build uh the client base. And then lastly, uh, I don't see this a lot out there, but we are uh we we offer what's called an OCC. It's an overhead care club. Uh basically, it's it's it's it's a club that clients can buy into uh and get regular uh annual roof inspections, discounts on any types of uh uh services that are needed. Uh we proactively will inspect the roof, uh inspect their attic and such. So it's it's proactive maintenance. It's it's a small amount uh in our overhead care club that we have clients then that are investing in their homes, investing in what is arguably one of the largest investments that they're going to make in their lives to ensure that one of the most integral parts of the home, the roof, is in sound condition. So I think that's that's the last thing I would say that helps distinguish distinguish mass proofing.

Julian Placino 20:26

Yeah, I think those are three great points. The first one is, of course, obsessing over the client experience, but some of the really unique things is the willingness to take on some smaller or tougher jobs just to build that relationship and kind of grow the client base. And then, of course, OCC, the overhead care club. So it's not just focusing on break fix, but overall preventative and as well as just the comprehensive solution for all of your uh customers. I think that's great. Um, so shifting gears a bit. So you are a customer of Peaksy. This podcast is powered by Peaksy. So how would you explain to other home services leaders what Peaksy is?

Why Peaksy And The AI Shift

SPEAKER_01 21:01

Well, it's in simplicity, um, it is the the developing that back-end AI website that is going to ensure that as we transition into this world of AI uh that is so uh uh it's so fast, it is you know, the the the uptake and the change that is taking place in the marketplace with AI uh is incredible. And um, so that's what I in all simplicity, that is what I understand Peaky to be. And in working with uh my Peaky rep reps, I've been able to share with them that just in the last couple years, I've been to conferences, I've listened to uh I've listened to the to the JP Morgan Chase uh CEO circle who brought in experts. And they were all talking about businesses that are in the small to medium range need to do this. They need to start having this back-end AI website because the whole way that SEO is being done, the whole way that search engines are going. I even heard one say that standard SEO potentially might become the blockbuster video of its time. So it's like, how do you just be on the front end of that? So I was very blessed in the fact that our owner, um, who is a visionary in it with respects to those kinds of things, had engaged with Peaksy, uh, who is uh through certain path and uh developed that relationship. I I will tell you, I've been with the company a very short period of time, but some of the most fruitful, productive, and engaging conversations to move the needle forward has been with Peaksy.

Data, Guidance, And Proactive Support

Julian Placino 23:03

I love it. I think that's a great insight. So the biggest thing that I heard is that it seems that you are very aware that the nature of how people, your customers are consuming and searching for information is changing. How it was before traditional search engines or SEO, now everyone's using their phone, their LLMs, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok. So what are you doing to get on board um to not be left behind? Like you mentioned, the blockbuster, right? So I think that's a really great uh metaphor. Any any features that you found particularly interesting or useful for home services and specifically your business?

SPEAKER_01 23:36

For uh yeah, I I think the thing is is that the the data and the the there's information that Peaksy and our representative is able to quickly deliver to us at a dashboard data that we would not have any insight to. Um but here's the thing that I love about PeakSe. It's not just the data. Our representatives are coming to us with solutions, they're coming to us with ideas. I would do X, Y, and Z. They're already doing gap analysis and providing that in a proactive means. I say that, I say that with some excitement because uh that's first, first out of the box. A lot of times you you work with a new vendor and it's just it's like they're just kind of going through the processes and such. But what I found is that my PXE representative is is is definitely uh seeking to be out in front of where we need to be and thinking where we need to go.

Julian Placino 24:41

I think a key point that you just touched on, because yes, the platform itself is incredible and it gives you great insights from uh market demand to recruiting and of course making you much more visible to the way that people are searching for information. But the thing that you touched on is the team, because it's part product and also it's like your reps are sort of consultants to help you be proactive about how to use the platform and what's coming on next. And it's always great to be able to pick up the phone and talk to someone who's an expert, not just in AI, but AI home services. And I think that's what you hit on. So thanks for absolutely 100%.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

Boy, I tell you what, you do such a great job uh uh uh summarizing uh my gift of Gab.

Julian Placino 25:21

Well, before we close out here, Kurt, anything else you'd like to share about Peaksy before we we close out with your success story?

Personal Legacy: Dream Big, Never Quit

SPEAKER_01 25:27

No, I just related to Peaksy, I'm just I'm really pleased uh uh with our relationship and really pleased with uh what we're gonna seek to do in 2026 together.

Julian Placino 25:38

Sounds good. Well, well, Kurt, close us out. When you think about legacy, both personally for you and for Mass, what what does that mean to you? What kind of legacy do you hope to leave behind for your customers, your team members, for the community?

How To Connect And Close

SPEAKER_01 25:52

Well, I I touched on this at the beginning. So I'll guess I'll close with it. You know, I for me personally, um, I've gone through a lot of, as we do in life, right? We go through we we go through a lot of life lessons, a lot of learning, um, a lot of experiences and such. And uh I've had it, I've had the uh fortunate or unfortunate um uh fact that I've been able to go through a lot of that, both good and bad. And I was blessed when I was in my graduate studies that I went back and did at Ohio State University uh a little bit later in life. And I got to work with a gentleman, a professor, the former chief administrative officer for Sears, became a professor at Ohio State named Tony Rucci. And Professor Rucci took us through a course that lasted a year called uh True North. And it was based on the book True North. And the gist of it was is for us to get to truly spend the time over a year to understand what were all those things, uh, those functions and dysfunctions and experiences that helped drove us to where we're at today and what we're seeking to do. And we find that uh our probably our focus of our legacy is is is not sharpened, it's not laser focused. So we help we help do he helps us get us there. And the ultimate at the end of the semester, at the end of the year, was to create a five to 10 page paper that helps summarized how we got there. But then the bottom line, the the real victory of that legacy, uh going through that experience was to develop a 20-word leadership legacy statement. One that no matter where you're at, no matter when the time is, would always be representative of the fabric of the person that you are. So I stated at the beginning, and it's uh I proudly talk about it. So my 20 words are suasponte, I will dream big, never quit, and do all I can to positively impact the lives of others. You see, Julian, I was a 16-year-old emancipated minor. So I had to dream big and never quit uh to be able to get over the hump. Um, I was uh blessed with an early opportunity to join the military, the U.S. Army. Um, I was affiliated with infantry and with the United States Army Rangers, understood that their creed sua sponte, meaning Latin of my own accord, said I aspire to do something bigger and better than the average person. I do it of my own accord, not because I'm told to, but because I aspire for greatness. Um, dream big and never quit was something that I uh embodied. Uh and I was blessed with the opportunity to uh meet Mr. Rudy Rudiger, uh 1993 Tri-Star movie. Rudy, yeah. And uh Rudy and I became friends, and uh I ran Rudy's foundation for three years. And Rudy Hart is a dream big, never quick guy. Um, and then the fabric of positively impacting the lives of others. I mean, it's uh whether whether whether it doesn't have to be you know something uh that is magical uh at a at a big presentation or company presentation, sometimes the most magical way to impact a life is just uh you know pulling an employee in and you know expressing condolences uh the right way uh when maybe a loved one has passed away, uh, or recognizing that there is something bigger as we seek to serve our employees that's bigger than the mission of the company that day. Because if we keep them first, um, that's meeting the legacy. And uh it's gonna be those are the folks that are gonna deliver for Mast and that will eventually deliver for Mast legacy. So that's how I pull it all together. Sue Sponteo, dream big, never quit, and do all I can to positively impact the lives of others. That drives the people, and then that ultimately drives the the vision for Mast.

Julian Placino 29:44

Well, that is very inspiring, Kirk, and I think that's a great place to leave it. So thank you so much for being on the show and sharing your success story. If you would close us out, tell us uh the website, how to connect with you on social. What's the best way for folks to connect with you?

SPEAKER_01 29:59

Sure. Uh our our website is is the is the best way. It's uh www.masts with an S at the end, masts, M-A-S-T-S-Roofing.com. Uh we have links there to all of our to our YouTube channel and all of our social media. And uh you can get a free quote and um meet one of our most fabulous sales folks who come out and talk to you about your needs and how we could develop that great relationship with you on a go forward basis.

Julian Placino 30:26

And we'll make sure to have all that contact information in the show notes. So, Kirk, this has been a real pleasure to get to know you. Thank you for your time today. Thank you, Julia. I appreciate you. And that is it for today's episode. So thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the next episode of the Home Services Success Stories Podcast powered by Peaksy, the number one AI platform for growing your home services business.