From guarding an NHL goal to helming Knutson Construction

As he measures into the position of president at Minneapolis-based mostly Knutson Construction this thirty day period, John C. Curry is no stranger to the spotlight.

Curry put in decades as a goalie with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota Wild corporations.

Now, he is using the helm of Knutson as the third-era operator and Curry loved ones member to lead the business. Curry, who joined Knutson in 2015, put in some time with Building Dive to chat about wherever he sees the company going, what he sees as the industry’s most significant obstacle and lessons from his hockey profession.

The pursuing has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Building DIVE: How do you set your stamp on an set up family members small business, whilst appreciating in which the business has been?

JOHN C. CURRY: This new leadership staff is heading to want to chart our very own route. But we want to go on a whole lot of the favourable momentum as a company that has been making for the last quantity of years. We want to proceed that mission and our emphasis on the shopper. 

We also want to continue to develop. Development is best and bottom line, but it really is also broader. We discuss about [growth in] our abilities, our customers and our abilities to build individuals. 

You are in many sectors, including healthcare, instruction, recreation, hospitality, corporate, governing administration, manufacturing, industrial and retail. Which of these will give the most growth for you?

The most significant sector that we’ve been in historically has been healthcare. Increased training is a different a single. So people are ones that we want to go on to mature.

We’re viewing how some of the points we’ve acquired in healthcare, increased ed and research amenities translate to emerging markets, like biomed.

We’re heading to see a good deal of these rising markets in the upcoming five or 10 yrs. We want to be thorough. We want to go on to expand our experience in wellness treatment and some of these core markets. But we [also] want to come across some of these [new] niches that suit who we are.

What problems do you see for the organization and the industry as a full in the subsequent few yrs?

It is experienced labor in the trades. Truthfully, you have to be careful where you happen to be creating jobs these days. And you have to be considerate about irrespective of whether the labor is going to be there for your possess workforce and your trade associates. As an business, which is likely to be a problem to fix.

We’re focused a good deal on that. And truthfully, it provides us to diversity, equity and inclusion. There is so a lot chance there. You can see the momentum setting up for that in our field. I see an opportunity to bridge that hole of qualified labor from the undertaking management to the business office supervision aspect of things.

What are some opportunities you see for the field? 

Each individual setting up is exclusive and it can’t be this cookie-cutter solution [to design and build them]. You have this inherent complexity. I consider technologies is starting off to aid clear up some of those people troubles to streamline the system. There is an option to remedy some of the difficulties in building that have not been solved in the previous 40 many years.

How did your hockey vocation prepare you for the construction small business?

Early in my profession and through college, I played on some seriously very good teams. The minute that you you should not participate in for a staff that performs very well with each other, or that is not aligned in trying to realize the very same plans, it turns into a frightening spot for a goalie to be. [In construction], you [also] need a workforce to count on. You cannot commit sufficient time and hard work to make positive that the workforce is engaged, dedicated and aligned on the objectives. 

The other one particular [lesson] I am ready to implement is about the adversity that you face working day in and day out. There are just a great deal of highs and a whole lot of lows [in professional sports]. And I feel that’s accurate in enterprise and building. You inherently gain composure by heading as a result of those encounters where by you strike a significant dilemma or an issue and you just check out not to get far too higher or much too low. You sort via it and you lean on your team to address challenges.