The latest episode of Inspirational Leadership with the Best in Home Building features John Martin, owner of Martin & Associates.
With more than 50 years of experience in home building, product design, market research, community planning, land development, sales, and marketing, Martin brings a lot of skill and a legendary reputation to the table.
Host Mollie Carmichael, Zonda principal, had the opportunity to sit down with Martin—one of her own inspirational leaders—at Builder 100 earlier this year to hear in his own words how he got his start, how he persevered through his career, and how he’s continuing to change the world of home building.
Here are some highlights from the episode:
On watching market challenges repeat through the decades
“Our challenge now is [when] we go through a down market what are we going to do? Well, we’re going to be have to create more affordable product solutions. And I think there’s just going to be more multigenerational housing, people coming together to live under one roof.”
On leadership advice for young professionals
“Do more than your job description. Do work outside of that, and take the initiative to do things. If you see a need, fulfill it.”
On what drove him to succeed
“We didn’t have much money. I had to quit college twice. I had crazy jobs where I worked on assembly lines, unloading boxcars 10 hours a week. And what occurred to me was, there’s a lot of people that are stuck in those jobs for their entire life. So, I’m gonna go back to school, and I’m going to graduate, and I’m not going to have to be in that kind of situation.”
On the report that jump-started his career
“I took the initiative to do a survey of my buyers, called the Green Hills report, and John Lusk started saying, ‘I got this guy that does market studies.’ Well, I’ve done one, you know, at that point in time, but that changed the entire trajectory of my career to get into research and marketing, which I did. And then that led to a lot of significant jobs here that I’ve had in my career.”
