In his own words.
A working library of short statements and longer beliefs — gathered from years in the trades, in leadership, and at the kitchen tables of American homeowners. Read in any order. Designed to grow.
- Thoughts
- 50 short statements
- Today I Believe
- 25 editorial essays
- Companion
- The Dustin Principles
A few to begin with.
- Curiosity
“Curiosity is an operating system, not a personality trait.”
Read the thought → - Curiosity
“The question you are most embarrassed to ask is usually the one worth asking.”
Read the thought → - Learning
“Learn out loud, so the people around you learn twice.”
Read the thought → - Learning
“The most valuable pages are usually the ones nobody else finished reading.”
Read the thought → - Learning
“If you want to keep what you learn, teach it within a week.”
Read the thought → - Leadership
“Leadership is mostly the mirror you are willing to hold for yourself.”
Read the thought →
The library, organized.
Curiosity
3 thoughtsLearning
4 thoughtsLeadership
5 thoughts- “Leadership is mostly the mirror you are willing to hold for yourself.”
- “Make the decision. Then earn the right to make it again tomorrow.”
- “The quietest person in the meeting is usually the one carrying the most.”
- “Imagine your foreman repeating your instruction at 6 a.m. in the rain. Rewrite it.”
Work Ethic
6 thoughts- “Manage energy first, time second.”
- “Showing up early is the cheapest form of respect.”
- “The unglamorous hour is where the career actually gets built.”
- “The last ten percent is what separates work from craftsmanship.”
Humility
5 thoughts- “Humility is bandwidth. Ego is bottleneck.”
- “Take less credit than you deserve. Take more responsibility than you should.”
- “Walk into every room as the student. Leave as the student. Notice what changed.”
- “Be especially careful with how you speak to the person who cannot answer back.”
Systems
6 thoughts- “A system is a promise you make to your future self.”
- “If it only lives in your head, it does not really exist yet.”
- “Inspect what you expect, but inspect with respect.”
- “A shortcut is a loan from your future, at interest rates you cannot see yet.”
Responsibility
5 thoughts- “Own the outcome before you understand the cause.”
- “In your own story, refuse to be either the victim or the villain.”
- “The most useful apology is the one followed by a different decision.”
- “Before you write the report, walk the roof.”
Customer Service
5 thoughts- “Treat the homeowner's question as the most important question of your day.”
- “Explain it twice. The second time, more slowly. Then ask what you missed.”
- “An honest no, early, is worth more than a hopeful yes, late.”
- “Quiet competence travels further than loud promises.”
Team Building
5 thoughts- “Hire for character. Train for everything else that is trainable.”
- “Build benches, not stars.”
- “A new hire's first week tells you what kind of company you actually are.”
- “Respect the trades. The country is built and rebuilt by the people in them.”
Continuous Improvement
5 thoughts- “Get one percent better at one thing. Repeat for a decade.”
- “After every job, ask what you would do differently. Then write it down.”
- “If someone else has solved it well, borrow generously, credit fully.”
- “If your first idea is also your only idea, you have not finished thinking yet.”
Longer-form editorial.
Short essays on the convictions that shape the work — written as opinions held today, open to revision tomorrow.
- EssayRead the essay →
Why curiosity matters more than confidence
Confidence repeats what it already knows. Curiosity finds the part of the room that nobody has explored yet.
- EssayRead the essay →
Most people are good
If you spend a working life with that as your default assumption, you will be right more often than you are wrong, and the people you are wrong about will reveal themselves quickly.
- EssayRead the essay →
Why work ethic still matters
Talent is fashionable. Work ethic is permanent. The market eventually pays the second one more.
- EssayRead the essay →
Building systems instead of shortcuts
A shortcut solves today and bills tomorrow. A system costs today and pays for years.
- EssayRead the essay →
Helping homeowners make better decisions
The job is not to sell a roof. The job is to make a homeowner more capable of deciding about their own home.
- EssayRead the essay →
Learning never stops, and neither should you
The day you decide you have learned enough is the day the work begins to pass you by.