On December 1, GBCA’s Construction Leadership Council (CLC) hosted a virtual Coffee Chat with Joseph Clearkin, Executive Vice President of James J. Clearkin, Inc. This informal meeting, hosted by CLC Officer Sean O’Leary of Floodproofing.com, provided GBCA’s young and emerging construction professionals the opportunity to interact with an experienced construction executive, and to ask questions about working in Philadelphia’s commercial construction industry.
James J. Clearkin, Inc. was founded by Joseph’s Grandfather, and is now run by Joe and his brothers. Working with family can come with obstacles, but Joe credits his mother for keeping everyone in line. Her mantra was “You get along, or you get out”. Another important lesson Joe learned was from his father believed that work life ends at 5, and then it is family time, they do not mesh.
Some highlights:
- The top key thing to take away from the Coffee Chat:
- “Stay engaged and stay involved. You learn new things in this industry everyday.”
- Through the GBCA, Joe has become friends with all of his competitors. They provide him with different perspectives on things in the industry.
- The things that helped Joe and the company stay successful throughout the decades were honesty, and maintaining relationships.
- If Joe could go back and tell his younger self something, it would be to pay attention to what everyone has to say around you.
- As a general contractor, we are only as good as our subcontractors and partners. These relationships are so crucial to complete a good project.
- “You can’t dwell on a mistakes, you just need to move on and concentrate better.”
