Eric Marcoe is 42 years, married, two young kids, likes to canoe and hike.
Nothing out of the ordinary until you hear that for the past two years Marcoe has been Miron Construction’s “dream coach,” a position the Wisconsin-based contractor initiated in 2013 to help its employees achieve personal goals that sometimes—but not necessarily—coincide with the company’s work goals for them.
The genesis of Miron Construction’s Dream Project was in the form of a gift: Tonya Dittman, Miron’s pre-construction specialist, gave a copy of The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly to the company’s CEO and co-owner David Voss.
From that exchange emerged a program, which Miron Construction manages through its human resources department, that is unique because “it’s 100% personal,” says Marcoe.
His background included stints as a corporate trainer and coach. Prior to becoming Miron’s dream coach, he was doing organizational development for a healthcare company that involved leadership training and coaching. He has received International Coach Federation certification through the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.
But Marcoe doesn’t provide answers or advice to Miron’s employees. Instead, he creates space for the individual “to think, feel, and see [him- or herself] closely in the mirror” that Marcoe sees himself as representing.
Indeed, some employees come to Marcoe not knowing what they want to do. His role is to “pick up on” themes in order to help them identify goals and the obstacles that prevent their achievement.
The company has posted several videos on YouTube of employees who have gone through the Dream Project’s self-actualization process successfully.
Mary Cummings, a project accountant, came to Marcoe with the goal of becoming a published writer. This ambition didn’t come from out of the blue, Marcoe tells BD+C, as Cummings’s her mother and sister had been published, and Cummings (who has a degree in economics) has had a long-time interest in journalism, communications, and blogging.
As Marcoe spent more time with her, Cummings “grew into an awareness of herself,” and within two months (May 2016) she had placed an article with her favorite online magazine. This process, says Marcoe, also allowed Cummings “to see her potential in other areas,” and to see her larger goal as writing the chapters of her life. Cummings says the Dream Project helped her “learn a set of skills to allow you to accomplish whatever goals you have in the future.
Marcoe’s greatest success to date, in his estimation, has been Jason Fuhrman, Miron’s director of hard-bid estimation, primarily because Furhman was a skeptic. “He didn’t believe in the Project, and two months in, I was asking myself ‘what have I gotten myself into,’ ” recalls an amused Marcoe.
Fuhrman was unconvinced that he could have a dream “with all the stuff that’s going on with my life.”
In their early sessions, Marcoe and Fuhrman focused on how Furhman could delegate more tasks to others in his department in order to free up time at work and at home to do things he enjoys, like downhill skiing with his seven-year-old daughter.
“It’s really changed my life and has given me a more positive outlook,” says Fuhrman. He sees the whole point of the Dream Project “to give people at Miron a better life and home, and a better life in general.”
And Marcoe says that Fuhrman’s “conversion” to the process was a key to convincing more of Miron’s employees to participate. “Many employees now looking to meet with me have been encouraged by a coworker who has experienced coaching and has been inspired by the who they have become.”
Miron employs 1,200 people, and during his tenure as dream coach Marcoe has “encountered” more than 125 associates, and currently works actively with 50.
Marcoe says that he’d like to incorporate group coaching into the Dream Project. And longer term, he’s like to teach coaching courses, so that Miron’s culture “gets to the point where my role would be eliminated.”
Related Stories
Office Buildings | Jul 8, 2024
Office vacancy peak of 22% to 28% forecasted for 2026
The work from home trend will continue to put pressure on the office real estate market, with peak vacancy of between 22% and 28% in 2026, according to a forecast by Moody’s.
Virtual Reality | Jul 8, 2024
Can a VR-enabled AEC firm transform your project?
With the aid of virtual reality and three-dimensional visualization technologies, designers, consultants, and their clients can envision a place as though the project were in a later stage.
Green | Jul 8, 2024
Global green building alliance releases guide for $35 trillion investment to achieve net zero, meet global energy transition goals
The international alliance of UK-based Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Alliance HQE-GBC France developed the guide, Financing Transformation: A Guide to Green Building for Green Bonds and Green Loans, to strengthen global cooperation between the finance and real estate sectors.
Codes and Standards | Jul 8, 2024
New York State building code update would ban fossil fuels in new buildings
New York’s Building Code Council is set to include the All-Electric Buildings Act in its 2025 code update. The Act would ban natural gas and other fossil fuels in new buildings.
AEC Tech Innovation | Jul 4, 2024
Caution competes with inevitability at conference exploring artificial intelligence for design and construction
Hosted by PSMJ, AEC Innovate in Boston found an AEC industry anxiously at the threshold of change.
Building Team | Jul 3, 2024
So you want to get published: What’s next?
In the AEC industry, securing media attention is no longer a niche endeavor but an essential component of a holistic marketing strategy.
MFPRO+ New Projects | Jul 2, 2024
Miami residential condo tower provides a deeded office unit for every buyer
A new Miami residential condo office tower sweetens the deal for buyers by providing an individual, deeded and furnished office with each condo unit purchased. One Twenty Brickell Residences, a 34-story, 240-unit tower, also offers more than 60,000 sf of exclusive residential amenities.
Student Housing | Jul 1, 2024
Two-tower luxury senior living community features wellness and biophilic elements
A new, two-building, 27-story senior living community in Tysons, Va., emphasizes wellness and biophilic design elements. The Mather, a luxury community for adults aged 62 and older, is situated on a small site surrounded by high-rises.
Contractors | Jul 1, 2024
Nonresidential construction spending slips 0.1% in May but remains elevated
National nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.1% in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.21 trillion.
Contractors | Jul 1, 2024
New emergency cooling vest can prevent heat-related deaths on construction sites
A new emergency cooling vest is designed to prevent heat-related deaths without requiring electricity or refrigeration. The lightweight ColdVest is the world’s first portable, Class 1 FDA emergency cooling device that can rapidly lower core body temperatures up to 5 degrees in under 3 minutes.