NEW ON BEYOND THE BID
A commercial used to mean a production company, a crew, a location, and a five-figure invoice. Most builders never get there, so they post a phone video of a finished kitchen and call it marketing.
This week I made a 30-second commercial for GO First with Claude. No crew, no studio. Here’s how it came together.
How Claude built it
Started from a reference. I gave Claude a spec ad I liked and had it break down the craft: camera angles, pacing, color, end cards. Then I told it the reference supplies the style, never the idea.
Wrote the script. Claude wrote a beat-by-beat script with timestamps, shot descriptions, on-screen text, and sound design. It was ready for a crew or an AI video pipeline as-is.
Branded the world. GO First’s gold-orange, gray, and black got added into the video. Only the builder with the system wears the brand.
Generated the shots. Claude connected to Magnific, an AI image and video tool, and produced the scenes from the script.
Reviewed its own work. It checked every clip frame by frame against the script and flagged what was off. Then it told me what a fix would cost before spending anything.
That last step is the one that matters. A tool that makes things is useful. A tool that checks its work against the plan is a teammate.
The tools can make the video. Your job is knowing what story to tell.
Part 2: Planning for 2027 + AI
Next Tuesday, Brian returns and we get into the AI side. We’ll cover how to plan your company for 2027, how personal AI assistants take work off an owner’s plate, and Claude for Construction, shown live.
Christene raised an idea we’ll pick up: using AI to tailor work to what actually motivates each person on your team.
What we cover
Where the industry is headed in 2027, from AGC of America
How to plan your company for next year
Personal AI assistants and Claude for Construction, live
Using AI to fit the work to your people, not the other way around
The EQ Foundation
Christene explained emotional intelligence as having two parts:
Self-awareness. Notice something is off before it shows up in how you treat people.
Empathy plus wisdom. Care about people and hold the line. Empathy alone builds a soft culture.
EQ is the foundation. Mission, vision, and values are what you build on it. Skip the foundation and the rest cracks.
Want to go deeper?
The weekly workshop also introduces our Contractor Operating System, a six-month cohort that builds six core systems into your business: Vision & Strategy, Finance & Reporting, Marketing & Sales, Production, Operations & Automation, and HR & Leadership. It starts January 7, 2027. We’re taking 20 companies, and only one per trade in each area, so you won’t sit next to your competition.
Steal this for your company
Before Tuesday, ask one person on your team one question: “If we started using AI tomorrow, what would worry you most?” Write down the answer and bring it to the session. That worry is where your rollout plan starts.
THE VALUE VAULT
SkillMatch — AI Estimate Tool
Answer 26 questions. Get a prioritized list of the AI skills that will have the biggest impact — personalized to your revenue, team, and project mix.
Beyond the Bid — YouTube
Every episode, uncut. Watch full conversations with the operators, consultants, and builders who've already figured it out.
Claude — AI Writing Tool
Draft review responses, client communications, and SOW language using your own project context.
What’s one thing your crew deals with that you’d never hear about unless you asked?
Grant
