Longevity with one company isn’t the norm. It seems the days of staying with one employer and growing your career there is a thing of the past. To gain new experiences and grow skillsets, people feel they need to jump from role to role, company to company, or even industry to industry to advance in their career. But sometimes, the fit is right, the opportunities are there, and the right people take the time to help someone learn and advance without ever leaving an organization.
It’s time to meet Jason Cromer, the Vice President of Preconstruction for LandSouth. Jason has spent more than 17 years with LandSouth, climbing the proverbial ladder – both literally and figuratively. Starting out as an assistant superintendent, Jason has touched almost every element of construction operations. Moving to project engineer, then superintendent, next to project manager, senior project manager, and finally to division manager before moving into his current role. Along the way, he mastered the construction process and everything it takes to be successful in operations. There were mistakes, lessons learned, and several people who helped along the way.
“LandSouth was filled with people who helped me along the way,” Jason shared. “None more so than James, our founder and CEO. He taught me what it meant to be a people-first organization, and that is what makes LandSouth so special. It’s why I have been able to spend my entire career with LandSouth.” Jason continued, “People feel valued at LandSouth, and leaders have created a culture of fairness and honesty.”
LandSouth offered the opportunities, but the multifamily industry offered the variety and excitement that Jason craved. Every day was different, with new challenges to solve. More than anything, Jason enjoyed watching a development come to life, from the drawing board to new homes for families, or as Jason put it, “from trees to keys.”
Now Jason gets to take that experience, enthusiasm, and expertise to work with LandSouth clients at the beginning of the construction process, when the vision may be nothing more than a drawing on a napkin. With his team, they show how LandSouth can help them make their visions a reality. Whether it’s potential pricing or creating the bid, Jason and his team oversee all things preconstruction at LandSouth. But there’s still the itch to get out in the field, to stop his truck at a construction site and walk the project. The operations experience still plays out in everything Jason does.
As Jason looks back on his career, he thinks about the successes, but he also thinks about his failures. That’s where the real learning occurred. And it was his mentors that encouraged him to take those risks. Enter Tom Field, a long-time superintendent with LandSouth who worked with Jason and taught him much of the nuts and bolts of construction operations. He took the time and answered Jason’s questions, challenging him to make decisions and use his previous experience as a guide when the data might not be available. These risks led to some failures, but often they led to success and new ways of doing things – and lessons that Jason continues to apply in his work with LandSouth, now and in the future.
So, what is happening now? Well, the multifamily construction industry is in the midst of an unprecedented boom. LandSouth has started several new projects over the past few months, and there are many more on the horizon. This growth and prosperity brings new opportunities for Jason and the rest of LandSouth. But if the last few years have taught Jason anything, it’s that it can all change quickly. There will be downturns in the future. And LandSouth is prepared for that. Growth is more than simply building more developments and growing the business. It’s also developing people and growing their skillsets and capabilities. Investing in people and their careers is one of the many things that reinforces Jason’s commitment to LandSouth. Continuous improvement is a core principle and key to LandSouth’s, and Jason’s success, keeping LandSouth at the leading edge of the market’s housing needs.
The following ideas are integral to Jason as he works with teammates and employees of LandSouth:
- Risk-taking and willingness to fail – take the time and learn the lessons. It takes months and years to build a multifamily development. It takes time to learn what it takes to achieve success in construction.
- Leading by example – roll up your sleeves and don’t ask people to do jobs or tasks that you aren’t willing to do yourself.
- Integrity and fairness – do what’s right when no one is looking. Be true to your moral compass.
Jason Cromer is an example of what can happen when there is a commitment to learning, excellence, and the willingness to take the time to do things the right way and even discover better ways of doing things. This commitment to leading by example and doing things the right way goes beyond LandSouth. Jason uses it when spending time with his three children, coaching baseball, and teaching at his church.
Jason climbed the rungs of learning and leadership that make up the LandSouth ladder.
For more information visit www.landsouth.com or call 904.273.6004
ABOUT LANDSOUTH CONSTRUCTION…BUILDING IDEAS
LandSouth Construction, the Southeast’s premier general contractor, specializing in multifamily, senior living, and mixed-use development, was named one of Engineering News Record’s Top 400. Since 1998, LandSouth has transformed ideas into best–in–class communities. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla. LandSouth has completed more than 25,000 multifamily units. For more information, call LandSouth’s Marketing Coordinator, Kaley Robinson, (904) 760-3188, or visit www.landsouth.com