Bold Estimation

The authority playbook · Sean Kriger · September 2026

Sean’s authority playbook: the efficiency operator

For Sean. Built 2026-09-10 from the Sept 8 call. One subject, three corners, one weekly loop. Every quoted line is yours from a recorded call. Nothing here is about anything but the business.

1article a week
3LinkedIn posts a week
5short videos, one recording
1

The triangle

What every post promotes.

An equilateral triangle. Efficiency sits in a band across the centre. Corner one is outsourcing done right, corner two is teams built by specialty, corner three is two hundred people managed with values. EFFICIENCY “We get the job done without wasting your time.” Outsourcing done right “I understand why you failed.” You know why the cheap route fails, because you tried it, got burned, and built the fix. Teams built by specialty “A lumber guy does lumber. A door guy does doors.” Everyone is grown, not hired off a shelf. 250 training videos before anyone touches a job. 200 people, managed with values Trust, paying people properly, following up, a named person on every account. 1 2 3 The same triangle, sized for a phone. The numbers match the list below. EFFICIENCY “We get the job done without wasting your time.” 1 2 3
Center: efficiency. “We get the job done without wasting your time.”
1 Outsourcing done right. “I understand why you failed.” You know why the cheap route fails, because you tried it, got burned, and built the fix.
2 Teams built by specialty. “A lumber guy does lumber. A door guy does doors.” Everyone is grown, not hired off a shelf. 250 training videos before anyone touches a job.
3 200 people, managed with values. Trust, paying people properly, following up, a named person on every account.

The rule: if a piece of content does not touch a corner, it does not go out.

2

The loop

One article feeds everything.

A chain running left to right: the Monday article, five short videos, three LinkedIn posts, fifteen minutes, one job. An arrow returns from the posts to the article. Monday article 90 minutes Five short videos one 20-minute recording every two weeks Three LinkedIn posts a week 15 minutes the reader books One job sends every post links back to the article The same chain, stacked for a phone, with the return arrow running up the left side. Monday article 90 minutes Five short videos one 20-minute recording every two weeks Three LinkedIn posts a week 15 minutes the reader books One job sends every post links back to the article

Weekly time: about three and a half hours.

Article 90 minutes, posts 30 minutes, comments 45 minutes, recording 20 minutes every other week, plus the team’s posting.

3

Step 1: set up

This week, three hours total.

#Do thisOwnerTime
1 Substack. Create the publication under your name. One-line description: “How I run a 200-person estimating and back-office team for contractors, and what it taught me about outsourcing, teams and running a company.” Import the client email list. Jens sends the welcome email text. Sean, Jens 30 min
2 LinkedIn profile. Headline says what you do, not your title. Paste the About text from doc 32. Featured: the samples page, article one, one video. Pin the “two options and the third one” post. Sean (Jens sends the text) 30 min
3 Calendar link. Calendly, free plan. One event: “Talk to Sean, 15 minutes.” Put the link in the LinkedIn profile, the Substack about page, and the site. Sean 15 min
4 Phone, stand, captions. Your phone, a stand at eye level, natural light. Your team burns captions in CapCut and adds the phone number end card. Jens sends the one-page recipe. Sean, the team 30 min
5 Idea bank. One Google Doc with three headings, one per corner. Every story you tell on a call goes under a corner the same day. Sean 15 min
6 Article one. Written by hand, 900 to 1,500 words. Structure below. Sean 90 min
4

Step 2: produce

Every week.

WhenWhatHow long
Monday Write the article. Structure below. Send to Jens before noon; he edits, never rewrites. 90 min
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday morning One LinkedIn post each, cut from the article. Shapes below. 10 min each
Posting days, first hour Answer every comment yourself. Argue back where it is real. 15 min each
Every other Friday 20 minutes on camera. Five videos, structure and scripts below. Jens sends five questions the day before. 20 min
5

Step 3: distribute

What goes where.

PieceWhereWho
Article Substack (emails the list), then reposted as a LinkedIn article, then on your site Sean posts, Jens mirrors
Videos LinkedIn first, then YouTube Shorts and Reels. Captions burned in. Phone number for the last three seconds. The team, from the recipe
Posts LinkedIn. The article link goes in the first comment, never in the post. Sean
Podcasts Ten pitches out by Nov 15. Jens drafts, you approve. Lead with “I understand why you failed.” Jens, Sean
6

Tools

Seven, all free except the stand.

Substack
LinkedIn
Your phone and a stand
CapCut (the team)
Calendly
One Google Doc
seankriger.com (Jens builds it; you buy the domain)
7

The video structure

30 to 90 seconds, one take.

A timeline from zero to sixty seconds in four segments: the hook, whose problem, the mechanism, and the verdict and the ask. Each segment has its rule underneath. 12 34 0 3 15 45 60 12 34 The hook Whose problem The mechanism The verdict and the ask 0 to 3 3 to 15 15 to 45 45 to 60 A number or a bet. It is also the caption on screen. No “hey guys,” no name. The owner’s situation, in his words. One thing you do differently, with one number. A short verdict line, then “Send us one job” or “Read this week’s article, link in the comments.” The same sixty-second timeline turned upright for a phone. The rules are in the list below. 12 34 03 1545 60 The hook Whose problem The mechanism The verdict and the ask
0 to 3The hook. A number or a bet. It is also the caption on screen. No “hey guys,” no name.
3 to 15Whose problem. The owner’s situation, in his words.
15 to 45The mechanism. One thing you do differently, with one number.
45 to 60The verdict and the ask. A short verdict line, then “Send us one job” or “Read this week’s article, link in the comments.”

Face to camera, wherever you are, phone mic, natural light.

Your name and Bold appear as a caption at second three. Nobody writes new lines for you; the script is the engagement.

8

Six mini scripts

Recording day one.

01I understand why you failedCorner 1
Hook“I know why your last overseas hire failed. It was not the map. It was the training.”
Problem“You paid less, you managed every mistake yourself, and one day a takeoff missed a roof.”
Mechanism“Everyone on my team was grown, not hired. 250 training videos before a lumber guy touches a lumber takeoff.”
Verdict“Cheap fails because nobody trained it. Send us one job and judge it yourself.”
02Nobody wants the takeoff deskCorner 2
Hook“Every estimator job in the country sits open for months.”
Problem“So the owner does the takeoffs himself at night.”
Mechanism“I built a desk that never quits. 200 people, organized by trade, a named person on your account who learns your standards.”
Verdict“You do not need to hire an estimator. You need the desk. Send us one job.”
03Two options, and the third oneCorner 1
Hook“When you hire an estimator you get two options, and both cost you.”
Problem“Pay a lot for someone good and hope he stays. Or pay less, manage every mistake, and hope one does not cost you a roof.”
Mechanism“The third one: a trained team, a named person, and a call at the end of every job where we walk you through every number.”
Verdict“Send us one job and judge it yourself.”
04What you are really buyingCorner 3
Hook“You are not buying cheap. You are buying somebody who absorbs problems.”
Problem“Your day is a hundred five-minute problems. Nobody hires for that.”
Mechanism“One responsible person who deals with them, at a rate you can make money on.”
Verdict“Can they deal with the problems? That is the whole question.”
05We are 30 percent slowerCorner 2
Hook“We are about 30 percent slower than most estimators. On purpose.”
Problem“Most shops never read the soils report. Most do not know what it is.”
Mechanism“We read the whole set, the notes, the report. Then we call you and walk every number.”
Verdict“Fast and wrong costs you a roof. Slow and right costs you a week.”
06Pay them more, and then whatCorner 3
Hook“‘Just pay your guys more.’ True, until the cycle turns.”
Problem“Construction is cyclical. Hire the best at the top of the market and you implode at the bottom.”
Mechanism“Build a team you can keep through the cycle. Trained, specialized, paid properly, with work that does not stop.”
Verdict“Pay well. Build to survive the down year.”
9

The article structure

900 to 1,500 words, by hand.

1The line. One sentence you would say on a call. This is the title.
2The scene. One job, one number, what went wrong or right.
3What everyone does. The common move and why it fails.
4What you do instead. The mechanism, with the numbers.
5What it cost you to learn. Seven years, the first partner that burned you, the job that missed a roof.
6The verdict and the ask. Two lines. “Send us one job.” “Book 15 minutes.”

The first six articles, one a week

WeekTitleCorner
1I understand why you failed: seven years of hiring overseas1
2Build an American company overseas. Do not hire people overseas.1
3Pods or cross-training: more pods means more drama, cross-training means less drama and less speed2
4Everyone is grown, not hired: the 250-video program2
5What a contractor is really buying: problems absorbed, not hours3
6Two hundred people, one rule: trust3
10

The three LinkedIn post shapes

The whats.

DayShapeExample, in your words
Tuesday The mechanic. One thing about running people you cannot see, with a number. “My guy’s actions per minute dropped off a cliff at 2:14. His phone rang. I can see that. Most owners of a 40-person shop cannot. That is the difference between managing people and guessing.”
Thursday The what. What a takeoff has to contain, or what the desk does. “A hardware takeoff on a house in Colorado takes 15 minutes. The same house in a California seismic zone takes an hour. Grade of lumber, blocking, shear walls, all change. If your estimator quotes both in 15, one of them is wrong.”
Saturday The honest limit. A take with your own downside in it. “We do not do mechanical, electrical or plumbing well. I tell you that on the first call, not after the bid. Ask your current shop what they will not do. If the answer is nothing, that is the answer.”

Every post: a number in line one, a short verdict at the end, the article link in the first comment.

11

The first 30 days

Sean, the team, Jens.

A four-week grid. The columns are the weeks of September 15, September 22, September 29 and October 6. The rows are Sean, the team and Jens. Week 1Week 2 Week 3Week 4 SeanThe teamJens Sept 15Sept 22 Sept 29Oct 6 Set-up list. Article one. Recording day one: videos 1 to 5. Posts Tue, Thu, Sat. Article two. Posts. Comments. Article three. Recording day two: videos 6 to 10. Posts. Article four. Posts. Approve the podcast list. Cut and caption videos 1 and 2. Post videos 3, 4, 5. Cut and caption. Post videos. Welcome email, profile text, recipe, five questions. Edit article two. Site wired to the domain. Five new questions from article two and the comments. Ten podcast pitches drafted. Numbers review.
Week 1 · Sept 15

SeanSet-up list. Article one. Recording day one: videos 1 to 5. Posts Tue, Thu, Sat.

The teamCut and caption videos 1 and 2.

JensWelcome email, profile text, recipe, five questions.

Week 2 · Sept 22

SeanArticle two. Posts. Comments.

The teamPost videos 3, 4, 5.

JensEdit article two. Site wired to the domain.

Week 3 · Sept 29

SeanArticle three. Recording day two: videos 6 to 10. Posts.

The teamCut and caption.

JensFive new questions from article two and the comments.

Week 4 · Oct 6

SeanArticle four. Posts. Approve the podcast list.

The teamPost videos.

JensTen podcast pitches drafted. Numbers review.

12

Goals

ByArticlesVideosPostsAlso
Day 30 (Oct 10) 41012 Profile fixed, calendar live, Substack list started, domain bought
Day 60 (Nov 9) 82024 Ten podcast pitches out, one recorded
Day 90 (Dec 9) 133036 Three podcasts recorded, one association stage applied for, two jobs traced to content

What we watch, not likes: comments from people at lumber yards, subs and GCs; DMs that mention a post; jobs sent within seven days of a post. Steven logs them.

13

Rules

Articles carry the whys. Posts and videos carry the whats.
Every piece touches a corner of the triangle. If it does not, it does not go out.
The article link goes in the first comment, never in the post.
No countries, no competitor names, no prices, no politics. Your rule, your feed.
Nobody writes for you. Jens edits, your team cuts and posts.