Brighid Shelton

A special episode where Andy's 3-week assistant Brighid takes over the mic to interview (and roast) Andy after he slept in and missed his own podcast guest. What starts as a lighthearted behind-the-scenes look at Andy's quirks, nocturnal habits, finding complex tasks easy but basics impossible, evolves into a surprisingly substantive conversation. They cover Andy's use of a custom-trained ChatGPT bot for root cause delay analysis that saves hours per day, prompt engineering as a critical emerging skill, and the story behind his Koru tattoo when he became a New Zealand citizen. The episode takes a serious turn discussing women in construction, including the lack of safety gear sized for women on site, and Andy's hiring philosophy of attitude over skill.

Key Topics Discussed

• Behind-the-scenes reveal. Andy slept in and missed his own guest. Brighid, only 3 weeks into the job with zero construction experience, steps in to interview him. Reveals Andy is nocturnal, finds complex things easy but basics hard, described as a "mega mind toddler."
• Construction Digitalisation / ChatGPT for delay analysis. Andy has a custom-trained ChatGPT bot for root cause of delay analysis. It saves hours per day of manual work. Prompt engineering is highlighted as a key skill for the construction industry going forward.
• Women in Construction. Serious undertones about the reality for women on construction sites. No safety gear is sized for women, Brighid had gumboots three sizes too big. Boys staring at women on site remains an issue. NAWIC mentioned as an organisation working on this.
• Hiring philosophy. Andy's approach: hire for attitude, not skill. "You can teach anybody a skill but you can't teach attitude." Brighid herself is the proof, hired with no construction background.
• Personal / Koru tattoo. Andy got a Koru tattoo when he became a New Zealand citizen, symbolising his commitment to his adopted country.
• Mental Health in Construction. Discussion on maintaining balance, particularly relevant given Andy's nocturnal working habits and the demands of running a consultancy alongside the podcast.

Notable Quotes

• Brighid on Andy: "Mega mind toddler", complex stuff is easy but basics are hard.
• Andy on hiring: "You can teach anybody a skill but you can't teach attitude."
• Andy on AI tools: The custom ChatGPT bot for delay analysis saves hours per day.
• On women in construction: No safety gear sized for women on site, Brighid had gumboots three sizes too big.

Guest Background

Brighid Shelton was only three weeks into her role as Andy's assistant at the time of recording. She had zero construction industry experience and was hired purely on attitude, embodying Andy's philosophy of hiring for character over technical skill. Her willingness to step in and run the episode when Andy missed his guest demonstrates the approach in action.