The Green Builder Media Network
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The Green Builder Media Network
Custom Homes, Common Values
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Sara Gutterman talks with Rob Cecil, CEO and President of Alair Homes, about why the true value of a home begins long before construction starts. From custom homes as one-of-a-kind prototypes to wellness architecture, climate resilience, lifestyle alignment, and the power of intentional planning, this conversation explores how builders can move beyond price per square foot and design homes around the people who will actually live in them. Together, they unpack what it means to create homes that support health, comfort, connection, long-term value, and a better way of living.
Hello and welcome to the Valuation Metric, a podcast about the risks, rewards, roadblocks, and revelations reshaping the way that we measure worth. I'm your host, Sarah Getterman, CEO of Green Builder Media, North America's leading media company focused on green building and sustainable living. I'm here coming to you live from our sustainability compound in the middle of the National Forest at Mariposa Meadows. So don't mind if the occasional deer or moose walks by. Now, every home ever built makes an argument about what matters, where the light comes in, what it costs to keep warm, whether it will keep standing for the next generation. For most of the last century, we've settled that argument with one simple number, price per square foot. My guest today runs a company that builds more than a hundred of those arguments at any given time all across North America. And he'll tell you that not one of them is the same house twice. Rob Cecil is the chief executive officer and president of Alaire Homes, North America's largest custom home building and renovation network, with well over a hundred locations across the US and Canada. Rob joined Alaire in 2013 and spent a decade as president and chief operating officer before stepping into the CEO role in 2024. But before Alaire, he founded several companies, led global sales organizations, and advised gross stage businesses in more than a dozen countries. He writes on leadership for entrepreneur, where his columns tend to argue for the opposite of what most executives actually do: delegate instead of control, make room for failure instead of punishing it, and treat tradition as something to interrogate rather than to just inherent. So, Rob, welcome to the valuation metric.
SPEAKER_00Thank you, Sarah. Pleasure to be here.
SPEAKER_02All right. So, Rob, you've built companies, you've sold technology, you've advised businesses on four continents. You could have run almost anything. Why houses? What is it about the act of building a place for someone to live in that held you when other industries didn't?
SPEAKER_00It's a great question, Sarah. I would say that actually it was not the building of houses or homes that that attracted me and kept me uh here. It's really the people and the craftsmen and the artists behind building these homes that have kept me here. So you're right. I've I've I've been in a lot of different industries, worked around the world, uh, but it wasn't until uh I met uh the the very early beginnings of Valaire that they believed something that I had always believed. And so that connection uh is what kept me here, and that was it's not about whatever product or service you build, but it's really about the people. And although a lot of organizations speak to that, very few actually build it into their core values and build their business around it. So um, as as wonderful as the end product, if you will, a gorgeous home uh might be, it's actually the people behind it that I think are maybe some of the most fascinating people I've ever met.
SPEAKER_02That's interesting. I love that. Now, uh switching gears a little, you're a musician, and I've always thought that music and construction are kind of strange cousins. Both are structure in service of feeling, both are invisible when they're done well. So has playing music changed how you think about building? And is there something that a song or music has taught you that a spreadsheet never could?
SPEAKER_00That's a really interesting question. I would say that at least my experience, Sarah, uh, in music, both in performance and creating, writing, recording, uh, making records, it's a collaborative process. And obviously, building a custom home or renovating uh a home for a homeowner uh is deeply collaborative. And it requires a clear vision as to what you want it to be in the end. And uh I've I've always believed that you musically you play to the song, not what you're capable of doing. And the same with building homes, uh craftsmen are capable of doing all types of things, but it's like what what really does this home need? What does a homeowner need? What is the outcome? How do they want to live? Let's collaborate and work to that end goal. So uh musically, I think is is actually uh, you know, both math and and art and and clearly building is the same way. So I would say collaboration is uh probably what makes them actually, you know, not just cousins, but maybe siblings.
SPEAKER_02Interesting. So uh what type of a musician are you? Are you a composer? Do you play instruments? Do you sing, all of the above? Do you like to perform? And the next layer of that question is if you were uh on a job site, which role would you associate your uh you know, your musician role with most closely?
SPEAKER_00Uh so to answer your question, yes, I I do write, I do record. Uh I'm a I'm a drummer by trade. Uh so I I would I would align with that. And uh as I said a moment ago, you know, playing for the song, not what you're capable of. So uh I enjoy leading from the back. And often uh, you know, if if there are drummers in the room here, they would all agree that uh we think we're the leaders of the band. Uh however, the thing is is we're there to support uh everybody else. So uh yeah, it's it's again very interesting that you put those connections together. I don't think I've ever thought of it that way, but uh it makes a lot of sense. And there's no way that any one person, whether you're the largest uh superstar in the world, uh you go and see a performance, you look at all of the choreography, all of the work from the musicians, uh, all the other uh artists, perhaps dancers, uh, lighting, engineers, sound engineers, it takes all types of skills uh to produce that that final output. And again, building homes are very similar.
SPEAKER_02Indeed. So I saw an interview with you once that where you said that every single project that Alaire does is a prototype of a home that's never been built before. And that's really a mark a remarkable thing for someone who leads a company as large as Alaire. I think you've got 109 franchises with 125 locations across North America. Correct me if I'm wrong on those numbers, but most companies um at your scale are selling repeatability. Uh, but what what do you have to offer? What do you have to give up? Um, what do you lead with philosophically to run a company that really just doesn't replicate the same thing twice?
SPEAKER_00What a lair leads with is the experience. And yes, even though every one of our homes are a prototype in many ways, uh, we do not build any track homes, uh anything of that nature. Uh, but but what we what we do believe is repeatable is a core belief in systems and and processes, or as some of my Canadian friends may say, processes. And uh, you know, so so we really dial in very hard into what can we repeat, what can we scale, what can we do consistently over and over and over, uh, whether you're building where you are uh or building down on the coast or any other, you got to take climate and and and location and design, all of those into consideration. However, uh behind the scenes, the more that you can replicate and have systems that can be done in a very similar fashion over and over and over, that's actually what's created scale for a layer. So, but yeah, at the end of the day, uh, you know, we work with uh architects who you know design and dream up amazing homes. And our job is to ensure that you, as the homeowner, um, have the best experience possible while we're actually building it. Yes, everybody wants the same result. You want to have that home to be finished, you want to be able to walk in, you want to have your first welcoming party with your friends and family. We all want the the same thing. However, it's far too often been in our ex in our industry, Sarah, that the experience, whether it's a custom build or renovation, uh is is less than stellar. And unfortunately, many homeowners would not recommend their contractor to their friends or family. So we really try to attack the experience. And the only way to control experience is to plan in advance so that when things invariably go maybe not as planned, you have a plan actually to get that back on track.
SPEAKER_02Interesting. Now, obviously, the thing that's really plaguing our industry right now is affordability and attainability at all levels, um, not just at entry level or even move up levels of housing, but at all levels. And our thesis is that there is no affordable home or retainable home that isn't sustainable because you really can't have a home that's affordable that isn't high performance, that doesn't address ongoing operating costs and durability and maintenance issues, and uh at this point, resiliency, health and wellness, even energy independence uh through solar plus storage. Um, you need all of those things to make a home truly affordable, not just in terms of first cost, but full cost. So, what's your current thinking right now? And how is ALARER addressing the concept of affordability, not in terms of just lowest cost for pair for square foot that your builders, Alaire builders build, because I know that that's not um the path that Alaire is on, which is great. Um, but in terms of really providing the most value per square foot and uh in the in the long term and ongoing costs as opposed to just lowest first cost.
SPEAKER_00Well, intentionality it shows up in in in many forms. And one of those forms is uh, and again, I spoke about planning, is understanding how you want to live in the home before it's ever built. So if you can maximize the value and really think through from room to room, how are you going to uh when you wake up in the morning, what are your what are your typical routines? Um and so all the way through the day, uh do you have kids, do you have grandkids? Uh do you like to entertain a lot? So you need to take all those into consideration. And far too often uh we believe, Sarah, that uh the idea that building a home is you're just building a house. It's a building. And fact of the matter is that none of us think that way about our homes. You don't think that way? I don't think that way. I don't know anybody who thinks that way that it's like, oh, yeah, I live in a building. It's like, no, I live in my home. And my home should reflect not only my lifestyle, but reflect the things that I personally value. And when you put that intentionality into a home initially, and it's backed by uh very good systems, good engineering, and very thoughtful, that home is going to perform better. Quite honestly, that home is going to be more valuable 10 years, 20 years from now than a home that really did not take that into consideration. And whereas that might sound idealistic, uh, that's actually the root of uh why you know you think about cars. What why do some cars hold their value more than others? Uh well, they were engineered better, typically, right? That's and and uh so even high performance uh machines, whether it's a it's a vehicle or anything else, they often have uh higher operating costs, but they also retain their value. So when you're trying to find the balance between uh affordability or attainability and performance, it's a balance. But as more products continue to come on the market and more homeowners are demanding uh things like wellness architecture, uh, you know, I think we're gonna see some some costs start to come down because anything that's relatively new tends to have a higher price point. And then as more product and and services become available uh and more technicians are trained on those systems, uh, the hope is that we'll continue to see a reduction in some of those costs while maintaining the high performance aspect.
SPEAKER_02Indeed. Well, you just made the whole case for our initiative uh for shifting uh the valuation metric for homes from price per square foot to value per square foot, which incorporates uh everything that you just said. Um now you mentioned wellness architecture, and I'm glad that you did because that's a term that I know is very near and dear to Alaire, and uh that's a big area of focus for you. So talk a little bit about that, what it um means just in general, and then how you see Alaire builders throughout North America incorporating that into the their projects.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, um, as you know, Brandon uh Bryant and his team in Asheville, North Carolina are uh building a home centered exclusively around the concept of wellness architecture. Uh if he hasn't been on your show, I hope you have him on because he's good because he is truly the expert when it comes to that. I might know a lot about business, as does Brandon, of course. But uh whereas I focus on building businesses, he's uh very focused on building uh incredible projects that have wellness as well as resilience built in from the foundation. And whether um, you know, we speak of the eight pillars, uh, and you know, whether it's connection and nature, uh vibe, uh nourish, you know, and all the other components to wellness architecture, it's not just uh clean air or things of that that I think everybody expects today. But again, it's back to the intentionality. How are you going to live? Um and how are you going to not just live, but live healthy in your home for extended periods of time. And a home that is healthy uh is a home that is happy. And a happy, healthy home, frankly, is more valuable. So um we're very excited about that project. One of the wonderful things about Alaire is uh we speak about this often internally, is our ability to learn 100x faster. Um what that means is all of our locations around North America and and growing as we continue uh to scale up, is that uh, you know, professionals like Brandon is sharing in real time everything that they're learning. Um, and so we're seeing many of our offices throughout Canada and the US already implementing some of uh uh some of the ideas and systems that that that Brandon really has been a bit of a leader and a trailblazer for us even here at Alaire.
SPEAKER_02Wonderful. Well, and I can tell you that that project is one of our Vision House projects, the Vision House Asheville. And it has been such a pleasure to work with Brandon and his team. Uh, not only are they so forward-thinking and just kind people, but um, as you indicated, you know, they're so far ahead of so many people um when thinking about wellness architecture, resiliency, uh, which is important in a in a location like Asheville, rebuilding after um a hurricane, and um also certainly value per square foot. Um okay, now switching gears again. You've written that perfection is unachievable and that chasing it actively suppresses innovation. But construction is an industry where a mistake can mean a failed foundation or water in a wall. So there are real consequences, real money, real families and lives that are affected. So, how do you hold both of those truths at the same time? And where is failure a teacher and where is it just simply unacceptable?
SPEAKER_00Wonderful question. Uh, there's an old saying, Sarah, that the the more you sweat and practice, the less you bleed in battle. Um and and professional athletes you might might use that. Um what I mean by that when I say uh that that trying to achieve a level of perfection, first of all, we're human beings. And so as hard as we try, uh, we're going to make mistakes. At Alaire, we we practice the act of consistently trying to improve our systems, our processes, uh, the way that we go about managing a project. Um and the more that we can try innovative areas behind the scenes, we don't have a test kitchen or anything like that uh where we can try a new recipe and say, okay, yeah, that that's terrible. Uh nobody wants to eat that. Uh we don't have anything like that. And and so and we don't build spec homes, uh, as I said, generally. Um so we have to we have to work quickly on how can we improve things that are going to directly impact your experience as a homeowner, your experience maybe working with us as an architect or a designer, uh, or your experience working with us as relates to uh supplying us some of the great systems, products, and services that are uh required to put a home together. So that's where we're going to we're gonna practice. We we talk our technology team, we talk about failing fast, try new things, try to fail fast, um, iterate as quickly as you can, uh, but then also put everything under the microscope. And we do that very often, which is this is the way we do things today. We believe this is the best. Because of that reason, let's get it under the microscope, let's really tear it apart, let's see if it still holds true. Because there's always a set of beliefs uh that runs any business plan or runs any uh any project. And you should always be stopping and testing and saying, are the beliefs uh or the assumptions that we put into this model uh are they still true because things change. And so um we don't have the luxury of of uh of failing on a project. That is not something that that we accept whatsoever. Uh we accept only the only the best trades and the best partners, uh, but we're humans and things do happen. So as I said earlier, having the ability to plan and make every possible effort you can to know that this project is going to be successful on paper before we ever put the first shovel in the ground uh helps us to avoid some of the pitfalls that often happens in construction. And we know there's been a lot over the years.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Now, speaking of the concept of failing fast and failing hard, you've told the story of losing half a million dollars launching a software product that you never ran past your peers. So, what did that feel like at the time? And then how long did it take you to be able to tell the story like you tell it now? Because as we like to say, uh, tragedy plus time equals comedy. So when it starts cease being a tragedy and start becoming a comedy.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Yes. And I can tell you at that time, uh that that half a million dollars uh was significant. It's still a significant amount of money, but it was very significant to our organization. Um and the mistake we made, quite honestly, Sarah, and and I think this is transferable to a lot of things, is we built it under the belief that this was going to make our business better. It was going to provide us with a competitive advantage over competitors, but we never really considered are we building this for our actual client? Are we building this for their business? And so whether you're talking about technology or or anything anything else that relates to business or even life, is who are you building this for? And so many businesses make that mistake, which they they think that that, oh, everybody's gonna love this because we're in love with it. And and not only that, but it's going to provide all this value to us. Uh, and I'll never forget it. Uh, that's why the story I think still lives, is calling my number one client up, so excited, uh, and said, hey, we want to we want to show you something. And we set up the demo um and they watched it. They're lovely people. They loved us, we loved them. We had a long-term relationship. And at the end, stepped back and said, Yeah, that's not we'll that won't do anything for us, but thanks for sharing it. Well, we thought, okay, well, maybe maybe Urban's having a tough day. So we went and checked with the next number two through five. They all said the exact same thing. And so here we're sitting, and it wasn't just the the money, but it was also the lost time and how much effort we had put into what we our set of beliefs versus well where where is our client's business going? What do they need to be able to do to be competitive? So um it's a it's a painful lesson that I have, as you say, uh time uh and and tragedy turns into comedy. We can laugh about it now, but at the time it uh it just about sunk the ship.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Now at Alaire, you lead a network. Of independent owners, not necessarily employees. And you can't command them, uh, but you can persuade them or or talk with them or encourage them to do certain things. So, how has that changed your understanding of what authority actually is and how has it changed your leadership style?
SPEAKER_00Wonderful question. Uh so uh uh Alaire, we do have a very large uh home office organization that are technically employees of ours. And then you're right, throughout North America, we have uh partners uh that are legally franchised partners, but they are independent, they own 100% of their business. I've always believed, Sarah, that if uh in order for me to get you to do anything or you to get me to do anything, we have one of two choices. We could either manipulate or we can inspire. And so we lean hard into inspiring our partners to continue to be the best. We have a huge uh responsibility to uh ensure that we have the best technology and the best professional services to support their business. Um, but one of the things, and and we're I I I consider myself incredibly fortunate for this is uh the quality of people you talked about, Brandon earlier and and just the the level of human being uh that that they are. Uh we're really blessed with with some of the best people in this industry. And this industry is full of uh incredible people who have a lot of skill. Uh, but I I think we need more who are not just out for themselves, but they're saying, while I'm doing good for me and my family and my business, how can I help others achieve the same thing? And how can I learn from them? And when I know something, perhaps I've made a mistake uh that I see somebody else is about to make, how do I help them to maybe avoid that? And so uh as a as a collective, uh Laire is really uh a number of leaders. And and I say it all the time whenever we're together as a as a whole company. It's like if you're in this room, you've been called to lead. And leading leaders is not the easiest thing, that's for sure. Um, however, we we all have a very similar North Star, and that is that uh at our end product is we're building homes, but uh we're also here, and we even our tagline says living better starts here. Um, it is about living better and trying to impact the human experience while we're also, by the way, building incredible homes.
SPEAKER_02So let's riff on that a little bit more for a minute, because I know that Alaire looks at homes as something more than shelter. It looks at homes as something, it's it's a place of refuge, a place where people are safe enough to become more of themselves. Um and I feel like a lot of the modern housing market has actually forgotten that. So, you know, just by optimizing homes for resale and not optimizing them for the humans that actually live inside. So I know Alaire's um ethos is different than that, but how do you feel like that ethos can translate outside of a company like Alaire into, say, more of a production scale? Um, and you know, how do you feel that that ethos can penetrate the larger industry as a whole?
SPEAKER_00Well, I would certainly love if it did, by the way.
SPEAKER_02Um we're working for it, right?
SPEAKER_00Yes, we're all we're all working for that. And and that's why we uh we don't really have share, uh we don't have any trade secrets or anything like that here to Lair. We we openly share the things that we learn because again, I mentioned about the 100x learning uh pace. Um so if there's something that we have figured out, and it's simply because we've had more opportunities or more at bats that some people might say, uh, then we want to make sure that that that's shared. And that's why you'll see a lot of Lair uh people gracing stages at uh IBS and other home builders' associations and their leaders of home builders' associations across the country and up in Canada is is to share. But you know, the thing is, is we all know that there's strong, strong data out there, Sarah, that says that, you know, how much better uh a kid does in school when they live in a home that their family owns. So the the concept of of attainability is always gonna be present, and particularly over the last few years, as we've all seen a rise in prices across everything, that's gonna continue to be a challenge. But um, wellness, the the concept of wellness architecture should not be reserved only for the affluent, quite honestly. We should be thinking about uh how people are gonna live in this home. How do they stay healthier, uh, which is going to help on uh cut healthcare cost. And uh, you know, we always say if you don't have your health, you don't have anything. Uh so uh we would love to see more, particularly on the production builder side, um, that the that the the product is not the home, the product is that family in the future living in that home. And that should be the product you're thinking about. And and how you know, we we spend a lot of time in our lives thinking about uh where can I be the best version of myself or how do I be the best version of myself. And everybody deserves the right to be the best version of theirself in their home. Um, and so I don't think it actually would erase cost that much to add more intentionality and more wellness into a home. And I really hope the whole industry moves that way because uh we have a profound opportunity and therefore responsibility to change the the health and wellness of people who engage with us. And we should not, you know, uh abdicate that responsibility, quite honestly.
SPEAKER_02Indeed. Um now, obviously, the housing market is experiencing volatility, uh, labor scarcity, high material costs, insurance markets repricing climate risk, capital flowing towards resilience and energy independence. What forces are most impacting a layer? Um, and there might be many since you build in markets from coast to coast in the US and Canada, but what would you say are kind of the prevailing um areas that uh your Alaire builders are grappling with? And how, you know, what's kind of the breakthrough um to you know, kind of work through those dynamics for your builders?
SPEAKER_00Well, certainly uh we're we're we are not uh immune from all the challenges the the entire industry has. Uh, but uh I think central to this conversation is uh regardless of where we build and we do build and practically every climate uh possible here in North America, um, climate resiliency is going to continue to be right at the top. Um you know, uh I don't think there's anywhere that's that's immune or safe from from things. I mean, Asheville, North Carolina, who would have thought that that that would have happened? I used to live in Vermont and uh and and we got hit with a hurricane. People say, Vermont and a hurricane. Yes, it happens. Uh and it creates tremendous uh problems for extended periods of time. So uh a combination of that, Sarah, and uh also uh the continuing aging of our industry and labor shortages uh is going to continue to be a challenge. And uh for that reason, I think uh ensuring that you are attractive, we as an industry need to continue. And I think many are are attempting to do that. Certainly uh Alaire is trying to do its part in uh attracting more younger people and recognizing that you can have an incredible life, an incredible career that pays well, um, but also doing something that matters and building things that you'll be able to take your kids. If you have no kids today, 10 years from now, now you've got 10-year-old kids, take them by and say, you know, we built that home and you see a happy family there. There's very few, very few professions actually that that can be as rewarding as this industry, but um it's not it's not something that uh I think is top of mind for most. So labor shortage is is is certainly the issue, but uh right up there alongside of it, it it's climate resiliency. And and you don't have to be on the coast to worry about hurricanes, and you don't have to there was a tornado uh in downtown Toronto just yesterday. You know, we have a lot of offices in Toronto, so uh no place is safe. We need to be thinking about this and we need to be uh ensuring that we're attracting uh people, young people with great ideas uh that recognize the world that they live in is not the world that we lived in 25 years ago.
SPEAKER_02Indeed. Um, all of our cognition smart data points to the fact that resiliency is top of mind for everyone, whether it's builders, developers, consumers, certainly lenders and insurers, even appraisers and realtors. Um, and so I think by identifying that as a you know kind of a major dynamic that's impacting all of us. Um, let's switch over to um the consumer or home buyer side of things. Um, similar question. What are some of the uh kind of trends or insights that you're hearing about from your Alaire builders about their home buyers? I'm going to assume it's resiliency and health and wellness and energy independence and those kinds of things, but uh anything more nuanced within those categories or anything else you're seeing that's uh of interest to you?
SPEAKER_00Well, uh yeah, and I mean I think it does fit within with with within that range that you just spoke about, Sarah. But uh, you know, as I said a few minutes ago, we like to understand what is your lifestyle, and and that's very important to today's consumer. And your young professionals are uh they're focused much more on health and wellness and and balance, uh, right? And so some some of us who who grew up being workaholics and that's the way that worked. Um, now they're looking for more balance and uh a connection uh to their community, a connection to uh to to nature. And uh when they are coming to us, uh they have a pretty good idea of what they're looking for. And our job is to uh try to engineer uh that solution as close as we can with their budget, of course, uh into how they want to live. And uh the consumer, you know, again, today is is very different than it was pre-COVID, obviously. Um, you know, we saw some incredible changes in COVID. Everybody was stuck at home and said, this house is not working for me anymore. You know, we need a second office or we need a playroom or whatever it was. And I think that experience, whether you're talking about young professionals who are now at the place where they're they're they're wanting to build their first custom home or they're wanting to take on, uh they're moving up and they want to do a major renovation on their home, uh, they want to make sure it matches their lifestyle. And so uh the upfront work to understand who they are, uh, how they live, what they're trying to achieve in life, not just at your home, uh, is going to continue to be more and more important. And we see it and hear it every day.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Uh something that I like to say right now is that um homebuyers really have stopped buying square footage. They stopped buying square footage a long time, you know, several years ago. I think even before the pandemic, when millennials started uh entering in the housing market and kind of brought their values with them as they were making purchase decisions. And now they're buying a lived experience. And so talking about price per square foot now has become maybe not irrelevant because price is certainly, you know, a major factor in especially a home buying decision, given the price point of it. But there's so much more to the conversation that just gets missed if we're just looking at that price per square foot, which tells you how big a house is and what it costs today, and nothing about that lived experience. So I think that um your comments are are very astute and of course spot on.
SPEAKER_00Yes. I mean, you know, you think about it, Sarah. It's like uh you ask, well, how much does a bag of groceries cost, or how much is it worth? And it's like, well, you know, it depends on what's inside that. And healthier food does tend to cost more. Um, but again, that's a that's a decision if you're making to eat, uh, make that you're making to eat healthier and to live healthier, uh, likely, not always, but likely means that you're gonna have lower costs in other parts of your life, such as healthcare costs and doctor bills and things of that nature, right? So um, yeah, it's you know, people always ask, well, how much, you know, how much is this going to cost? And uh, you know, that's always been an analogy. It's like, well, what's a bag of groceries cost? And you know.
SPEAKER_02Yep. Um, all right. So, Rob, I've got two more questions that I ask all of my podcast guests before we wrap up the episode. First, when you hear the concept value per square foot, what does that mean to you?
SPEAKER_00Uh that means both lifestyle uh attunement um as well as uh long-term viability of not just the structure itself, but the value that I will continue to see as my life uh and my family's life continues to evolve. So I I for me I that that's it. I think everybody would have a unique answer on that.
SPEAKER_02Indeed, they do. It's fun to listen to everybody's responses. And then my final question is if you could share one thing with our audience that might change the way that they value the world around them, what would it be?
SPEAKER_00Wow, that is a great question. Uh Dr. Wayne Dyer once had a line that I've tried to live by and I try to repeat it as much as I can. Uh, and that is change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change. And so um we all have a choice every day uh to to to see maybe a lot of the division and and and the things that are happening in our world today. Uh and and it'll be easy to let that blind you to the incredible good work that people are out there doing that maybe nobody is seeing. Uh, and so my personal advice is to uh step back and say, well, if I looked at this differently, would it start looking differently to me?
SPEAKER_02I love that. Joy creates joy.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Well, Rob, thank you so much for um the generosity of your time and your insights today. Thank you also for working with us on the Vision House Asheville with uh Alaire Asheville Red Tree. We're so excited to watch that project unfold as it spotlights wellness architecture, resiliency, and value per square foot. Those are kind of the three main pillars that we're focused on with that project. And thank you just for um leading such a um a charismatic and um compassionate team uh as you do. The everyone that we've met from a lair is just a wonderful individual and um just seems like they're all committed to a similar mission and vision. So kudos to you as a leader. Um and thank you again for joining me today.
SPEAKER_00Well, thank you. We're very proud to be partners with you and uh thank you again for your time today.
SPEAKER_02Wonderful. Uh thanks to all of you for watching another episode of the valuation metric. If this conversation moved you, please share it with anyone that makes decisions about how we design or build or live in our homes so that we can start to value them a little bit differently. If you want to learn more about Alair, you can learn at where's the best place to go, Rob? Alair.com?
SPEAKER_00Alairhomes.com.
SPEAKER_02Okay, wonderful. And um, until next time, thanks everyone. And let's continue to measure what we actually value.
SPEAKER_01Before you go, download and subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts. And for daily coverage on sustainability, housing, and the future of home building, visit greenbuildermedia.com. That's where we're tracking the trends and shaping what comes next.