Chasing a dream: Greenfire’s Lindstrom enjoys hunting down new business

Erik Lindstrom worked construction throughout high school and college.

But he never thought it would be his career.

“I was a chemistry major,” said Lindstrom, director of business development and a project manager with Greenfire Management Services, the Forest County Potawatomi’s new construction management firm that’s based in Milwaukee.

When his major switched to finance, Lindstrom began wondering what the future might hold.

“I thought construction was more a means of getting through school, but a when I graduated I really just kept thinking about construction. I had a knowledge base there. I’ve always liked building, even since I was a kid; Legos were my favorite toy. But I didn’t go into college thinking I wanted to go directly into construction. It just carried over.”

Over the last 10 years, Lindstrom has definitely found a home in the industry.

“I enjoy working and collaborating as a team, putting a lot of effort into something that is physical. You can touch it and feel it, and there it is. It’s a building. Seeing that end result is what I enjoy.”

High-profile projects are his favorite. And, since joining Greenfire last June, Lindstrom has been involved with several, including the new Potawatomi Hotel and the FPC’s Milwaukee data center.

Part of the appeal with those projects is talking about them, Lindstrom said.

“I just like to go to someone who really doesn’t have any knowledge about construction and talk about a project that they’ve read about in the paper. I could go on and on.”

He’s also been busy chasing down new business opportunities, something he’s found as thrilling as he has challenging, given Greenfire has only existed since 2011.

“It’s a big challenge to chase these deals and get clients comfortable enough where they’ll go with us,” Lindstrom said. “But it’s exciting. We’re very tenacious and aggressive. We go after a lot of high-profile projects, and we can handle just about any project; we’re like a general contractor, but we don’t self-perform anything. We subcontract and oversee the project from pre-construction to construction, managing the budget, scheduling, holding the contracts, overseeing the project onsite.”

It’s an almost tailor-made opportunity for Lindstrom, who gets the thrill of the chase on the business side but also gets to keep in touch with his roots onsite.

“It’s really exciting,” Lindstrom said.

The Daily Reporter: When you have a bad day, what keeps you coming back to work?
Erik Lindstrom: Two things: The first, on the business development side, is the chase. I really enjoy chasing the next deal. That really gets me pumped in the morning. There’s a level of excitement every day when you’re chasing something that could benefit our entire firm. And then, it’s just knowing that the next day I’m going to see some of the physical results of our hard work. Bad days happen. You need to be an adult and get over it. Thick skin is important.

TDR: What would you change about the construction industry?
Lindstrom: I wish the industry wasn’t such a roller coaster — a lot of ups and a lot of downs. Right now, the industry is hot. That will not last forever. It would be nice if the industry was more stable.

TDR: What is the most useful thing you’ve learned since starting your job?
Lindstrom: The most useful thing is how to be more flexible. Things are so busy right now, you need to be able to adapt and adjust to every scenario. Standardization is important in our industry, but every day presents its own challenge. You have to be able to adapt.

TDR: What do you wish you’d learned sooner?
Lindstrom: Patience. It’s a virtue that I’m trying to possess. The construction process, even the business development process, takes a lot of patience. I really just try to keep telling myself that all good things take time.

TDR: If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be?
Lindstrom: It would be a Navy Seal. Those guys have something different flowing through their veins. I would love to experience what they feel when they’re on a covert mission.

TDR: What do you value most?
Lindstrom: My family, far and away. My wife, Grace, and my kids, Cal and Lucy, mean everything to me. My family really adds to my drive toward success.

TDR: What object in your office means the most to you?
Lindstrom: My Microsoft Surface and my iPhone. I couldn’t live without them. It would be nearly impossible to function on a day-to-day basis.

TDR: How do you define success?
Lindstrom: One word: happiness. At the end of the day I want our team, our clients and our subcontractors to be happy. If they are, then that day has been a success.