Last Call for Entry’s
Peggy’s Blog:
The Shift to Digital Transformation in Construction
The construction industry is in an interesting place. Costs are up. Labor is lacking. Construction starts are up. Projects are increasing, both in volume and in complexity. Digital transformation and agentic AI (artificial intelligence) are here—and they are signaling a shift for construction teams. And there is strong optimism surrounding the industry and the opportunities.
FMI’s CIRT (Construction Industry Round Table) report shows the Sentiment Index rose to 65 in the third quarter of 2025. Why? There are a strong pipeline of projects and a renewed confidence in the U.S. economy. Excluding labor, members ranked backlog quality and profitability as the top two drivers of resilience going into 2026. About 40% of members report more projects and 58% report higher dollar volume, producing net increases of 14% and 36%, respectively.
Laura’s Blog:
Rethinking Construction Talent Strategy
As many industries continue to grapple with tightening labor markets, a recent report offers valuable insights, helping leaders reimagine their talent strategies in a time of increasing scarcity and transformation.
The new report by the Pacesetter Research team examines how law firms are grappling with these growing talent challenges—but I think some of the takeaways could apply to the construction industry. Perhaps the biggest parallel is that both industries are facing talent scarcity—and often talent strategy becomes key.
Wall Street Isn’t Warning You, But This Chart Might
Vanguard just projected public markets may return only 5% annually over the next decade. In a 2024 report, Goldman Sachs forecasted the S&P 500 may return just 3% annually for the same time frame—stats that put current valuations in the 7th percentile of history.
Translation? The gains we’ve seen over the past few years might not continue for quite a while.
Meanwhile, another asset class—almost entirely uncorrelated to the S&P 500 historically—has overall outpaced it for decades (1995-2024), according to Masterworks data.
Masterworks lets everyday investors invest in shares of multimillion-dollar artworks by legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso.
And they’re not just buying. They’re exiting—with net annualized returns like 17.6%, 17.8%, and 21.5% among their 23 sales.*
Wall Street won’t talk about this. But the wealthy already are. Shares in new offerings can sell quickly but…
*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Important Reg A disclosures: masterworks.com/cd.
Looking to sponsor an upcoming segment of The Peggy Smedley Show? Check out the exciting topics planned for the coming months and send your ideas to [email protected].
October: How to Secure Your Data
November: Construction Connectivity Trends to Watch