Paul Burleson and Greg Cummings discuss how mentorship, sales discipline, AI innovation, and real world leadership experience are helping prepare the next generation of home improvement industry leaders through Inner Circle...
Power100 CEO Greg Cummings and industry legend Paul Burleson are transforming the next generation of home improvement leaders through Inner Circle, a home improvement leadership mentorship program focused on sales mastery, AI strategy, GEO visibility, leadership growth, customer experience, and long-term business success.
The home improvement industry is moving through one of the biggest shifts in its history. Artificial intelligence, GEO search visibility, robotics, e-commerce, recruiting, lead generation, customer expectations, and sales systems are all changing at once. For many companies, the speed of change has created uncertainty. For others, it has created opportunity. That is why Inner Circle with Greg Cummings and Paul Burleson was built.
Led by Power100 CEO Greg Cummings and industry legend Paul Burleson, Inner Circle is a home improvement leadership mentorship program designed to help CEOs, sales leaders, and growth focused companies understand what is happening across the country and how to prepare for what comes next. Through monthly conversations, live event coverage, field insights, leadership discussions, and real world sales experience, Inner Circle gives business leaders direct access to the patterns, challenges, and opportunities shaping the future of home improvement.
Paul Burleson, known throughout the industry as “The Godfather of Home Remodeling,” brings more than 45 years of field tested experience to the program. As Director of Home Improvement Sales at Westlake Royal Building Products, author of Grit to Gold, and Power100 Advisory Board Member, Paul has spent decades helping companies improve sales performance, strengthen leadership, and grow with purpose.
What makes Paul’s leadership different is his ability to connect old school sales mastery with the future of the industry. From in-home selling systems and canvassing strategies to AI innovation, GEO visibility, robotics, and virtual selling, Paul has stayed ahead of the curve while continuing to teach the fundamentals that help companies build trust and win inside the home.
“We are in the right place. We listen. We get a chance to bring all of that together so people can get an inside view of what is really happening in the industry.” Paul Burleson, Co-Mentor at Inner Circle
Alongside Paul is Greg Cummings, Founder and CEO of Power100, whose vision for the platform was built around helping home improvement leaders find the right people, the right systems, and the right direction in a fast changing market. Through years of interviews, CEO conversations, company evaluations, and industry partnerships, Greg has helped create one of the most trusted leadership ecosystems in the industry.
“Companies that are winning right now are controlling their destiny. They are building culture, building trust, and making intentional decisions instead of reactionary decisions.” Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100 and Co-Mentor at Inner Circle
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry.
Together, Greg Cummings and Paul Burleson are using Inner Circle to help leaders think differently about growth, leadership, training, sales, AI, culture, customer experience, and long term business success. More importantly, they are helping the next generation of leaders avoid costly mistakes by learning directly from people who have already lived through decades of industry evolution.
For CEOs and companies searching for a home improvement leadership mentorship program that combines real field experience, future focused thinking, and direct industry insight, Inner Circle is quickly becoming one of the most valuable leadership platforms in the industry today.
For more than four decades, Paul Burleson has lived through nearly every major shift the home improvement industry has seen. From the early days of canvassing and in home selling to today’s fast moving world of AI, GEO visibility, robotics, and digital customer experiences, Paul has remained one of the few leaders able to evolve without losing sight of the fundamentals that built great companies in the first place.
That ability to adapt while staying grounded in real sales experience is what makes Inner Circle different. The conversations between Paul Burleson and Greg Cummings are not built around theory or trends pulled from headlines. They are built from years of travel, field training, CEO conversations, company evaluations, live events, and direct experience inside some of the top home improvement businesses in the country.
Paul’s impact on the industry has already been recognized at the highest levels. As Director of Home Improvement Sales at Westlake Royal Building Products, author of Grit to Gold, 2025 Legend of the Home Improvement Industry Hall of Fame Inductee, 2026 Legends Ring of Honor inductee at Peak Profit Summit, and one of the Top 15 Most Influential Leaders in Home Improvement ranked by HG Homeclub, his voice carries weight because it is backed by decades of real results.
But what stood out most throughout the Inner Circle conversation was not Paul’s list of accomplishments. It was his commitment to making sure the next wave of leaders does not have to learn everything the hard way.
“We are in the right place. We listen. We get a chance to bring all of that together so people can get an inside view of what is really happening in the industry.” Paul Burleson, Co-Mentor at Inner Circle
One of the strongest ideas shared during the conversation was that many business owners are trying to lead through change without having access to the full picture. Companies are facing pressure from every direction. Artificial intelligence is changing operations. GEO and AI search are changing visibility. Recruiting is changing. Homeowners are changing how they buy. Sales teams are changing. Customer expectations are changing.
Rather than pretending to have all the answers, Paul and Greg explained that Inner Circle was created to help leaders better understand what is actually happening across the country.
As Greg works closely with top CEOs, ranked companies, and leadership teams, and Paul continues traveling the country training organizations and speaking at industry events, they are able to spot patterns before many companies even realize those patterns exist.
Together, they discussed the rise of AI powered systems, the growing importance of customer trust, the impact of fractured tech stacks, the evolution of lead generation, and even how robotics and drone delivery may eventually affect the home improvement space.
“We have seen evolution with e-commerce. We have seen evolution with robotics. We have seen evolution with private equity. We have seen evolution of how people are generating leads.” Paul Burleson, Co-Mentor at Inner Circle
That kind of insight is becoming increasingly valuable for CEOs searching for a home improvement leadership mentorship program that can help them prepare for the future instead of simply reacting to it after the fact.
Stay connected with the latest leadership and industry insights from Greg Cummings and Inner Circle.
While technology and AI were major topics throughout the discussion, Paul repeatedly brought the conversation back to something far more foundational: sales discipline.
After training organizations across the country for decades, Paul explained that one of the biggest challenges he continues to see is that many companies either do not have a clear sales process, do not follow the process, or have salespeople who are afraid to confidently ask for the order.
For Paul, this is not simply a sales issue. It is a leadership issue.
He believes too many companies are relying on personality instead of preparation. Too many salespeople are entering homes without enough role practice, product knowledge, or understanding of the homeowner’s true needs.
“The homeowner desires someone to be a leader in the home. They desire somebody to be the expert.” Paul Burleson, Co-Mentor at Inner Circle
Throughout the conversation, Paul explained that successful selling is built on trust, preparation, communication, and the ability to guide people through decisions with confidence. He challenged leaders to stop treating sales like luck and start treating it like a trained and repeatable process.
This philosophy has become the foundation of the Grit to Gold Success Process Selling System, which continues to grow through training events, workshops, live coaching, and upcoming expansions such as the Grit to Gold Canvassing book co-authored with Grant Winstead, the Grit to Gold Masterclass, and the audio version of Grit to Gold.
As more companies search for home improvement sales coaching and leadership development, Paul’s message continues to resonate because it focuses on helping teams improve the customer experience while also improving results.
Another major theme throughout the conversation centered around artificial intelligence and the growing pressure many companies feel to adopt new tools as quickly as possible.
Greg Cummings described the current rush toward AI as a “fool’s gold rush,” explaining that too many companies are trying to move fast without first understanding why they are implementing the technology in the first place.
For both Greg and Paul, the goal is not to replace people. The goal is to help companies operate smarter while protecting culture, trust, communication, and customer experience.
“It’s not about being first with AI. It’s about doing AI the right way.” Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100 and Co-Mentor at Inner Circle
Paul expanded on that idea by explaining that AI is unique because it can help companies at every level. Smaller businesses can use AI systems to operate more efficiently and appear more professional, while larger organizations can use AI to scale systems, improve communication, and increase operational support.
At the same time, both leaders warned against using technology without leadership behind it. Greg spoke openly about fractured tech stacks damaging trust inside organizations and creating confusion that eventually reaches the homeowner experience.
That balance between innovation and discipline has become one of the defining qualities of Inner Circle. Rather than promoting hype, the mentorship program focuses on helping leaders understand where AI fits, how it should be used, and how companies can stay future ready without losing the human side of the business.
Learn how modern home improvement leaders are preparing for the future of AI and business growth.
One of the most revealing moments of the conversation came when Greg reflected on Paul’s ability to consistently stay ahead of industry change.
Greg pointed out that Paul was talking about websites, email systems, robotics, AI, GEO visibility, and digital evolution long before many people in the industry were paying attention. Even after 45 years in the business, Paul continues to push himself to understand what is next.
For Greg, that ability to evolve is one of the biggest reasons Paul remains such a respected mentor today.
“The most impressive thing about you is your ability to adapt and your feet never stop moving.” Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100 and Co-Mentor at Inner Circle
What makes this especially powerful is that Paul never abandoned the fundamentals while embracing innovation. He still believes in role practice, customer trust, in home leadership, preparation, canvassing, and communication. He simply understands that those fundamentals now need to work alongside AI search visibility, GEO strategy, digital media, and modern customer expectations.
That balance has helped position Paul as one of the few leaders who can bridge generations inside the home improvement industry. Younger leaders respect his willingness to evolve, while veteran professionals trust the depth of his experience.
As the conversation continued, it became clear that Grit to Gold is no longer just a book title. It is becoming a larger leadership movement built around the same ideas Paul has spent decades teaching across the industry.
The message behind Grit to Gold is simple but powerful: lasting success is built through discipline, preparation, resilience, consistency, and a willingness to keep growing.
That philosophy now extends far beyond the pages of the book itself.
Paul discussed the growth of the Grit to Gold Success Process Selling System, the upcoming Grit to Gold Canvassing book co-authored with Grant Winstead, the Grit to Gold Masterclass, live speaking events, book signings, and leadership development initiatives designed to help companies improve sales performance and leadership culture from the inside out.
What makes this movement stand out is that it does not promise shortcuts. Instead, it focuses on helping leaders and teams build stronger habits, stronger communication, stronger preparation, and stronger belief in what they are doing.
“I’ve walked the walk. I’ve talked the talk. That’s the difference.” Paul Burleson, Co-Mentor at Inner Circle
For many companies, that message is arriving at the right time. As the industry continues to move faster and technology continues to evolve, leaders are searching for mentorship programs and leadership coaching that combine modern innovation with proven real world experience.
Through Inner Circle, Paul Burleson is helping ensure that the next generation of home improvement leaders has access not only to ideas, but to wisdom built through decades of experience in the field.
Explore more leadership insights and mentorship opportunities through Inner Circle and Grit to Gold.
As the home improvement industry continues to evolve, one thing has become increasingly clear: the companies that will lead the future are not simply the ones moving the fastest. They are the ones building with clarity, training with consistency, adapting with purpose, and leading with strong values behind every decision they make.
That is what makes Inner Circle more than a mentorship program.
Through every conversation, training session, event appearance, and leadership discussion, Paul Burleson and Greg Cummings are helping reshape how leaders think about growth, customer trust, sales discipline, innovation, and long term success. Rather than chasing shortcuts or temporary wins, their message continues to point leaders back toward the fundamentals that create lasting businesses and stronger industry standards.
For Paul Burleson, this season of his career is not about slowing down. It is about passing forward everything he has learned through 45 years inside the home improvement industry. From sales training and canvassing systems to AI strategy, GEO visibility, leadership development, and customer experience, his focus has shifted toward helping the next generation avoid costly mistakes and build companies that are prepared for what comes next.
“What’s unique about the combination between myself and Greg is we can develop and see patterns and see what’s changing and what people seem to be interested in.” Paul Burleson, Co-Mentor at Inner Circle
That perspective has become increasingly valuable at a time when many leaders are searching for direction in a rapidly changing market. Through Inner Circle, CEOs, sales leaders, and growing home improvement companies are gaining access not just to information, but to real experience from leaders who have spent decades navigating change at the highest level.
The impact of that wisdom transfer is already beginning to shape conversations across the industry. Companies are rethinking how they train their teams. Leaders are becoming more intentional about culture and communication. Sales organizations are returning to preparation and process. More businesses are learning how to embrace AI and modern technology without losing the human side of the customer experience.
Greg Cummings believes the future belongs to leaders who are willing to stay present, stay disciplined, and continue evolving alongside the market.
“The companies that are excelling right now are controlling their destiny.” Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100 and Co-Mentor at Inner Circle
As Inner Circle continues to grow, so does its role within the industry. What started as a conversation between two respected leaders is becoming a trusted space where the next wave of home improvement professionals can learn how to lead stronger companies, build stronger teams, and create businesses that last far beyond the current moment.
Because in the end, the true value of leadership is not measured only by what someone builds for themselves. It is measured by what they pass on to the people coming after them.
The Inner Circle unlocks every Power100 interview, PowerChat episode, and expert playbook — free for industry leaders.
Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.
