To You, Member of DaleNation:

More than 60 years ago, Dale Lintner, Sr. established our company because he believed he could provide a uniquely special level of service to the construction industry. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and the need to provide for his growing family, he founded a business rooted in an unwavering set of principles that build the foundation for success while creating a roadmap for the generations to come. Along the way he was a maverick — an innovator. He was direct, honest and often blunt. He came from that era of individuals who combined hard work and problem solving with a penchant for building real and meaningful relationships of integrity and trust.

Now, six decades later, we honor and carry Dale’s legacy forward through The Dale Collaborative. Our name tells the whole story. While we share our founder’s entrepreneurial drive, creativity and dedication to our founding principles, we have come together to carry on the tradition our founder started in a new and innovative way. The collaborative way.

The major difference rests in the fact that we are doing this together as a team, and in doing it together we share the journey — a journey that creates the momentum to evolve from a lone wolf who succeeded through instinct, wits and grit, to a cooperative force focused on the advancement of all. The invitation of “together” is open to all. That’s why this new name is so important. We’re more than a single person. We’re more than a few people. We’re all of us. We’re a collaborative that is built upon our team, DaleNation, and as DaleNation we extend our family to encompass our partners, clients and friends.

This field guide is core to the way we think about this difference in every respect. In it, you’ll find a way to think about how we operate, how we treat each other and how we work with clients. As a field guide, it sets our course, it gets us on the same page, and it reveals expectations. It also provides you the blueprint you need for how to grow and develop in your career as a member of DaleNation. Use it to get your bearings. Along the way ask questions.

At The Dale Collaborative, we prioritize principles — our shared fundamental truths — over mere policies. Look around, and you’ll see us embodying a variety of explicit principles such as our vision, mission, values and DNA, which we live out among each other first. When we do that together, our clients, strategic partners and communities see and feel our difference. Hopefully, as you use this guide and work with your team, you’ll begin to grasp and live the true meaning of DaleNation. As you’ll encounter it later in this document, The Dale Collaborative is a place where everyone’s voice matters, where everyone is accessible, and where you will be challenged and engaged for years to come as we build the future together.