Times have changed. The labor market for the construction industry has taken significant hits since the great recession of 2008-09 - a dilemma felt by builders and trades across the country with few exceptions. And while finding and keeping good people has always been a challenge in our industry, now the stakes are [...]
What exactly is business growth? Most business owners say they want it, but most can’t define it. Not that more sales and income aren’t desirable outcomes, but there is a lot more to business growth than meets the eye. Outcomes rely on inputs. Business growth isn’t illusive or mysterious, but [...]
To improve is to overcome something that impedes our way forward; an obstacle or hurdle that blocks us from becoming better people and leaders. But improvement is an inside game. Getting better at anything requires a personal confrontation. Learning how to get out of our own way is what defines our lifelong journey to [...]
A new year offers new beginnings. Past challenges, disappointments and even failures are history, and in spite of the sting that sometimes remains, the prospect of a new beginning fosters hope. And hope is a driving force that keeps us looking forward to a brighter future. But hope is not a strategy. Diving into [...]
One resource that has the potential to help leverage all others, and gain exceptional business outcomes as a result, is Competitive Advantage. It is perhaps one of the single-most underappreciated assets available to a business every day! With a clear understanding of what it really is, your day to capture it could be today. Competitive [...]
Being indispensable may seem like a good idea; and it can be if your main focus is job security. But the leader who finds comfort in being indispensable is one who finds it difficult to give up control. Ironically, it’s our love affair with certainty that creates one of the most definitive roadblocks to long-term [...]
Recycling old problems One of the most frustrating challenges in the building industry is watching profit slip away due to costly and often unnecessary mistakes. It hurts to feel like we’ve been victimized in spite of hours of hard work and preparation; especially considering the negative impact on our bottom line. That’s called ‘lose-win’, and [...]
Good people want and expect better than average compensation. To think that we will hire and keep the best and brightest when offering “market rate” salaries and benefits is, at best, status-quo thinking, and at worst, a formula for failure. But how can a business owner build a winning team without spending excessively and playing [...]
As unpleasant as it is, conflict is an ever-present and potentially costly danger. When people come together in a work environment, we should expect that at some point, conflict will rear its ugly head, rather than hope or assume it will not happen. Knowing that most conflict is initiated either from incongruence of values or [...]
The building business demands a lot! There is always too much to do and too little time to do it. Time evaporates in spite of our best efforts to get more done. To-do lists get longer instead of shorter. For many of us that leaves only one choice – work harder and longer. What is [...]
