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HEADLINES ADDED: November 20, 2009
Allied Building Products Expands Exterior Products Distribution with Two New Branches
Allied Building Products Corp., a subsidiary of Oldcastle, Inc., the North American arm of CRH plc, and one of America’s largest distributors of residential and commercial roofing, siding, waterproofing and interior products, announced the expansion of its exterior products division through the opening of its two new Connecticut branch locations.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: November 18, 2008
Make Your Business Plan Flexible
A good business plan allows for modifications in times of economic downturn.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 01, 2008
Lifting Equipment Aids Masonry Construction
Masonry construction — placing block or brick during construction of a structure — is tremendously labor intensive. The block or brick, often hundreds of thousands of them on a typical project, must be placed one at a time. That makes the human element a key factor for any masonry contractor.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: August 19, 2008
Enka Construction Racks Up A Borderless Bonanza
Istanbul-based Enka Construction & Industry Co. Inc. is Turkey's largest construction conglomerate, reaching that pinnacle with projects almost all outside the country's borders.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: May 10, 2008
Gearing Up for Bauma: A Talk with David C.A. Phillips, Managing Director of Off-Highway Research
Flights to Munich are booking up for the Bauma equipment show in April, with more than 500,000 equipment buyers expected to attend the triennial extravaganza. International market analyst David Phillips talks about why construction equipment is selling out like hotel rooms in Munich, and offers key insights into the huge growth of manufacturers from China that will be exhibiting at the show. He also answers our question: Is Chinese equipment for real, or is it all for show?... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: January 18, 2008
AudioVisions: Doing it Best
The AudioVisions business model, which also incorporates software that provides real-time cost analysis for every job, is the scalable platform they plan to use to expand its high-end custom installation business nationally.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 27, 2007
Growing Pains or Growing Gains?
The devil is in the details when you build your company through acquisitions.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 25, 2007
"The Process" for smaller projects
... Read More
"The Process" (2)
... Read More
"The process"
... Read More
17 Ways to Improve Your Efficiency
Following are 17 suggestions to companies for trimming budgets, saving time, avoiding service calls and improving efficiency during a lean time.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 19, 2007
Google Knows How Late Your Flight Is Running
Google has announced a flight tracking service that provides up-to-date information for those flying over the Christmas/ New Year break.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 18, 2007
Acquiring Minds Want to Know
New software and services help buyers assess the IT systems of potential takeover targets.... Read More
5 Ways to Prepare Your Company for Your Absence
Here are five ways a business owner can help him or herself protect against the effects of long-term absence.... Read More
Should You Join a Buying Group?
If you run a custom-only boutique or hybrid custom retailer, at some point you’ve considered the pros and cons of buying your products direct from the manufacturer or from a distributor. But have you considered a buying group?... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 16, 2007
2008 Business Planning
Brian Tracy says, “It doesn’t matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going.” So, let me ask you. How are you doing with your year-end planning? You should be well into the process by now, at least 2/3 of your 2008 plan complete. A little effort, a little work each day, some good quality thinking time and you will assure yourself, your family and your business a better 2008.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 09, 2007
Marketing Lowdown: The Business Plan
Recently, I have been seeing more and more entrepreneurs striking out on their own. They have accumulated skills and experience over time, and have amassed a fair cadre of friends and acquaintances who encourage their independent streak. So they decide to slap together a business plan and take the plunge.... Read More
Get Ready for Holiday Season Service Calls
The holiday season is fast upon us—are you ready for the inevitable service calls from clients hosting holiday parties?... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: November 28, 2007
It is Dangerous to Take Shortcuts When Preparing Your Proposal
A recent GAO decision highlights the need for offerors to fully understand a Request for Proposals (RFP) and to pay close attention to the details when preparing a proposal in response to an RFP. In C. Martin Company, Inc., the agency rejected the protestor’s proposal, determining that it was technically unacceptable. The agency discovered that the offeror had referenced outdated regulations, standards, and procedures. Some of the references were to processes and standards that had been obsolete for at least three years. It became evident that the offeror had incorporated parts... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: November 26, 2007
Firing a Client
It is a tough emotional day when you have to fire a client. When we started in this business, we had one or no customers. It was scary. I can remember waking up in the middle of the night and asking myself why I ever left my regular job to go out on my own. No clients means no income. A truly humbling but, electric experience. Small victories mean more when you have little. So, we all remember that time. As we mature as business owners, we soon discover... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: November 25, 2007
Cutting The Fat - Slow Down Survival Tips
Action is the key to success. Here are just a few tips on leaning out during a slow down. This is a first of an upcoming series on surviving the market slow down. Look around your company for those employees that just don’t shine quite as brightly as others. OK, now trim the fat. It’s that easy. Use this time to get rid of non performers. Think very carefully before cutting key employees. Replacement many of the costs for replacement are hidden. Long term employees know and understand your... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: November 20, 2007
Integration in Construction Contracting
There are three business activities every construction contractor must perform. 1. Acquiring Work 2. Building that Work 3. Tracking it All Doing these with accuracy and speed assures a certain future. Clients, Service Providers, Subcontractors, Material Suppliers and others affect the quality of these three critical functions. Each of these project partners must be communicated with if the three functions are to be done well thus, provide a competitive advantage. Acquiring work means building work. That is where the real risk starts. This is no place for fumbled information... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: November 15, 2007
BUSINESS BASICS FOR CONTRACTORS:
... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: November 14, 2007
CE Pro Summit Aims to Determine Business Valuations
The CE Pro Business Valuation Summit brought together top integrators to hear information from a leading consultant, broker and lawyer, as well as from panels of their peers. ... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: November 12, 2007
Non-marketing brilliance
... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: November 05, 2007
Homeowner Warranties
New home builders and remodelers should be aware that more and more homeowners are trying to come back at contractors for items they think their state required guarantee should cover. A lot of these claims are fueled by consumer advocate websites where some “shade tree lawyer” has declared what they think you should cover. While there are things that should be covered, all too often the problems are deferred maintenance or normal wear-and-tear. These include floor coverings, painting, roofing, appliances, wood or rubber base, electrical breakers and the like.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: October 23, 2007
A Good Financing Program is Like Money in the Bank
The HVAC business is built one happy customer at a time. You can create more of them with a strong, effective, flexible financing program.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: October 22, 2007
The Finer Points of Change Work Orders
We have discussed Change Work Orders for several years now, but new stuff keeps cropping up. Let’s take a look at some of the new things that have come our way. First - We continue to hear from contractors that insist on sending out invoices and bills for their work, and that includes CWO’s. Sooner or later, probably sooner, that practice is going to bite you right in your assets. When you do change work orders, get paid up front, BEFORE you do any work. Anything up to $2,500... Read More
Company Culture Helps Mercedes Homes Net NHQ Silver Award
A strong company culture that garners high customer and employee satisfaction contribute to Mercedes Homes’ receiving silver recognition for the National Housing Quality Award.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: October 19, 2007
Builders Reassess Their Supply Chains
The recent departure of Paul Dodge, Centex Homes' vice president of purchasing and distribution since 1998, calls attention to the increasing volatility of supply-chain management among big builders that, in several cases, are scaling back and centralizing that function within their operations.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: October 15, 2007
Smart Business: A Graceful Exit
Subcontractors in certain trades experienced a magic moment in time during the roll-up craze of the 1990s. Scores of owners were able to sell their businesses to consolidators for millions of dollars. Many are still living the good life off those deals. A few got burned by accepting payment mostly in consolidator company stock, almost all of which subsequently tanked, but those who negotiated cash or mostly cash buyouts did well for themselves. For a handful it was like a well-paid extended vacation, because they ended up reacquiring their... Read More
Measuring Up: Don’t Let A Slower Economy Catch You With a Fat Business
Business always has ups and downs, and fluctuations are to be expected. The U.S. economy has been enjoying an economic building boom for over 10 years. The housing slowdown is definitely impacting certain areas. However, things are not as dire as one might think.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: October 11, 2007
High-Performing Contractor - NEWSLETTER Oct 2007
**************** Leadership Ted Garrison discusses the importance of being a high-performing contractor: read more... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: October 08, 2007
My Visit to Clemson University
I recently was invited to speak before two Project Management Sections at Clemson University. As they had adopted my book for the course, this was a very easy decision to make. I made time and arrived to that beautiful campus in Clemson, SC. in the month of October. As you may have wondered about the next generation, I found them to be a smart and interesting group. Especially those who sit in the middle rows of the class. Of course, I am assuming that all college seniors in construction... Read More
Innovative Firms Perfect the Use of BIM, Green Building
... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: October 05, 2007
How to Carry Zero Debt
Gerard Lynch doesn’t mind if System 7 has to carry a lot of inventory in its warehouse—as long as he doesn’t pay for it.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: October 04, 2007
Top Structured Wiring Dealers Making More Money Per Job
Virtually every Top 30 Structured Wiring dealer interviewed this year has focused on making more money on every job to make up for the shortfall in the volume of installations.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: October 03, 2007
Are You Legally Prepared For Security Installs?
Branching into the specialized field of low-voltage contracting, however, may not be as easy as it looks. ... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: October 01, 2007
Company Integration
Currently we have several clients who are involved in acquiring, merging or otherwise integrating the operations of their company with another. This is a very exciting way to grow because of the upside of almost immediate revenue dollars but behind the scenes there are thousands of details that need to be managed. If these details are not managed correctly then the chances of those additional revenue dollars turning into profits are slim to none - losses are more likely. There is a great short article called "The Right Way... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 28, 2007
Innovation Farms
"In thinking about large companies, think of them as farms. And what you’re trying to do is grow rows of corn. You don’t want surprises, you want it to work well, you apply incremental innovation to be as productive as you can."... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 27, 2007
CSI Construction Minute- May 28, 2007
A twelve minute late bid costs a contractor $1 million. CSI NewsBrief :: Construction News Delivered to Your Inbox File Download (1:13 min / 1 MB)... Read More
Let's Not Forget Low-Tech in a High Tech World
The Special Projects Office of the United Nations (UN), Fergus Gleeson, has reported in the Irish Engineers Journal, vol. 58:01 January/February 2004, that for countries whose infrastructure has been damaged by war, "labour-based technology is appropriate." The concept finds expression in Afghanistan under the National Emergency Employment Programme. Through this program, construction technologies are "those founded on indigenous knowledge, skills and materials, thereby allowing a maximum of the project fund to be retained within the project area." This policy of labour based appropriate technology (LBAT) is coupled with "social... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 26, 2007
Dealing with Chinese Suppliers, here are tips on essential skills
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Security Installations: 2 Reasons For and 2 Reasons Against
Here are some reasons for and against being involved in the security business.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 25, 2007
New Standard Forms Seek Unity on Fairness
The 70-plus forms due to be released Sept. 28 represent three years of work by 23 industry associations and an attempt to speed up contract negotiations and build trouble-free projects by starting from mutually agreed ideas of what is fair.... Read More
Are You Really Growing Your Business?
Nearly every integrator with whom I have spoken this year has told me that their business has largely been unaffected by the housing slowdown.... Read More
It's About Time
I was reminded what a small world this is when a survey from my mobile-phone provider popped onto my telephone’s email screen. The survey contained only one question: How likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend? Of course, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn how this company was utilizing such feedback, so I keyed in the score I felt the company deserved—a three (out of 10). A few days later, I discovered a message on my home answering machine from a manager at... Read More
Contractors Should Lock in Low Mortgage Rates As Soon As Possible
With lenders like Northern Rock clearly in trouble, contractors should move fast to grab good mortgage deals without delay.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 24, 2007
It's Time to Go Back to School
By getting involved in this market, you can certainly bring more dollars to your bottom line. You will also help keep our kids safer and healthier.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 21, 2007
Labor is the Greatest Opportunity
Labor is the greatest risk factor and the greatest profit opportunity for construction contractors. Specialty contractors (also known as subcontractors) will tell you it is the single greatest opportunity for them to make or lose the most money. None of the other cost items compare, not material buyout, or subcontracting or equipment utilization. It all starts with labor productivity. Studies for several years have pointed out that wasted labor time on an average project is over 30%. Multiply that percentage by a payroll of $1 million dollars and you... Read More
Ahead of the Game- How Not to Screw Up
School District Project Manager Bob Kenworthy puzzles why the same drawings can mean different things to different people How Not to Screw Up Forum :: Share a lesson you learned- the hard way. File Download (5:01 min / 5 MB)... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 20, 2007
Bechtel Talks: Lessons Learned in Iraq, Part 1 of 5
On the last day of October, Bechtel Corp.¹s three-year, $3.2-billion contract to reconstruct critical infrastructure in Iraq expires. With that deadline looming, and as the company finished close-out operations and pulled its people out of the embattled land, a handful of executives who have played key roles in Bechtel¹s Iraq Reconstruction Project, sat down with ENR editors in New York to break the their self-imposed silence on projects, explain Bechtel¹s performance and share critical lessons learned.... Read More
Measuring Up: Protecting Your Business
Most business owners are buried with daily operational needs, and taking time for disaster prevention is tough. Mishaps are bound to happen, and the more prepared you are, the less painful they will be.... Read More
Legal Q&A: Dealing with delay claims
The JCT Standard Building Sub Contract (2005) has important revisions for the receipt of subcontractors' claims.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 18, 2007
Cash Flow - Keep Water Out of Your Ship - Podcast
Hear the beginning of our article on Cash Flow in Construction. Download file Email us at clientservices@stevensci.com for the remainder of the article. Limit 1 article per month. We will send it to you in three working days. Order our book published by McGraw - Hill, Managing a Construction Firm on Just 24 Hours a Day by going to stevensci.com... Read More
HBR Highlights the Bad Profit Problem
More and more people are recognizing corporations’ addiction to bad profits—and the need to kick the habit. In the June 2007 edition of the Harvard Business Review, for instance, Gail McGovern and Youngme Moon highlight the addiction in an article titled “Companies and the Customers Who Hate Them.” The authors catalogue several of the sectors in which customer-unfriendly practices have become industry standard, including retail banking, rental cars, mobile phones, credit cards, and health clubs. They also point out that new entrants to these industries are rapidly gaining share... Read More
On Alignment between Marketing and Finance
Many marketers are quickly approaching their favorite time of year. Okay, not really. I'm of course talking about budget time. When I see the challenge that marketers face when it comes to getting their budgets approved, I wonder why it has to be so hard? Last year, I highlighted a report by MarketingSherpa which concludes that marketers need to do a better job capturing and communicating their value. According the MarketingSherpa research, "...only 17% of B-to-B marketers we queried were sure their CFOs understood the value of lead generation... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 17, 2007
"Master Plan" or Rapid Experimentation?
Tom Peters posted some very interesting thoughts "The Right Plan Is to Have No Plan" which touches both on why a lot of foreign aid programs fail and how that applies to business execution as well. At the heart of the matter is a difference in execution styles - some companies and people want to try to plan out every single detail having meeting after meeting working on a grand "master plan." Over time these companies build cultures that are afraid to experiment and believe they need every detail... Read More
The New Logic of Offshoring
The next generation of offshoring—innovation and engineering—is at hand.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 14, 2007
High-Performing Contractor - NEWSLETTER June 2007
**************** Leadership – 15 Ways to Lead Your Company - Down the Tubes. These are proven techniques for successfully sinking your company. Are you using them? 1. Keep everyone in an adversarial position. 2. Rank each person, job and department against each other. 3. Treat all suppliers as enemies. 4. Have project managers pitted against each other for resources and funding. read more... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 13, 2007
Get Out of That Truck!
Getting out of the truck is a process; it takes a plan and dogged persistence to execute it.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 12, 2007
New Forensic Quality Control System Lowers Construction Cost, Eliminates Frivilous CDL
Presenting a new third party quality control system which has become the only on earth, proven to reduce the cost of Construction Defect Litigation and post project repairs.... Read More
Learn to learn as an organization
IN HIS BOOK "The Fifth Discipline," Peter Senge suggests that companies become learning organizations. He defined a learning organization as an "organization where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people are continually learning to see the whole together." read more... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 11, 2007
Improvements in Preconstruction Interoperability
I recently got to talk with Ric Jackson, Director of FIATECH, about a new project that should improve preconstruction management for capital projects in process industries. The new Global Valve Cross-Reference eCatalog (GVCC) will apply existing Process Industry Practices (PIP) standards to describe valves in a universal language.... Read More
Company Consolidations-Loss of Institutional Knowledge?
Last week I shared my thoughts on the loss of institutional knowledge regarding older engineers and the new generation replacing them. But what happens when companies merge and are acquired? Today’s consolidation of companies--engineering, construction management and construction--are at an all-time high. Buy-out agreements and management replacements can often result in the loss of institutional knowledge regarding what made the acquired company profitable and successful. After all, in our industry, it is all about the people who own, manage and run them--not about a product that can be sold... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 07, 2007
Work in Progress Class - Coming Soon!
If you would like to learn more about the Work-In-Progress Schedule stay posted. Class dates will be posted on our Web Site soon. No matter your level of involvement in project management, whether it's creating job reports for accounting or relying on information to better manage your projects, this class contains valuable information you don't want to miss. You will take with you a better understanding and appreciation for this highly under- utilized reporting tool. Learn a fast and efficient way to view jobs and gauge profits, billing and... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 27, 2007
The Four Barriers to Partnering
Listed below in order of priority are four barriers that can stop you from successfully partnering a project. Barrier #1: Lack of commitment to, or believe in, the process and concept of partnering. This lack of commitment can range from seeing partnering as a waste of time to blatant hostility to partnering because of a belief that it gives someone else an advantage. Barrier #2: Not bringing key stakeholders to the partnering sessions. Key stakeholders include anyone who can negatively effect the project. Often only the project management team... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 24, 2007
The War for Talent is Back -- Will Leaders Use The Evidence This Time?
... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 23, 2007
Are Workforce Wages Really Keeping Up?
... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 19, 2007
On B2B Demand Generation tools and Lead Generation Dashboards
CEOs continue to demand better ROI measurement and accountability from marketers. As a result there’s been a surge of interest in software and tools to manage the process of lead management, lead nurturing and lead generation with a greater emphasis on measurability. In 2005, I wrote a post predicting that lead generation dashboards would become a hot topic and according to the CMO Council's 2007 Outlook Report the time for marketing performance dashboards is now. The report states, "Seventy-five percent of respondents from companies with revenues of more than... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 16, 2007
Lessons From the Tarmac
Take it from David Neeleman and JetBlue: Recovering from a crisis is about the trust you build beforehand.... Read More
Wipeouts and Cranes Down
Our video aggregator, Clip Syndicate, pulled in a story about cranes coming down on a big Texas Department of Transportation project in the San Antonio area near the airport early on the morning of April 1st.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 15, 2007
User Documentation / Marketing / Profits
Kathy Sierra makes some great points in her post called "The Best User Manuals EVER" about how valuable people find documentation. We discussed this previously in a post - Marketing Should Be Involved In Many Company Processes If you are a contractor I encourage you to look at these articles with an open mind and think about how you could improve your project documentation such as proposals, pre-construction guidelines, submittals, as-builts, drawings, specifications, training, etc. You would be suprised at how much of a difference minor improvements can make... Read More
Can You TEACH Service?
You have probably experienced it. Chances are you had to make a call to one of the companies you buy from and were pleasantly surprised. Think back, what was the part that delighted you the most? Was the person on the other end of the line pleasant to deal with? What made the conversation good? The tone of voice, inflection, phone presence, and even the smile in the person’s demeanor were important to you. They meant what you had to say and ask mattered a great deal. They indicated... Read More
The Right Target for Response Rates
What is the right target for response rates for a high-quality NPS survey process? That was the question I was asked at the recent Net Promoter Conference in New York City. Prior to this conference, I would have answered that response rates between 30% and 60% seem like a reasonable goal for a well-designed relationship survey. Now, I am convinced that these targets (which many consider radically aggressive) are actually far too low.When Barry Saik, VP of Product Management at Intuit, described in his general session presentation how Intuit... Read More
The Every Day Decision
... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 13, 2007
"Quant" is the Start of All Management Discussions
... Read More
The Six Keys to Organic Growth
In 'The Road To Organic Growth', Edward Hess takes a Jim Collins-like approach to find 22 businesses that epitomize the organic growth model. With research backed by a comprehensive study, Hess set forth to explain the underlying qualities these 22 businesses have in common.... Read More
The Risk - Reward Curve
... Read More
Flight Plan
The math wizards at Dayjet are building a smarter air taxi--and it could change the way you do business.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 09, 2007
Management is Ultimately Using Numbers
... Read More
Introduction
... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 08, 2007
The 3-Week Schedule
The 3-week schedule is (should be) a subset of the main CPM project schedule. It is more of the ground-level plan that changes on a weekly basis and is used during the weekly production meetings with the general contractor. It should be used along with the CPM schedule as the primary tool for showing what you plan to do in the short-term, making sure that there is a clear path for you to work in including no conflicts with other trades, all permits are done and RFI’s answered. Any... Read More
Contractors Brace for California's Diesel Dilemma
It's not easy being green, especially if you plan to operate diesel equipment in California.... Read More
Biodiesel Gets Major Boost
Cummins Inc. put its stamp of approval on clean fuels by offering warranty coverage for engines filled up with 20% biodiesel.... Read More
Want to grow your business? Give customers more sprinkles
If a product or service comes with an introductory consultation, an additional battery, free samples, donut holes for the people waiting in line, the consumer takes in these extras and feels good about their choice. But when these options are charged as premiums, measured by the ounce, or not made an integrated part of the customer experience, the perception tanks.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 06, 2007
Measure What Matters
John Moore pointed out a great quote from Jack Welch: “Too often we measure everything and understand nothing. The three most important things you need to measure in a business are customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and cash flow. If you’re growing customer satisfaction, your global market share is sure to grow, too. Employee satisfaction gets you productivity, quality, pride, and creativity. And cash flow is the pulse—the key vital sign of a company.”-- JACK WELCH -- Thanks John for pointing this out again. With the advent of computer technology... Read More
The Great Game of Measurements
This morning Seth Godin makes some comments related to employees at Sears gaming the system setup by management to try to get customers served within 10 minutes. I completely agree with the comment at the end of the post. "Often, more effort goes into circumventing a system then it would take to just do a great job in the first place..." This is more of a "fact" than an observation and anyone who has tried to put measurement and reward systems in place knows this. Often when first trying... Read More
Scoreboards & Construction
I just read a great article in Contractor Magazine by Dennis Sowards called You Can Be Guided by Scoreboard, Dashboard. The article makes some great points about why a clear company scoreboard is necessary and also about the challenges of managing a company by a scoreboard that is populated with old information. We always work hard with clients to get them focused on this line of thinking - especially when it comes to providing feedback to the field where a lot of money is made and lost every day.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 03, 2007
Budget Wars: Sales & Finance vs Marketing
I look at the challenge that marketers often face when it comes to getting their budgets approved by finance and I wonder why does it have to be so hard? Many financial executives still view marketing as an expense, a.k.a. cost center, rather than viewing it as an asset that creates revenue. Bottom line: it's the numbers. So why not begin with that? A new report by MarketingSherpa shows that marketers need to do a better job capturing and communicating their value. According to their research, "...only 17% of... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: April 02, 2007
An 811 'Call-Before-You-Dig' Ring Can Save a 911 Call
Explosions, flooding, fires, electrocutions and mass communications and power outages—civilization brought to a standstill. In various forms and degrees of severity, this happens 700,000 time a year in the U.S. when people digging don't realize there are utilities buried in the area.... Read More
Fool's Gold for Improving Profit
... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 30, 2007
Use the First 30 Minutes of Your Day to Succeed All Day
One of the ways that top-performing salespeople separate themselves from others is by effectively using the first 30 minutes of the day.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 29, 2007
Make strategy meetings shorter, but more productive
Most of us are tired of wasting time at unfocused meetings, especially when they are supposed to be about strategy. So here are three simple rules to keep meetings moving and on target.... Read More
The New Rules of Networking
You realize you don’t know the first thing about networking after you talk with Networker Extraordinare, Laura Levitan. Laura is the sort of person who has 16,000…yes you heard it right…16,000 contacts in her Microsoft Outlook and keeps in regular...... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 27, 2007
Fine-Tune Your Marketing Plan
Doug Dwyer makes a multitude of great points in his February column called Fine-Tune Your Marketing Plan. Of particular interest is how he describes marketing as being integral to every part of the company, not just a collection of advertisements and sales collatoral. Contractors as a whole do a very poor job of marketing and that causes many to leave hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit on the table each and every year.... Read More
Cash Flow - Keep Water Out of Your Ship - Podcast
Hear the beginning of our article on Cash Flow in Construction. Download file Email us at clientservices@stevensci.com for the remainder of the article. Limit 1 article per month. We will send it to you in three working days. Order our book published by McGraw - Hill, Managing a Construction Firm on Just 24 Hours a Day by going to stevensci.com... Read More
No Business is Perfect
Is it unrealistic for us to expect businesses to be perfect? Are we setting ourselves up for disappointment by expecting businesses to flawlessly deliver every single time? As customers, are we expecting perfection when perfection is unattainable? Is that fair of us? I’m not trying to make excuses for when businesses fail us. But failure happens. No business is perfect. Yet, we seem to expect businesses to be perfect all the time. One poor encounter with a company’s customer service rep sets many of us off into a rage... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 26, 2007
Managing to the 2%
Consider this: You have a competent work team. They collaborate, share knowledge and ideas freely, offer and accept feedback and deliver on time. All of them, but one -- we’ll call him Bob. Bob does not participate with his team, does not appear engaged, and calls out of work and team meetings monthly. So what do you do? Coach, support, discipline? Maybe, but what I am finding is that many organizations create rules or develop policies to handle the ‘Bobs’ of the company. They create team agreements, missed meetings... Read More
The best user manuals EVER
We say users won't RTFM, but they do. Just not the one that comes with the product. Personally, I hope companies don't listen to me about making better end-user docs, support, and online help. If y'all made better FMs, I'd be out of a job... along with all the other third-party tech authors and training providers. David Pogue's worst nightmare is that all those Missing Manuals will be found. Until more companies recognize the value (yes, even ROI) of helping their users kick ass, there's an opportunity for the... Read More
Reduce Building Costs & Risk
... Read More
Case Study: United Rentals Plays by the Book
United Rentals, an equipment rental firm based in Greenwich, Conn., had no formal training for its salespeople and sales accountants. The learning curve was steep and it took too long for salespeople to understand how the company worked. So last year, the firm wrote a sales playbook to teach new hires how United Rentals works.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 25, 2007
Seven steps to remarkable customer service
... Read More
The DNA of Wal-Mart
I’ve already gushed about Bill Marquard’s business strategy book, WAL-SMART. In the book, this former Wal-Mart executive explains because of Wal-Mart’s unbridled success, this mega-retailer has forever changed the game of business from sourcing to distribution to pricing to inventory methods to merchandising. It’s now up to companies today (and tomorrow) to deal with doing business in the world that Wal-Mart has created and redefined. Since Marquard spent time at Wal-Mart in the late 90s responsible for developing the company’s strategic planning processes, he has a very unique understanding... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 24, 2007
Lean & 5S' in Construction #11 May 2006
***************** GM wants it Lean At the SMWIA/SMACNA 2006 Partners in Progress Conference held this past March, Jack Hallman, Director, Manufacturing Construction Management Worldwide Facilities Group, Capital Projects for General Motors and Richard Cramer, Chairman of the Board for of Dee Cramer Inc. presented on a project done for GM using lean techniques. Part of the presentation included these points of interest: read more... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 19, 2007
Are our tools making us dumber?
It's lunchtime at the cafe and you give the cashier a $20 bill for an $8 purchase. She gives you $32.78 in change. You mention the mistake. She says, "But that's what the cash register says I owe you." She can't cope with the cognitive dissonance between reality and What The Machine Said. Later that day you get a frantic call from a co-worker--a recent addition to the programming team. "I keep getting this error message that it can't find the classes I'm using!" You ask, "By 'it' do... Read More
Surviving and Thriving in the Wal-Mart World
In the late 90s, Bill Marquard worked deep inside Wal-Mart as a strategic thought-leader. Besides his first-hand Wal-Mart experience, Bill also spent 17 years at Ernst & Young, did a stint as the EVP/Chief Knowledge Officer at Fleming, and served eight-years as an adjunct professor of finance at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. (So, he has some business chops to speak of.) Bill has written a brilliant book, WAL-SMART, which sheds new light on Wal-Mart’s business DNA and how companies can profit in the Wal-Mart world we live in.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 18, 2007
Details, Details
It’s all in the details. At least when it comes to customer service. “Going the extra mile” doesn’t have to be extravagant; little touches here and there add up to repeat business. Cleaning up after the job. A phone call after a system has been installed to see if it’s working right. A hand-written thank-you note after the sale. Leaving an extra filter with the homeowner. When you take the time to do the little things right, customers know you care about them and will do the big things... Read More
Fund Puts Premium On Well-Run Firms (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - Manage the company well and its stock price will follow is the way Richard Weiss picks the holdings of $1.14 billion Wells Fargo Advantage Common Stock Fund (NASDAQ:STCSX - News). This isn\'t just for Wall Street - well run firms are ALWAYS more valuable in the long-run... Read More
The Charisma Myth
Now that some of the 2008 presidential candidates are out of the gate, it's been fun to see who is being labeled with that mysterious quality, charisma. Of course, we can't seem to hear Barack Obama's name mentioned without it being accompanied by some form of the word. The others aren't as lucky. Even John Edwards, who's pretty good on the platform, doesn't seem to fit the description. Neither does John McCain, Hillary Clinton or Rudolf Giuliani. So what is it about people like Obama that makes us gush?... Read More
ManageSmarter Rewind: Become a Meeting Master
Business will always be business-- and that means some best practices are evergreen. ManageSmarter.com digs through the archives to present you with timeless articles and strategies for today's market.... Read More
Simonini Builders: A Retrospective
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The Top Brass at Simonini Builders
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Simonini: People Profiles
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More about Simonini
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Streamline Your Business
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Where the Money Is
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High-Performing Contractor - NEWSLETTER February 2007
High-Performing Contractor - NEWSLETTER February 2007 This e-newsletter is dedicated to supporting SMACNA High-Performing Contractors and all contractors working to become one. Written by Dennis Sowards **************** Leadership Carlos Cardoso, president and CEO of Kennametal Inc., a manufacturer of metal cutting tools. He believes that every successful company shares the same three traits: A clear vision and strategy that everyone in the company understands The right processes in place to drive that vision to results The right people to implement those processes In short, while your customers are demanding... Read More
There is Profitability in Passion
I just read the New York Times article, A Passion Becomes a Business: Now for the Hard Part of Making it Profitable. December 14, 2006, New York Times Business Section. According to this article many people are following their passions later in life by starting their own companies and doing what they love. The hard part of these ventures is making a profit. Author Thomas J. Stanley (The Millionaire Mind, a book based on empirical research into the habits of millionaires) suggests that if people follow their passion not... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 17, 2007
Sales Meeting Spectacular: Plan a Successful Sales Meeting
Think you know everything about well-run sales meetings? Think again. These six steps will help you plan your best meeting yet.... Read More
How much control should our users have?
We all know Featuritis is bad, but what about User Control? Is more always better? The notion that a user-centric focus means putting users in control of everything--their software (and other tools), their learning, their conferences, the companies they support (the now-over-used "community")--is pervasive. But even when users do have the expertise to make good decisions, do they want to? In some scenarios, of course. But when applied with abandon, user control can mean user suffering. In the 80's, the big thing in education was Learner Control. With hypertext... Read More
Your Choice in Cost Control
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HEADLINES ADDED: March 11, 2007
Keeping Score
On his March 5th blog entry, Scoreboards & Construction, Dan Brown mentions an article written by Dennis Sowards called You Can Be Guided by Scoreboard, Dashboard. Dennis talks about how it is important for companies to use a "Scoreboard" to keep track of the company’s profitability, customer and employee satisfaction, safety, etc., and a "Dashboard" to keep track of the details that get the company to the end result (for example: cash available, invoices outstanding, etc). Projects also benefit from a Scorecard approach. A two-year study conducted by the... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: February 23, 2007
Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s Book of Lists
I’ve already shared with you Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s list of Critical Customer Service Skills their employees must have. That list was plucked verbatim from the EXCEEDING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS book which shares a deep-dive profile into the reasons why Enterprise has become a highly successful $9 billion dollar business. There are many more worthwhile lists in the book which are ripe for any company to plug ‘n play into their business. Review the following lists, taken as is from the book, and determine which aspects your company should aspire to follow.ENTERPRISE... Read More
Eight Critical Customer Service Skills
Here I go again … sharing more worthwhile advice/opinion on the importance of employees in how a company delivers great customer experiences. This time I’m sharing the criteria Enterprise Rent-A-Car uses when deciding whom to hire. For those unaware, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is the largest rental car company in the United States. It’s a privately owned business which recorded $9.0 billion dollars in sales for 2006. They are renowned for delivering great customer experiences in the highly-commodified rental car business. Part of the reason Enterprise is viewed as strong customer... Read More
McDonald’s Inside/Out Success
“American companies are obsessed with window dressing because they’re reluctant, no, afraid, to look at whatever it is they really do and evaluate it from the inside out. When things are down, CEO’s look to consultants and marketers to rethink, rebrand or repackage whatever it is they are selling, when they should be getting back on the factory floor, into the stores, or out to the research labs where their product is actually made, sold, or conceived.” --- Douglas Rushkoff | GET BACK IN THE BOX Since posting its... Read More
Career Tip #14: Show and Know Metrics
Once I was in a meeting at Dell, and someone said the company could stop on a dime. A colleague retorted, We’d stop because of a dime!” As funny as that is, this kind of agility is only possible in a metrics-oriented culture. Friends who have left Dell for new companies are amazed at how metrics-deficient their culture is. They are shocked how employees don’t understand the basics of a P&L, and so they work to add KPIs into the business that feed the P&L. As a result, these... Read More
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Favorite Book 2007
The Toyota Way is my favorite book for 2007. It had so many good ideas that I could not keep up and ended up reading it again and even buying the Field Book to go along with it.
Download Elegant Solutions from Change This which provides some highlights of the Toyota Production System. Too many ideas that are applicable to contractors to even count!
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