by Simplar | Jan 14, 2021 | Business Failure, Business Failure
INSIGHTS INTO THE RISK OF FAILURE If that’s all it takes to succeed in the construction business is a pickup truck, a box of tools, a cast-iron stomach, and a forgiving wife, why do so many contractors fail? Check next to the causes listed below that you believe most...
by Simplar | Jan 14, 2021 | Weekly Construction Message
Thirteenth Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer The Dynamics and Patterns of a Construction Market Downturn Finally: some light at the end of the tunnel. The US economy may have bottomed out and unemployment may have leveled, even improving some. I...
by Simplar | Dec 8, 2022 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Facility Management, Organization Transformation, Partnering, Planning, PM, Procurement
The Contracting Business Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. With only four weeks left in what everyone agrees has been a very eventful year, I’m inclined to engage in big picture thinking as I sum up the year in my mind. I realize that my readers are probably tired of hearing...
by Simplar | Apr 23, 2026 | Business of Construction, Cash Flow (Getting Paid), Financial Management and Risk
Last week we settled on this definition of business which bears repeating: Business is the purposeful pursuit of profit through the commercial activity of satisfying customer needs at a cost that is less than the selling price. To be classified as a business, an...
by Simplar | Apr 9, 2026 | Business of Construction, Business, Strategic & Project Planning, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Leadership, Organization Transformation
We are discussing how unexamined beliefs about the nature and structure of the construction business transaction have had a corrosive effect on contractor profit margins for the past 50 years. The resulting standard business practices followed by all construction...
