by Simplar | Jul 10, 2026 | Business Development, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Leadership, Leadership, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
Warren Buffet was a businessman. He never drove a train, wrote an insurance policy, built an office tower, or miniaturized a computer. He strictly analyzed an existing business’s ability to make a profit over an extended period and invested an appropriate...
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 | Oct 16, 2025 | Business Failure, Business Failure, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Weekly Construction Message
Some years ago, I was the founder and president of the largest international consultancy firm serving the contract surety industry. My company, Construction Management Associates, was formed after the first surety asked me to look at completing a project they had...
by Simplar | May 29, 2025 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Project Selection, Project Selection, Weekly Construction Message
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” As most of my readers I am sure will testify, I don’t often quote Shakespeare. But the confusion around the word profit in the construction industry has driven me to desperate measures. What do we mean...
by Simplar | Jan 17, 2025 | Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Project Selection, Project Selection, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
Profitability in construction begins with project selection. Ours is the only industry that signs a binding contract to sell our service for a fixed price, not knowing exactly what it will cost to provide that service. What’s worse, we bid in a highly...
