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Low-Bid Acquisition
Browse the Dodge Report and submit a competitive bid, to acquire any work that is available. Simple. For many years this was standard operating procedure in the construction industry. Selecting the lowest qualified bidder was mandated by regulation for most public...
Surprise!!!
I experienced this firsthand when my company was sent in by sureties to complete projects interrupted by a contractor's unexpected failure. The Contractors were always shocked that they did not see it coming. The question is why didn't anyone see it coming? It...
Team Building
The most important function of construction "bosses" after they promote themselves to "leader" is to build a professional organization that can provide their clients with expert services. After all, their team is their product. We are not selling finished buildings,...
Leadership
As I pointed out last week, the construction industry is populated largely by entrepreneurial firms. Confidence and independence are the traits that cause entrepreneurs to start their own business. However, when construction firms grow into mid-size or larger...
No More Mom and Pop
My portrayal of the start-up process of most mom-and-pop contracting firms (which represent a huge portion of the $ 2.1 trillion industry) in last week's blog was meant to describe the natural recruiting and training process that founders engage in as firms evolve...
Growing Your Own
The First Projects “How recruiting and training begins." After a contracting company gets underway, the founder rarely works on the job site. In the startup stage, the founder is usually involved in procuring materials and looking around the market for the next job....
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