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Introduction to Business Planning
Introduction to Business Planning
The best lesson in planning I ever had was not in business school. It was attending a normal weekly contractor staff meeting and listening to an experienced and knowledgeable old-time contractor teach his management team how to manage a construction business. If you want to learn … Read the rest “Introduction to Business Planning”
Closing the Barn Door After the Horse has Bolted
Subject: Overhead
“CLOSING THE BARN DOOR
AFTER THE HORSE HAS BOLTED”
by Professor Jake Smithwick, PhD, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Cutting overhead to protect earnings in down markets is a business school cliché. In management theory it is an obvious common-sense notion to eliminate expense that is deemed … Read the rest “Closing the Barn Door After the Horse has Bolted”
A Change Order by Any Other Name
A Change Order by Any Other Name
Designers, owners, and most contractors consider Change Orders a bad thing. Research indicates that overall project performance and contractor profitability is better on jobs with fewer COs than those with many. Even when Change Orders are initiated by owners increasing scope and not … Read the rest “A Change Order by Any Other Name”
The Truth About General Contractors
Subject: the role of general contractors on a job
The Truth About General Contractors
Successful general contractors excel at managing the subcontracting process. Some don’t self-preform much work — don’t pour concrete, install ductwork, fit pipes, or apply roofing, however, they all select and manage others that do.
The Middle … Read the rest “The Truth About General Contractors”
The R-Score
To See Ourselves As We Really Are
To See Ourselves As We Really Are
Subject: The 5 Stages of Growth
The company I founded worked for sureties across the country completing failed construction projects the sureties had bonded. During this period, I assisted in the resolution or salvage of hundreds of distressed or failed construction firms and … Read the rest “To See Ourselves As We Really Are”
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