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People Who Live in Glass Houses Shouldn’t Throw Stone
I have been wrong in my criticism of contractors for ignoring financial statements in the day-to-day running of their businesses. Their instincts, as it turns out, have served them well. They saw something flawed in relying on interim financial statements that were...
Surprise!
Businesses fail for any number of reasons but rarely is it a surprise to management. Only construction companies seem to experience sudden collapse when they unexpectedly run out of cash. The element of surprise expressed by most of the failed contractors I worked...
Building for Profit
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...
Engineering + Management = Success
The earliest known instance of human engineering was discovered at Kalambo Falls, Zambia and dates to about 476,000 years ago. Researchers found two logs notched and interlocking forming a simple stable structure. The first examples of human commerce were simple...
Opportunity to Succeed
Risk management begins with recognition, proceeds to evaluation, and ends with a detailed mitigation plan. This analytical process should begin at the project selection stage. After a contract is signed and a project is underway, if there is a negative impact from the...
Be the Head Coach
Construction is a risky business. Diving from the springboard of project selection into the deep end of the risk pool immerses the contractor in a virtual ocean of risk factors. Like Football games, project financial risk can only be effectively managed before...
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