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How Beliefs Influence Decision Making
What is clear after 50 years of research into the business of construction is that construction professionals make business decisions based on their beliefs. Beliefs are firmly held convictions that go largely unexamined but nonetheless strongly influence our...
Beliefs
Beliefs are firmly held convictions that go largely unexamined but nonetheless influence our decision making without us being aware of them in the background of our thinking. In last week's message, I listed ten beliefs that influence construction professionals’...
My View of the Construction Industry
I started my career in construction as a carpenter apprentice decades ago. My brother and I eventually formed our own general contracting business that operated continuously until last year when my brother retired. Years ago, while running our start-up contracting...
A Complex Financial Transaction
Our ongoing discussion on the importance of managing the flow of cash into and out of a construction contractor's balance sheet identified the two major financial risk factors that contractors face: (1) a chronic shortage of working capital; and (2) a highly complex...
Eye On the Ball
The first rule in both baseball and golf is keep your eye on the ball. The best hitters in baseball say they can sometimes actually see the ball hit the bat. Ben Hogan, one of golf’s greatest, claimed that the visual image that stayed with him after he hit a ball was...
Estimating Working Capital Capacity
The process of estimating and preparing bids is one of our most essential management tasks, including direct and indirect costs. Professional estimators have a detailed knowledge of construction materials, specifications, techniques, codes, and pricing trends as they...
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