by Simplar | Jun 12, 2025 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Leadership, Leadership, Risk Management, Risk Management, Weekly Construction Message
Contractors often wait too long to employ the business management expertise of a qualified Chief Financial Officer. Small and mid-size businesses across all industries have traditionally left accounting to a bookkeeper, hiring an outside accounting firm to close the...
by Simplar | Jun 5, 2025 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Business, Strategic & Project Planning, Leadership
Unexamined beliefs play a role in the management decision making process and deeply held beliefs go largely unexamined. That is to say, we aren’t even aware that we believe what we believe. The problem arises when these unexamined beliefs affect our decision...
by Simplar | May 23, 2025 | Built Environment, Business Failure, Business of Construction, Business, Strategic and Project Planning, Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Leadership, Leadership, Weekly Construction Message
Last week we established that the high failure rate in the construction industry comes down to a single cause – a shortage of working capital. Some blame failures on a whole variety of causes: labor unrest, natural disasters, economic stress, market shrinkage,...
by Simplar | May 15, 2025 | Business, Strategic & Project Planning, Cash Flow (Getting Paid), Financial Management and Risk, Financial Management and Risk, Growth, Growth, Leadership, Weekly Construction Message
Last week we discussed the irony of the construction industry’s traditional low-bid acquisition system. It seems you can’t win the game of making money if you pick up all your work by being the cheapest price. On the other hand, you can’t even play...
by Simplar | Apr 25, 2025 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Leadership, Leadership, Leadership, Weekly Construction Message
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...
by Simplar | Apr 17, 2025 | Built Environment, Business of Construction, Leadership, Leadership, Weekly Construction Message
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...
