I have railed against low bid contracting for many years as the root cause of shrinking contractor profit margins and increasing contractor failure. In principle, it is an insane way to do business (selling a product for the lowest price rather than the highest price...
The Death of Expertise Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. The invention of the internet, powerful search engines, and the cellphone have made supposed experts of almost everyone. Some doctors are actually retiring early because they are tired of arguing with patients who use...
Tony the Temper Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Contractors and their senior executives don’t pull wire, pour concrete, drive nails, or dig holes. They don’t do the estimating, scheduling, or accounting for ongoing work. Once a contract is signed and a project is underway,...
Navigating Trends Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. I love this quote from a contractor who offered feedback on last week’s blog. “If we can’t do anything about trends, what are we supposed to do?” You have to love that. It reeks of the frustration that we contractors feel...
SIZE MATTERS Warren Buffet once famously said: “I buy expensive suits… They just look cheap on me.” In this disrupted, unpredictable market of 2022, project selection may be the most important decision construction senior management will make. Last...
Project Selection Process The project selection tool provides an accurate measurement of project selection risk based upon what is known or not known about a potential project at a given point in time, and how well the project matches the firm’s experience. Download...
