How Much is Enough? Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. In this first series of messages for 2023 we’re looking at how to professionally manage a construction firm’s capital position to ensure enough liquidity to see the firm through an inflation/recession economy that can...
Capital Capacity Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Will we be running from rampant cost inflation or deeply mired in top-line recession in 2023? No one seems to know. What we do know is that we don’t know, and that’s treacherous turf. How do contractors decide whether to bid...
Navigating Stormy Seas Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D The Fed has just imposed another 75-basis point increase in its benchmark interest rate, and now even both sides of congress are howling. Prognosticators are worried that continued increases will push the economy into...
CLEAN UP YOUR BOOKS Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. While operating the nation’s largest workout firm for sureties, I had occasion to audit the financial statements of hundreds of construction companies that had failed mid-project. While the causes of those failures varied...
Back To the Beginning Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. For 30 years I have been researching the causes of construction business failure. The study began years ago when I operated the largest national consultancy firm completing projects interrupted when bonded contractors...
SURPRISE We’ve Run Out of Money! What surprised me most over the many years my consultancy finished hundreds of jobs for sureties after contractors had failed mid-project was how many contractors were surprised when they ran out of money. Most of them believed...
