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# Simplar Foundation

Collaborative Research for Industry

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://simplarfoundation.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [The Company's Ready](https://simplarfoundation.org/uncategorized/the-companys-ready/) - Now that we have organized our thinking, set our goals, communicated them to our entire organization, attached proper incentives, and opened lines of effective…
- [Communication](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/communication/) - Imagine a construction company where the left hand always knows what the right hand is doing.
- [Incentives](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/incentives/) - A strategic plan is just a dream unless it is supported by a carefully administered Management by Objective program.
- [Management by Objective](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/management-by-objective-2/) - A strategic plan establishes ambitions such as profitable growth, stronger safety performance, improved schedule reliability, or expansion into new markets.
- [Building a Strategic Plan](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/building-a-strategic-plan/) - The strategic planning that we have been discussing can be converted into a highly effective business management tool by turning ambition into a definite…
- [Belief Busting](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/belief-busting/) - I closed last week's blog with a plea to the industry to join me in my 2026 mission to double the construction industry's net profit margins.
- [A Personal Note – Lessons Learned](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/a-personal-note-lessons-learned/) - My career as an educator and consultant to the construction industry has followed an unusual path through every aspect of this amazing industry.
- [Never Enough Working Capital](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/never-enough-working-capital/) - Construction companies have few investible assets. Contractors are service providers.
- [Budgeting vs. Forecasting](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/budgeting-vs-forecasting/) - In my experience, construction firms do not operate under firm budget disciplines like most other industrial concerns.
- [Beliefs](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/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…
- [Change Beliefs/Solve Problems](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/change-beliefs-solve-problems/) - Unexamined beliefs about the contracting business often lead to management decisions that limit success.
- [Profitable Project Selection](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/project-selection/profitable-project-selection/) - Profitability in construction begins with project selection. Ours is the only industry that signs a binding contract to sell our service for a fixed price, not…
- [Imagine](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/imagine-2/) - Customer service is more than just a given; it is an axiom of modern business management theory.
- [TEAMS WIN GAMES - NOT STARS OR OWNERS](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/teams-win-games-not-stars-or-owners/) - Successful construction projects are determined by the level of expertise of the key people performing the job.
- [A Complex Financial Transaction](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/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…
- [How to Effectively Utilize a Board of Advisors](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/how-to-effectively-utilize-a-board-of-advisors/) - Learn the prohibitive and positive attitudes of effectively developing, maintaining, and using a board of advisors
- [Here We Go Again: The Perilous Post Pandemic Construction Market](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/here-we-go-again-the-perilous-post-pandemic-construction-market/) - During growth cycles, be cautious, not ambitious
- [How to Engage and Develop Construction Employees](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/labor-labor-issues-business-construction/how-to-engage-and-develop-construction-employees/) - Employee engagement and development is the key element to success in the construction industry.
- [How to Assemble a Board of Advisors](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/how-to-assemble-a-board-of-advisors/) - "Solopreneurs" need to seek the advice of experts who have the ability to view their business from a perspective different from their own.
- [How to Handicap Project Profitability Like a Vegas Bookmaker](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/project-selection/how-to-handicap-project-profitability-like-a-vegas-bookmaker/) - The primary cause of hundreds of contractor failures stems from losses on projects that the company never should have undertaken…because they had limited or no…
- [Boom and Bust](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/growth/boom-and-bust/) - Construction business failures are worse during market recoveries than during market slowdowns.
- [Overhead: A Silent Killer](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/overhead/overhead-a-silent-killer/) - Looking back over the recession, the evidence is clear that the sacrifices in profitability could have been avoided by cutting overhead sooner.
- [Key Personnel Retention](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/growth/key-personnel-retention/) - Management, distracted by the immediate shortage of skilled labor, has been largely unaware of the more insidious key personnel crisis.
- [Construction's "No-Win"](https://simplarfoundation.org/procurement/risk-management-procurement/constructions-no-win/) - Risk is best managed through cooperation not confrontation.
- [How to Always Make a Profit](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/overhead/how-to-always-make-a-profit/) - Profit growth, not revenue growth is the secret to success, embrace the new reality.
- [One Size Does Not Fit All](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/managing-subcontractors-business-construction/one-size-does-not-fit-all/) - how you design your organization can have a dramatic effect on your firm’s profitability.
- [Expertise Project Delivery - A Best Value Approach](https://simplarfoundation.org/project-delivery/business-strategic-and-project-planning-project-delivery/expertise-project-delivery-a-best-value-approach/) - As the construction industry struggles with the inevitable transition of prequalification to digital platforms, senior managementshould continue to develop…
- [Strategy Defined](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/strategy-defined/) - Strategic planning is not an academic exercise. It is the instinctive, practical response of experienced professionals.
- [Succession Dilemmas](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/succession-planning/succession-dilemmas/) - Succession Dilemmas When Construction Companies Outgrow the Founder
- [Where-How-Why](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/change-management/where-how-why/) - If you don’t let everyone else in your company know where you’re going, they won’t end up going with you.
- [3rd Crisis-era Message to Contractors - From Dr Tom Schleifer - Three Steps to Surviving the Pandemic](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/3rd-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-three-steps-to-surviving-the-pandemic/) - Third Crisis-era Message to Contractors – From Dr Tom Schleifer – Three Steps to Surviving the Pandemic
- [Why a Measured Response and When?](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/why-a-measured-response-and-when/) - Third Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer Why a Measured Response and When?
- [Flexibility = Profitability](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/business-development/flexibility-profitability/) - I have been talking for years about “Flexible Overhead” as a fundamental management tool in the construction industry.By Flexible Overhead I mean the ability…
- [SUICIDE: EVERYONE IS VULNERABLE](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/suicide-everyone-is-vulnerable/) - Those in the construction industry are four times more likely to experience a suicide death than any other industry…Learn the signs, call for help, and never…
- [4th Crisis-era Message to Contractors - From Dr Tom Schleifer - Time is Not on Our Side](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/4th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-time-is-not-on-our-side/) - Fourth Crisis-era Message to Contractors – From Dr Tom Schleifer – Time is Not on Our Side
- [Capital Reserves - Contractor's Last Line of Defense](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/capital-reserves-contractors-last-line-of-defense/) - Studying your capital position and understanding how to carefully manage your way through a sudden and dramatic construction market downturn is the critical…
- [Promote Your CFO To a Trusted Member of Your Management Team](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/business-strategic-and-project-planning/promote-your-cfo-to-a-trusted-member-of-your-management-team/) - Promote Your CFO To a Trusted Member of Your Management Team
- [Beyond Covid Part 2](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/beyond-covid-part-2/) - “Is there anything that could change to make this company better after the pandemic?”
- [Beyond Covid-19](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/beyond-covid-19/) - Now is the time to look down the road beyond the pandemic and ask yourself what you want your company to look like as you prepare to service a new construction…
- [Beware the Pitfalls of Your Beliefs](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/beware-the-pitfalls-of-your-beliefs/) - Take a careful look at your own beliefs and test them against your current results to make sure they are not negatively affecting decision making.
- [Beyond Covid Part 3](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/beyond-covid-part-3/) - In order to explore what you may want to change, it is first necessary to discern what a “best in class” construction enterprise looks like and how your firm…
- [The Big Dig](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-failure/the-big-dig/) - No discussion of the failure rate of megaprojects would be complete without a careful look at Boston’s Big Dig, the largest and most challenging highway…
- [Overhead](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/overhead/overhead/) - Is there a way to manage overhead in lean years without dismantling an organization?
- [Why Megaprojects Fail Part IV: Institutional Structure](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/why-megaprojects-fail-part-iv-institutional-structure/) - It is very close to impossible for a contractor, owner, designer, or civic visionary to effectively forecast the time of completion or estimate the cost of a…
- [Complexity (The Big Dig) Part 2](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/complexity-the-big-dig-part-2/) - We look at complexity as layers of difficulty.
- [7th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: The Long-Term Outlook](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/7th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-the-long-term-outlook/) - 7th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer The Long-Term Outlook The “Wait-and-See” contingency is convinced it is too early to predict the…
- [Construction May Be Our Long-Term Salvation](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/construction-may-be-our-long-term-salvation/) - The construction industry is about to be called upon again to rebuild our country battered, this time, by a viral pandemic.
- [New Year's Resolutions](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/organizational-change-management/new-years-resolutions/) - In 2021 we should all resolve to identify our inaccurate beliefs and take corrective actions.
- [Pivot to Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/change-management/pivot-to-planning/) - Firms with effective change management protocols can position themselves to more efficiently manage the transition, thereby potentially reducing resource…
- [8th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: New Worksite Protocols - The Impact](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/8th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-new-worksite-protocols-the-impact/) - Eighth Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: New Worksite Protocols – The Impact
- [If You Take Your Eye Off the Ball You’ll Strike Out](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/business-development/if-you-take-your-eye-off-the-ball-youll-strike-out/) - Embracing the relatively new concept of flexible overhead provides a contractor with a rapid and secure response to market ups and downs.
- [11th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: The Ripple Effect of this Economic Disruption](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/11th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-the-ripple-effect-of-this-economic-disruption/) - Eleventh Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: The Ripple Effect of this Economic Disruption
- [10th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: The Construction Market: Recovery, Timing, Profit](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/10th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-the-construction-market-recovery-timing-profit/) - Tenth Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: The Construction Market: Recovery, Timing, Profit
- [13th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: The Dynamics and Patterns of a Construction Market Downturn](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/13th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-the-dynamics-and-patterns-of-a-construction-market-downturn/) - Thirteenth Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: The Dynamics and Patterns of a Construction Market Downturn
- [12th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: The Potential and Timing of Recovery](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/12th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-the-potential-and-timing-of-recovery/) - Twelfth Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: The Potential and Timing of Recovery
- [14th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Construction Market Downturn's Impact on Profitability](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/14th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-construction-market-downturns-impact-on-profitability/) - Fourteenth Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Construction Market Downturn’s Impact on Profitability
- [The Destructive Low Bid Myth](https://simplarfoundation.org/project-delivery/business-development-project-delivery/the-destructive-low-bid-myth/) - Research study into comparative cost growth factors shows that Best Value is the better means to procure more qualified contractors who are able to deliver…
- [17th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: The Concept of “Flexible Overhead”](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/17th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-the-concept-of-flexible-overhead/) - 17th Weekly Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr. Tom Schleifer The Concept of “Flexible Overhead”
- [16th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Preparing for the Next Construction Market Cycle](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/16th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-preparing-for-the-next-construction-market-cycle/) - Sixteenth Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Preparing for the Next Construction Market Cycle
- [15th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Market Brief - Recommended Defenses](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/15th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-market-brief-recommended-defenses/) - Fifteenth Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Market Brief – Recommended Defenses
- [18th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Embracing and Implementing "Flexible Overhead"](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/18th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-embracing-and-implementing-flexible-overhead/) - 18th Weekly Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer Embracing and Implementing “Flexible Overhead”
- [20th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: US Economic and Construction Market Update](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/20th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-us-economic-and-construction-market-update/) - 20th Weekly Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer US Economic and Construction Market update
- [19th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Implementing "Flexible Overhead" Continued](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/19th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-implementing-flexible-overhead-continued/) - 19th Weekly Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer Implementing “Flexible Overhead” Continued
- [22nd Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Reader Questions and Answers](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/22nd-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-reader-questions-and-answers/) - 22nd Weekly Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer Reader Questions and Answers
- [21st Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Refining the Timeline](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/21st-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-refining-the-timeline/) - 21st Weekly Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer Refining the Timeline
- [24th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Construction Market Developments](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/24th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-construction-market-developments/) - 24th Weekly Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer Construction Market Developments
- [23rd Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Reader Questions and Answers](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/23rd-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-reader-questions-and-answers/) - 23rd Weekly Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer Reader Questions and Answers
- [26th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Global Perspective](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/26th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-global-perspective/) - 26th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Global Perspective
- [25th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Reader Questions and Answers](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/25th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-reader-questions-and-answers/) - 25th Weekly Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer Reader Questions and Answers
- [28th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Reader Questions and Answers](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/28th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-reader-questions-and-answers/) - 28th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Reader Questions and Answers
- [27th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Reader Questions and Answers](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/27th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-reader-questions-and-answers/) - 27th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Reader Questions and Answers
- [30th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Why Partial Recovery is Not Enough?](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/30th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-why-partial-recovery-is-not-enough/) - 30th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer Why Partial Recovery Is Not Enough?
- [29th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Reader Questions and Answers](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/29th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-reader-questions-and-answers/) - 29th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Reader Questions and Answers
- [33rd Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Thanksgiving Break - Will there be a New Normal](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/33rd-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-thanksgiving-break-will-there-be-a-new-normal/) - 33rd Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer THANKSGIVING BREAK--Will there be a New Normal?
- [32nd Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Election Aftermath](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/32nd-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-election-aftermath/) - 32nd Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr. Tom Schleifer Election Aftermath
- [35th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Reader Questions & Answers](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/35th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-reader-questions-answers/) - Reader Questions and Answers
- [The Decision Tree](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-decision-tree/) - The human mind is a problem-solving machine. It takes in data through the 5 senses then stores and classifies the data as either good or bad for survival of…
- [Trust Your Gut](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/project-selection/trust-your-gut/) - I have railed against low bid contracting for many years as the root cause of shrinking contractor profit margins and increasing contractor failure.
- [Risk Assessment](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-assessment/) - Financial risk is embedded in the nature of construction transactions. Project risk management begins during project selection.
- [Building for Profit](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/building-for-profit/) - Some years ago, I was the founder and president of the largest international consultancy firm serving the contract surety industry.
- [The Care and Feeding of the Workforce - A Culture Case Study](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/the-care-and-feeding-of-the-workforce-a-culture-case-study/) - Reasearch has shown that involving the workforce in what they were trying to accomplish, dramatically increases their interest, motivation, and productivity.
- [Corporate Culture](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/corporate-culture/) - Corporate culture is not about art appreciation. It's just a fancy way to say, "How do your employees feel about working for you?"
- [Corporate Culture - Leadership](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/corporate-culture-leadership/) - The mood, the morale, the ethos, and the politics of any organization are created by the organization's leadership either intentionally or unintentionally.
- [Make Better Choices](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/make-better-choices/) - The success of your business is a result of your choices. If you are dissatisfied with the outcomes, make different choices.
- [It Takes Two to Tango](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/it-takes-two-to-tango/) - Owners, reduce your risk by using the Contractors Selection Tool.
- [Beat The Bookie](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/beat-the-bookie/) - The Project Selection Tool is a revolutionary handicapping method that reduces the risk of project failure by risk-scoring potential construction projects and…
- [Why Vegas Always Wins](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/why-vegas-always-wins/) - The Project Selection Tool acts like a sports book by balancing the odds on a given project.
- [Under The Hood: Third in our Project Selection Process series](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/under-the-hood-third-in-our-project-selection-process-series/) - Over a 10 year period we used data to find out when and why construction firms began to fail.
- [If You Walk Like a Commodity And Talk Like a Commodity You Are a Commodity](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/if-you-walk-like-a-commodity-and-talk-like-a-commodity-you-are-a-commodity/) - Customer service is more than just a given; it is an axiom of modern business management theory.
- [Best in Class Construction Professionals Project Selection](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/best-in-class-construction-professionals-project-selection/) - Project risk is determined by an organization's experience with similar projects.
- [WIP Accounting - Critical and Often Misunderstood](https://simplarfoundation.org/fm/wip-accounting-critical-and-often-misunderstood/) - The exaggeration of WIP profits is unfortunately too common and, for the most part, caused by misplaced optimism, unaware management and, in rare cases…
- [An Approximation Based on Two Guesses](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/an-approximation-based-on-two-guesses/) - When Bias Adjustments become standard accounting procedure, it will reduce the failure rate in the construction industry.
- [Getting the Work: The CFO's Role](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/getting-the-work-the-cfos-role/) - The Chief Financial Officer’s (CFO's) role in "Accounting for the work" is self-evident, but his or her contribution to "Getting the work" and "Doing the work"…
- [Best-In-Class CFO #2 - The Planning Function](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/business-strategic-and-project-planning/best-in-class-cfo-2-the-planning-function/) - Our search for "Best-in-Class" management of construction businesses has led us to the CFO's door
- [The King of Cash](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/the-king-of-cash/) - This is the culmination of our series on the CFO's role in the management of construction companies.
- [Advise & Consent - Utilizing a Board of Directors/Advisors](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/advise-consent-utilizing-a-board-of-directors-advisors/) - The "board of directors" concept has been around a long time and offers huge advantages.
- [A Deeper Dive: The Science of Accounting](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/a-deeper-dive-the-science-of-accounting/) - It is critical that we all understand accounting as a science and recognize the pivotal role professional CFOs should be playing in the management of your…
- [2021 - A Value-Added Year](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/2021-a-value-added-year/) - We invite you to come along with us and focus on adding value to your company.
- [Our #1 New Year’s Resolution for 2021](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/our-1-new-years-resolution-for-2021/) - Changing long-held, unexamined beliefs is a daunting task and will take a major dose of self-awareness and a willingness to learn and grow on the part of both…
- [34th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: New Years Resolutions](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/34th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-new-years-resolutions/) - 34th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer
- [Cut the Payroll Not the Culture](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/business-development/cut-the-payroll-not-the-culture/) - If your long-term strategy is to preserve your corporate culture, your short-term tactics should help you preserve precious capital while protecting that…
- [Reimagining Your Company](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-development-business-construction/reimagining-your-company/) - We see this pandemic pause as an opportunity for contractors to take a break and reimagine their business.
- [Asset and Work Management Software](https://simplarfoundation.org/procurement/financial-management-and-risk-procurement/asset-and-work-management-software/) - You cannot wait to innovate, The time is now, It is not the technology, It is the people and the process.
- [Russian Roulette](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/financial-management-and-risk-built-environment/russian-roulette/) - If you’re content with your income and cash flow statements, but unfamiliar or uncomfortable with analyzing your balance sheet to arrive at in-depth management…
- [A Negative Bias](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-failure/a-negative-bias/) - A Negative Bias We called this blog “Let’s Talk Business” (letstalkbusiness.net) because we wanted to emphasize business management issues in construction as…
- [Risk Analysis](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/risk-analysis/) - Risk Analysis “Mitigating the Hidden Risks - In the “New Normal” construction environment the construction industry, high risk to begin with, is operating in a…
- [Bad Beliefs - The Root of All Evil](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/business-failure-built-environment/bad-beliefs-the-root-of-all-evil/) - Bad management decisions are caused by firmly held bad beliefs.
- [A Megaproject True Story](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/a-megaproject-true-story/) - As we follow the unfortunate progression of the Purple Line project we see our previously identified megaproject risk factors emerge from the details.
- [Why Megaprojects So Often Fail](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/why-megaprojects-so-often-fail/) - The construction industry is one of the oldest and largest industries in human commercial history, yet it continues to contract for megaprojects it apparently…
- [Beyond Covid Part 4](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/beyond-covid-part-4/) - You need to prepare your company for the post-pandemic “new normal” that may be off in the future but is certain to come. Start to improve – “NOW”.
- [Capital Management - Part 4: Financial Capacity](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/cash-flow-getting-paid-business-construction/capital-management-part-4-financial-capacity/) - Financial capacity is a key evaluation area that uses certain balance sheet ratios to determine the cause of problems and, of course, to hopefully prevent them.
- [Capital Preservation During This COVID Downturn - Getting Paid on Time](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/cash-flow-getting-paid-business-construction/capital-preservation-during-this-covid-downturn-getting-paid-on-time/) - The harsh reality is that contractors seem to be at the bottom of the payment pile.
- [Capital Is King: During COVID](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/capital-is-king-during-covid/) - Only preventing an erosion of your company’s capital (a balance sheet metric) during a downturn will keep your company from following R.
- [Present Moment Management During Evolving Market Cycles](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/present-moment-management-during-evolving-market-cycles/) - Abrupt fear-induced decisions can weaken your company’s operating capability. Stay in the present and stay positive.
- [How to Write A Strategic Plan During This COVID Economic Downturn](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/how-to-write-a-strategic-plan-during-this-covid-economic-downturn/) - We should know and plan in advance who and what we would cut in what order if the market declines.
- [Ten Minute MBA](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-failure/ten-minute-mba/) - Ten Minute MBA The iconic comedian George Carlin brought down the house with a routine he called, “The 10 Minute University”.
- [Building Effective Teams](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/project-teams/building-effective-teams/) - How does human personality factors impact the effectiveness of teams?
- [Legacy Lost](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/succession-planning-business-construction/legacy-lost/) - Legacy Lost Let’s talk business; You won’t live forever. You’re acting like you might. But you won’t. Your company could. Your legacy should.
- [The Top Ten Leadership Skills Needed To Navigate the Current Pandemic Business Environment](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/the-top-ten-leadership-skills-needed-to-navigate-the-current-pandemic-business-environment/) - A steady hand on the tiller is needed to guide construction companies through this pandemic storm and into calmer waters.
- [The New Normal](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/the-new-normal/) - Almost four weeks into this crisis, with the business environment crumbling around us, let’s make sure we are not wasting time worrying about horror stories or…
- [The Yin and Yang of Construction](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-development-business-construction/the-yin-and-yang-of-construction/) - The Yin and Yang of Construction If blue was the only color, there would be no blue. Without sound there is no silence.
- [Two Steps To Project Selections](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/project-selection/two-steps-to-project-selections/) - We recommend a two-step strategic evaluation processthat enables contractors to measure the risk of each new project during the planning stage and evaluate…
- [Reaction to the Skilled Labor Shortage](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/labor-labor-issues/reaction-to-the-skilled-labor-shortage/) - Aggressive tactics will not solve the current strategic skilled labor problem but will exacerbate it by ballooning wages and shuffling available labor…
- [Construction Dispute Resolution](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/dispute-resolution/construction-dispute-resolution/) - Construction Dispute Resolution Threshold In Disagreements Size Matters
- [2020 The Year of Solutions](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/change-management/2020-the-year-of-solutions/) - n 2020,we will highlight solutions for 4 specific risks in each functional area, demonstrate how the best-in-class contractors mitigated these risks, and offer…
- [Facility Size and Type](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/facility-management/facility-size-and-type/) - The accurate projection of the total cost of ownership is critical to the long-term management of capital expenditures for facility acquisition and ownership…
- [Strategic Planning #2 Trends](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/strategic-planning-2-trends/) - Turbocharge the impact of your natural planning instincts by formalizing your plan in written form and communicate it to your entire organization.
- [Beyond "Low Bid" What Now?](https://simplarfoundation.org/procurement/proposal-writing-procurement/beyond-low-bid-what-now/) - With the passing of the age of the “low bidder, high cost”, contractors, owners, and designers must now identify alternative performance factors that determine…
- [Planning for 2020](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/planning-for-2020/) - Construction business managershave long-held beliefs that formal strategic planning is not appropriate for the construction industry.
- [Dangerous DNA](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/growth/dangerous-dna/) - Although this competitive spirit resides in our DNA, it is not necessarily for the better.
- [The Impact of Beliefs](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/the-impact-of-beliefs/) - Perhaps no other single factor has a greater impact on the management of construction concerns than the unexamined beliefs held by senior management.
- [Managing Risk in the Current Boom](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/managing-risk-in-the-current-boom/) - Managing Risk in the Current Boom: What are your Peers doing?
- [Peer Pressure - Leadership: Side by Side](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/peer-pressure-leadership-side-by-side/) - In the case of matrix organizations (two or three bosses), there are significant correlations between several variables such as the quality of the…
- [Cash is Slippery](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/growth/cash-is-slippery/) - People think finance and accounting are fundamentally the same when, in fact, much of the finance approach is a reaction against accounting.
- [Fixed-Price Rest In Peace](https://simplarfoundation.org/project-delivery/business-strategic-and-project-planning-project-delivery/fixed-price-rest-in-peace/) - the recent dramatic events around SNC-Lavalin, Fluor and Granite portend the adoption of Best-Value Procurement protocols across the entire construction…
- [Help Wanted, Work Boots and Skills Provided](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/labor-labor-issues/help-wanted-work-boots-and-skills-provided/) - The power of creative thinking, industry insights into coping the the critical manpower shortage.
- [Reality Check](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/labor-labor-issues/reality-check/) - Reality Check – Construction Labor Shortage
- [Schedule Busting](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/scheduling/schedule-busting/) - The common belief that contractors are the cause of project delay is completely false.
- [Overhead the Silent Killer](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/overhead/overhead-the-silent-killer/) - Planning overhead in advance is the answer; not cutting it after it becomes a problem.
- [Strategic Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/strategic-planning/) - Dr. Kenn Sullivan and I discuss managing risk through a process of strategic thinking in our book, Managing the Profitable Construction Business.
- [If You Don't Know Where You're Going...](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/if-you-dont-know-where-youre-going/) - If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going You’re Probably Not Going to Get There
- [Customer Anti-Relations](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/contracting-methods/customer-anti-relations/) - Contractors have a contentious relationship with owners, architects, and designers and most owners see contractors as potentially problematic vendors that bear…
- [Another Low-Bid Loophole](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/another-low-bid-loophole/) - Although the main goal of low-bid procurement is to maximize project value, the approach can actually increase project cost and duration if construction…
- [Too Much of a Good Thing](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/too-much-of-a-good-thing/) - The common elements of construction business failure take place during profitable years—success precedes failure.
- [Pre-Contract Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/business-strategic-and-project-planning/pre-contract-planning/) - Contractors should begin to audit the skill-set and time management required to incorporate pre-contract planning into their everyday business practice.
- [Risk Encounter](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/risk-encounter/) - Project risk in construction is defined in basic terms as unplanned cost or schedule changes that crop up during a construction project.
- [Best Value](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/best-value/) - the principles of the Best Value Procurement method applied in the construction and services industries have been documented to significantly affect quality…
- [The Flash Report](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/the-flash-report/) - We recommend that the CFO of every construction concern, both large and small, be required to produce performance metrics on a monthly basis and, if necessary…
- [Liquidity](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/liquidity/) - If I learned anything from ten years operating the world’s largest workout firm for sureties engaged in construction bonding, it’s that liquidity (or the lack…
- [Let's Get Real](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/lets-get-real/) - Six principles an industry leader is teaching his team as they "wade back in" to the growth market.
- [Common Sense](https://simplarfoundation.org/procurement/procurement-procurement/common-sense/) - The purpose of this blog is to translate research arrived at by the careful application of the scientific process into common sense solutions that can easily…
- [O Captain My Captain](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/o-captain-my-captain/) - The construction company CEO is like a cruise ship captain; he hires a crew, tells them where he wants to go, then checks to see if they are getting him there…
- [Building on Shifting Sands](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/building-on-shifting-sands/) - Recognize that the shifting sands of the construction marketplace are affected by not only macro-economic factors but also factors of scale, standardization…
- [Out of Tune](https://simplarfoundation.org/project-delivery/contractor-default/out-of-tune/) - A construction project is an intricate labyrinth of independent/inter-dependent craftsmen making carefully coordinated contributions requiring more precise…
- [Some Company Founders Forget](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/succession-planning-business-construction/some-company-founders-forget/) - SOME COMPANY FOUNDERS FORGET THEY WON’T LIVE FOREVER However, Researchers Find Many Don’t
- [What Wins Work](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/proposal-writing/what-wins-work/) - What Wins Work? How to Write Successful Project Proposals
- [PDP - Professional Development Program](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/pdp-professional-development-program/) - A Professional Development Program is much more than simple training, a means of keeping up-to-date, or a way to build a career.
- [Corporate Darwinism](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/corporate-darwinism/) - Digital technologies are disrupting the industry, providing new opportunities to address the challenges of poor profitability/productivity, project…
- [Mitigate Don't Litigate](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/dispute-resolution/mitigate-dont-litigate/) - Because of complexity and the big money involved, the cost of dispute resolution in the construction industry can often overwhelm small to midsize contractors.
- [Pride Goes Before Destruction](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/pride-goes-before-destruction/) - “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)
- [The Role of the Board of Directors](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/board-of-directors/the-role-of-the-board-of-directors/) - When a construction company founder trusst his board and invites them to hold him accountable as the manager, his board will become his most powerful…
- [The Bidder Who Makes the Most Mistakes](https://simplarfoundation.org/procurement/procurement-procurement/the-bidder-who-makes-the-most-mistakes/) - THE HISTORY OF LOW BID “The Bidder Who Makes the Most Mistakes… Gets the Job”
- [Developer's Dilemma](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/developer-delimas-issues/developers-dilemma/) - If debt financing is not carefully customized to fit individual projects, it can quickly be rendered inadequate and contribute to project failure
- [Without Skilled Labor....](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/labor-labor-issues/without-skilled-labor/) - ALERT Without Skilled Labor YOU’RE OUT OF BUSINESS
- [You Can't be a Surety](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/you-cant-be-a-surety/) - Recognize, identify, and assess risk, then act like a Surety to reduce it for your company.
- [The Dozer is Not Free](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/equipment-management/the-dozer-is-not-free/) - Too often a portion of equipment cost, sometimes substantial, is not recognized, estimated or properly attributed to job expense.
- [How to Go Bankrupt](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-failure/how-to-go-bankrupt/) - “How did you go Bankrupt?” “Two Ways…gradually…then suddenly.” (The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway)
- [SUCCESS...ion](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/succession-planning/success-ion/) - If you are a construction professional in a construction enterprise, recognize it or not, you are living in the glacial and unrelenting progression we call…
- [When Even a Rolex Stops Ticking](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/current-events-interests-business-construction/when-even-a-rolex-stops-ticking/) - To avoid the persistent risk of catastrophic failure in the future, the construction industry must adopt an entirely new business model.
- [Introduction to Business Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/introduction-to-business-planning/) - As the construction industry becomes more complex, we need to learn how to codify and annotatethe intuitive planning skills of experienced contractos.
- [Closing the Barn Door After the Horse has Bolted](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/overhead/closing-the-barn-door-after-the-horse-has-bolted/) - Strategic management of overhead helps companies increase their preparedness for future periods of decline, predicated on how disciplined they are during…
- [A Change Order by Any Other Name](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/change-orders/a-change-order-by-any-other-name/) - Effective change order management starts with contractors having a highly visible company-wide Change Order Policy that is widely circulated to owners…
- [The Truth About General Contractors](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/managing-subcontractors/the-truth-about-general-contractors/) - Selecting, employing, and managing teams of skilled companies and craftsmen is a highly complex and demanding process that requires a specialist skill set not…
- [To See Ourselves As We Really Are](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/growth/to-see-ourselves-as-we-really-are/) - A study of more than 1,000 closely held construction firms revealed that there are five distinct stages of growth, knowing how to recognize what stage your…
- [Risk is Not a Dirty Word](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/risk-is-not-a-dirty-word/) - What is it about risk that construction professionals find difficult to deal with? Why do some believe that risk a dirty word?
- [How to Use Let's Talk Business](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/how-to-use-lets-talk-business/) - This blog is an ongoing discussion of the challenges construction enterprise face and an opportunity for construction professionals to share solutions.
- [Insights into the Risk of Failure](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-failure/insights-into-the-risk-of-failure/) - If that’s all it takes to succeed in the construction business is a pickup truck, a box of tools, a cast-iron stomach, and a forgiving wife, why do so many…
- [Consolidation in Construction](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/business-strategic-and-project-planning/consolidation-in-construction/) - The relentless forces of consolidation have finally found the construction industry which many private and family-held enterprises see as a threat.
- [Don't Shoot the Messenger](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/dont-shoot-the-messenger/) - In our industry the accounting function is not given the status and significance it should have.
- [YOU are the Company](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/succession-planning/you-are-the-company/) - “A closely held construction company is the sum and substance of its experience. All of that sum and substance resides in its people”. (Dr. Thomas Schleifer)
- [All Management is Change Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/change-management/all-management-is-change-management/) - All Management Is Change Management Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results simply does not and will not work.
- [For Want of a Nail](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/labor-labor-issues/for-want-of-a-nail/) - In the construction business if it’s not one thing, it’s another. The recession of 2007 is finally abating in earnest and everyone is busy, but the workforce…
- [The Other Side of the World](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/current-events-interests/the-other-side-of-the-world/) - DOES WHAT HAPPENS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD… MATTER TO US?
- [Business, Strategic, Long Term Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/business-strategic-long-term-planning/) - Business, Strategic, Long Term Planning
- [Weekly Construction Message: The Technological Revolution in AEC - Adoption Resistance](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-technological-revolution-in-aec-adoption-resistance/) - The Technological Revolution in AEC TCS Edits Adoption Resistance A Little History The technological revolution in the AEC industry dates back to 1963 when…
- [Weekly Construction Message: In Search of Excellence](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/in-search-of-excellence/) - Please circulate this widely. It will benefit your constituents. This research is continuous and includes new information weekly as it becomes available.
- [Weekly Construction Message: Contractors OR Constructors](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/contractors-or-constructors/) - Dr Schleifer’s Weekly Construction Message "Contractors" -OR- "Constructors" From purely business perspective we should be known as "contractors" even if you…
- [Weekly Construction Message: Contract Execution](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/weekly-construction-message-contract-execution/) - Schleifer’s Weekly Construction Message Contract Execution Step 1 Equitable Assessment of Risk Last week's whimsical “letter to the contract” was designed to…
- [Weekly Construction Message: Manage Excellence](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/weekly-construction-message-manage-excellence/) - Where does your company stand in the Drucker Institute 5 criteria that define excellence?
- [Weekly Construction Message: Imagine](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/imagine/) - Imagining your constuction company through the eyes the top-managed companies.
- [Weekly Construction Message: The Contract: A Risk Management Tool](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/the-contract-a-risk-management-tool/) - Mitigation steps to reduce contractual risks associated with deviations from the plans or specifications
- [Weekly Construction Message: Beliefs and Harmful Bias](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/beliefs-and-harmful-bias/) - There are hidden reasons why we make business decisions, "unexamined beliefs" can lead to self-destructive decisions in the management of a construction…
- [Weekly Construction Message: Attention Owners - Look Beyond Low-Bid](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/attention-owners-look-beyond-low-bid/) - “It is time to stop trying to solve an age-old problem by selecting the least qualified contractors to build America.”
- [Weekly Construction Message: Getting The Work - Quality Based Pricing](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/weekly-construction-message-getting-the-work-quality-based-pricing/) - Learn from success, the 5 rules of Quality Based Pricing .
- [In Search of Excellence: The CFO](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/in-search-of-excellence-the-cfo/) - Don't let your CFO be an Executive Team Orphan
- [The Contract is the Customer - A Bad Belief](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/the-contract-is-the-customer-a-bad-belief/) - The topic of this blog is the belief that drives the marketing efforts of many contractors and why "customer service" is a rare commodity in construction.
- [Build and Maintain Your Company Like A College Football Coach](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/build-and-maintain-your-company-like-a-college-football-coach/) - A successful construction company is a team of talented individuals, who like a football team, need to be assembled, trained, and motivated.
- [Building Your Team - Board of Advisors](https://simplarfoundation.org/fm/building-your-team-board-of-advisors/) - A Board of Advisors can fill in the experience and education blanks that a CEO may not have.
- [Strategy for Success in 2022 - An Unpresented Market](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/labor-labor-issues/strategy-for-success-in-2022-an-unpresented-market/) - In this post-pandemic construction market, still plagued by persistent labor shortages, rampant inflation, and supply chain interruptions, the mid-sized or…
- [INFLATION - 2022/23](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/inflation-2022-23/) - The cause of the most recent inflatins spike are more complex than any in the past; wise construction professionals should factor considerable cist inflation…
- [2022 Construction Inflation Alert](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/labor-labor-issues/2022-construction-inflation-alert/) - In this inflationary environment, being in denial will not prevent us from losing money.
- [ZERO TURNOVER](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/zero-turnover/) - The skilled labor shortages facing the construction industry are unparalleled. Find out the unique response one contractor has initiated.
- [Planning IS Managing](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/planning-is-managing/) - Planning is not what should be done in the future, but rather what should be done now to achieve outcomes in the uncertain future.
- [Right Sizing](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/right-sizing/) - Flexible overhead is not nearly as painful as downsizing. Flexible overhead prepares a construction enterprise to do 15%-25% less vol
- [Capacity](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/capacity/) - Since the valuation of a contracting business is not based on its ability to earn money but on its capacity to conduct business into the future, determining…
- [SURPRISE We've Run Out of Money](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/surprise-weve-run-out-of-money/) - Cash flow management is an art form in the construction business. Every company, every project, and every season presents the CFO with new risk factors and…
- [The Science of Cash Flow Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/the-science-of-cash-flow-management/) - Because the cash flow statement is a critical management tool, your accounting department can track your company's liquidity and keep you out of illiquidity or…
- [No Guesses - No Surprises](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/no-guesses-no-surprises/) - No Guesses - No Surprises Cash flow mismanagement is a primary cause of construction business failure.
- [Patience](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/patience/) - The current market is approaching a "disorderly" status. What does that mean for contractors? What are a contractor's options?
- [Innovation](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/innovation/) - The construction industry has changed at its core. Most of the labor force that delivered construction services to the nation has retired and taken their…
- [Managerial Maturity](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/managerial-maturity/) - Managerial Maturity Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Back in the day when I started as a contractor, construction was still considered a custom product and my brother…
- [We Are Builders](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/we-are-builders/) - If you say “contracting” to anyone they immediately think of “construction”. The “building” industry has become identified with the signing of a contract at…
- [Ready-Fire-Aim](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/ready-fire-aim/) - Capital capacity is just a fancy way of saying having enough cash around to finance projects ongoing plus projects under consideration.
- [Two Major Risk Factors](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/two-major-risk-factors/) - The two major risk factors built into contracting: 1) Chronic under-capitalization 2) Highly complex transaction Chronic Under Capitalization Every contractor…
- [Estimating Working Capital Capacity](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-failure/estimating-working-capital-capacity/) - The process of estimating and preparing bids is one of our most essential management tasks, including direct and indirect costs.
- [How Beliefs Influence Decision Making](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/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.
- [Self-Confidence is a Belief](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/self-confidence-is-a-belief/) - Over my career as a contractor, educator, and consultant to the construction industry I have worked with hundreds of different contractors that were as…
- [The Bookie and The Bettor](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/the-bookie-and-the-bettor/) - Every bet has a winner and a loser. The bookie always wins a little, but the bettor often loses a lot. What’s the difference?
- [Let’s Make Money](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/lets-make-money/) - Let me begin 2024 by saying thank you to everyone who participated in our construction business management dialogue in the last eight years.
- [Take the Road Less Traveled](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/business-strategic-and-project-planning/take-the-road-less-traveled/) - The title of this blog is our theme for 2024. It is too hard to make good money in our industry these days.
- [Before-During-After Signing](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/before-during-after-signing/) - In the dance between customer and branding or reputation, current business marketing theory breaks down the experience into three stages - before, during, and…
- [Look Before You Leap](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/look-before-you-leap/) - There is no time like the present. 2024 is our year to improve profit margins, increase cash flow, and stabilize our businesses.
- [Old Beliefs = New Risks](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/old-beliefs-new-risks/) - This year we have been examining the reality that our beliefs impact our business decision making.
- [From Art to Science](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/from-art-to-science/) - Construction top executives come up through the ranks of the construction trades or through formal education which is usually in construction management or…
- [Corporate Darwinism](https://simplarfoundation.org/organization-transformation/corporate-darwinism-2/) - The term "Corporate Darwinism" was the title of a business book published in 1966 that tracked the stages of birth, growth, and death of the typical American…
- [Span of Control](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/span-of-control/) - Growth and success are almost synonymous in the construction lexicon. There are a couple of reasons for this: Ongoing business for construction contractors is…
- [Warren Buffett's Beliefs](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/growth/warren-buffetts-beliefs/) - The simplest definition of conglomerate is - a number of different things or parts that are put or grouped together to form a whole but remain distinct…
- [No/Go Without CFO](https://simplarfoundation.org/uncategorized/no-go-without-cfo/) - I have often said that the first sign that a young contractor is developing business acumen is when they hire their first CFO.
- [Start With Function](https://simplarfoundation.org/uncategorized/start-with-function/) - The process of building an organization that can execute profitable construction contracts sometimes begins with asking your spouse to answer the phone two…
- [You Are an Expert](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/you-are-an-expert/) - Do not be misled. Construction contractors are not manufacturing structures, or highways, and selling them to ultimate owners one piece at a time.
- [Experts Make Money](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/experts-make-money-2/) - Big business starts as small business especially in the construction industry, which is primarily made up of tens of thousands of small and medium sized…
- [Unexamined Beliefs](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/unexamined-beliefs/) - The construction industry is perhaps the best example of an industry built on firmly held but largely unexamined beliefs.
- [The Bean Counter Belief](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-bean-counter-belief/) - Contractors usually start out as closely held companies that grow their business gradually over time.
- ["Where Ignorance is Bliss..."](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/where-ignorance-is-bliss/) - A Case Study I was very young when I found myself running the field operation of the contracting firm my brother and I started.
- [Opportunistic Growth vs. Planned Growth](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/opportunistic-growth-vs-planned-growth/) - For many years I have been cautioning about the risk inherent in accelerated growth.
- [Beliefs](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/beliefs-2/) - For the past twelve weeks we have been examining the long-held but largely unexamined beliefs that subconsciously guide construction professional’s decision…
- [Entrepreneurs Become Managers](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/entrepreneurs-become-managers/) - Entrepreneurs Contractors begin as entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs generally set out to turn random opportunities into viable organizations that create value.
- [A Roadmap to Success](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/a-roadmap-to-success/) - (If you've been following our weekly discussions, you can dive right in here. But if you haven't read last week's discussion, go back and read it before…
- [Executing a Strategic Plan](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/executing-a-strategic-plan/) - Entrepreneurs all have a goal in mind, but in the frantic world of the construction business founders often forget where they’re headed.
- [From Founder to Leader](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/from-founder-to-leader/) - When must a contractor grow beyond being an entrepreneur and become a leader? What is the difference? What are the circumstances that require this evolution?
- [Management by Objective](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/management-by-objective/) - When they start their business, all contractors should have the same objective in mind: to make a profit.
- [From Boss to Leader](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/from-boss-to-leader/) - Unique Construction Business In many aspects the construction industry is unique in all American business: It sells a service but produces a product.
- [Leadership and Beyond](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership-and-beyond/) - A leader, as opposed to a manager or "boss", has a formidable responsibility to not only manage the current business, which generates significant revenue and…
- [2024 - Review](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/2024-review/) - My final thoughts for 2024. As this year nears its end, I am quite surprised. It may be my age, but I feel as if 2024 slipped away almost unnoticed.
- [Looking Ahead to 2025](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/looking-ahead-to-2025/) - Looking Ahead to 2025 Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. These are the topics we will be discussing in 2025.
- [Profit is Our Theme for 2025](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/profit-is-our-theme-for-2025/) - Profit is Our Theme for 2025 Construction industry profit margins are too low. The financial risk we take is too high.
- [In Construction Reputation is Everything](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/in-construction-reputation-is-everything/) - In the construction industry, build a reputation and you can build a business. Without a good reputation, you will find yourself at the mercy of wildly…
- [You Pick the Project](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/you-pick-the-project/) - Don't let the project pick you. In other words, don't be tempted to take any project that comes along.
- [Look Before You Leap](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/look-before-you-leap-2/) - Contracting is a risky business that works because contractors are risk takers. Every time we acquire a new project we are leaping into the unknown.
- [Prior and Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/prior-and-proper-preparation-prevents-poor-performance/) - Designers avoid risk, owners prefer to pass it along, and contractors absorb it. Today's construction risk environment is dramatically different than it was in…
- [Setting the Line](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/setting-the-line/) - Continuing last week’s risk discussion: Recognizing, identifying, and measuring risk is a critical pre-bid task.
- [A Risk Management Case Study](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/a-risk-management-case-study/) - Recognizing and assessing financial risks before you sign a construction contract is not an exercise you can ignore.
- [What Contractors Say About Risk](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/what-contractors-say-about-risk/) - If risk recognition and assessment is so fundamental to the construction transaction, why do so few contractors engage in formal risk management?
- [The Last Word](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-last-word/) - It's tough to build something on time and exactly as specified. It is even tougher to make money doing it. It seems like the deck is stacked against us.
- [Selling Expertise](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/selling-expertise/) - The construction industry is a significant part of the U.S. economy with total construction spending reaching $2.1 trillion in 2024, produced by over a million…
- [Growing Your Own](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/growing-your-own/) - The First Projects “How recruiting and training begins." After a contracting company gets underway, the founder rarely works on the job site.
- [No More Mom and Pop](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/no-more-mom-and-pop/) - My portrayal of the start-up process of most mom-and-pop contracting firms (which represent a huge portion of the $ 2.1 trillion industry) in last week's blog…
- [Leadership](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/leadership/) - As I pointed out last week, the construction industry is populated largely by entrepreneurial firms.
- [Team Building](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/team-building/) - The most important function of construction "bosses" after they promote themselves to "leader" is to build a professional organization that can provide their…
- [Surprise!!!](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/surprise/) - I experienced this firsthand when my company was sent in by sureties to complete projects interrupted by a contractor's unexpected failure.
- [Low-Bid Acquisition](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/low-bid-acquisition/) - Browse the Dodge Report and submit a competitive bid, to acquire any work that is available. Simple.
- [Is There a Doctor in the House?](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/is-there-a-doctor-in-the-house/) - Last week we discussed the irony of the construction industry's traditional low-bid acquisition system.
- [Call 911](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/call-911/) - Last week we established that the high failure rate in the construction industry comes down to a single cause - a shortage of working capital.
- [Profit, Profit, Profit](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/profit-profit-profit/) - "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." As most of my readers I am sure will testify, I don't often quote Shakespeare.
- [Beliefs and Harmful Bias](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/beliefs-and-harmful-bias-2/) - Unexamined beliefs play a role in the management decision making process and deeply held beliefs go largely unexamined.
- [Your Chief Financial Officer](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/your-chief-financial-officer/) - Contractors often wait too long to employ the business management expertise of a qualified Chief Financial Officer.
- [The CFO Consigliere ](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-cfo-consigliere/) - I have been waging a lifelong campaign to convince contractors that financial management is a professional skill and a critical component of their team.
- [The Enemy Within](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/the-enemy-within/) - A major theme throughout the Godfather trilogy is betrayal by enemies hidden within the family.
- [What Me Worry?](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/what-me-worry/) - Back in the 1960s "What Me Worry" was the masthead motto of a little counterculture publication known as Mad Magazine that is still around somewhere to this…
- [The Soothsayer](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-soothsayer/) - You may remember the soothsayers described in ancient history who could predict the future.
- [The Construction Cash Flow Dilemma](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-construction-cash-flow-dilemma/) - Managing cash flow in a construction company is a daunting task. The unique nature of the construction transaction makes it almost impossible to match cash…
- [Management of Working Capital](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/management-of-working-capital/) - The management of working capital in a construction company begins with a job-by-job cash flow plan.
- [The Problem with Construction Accounting](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-problem-with-construction-accounting/) - The state-of-the-art in construction accounting has advanced over the years but continues to be an area of great concern.
- [The Problem with the Construction Business](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-problem-with-the-construction-business/) - In last week's message I closed my eyes and dropped a bomb. Did you hear it? If not, I suggest you go back and reread last week's message.
- [Is Construction a Good Investment?](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/is-construction-a-good-investment/) - I’ve been a management consultant to the construction industry for 40 years. I have taught construction business management at some of the nation's best…
- [More Unexamined Beliefs](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/more-unexamined-beliefs/) - I introduced the concept of beliefs into my teaching about 20 years ago. I noticed during my years of research and countless interactions with contractors that…
- [Growth Is Always Good](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/growth-is-always-good/) - We begin this week with the first "belief" on last week's list - "Growth is always good ".
- [Catch 22](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/catch-22/) - Top line growth represents survival to a lot of contractors. Without regularly signing new contracts most contractors would go out of business in short order.
- [The Project Selection Program](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/the-project-selection-program/) - The most crucial element in construction profitability is selecting the appropriate project.
- [Death By Ice Machine](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/death-by-ice-machine/) - Construction is a risky business. A wide variety of risk factors are piled one on another throughout the construction transaction making it almost impossible…
- [Be the Head Coach](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/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…
- [Opportunity to Succeed](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/opportunity-to-succeed/) - Risk management begins with recognition, proceeds to evaluation, and ends with a detailed mitigation plan.
- [Engineering + Management = Success](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/engineering-management-success/) - The earliest known instance of human engineering was discovered at Kalambo Falls, Zambia and dates to about 476,000 years ago.
- [Surprise!](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/surprise-2/) - Businesses fail for any number of reasons but rarely is it a surprise to management.
- [People Who Live in Glass Houses  Shouldn't Throw Stone](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/people-who-live-in-glass-houses-shouldnt-throw-stone/) - I have been wrong in my criticism of contractors for ignoring financial statements in the day-to-day running of their businesses.
- [Timely Corrective Action](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/timely-corrective-action/) - Managing Capital Risk Recognizing the reality that there are multiple types and magnitudes of capital risk in construction is the first step in risk…
- [Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/proper-prior-preparation-prevents-poor-performance/) - Dennis Birch, a well-respected construction accountant, argued that "many US contractors are watchers instead of managers of their financial affairs." He…
- [Low Bid Acquisition](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/low-bid-acquisition-2/) - Low bid acquisition has been standard operating procedure in the construction industry, and just about all small start-up contractors are forced to participate…
- [ Retained Earnings](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/retained-earnings/) - "The ultimate measure of performance is not what is earned, but how the earnings are used to increase a construction company's value." (The Business of…
- [Act Like Lenders](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/act-like-lenders/) - One of the things that frustrates me about the relationship between contractors and owners is that owners act like they're doing us a favor by letting us take…
- [2025 to 2026](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/2025-to-2026/) - Even as the New Year has dawned, I offer these final thoughts on the year just passed.
- [Two Roads](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/two-roads/) - "Two roads converged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." ~ Robert Frost Every mature industrial company is…
- [Decision Tree Analysis](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/decision-tree-analysis/) - Decision tree analysis is not a scientific way to make decisions but rather a visual representation of the decision-making process that goes on inside the head…
- [The Schleifer MBA](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-schleifer-mba/) - This year, it is my mission to discuss the science of business. When financial transactions are small and simple the commonsense entrepreneur can make artful…
- [A Winning Team](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/a-winning-team/) - Most construction companies start out as simple closely held operations that can be run by the seat of any rational person's pants.
- [A Successful Construction Team](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/a-successful-construction-team/) - In the same way a Law Firm is a team of expert attorneys handling legal affairs for clients, a construction company is a team of construction experts providing…
- [Mature Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/mature-management/) - The success of a construction company depends on the skill level of each team member and the coordination of their individual efforts toward a common goal.
- [My Mission](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/my-mission/) - The NFL Draft The NFL draft is the perfect template for contractors to emulate when building the team of professionals that will eventually manage their…
- [A Contractor Speaks Out](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/a-contractor-speaks-out/) - Contractors are either selling finished buildings (highways, bridges, etc.) to ultimate owners or they are providing owners with construction services.
- [Contractor's Proper Role](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/contractorsproperrole/) - I have been haranguing the industry for years about what is wrong with the contracting business model.
- [Reputation](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/reputation/) - We are discussing how unexamined beliefs about the nature and structure of the construction business transaction have had a corrosive effect on contractor…
- [When Construction Activity Becomes Commercial Activity](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/when-construction-activity-becomes-commercial-activity/) - This week we will be discussing the distinction between construction activity and commercial activity.
- [Profit](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/profit/) - Last week we settled on this definition of business which bears repeating: Business is the purposeful pursuit of profit through the commercial activity of…
- [Generational Wealth](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/generational-wealth/) - Despite its vast size ($2 trillion in annual sales) and impact on the nation's economy, the construction industry remains, at its core, a collection of small…
- [Tricks of the Trade](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/tricks-of-the-trade/) - Most contractors start out with plenty of ambition, guts, and resourcefulness. That's what it takes to quit a good paying job and ‘go off on your own’ not…
- [New Tricks](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/new-tricks/) - Magicians only perform a trick once for the same audience. A second time and the trick loses its luster. The third time around the audience figures it out.
- [A Snapshot in Time](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/a-snapshot-in-time/) - A key risk factor I discovered dealing with thousands of failed contractors was that these contractors failed to use business science tools to manage their…
- [Flying By Instruments](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/flying-by-instruments/) - Piloting a plane by instruments is the practice of navigating and controlling an aircraft using only the cockpit displays, entirely independent of outside…
- [The Percentage of Completion Accounting Method](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/the-percentage-of-completion-accounting-method/) - The unique nature of the construction financial transaction (total revenues contracted for rather than collected at the point of sale) demands that the three…
- [Use Only the Direct Method](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/use-only-the-direct-method/) - Managing a day-to-day construction business using the three traditional financial statements alone leaves an important financial metric (Cash Flow) difficult…
- [No Surprises](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/no-surprises/) - The instrument rated construction company financial management that we have been discussing these past few weeks is not simply a metaphor.
- [It Takes a Team of Financial Professionals](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/it-takes-a-team-of-financial-professionals/) - The unique complex nature of the construction financial transaction cannot be overstated.
- [The Purpose of Business is to Make a Profit](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/business-strategic-and-project-planning/the-purpose-of-business-is-to-make-a-profit/) - Warren Buffet was a businessman. He never drove a train, wrote an insurance policy, built an office tower, or miniaturized a computer.
- [In The Beginning](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/in-the-beginning/) - In my long career as a contractor to a consultant, I have had the good fortune to work with young people who had recently inherited a construction business.
- [Strategic Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/strategic-planning-2/) - "If you don't know where you're going - you're probably not going to get there." I quote this ancient Chinese proverb every time I talk about strategic…
- [What Contractors Say About Risk](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/what-contractors-say-about-risk-2/) - Vacation schedules have interrupted our strategic planning series, so we are repeating an important message on risk.
- [See The Future and Make It Happen](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/see-the-future-and-make-it-happen/) - I often define strategic planning as an ongoing mental organizational process used to point your company in a direction and help leaders and employees share…
- [Read the Roadmap](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/read-the-roadmap/) - If you have not read last week's message you should go back and read it at least twice, take notes, think about it and talk to other employees about it.
- [31st Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Profiting During Business Cycles](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/31st-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-profiting-during-business-cycles/) - 31st Crisis-era Message to Contractors from: Dr Tom Schleifer Profiting During Business Cycles
- [Construction CFOs - They're Not Bean Counters](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/construction-cfos-theyre-not-bean-counters/) - The construction business is complicated and requires trained specialists in many different fields to successfully accomplish each task.
- [The R-Score](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/the-r-score/) - R-Score Formula – Measures the stability of a company’s available capital as it moves through the natural growth cycles of the construction industry.
- [Let's Talk Business - Good News](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/managing-subcontractors/lets-talk-business-good-news/) - Looking forward to 2020 and beyond, technological innovation will be the catalyst of insured growth in productivity and profitability.
- [Best-in-Class Management 2022 - Managing Growth](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/best-in-class-management-2022-managing-growth/) - In construction, there is no sustained business or growth without constantly initiating new projects.
- [Inadequate Working Capital](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/inadequate-working-capital/) - Why thin working capital sinks otherwise healthy contractors, and how to judge whether your firm has enough to carry the work it takes on.
- [Cash is King](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/cash-is-king-2/) - Working capital means something different in a contracting firm than in other industries. What the contractor's version is, and why cash rules.
- [Step-by-Step Cash Flow Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/step-by-step-cash-flow-management/) - Managing construction cash flow takes financial skill, flexibility and constant focus. A step-by-step look at the variables and how to control them.
- [Managing Cash Flow](https://simplarfoundation.org/uncategorized/managing-cash-flow/) - Construction firms rarely raise public capital. How contractors fund growth through invested capital, retained earnings and other forms of financing.
- [The Second and Final Ingredient](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-second-and-final-ingredient/) - A successful construction company needs two ingredients: personnel and capital. A look at the second one, and what happens when it runs short.
- [Keeping Your Team Intact](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/keeping-your-team-intact/) - Assembling a construction management team is slow, frustrating work. How to hold that team together once you have it, through cycles and downturns.
- [Training](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/training/) - Construction companies sell services, not structures. Why that makes training the core investment in the only asset the business really owns.
- [Recruiting](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/labor-labor-issues/recruiting/) - Most construction companies begin as closely held or family concerns. How recruiting has to change as the business grows beyond its founders.
- [Assembling Assets](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/assembling-assets/) - Building a company means assembling the assets that let it turn a profit. In a service business, those assets are mostly people.
- [A Construction Company IS Its Management Team](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/a-construction-company-is-its-management-team/) - A construction company does not have a management team, it is its management team. Why that distinction matters for value and succession.
- [Let's Make Money](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/lets-make-money-2/) - The purpose of business is to make money, but making money means different things to the employee, the owner and the investor.
- [The Components of Contractor Value](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-components-of-contractor-value/) - The value of a construction company is its ability to make money. The three components that ability is built from.
- [Dead Reckoning](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/dead-reckoning/) - Dead reckoning plots position from a known point, course and speed. The same discipline applied to steering a construction business.
- [When Data Becomes Information](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/when-data-becomes-information/) - Strategic analysis beat a bigger opponent on the basketball court. The same distinction, data versus information, decides construction strategy.
- [Evolution](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/evolution/) - Most contractors succeed without a formal strategic plan. Why strategic planning still matters, and what happens to the firms that skip it.
- [Growing Out of "Closely Held"](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/growing-out-of-closely-held/) - Over a million U.S. construction firms are closely held or family owned. What it takes to grow beyond that structure, and why so few manage it.
- [If You Don't Know Where You're Going You're Probably Not Going to Get There](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/if-you-dont-know-where-youre-going-youre-probably-not-going-to-get-there/) - Unless a contractor knows where the company is headed, planning is guesswork. A short case for setting direction before setting targets.
- [Dominoes](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/dominoes/) - Running a contracting company is like playing dominoes: every decision sets up the next. A contractor's take on sequence and consequence.
- [Strategic Magic](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/strategic-magic/) - UConn is neither the biggest nor the most prestigious school in its conference, yet it keeps winning. What strategy, not scale, makes possible.
- [We Interrupt Our Regular Programming...](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/we-interrupt-our-regular-programming/) - A claimed solution to the construction industry's shortage of skilled labor, and an honest look at whether it holds up.
- [Winning the War](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/winning-the-war/) - Construction professionals know where they want the company to go, but daily firefighting keeps them from getting there. How to win the war, not the battle.
- [Risk Mitigation](https://simplarfoundation.org/partnering-planning-pm/risk-mitigation/) - Risk Mitigation Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Thirty-five years ago, I initiated research that resulted in ranking construction contracting #2 in business failure…
- [Playing Against Marked Cards](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/playing-against-marked-cards/) - If you’ve been with me these past two months, you know that I have finally begun to take the lid off our industry.
- [Eye On the Ball](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/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.
- [My View of the Construction Industry](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/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…
- [Construction Leadership Network Conference: Building the Future](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/construction-leadership-network-conference-building-the-future/) - Get ready to transform your business and gain a competitive edge in the construction industry.
- [From Builder to Manager](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/from-builder-to-manager/) - From Builder to Manager Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. With the possible exception of prostitution, construction is the world’s oldest industry.
- [Big Small Business](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/big-small-business/) - Big Small Business Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. The oldest known structure on earth Göbekli Tepe, the remains of a temple at an archeological site in Southeastern…
- [A Flawed Business Model](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/a-flawed-business-model/) - A Flawed Business Model Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Construction organizations often select projects to fill their growth goals, satisfy their need for immediate…
- [The Death of Expertise](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/the-death-of-expertise/) - 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…
- [“Ya Puts Up Ya Money…Ya Takes Yer Cherce”](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/project-selection-built-environment/ya-puts-up-ya-moneyya-takes-yer-cherce/) - “Ya Puts Up Ya Money…Ya Takes Yer Cherce” Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. So says Charles Dickens’ racetrack tout in his native cockney accent.
- [We Are the World](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/we-are-the-world/) - We Are the World Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. The construction industry functions in a world economy beyond our national borders.
- [Contractors Were Right](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/contractors-were-right/) - Contractors Were Right Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Since the beginning of 2023 I have been cautioning contractors to beware of the potential for a coming…
- [Tony the Temper](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/tony-the-temper/) - Tony the Temper Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Contractors and their senior executives don’t pull wire, pour concrete, drive nails, or dig holes.
- [True or False](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/true-or-false/) - True or False Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Beliefs The human brain is a problem-solving instrument that learns how to care for its host through experience.
- [Experts Make Money](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/experts-make-money/) - Experts Make Money Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Because too many construction projects are priced through a low-bid auction process, contractors have only minimal…
- [Secrets To Success](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/secrets-to-success/) - Secrets To Success Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Last week we posted the final blog in our series on managing a construction company in disorderly markets.
- [Keeping the Team Together](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/keeping-the-team-together/) - Keeping the Team Together Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. “A closely held construction company can be defined at any given point in its life cycle as the sum and…
- [Firing Up the Team](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/firing-up-the-team/) - Firing Up the Team Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Successful construction professionals build a team in four successive steps: 1. Recruit 2. Train 3. Motivate 4.
- [The Secret to Training](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/the-secret-to-training/) - The Secret to Training Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Apprentice training programs for the construction trades follow a well-established protocol.
- [Secrets to Recruiting](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/secrets-to-recruiting/) - Secrets to Recruiting Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Most of us in the industry rarely consider construction contracting a service but, of course, that’s exactly…
- [Our Team is Our Business](https://simplarfoundation.org/procurement/our-team-is-our-business/) - Our Team is Our Business Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. The Greatest Generation After World War II the construction industry boomed in the U.S.
- [It Takes a Team](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/it-takes-a-team/) - It Takes a Team Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Even with a visionary founder or CEO firmly in control, a professional team is necessary to execute the founder’s or…
- [Working Capital Q&A](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/working-capital-qa/) - Working Capital Q&A Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Our current series of messages on managing working capital during this post pandemic disrupted economy has…
- [Envisioning The Future](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/envisioning-the-future/) - Envisioning The Future Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. “What do you mean by envisioning the future?” was the first question I received just minutes after posting…
- [Planning the Present](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/planning-the-present/) - Planning the Present Thomas C Schleifer, Ph.D. Managing working capital during this post pandemic disrupted economy has led to many questions from contractors.
- [Working Capital Engineers](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/working-capital-engineers/) - No sane construction professional would prepare a bid or start a job without input from the estimators, designers and/or engineers, and project managers.
- [Managing Working Capital ](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/managing-working-capital/) - The roots of the stock market can be traced back to the early 1600’s and the NYSE traces its origin to the 1790s.
- [The Haves and Have-Nots](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/the-haves-and-have-nots/) - Unlike rampant inflation, supply chain collapse, or a sudden descent into recession; trends creep up without us noticing.
- [Make Friends with Trends](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/make-friends-with-trends/) - We have been discussing managing construction companies profitably under post-pandemic disruptive market conditions.
- [Game Changer](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/game-changer/) - When Brady left the Patriots, that was a game changer. When Mahomes went to the Chiefs, that was a game changer.
- [Adapting To Trends](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/adapting-to-trends/) - If you’ve been with us since the first of the year, we have been discussing managing risk under the disrupted market conditions of 2023.
- [Navigating Trends](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/navigating-trends/) - Contractors by nature are gamblers. In our minds, the bigger the risk, the bigger the payoff.
- [Climate Change (in construction)](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/climate-change-in-construction/) - As the saying goes, denial is not just a river in Africa. Many general contractors believe that since hiring skilled workers is the sub’s job, there is nothing…
- [What a Crazy Business](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/what-a-crazy-business/) - “Picture if you will…” (a nod to Rod Serlng) a construction industry where there is no-bid requirements, where a contract would be a “fee for services”…
- [Identifying Risk](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/identifying-risk/) - There is little doubt that an impending recession, a continued shortage of skilled labor, kinks in the supply chain, and inflated costs will challenge even the…
- [Keep Your Eye on the Ball](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/keep-your-eye-on-the-ball/) - Some forecasters a predicting an “Capra-esque” 2023, while others are certain we are smack-dab in the middle of an M. Night Shyamalan plot.
- [How Much is Enough?](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/how-much-is-enough/) - 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…
- [Capital Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/capital-management/) - After New Year’s, prognosticators gave up pretense and predicted recession for 2023.
- [CFOs Tackle Supply Chain](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/cfos-tackle-supply-chain/) - Welcome to 2023. The turning of the calendar page is an artifice that has taken on unrealistic significance.
- [Capital Capacity](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/capital-capacity/) - American industries have had (and are still having – think the tech sector or big pharma) phenomenal growth due to capitalization by Wall Street.
- [The R-Score](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-r-score-2/) - The construction business is one of the most complicated enterprises in the world.
- [The Contracting Business](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-contracting-business/) - Construction projects are high-risk, highly complicated endeavors. Successful contractors are risk-takers capable of juggling multiple projects while…
- [Beware DE-flation](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/beware-de-flation/) - Industry prognosticators are predicting a slowing of the construction market in 2023 and possibly beyond.
- [Can You Be Flexible?](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/can-you-be-flexible/) - The construction business does not fit the traditional management theory taught at all the nation’s prestigious business schools.
- [Cash is King](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/cash-is-king/) - Contractors rarely have enough cash on the balance sheet to see them through down markets, particularly if banks pull back on their lines of credit which…
- [Navigating Stormy Seas](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/navigating-stormy-seas/) - To paraphrase Rudyard Kipling…” If you can keep your head when all of those around you are losing theirs…” this has never rung more true than today in this…
- [CLEAN UP YOUR BOOKS](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/clean-up-your-books/) - As we have discussed before, the shrinking recessionary market, profit margins are shrinking and contractors who are undercapitalized will be in jeopardy.
- [Consolidation](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/consolidation/) - This post-COVID economic environment is not a normal market. It is a disorderly market that will haunt construction for years.
- [IF](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/if/) - Experts agree that the coming year will be a difficult one as bid amounts will continue to rise, private owners will balk and public owners will be hesitant to…
- [Productivity - The Only Way Out](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/productivity-the-only-way-out/) - The construction industry is still treating this trending shortage of skilled labor as if it were a temporary fly in the ointment.
- [Defense Mechanisms](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/defense-mechanisms/) - The construction industry is currently in the midst of “bottom-line recession”, or a dramatic erosion of profits caused by runaway cost inflation.
- [Recession – Yes or No?](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/recession-yes-or-no/) - Recession yes or recession no? Unfortunately, yes. The construction industry has already entered a recession caused by spiraling wages and cost of materials.
- [A Day in The Life of A "Best-In-Class" Contractor](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-best-in-class-contractor/) - We call contractors who fit the management profile that the Construction Company Self-Analysis Prgraom outlies , "Best-in-Class".
- [In The Eye of the Beholder](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) - The results of my research taught me that most successful contractors manage their organizations in a similar fashion, and all contractors could increase their…
- [Back To the Beginning](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/back-to-the-beginning/) - The construction industry has the 2nd highest failure rate in American industry. While big & little companies fail daily, new construction companies take their…
- [The Next Normal](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-next-normal/) - The construction market is no longer facing temporary disruptions but long-term trends.
- [Disruption](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/disruption/) - The disruptions the construction industry has been facing over the last few years are actually trends and are not temporary and will not dissolve naturally as…
- [Building A Stable Organization from Within](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/building-a-stable-organization-from-within/) - The construction industry needs a whole new human resource paradigm to change how we think about the individual employees that collectively make up our…
- [Strategic Flexibility--Managing in Disorderly Markets](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/strategic-flexibility-managing-in-disorderly-markets/) - Contractors, like political leaders are making management decisions based on conditions we are not familiar with from past experience.
- [Disorderly Markets--A Case Study](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/disorderly-markets-a-case-study/) - Contractors are used to managing in volatile markets that go up and down in predictable cycles.
- [The CFO Risk Manager](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-cfo-risk-manager/) - It is time to bring the CFO out of the back office and join him or her in an active risk management program.
- [Making Book](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/making-book/) - By isolating the most common causes of project failure, then weighting them according to their impact on the thousands of case histories I used in the sample…
- [Project Selection Realities](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/project-selection-realities/) - While choosing projects is always a gamble, a skilled CEO will use his/er experts (CFos or senior accountng managers) to set the odds in their favor.
- [The Gambler](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/the-gambler/) - Every bid submitted and contract signed should only be executed after data experts (your estimators and your Chief Financial Officer) have analyzed the…
- ["It's Not My Job"](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/its-not-my-job/) - We are no longer the industry of our fathers and grandfathers, and we will not prosper if we do not understand what that entails.
- [Employee Engagement](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/employee-engagement/) - With almost 50% of the construction workforce retiring in the next decade, the construction industry must find new and innovative ways to attract younger…
- [Recession Potential](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/recession-potential/) - Most experts agree that a recession is on the horizon, however, what they can't agree on is what it will look like for the construction industry.
- [No Guesses - No Surprises, Number Two](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/no-guesses-no-surprises-number-two/) - We can all agree that being able to factor market volatility into a construction company’s cash flow plan is nearly impossible.
- [What is a Construction Company?](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/what-is-a-construction-company/) - Business organizations are living organisms, and, like all living organisms, they have a life cycle.
- [Supply Chain Bottlenecks – 2022 And Beyond](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/business-strategic-and-project-planning/supply-chain-bottlenecks-2022-and-beyond/) - Serious kinks in the world-wide supply chain have emerged during the last two years of struggle with this dastardly COVID virus
- [Inflation - 2022 And Beyond](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/inflation-2022-and-beyond/) - Sky high inflation is affecting all levels of the construction business at levels not seen for 40 years. Is your company equipped to navigate through it?
- [Welcome To 2022](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/welcome-to-2022/) - Economic variables which emerged in 2021 and how they will effect the construction business in 2022
- [What Do You Want? - Science of Construction Business Management Series](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/what-do-you-want-science-of-construction-business-management-series/) - Engaging in long-term planningis the single most effective method of establishing sustainable corporate goals and testing them for apppropiateness.
- [Strategic Planning - 1st in Science Construction Business Management Series](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/strategic-planning-1st-in-science-construction-business-management-series/) - Strategic thinking is capturing what managers have learned from all sources and then synthesizing that learning into a vision of the direction that the…
- [A Personal Note to My Friends and Colleagues](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/a-personal-note-to-my-friends-and-colleagues/) - The science of management is just as important as the science of engineering....both are needed for a company to be successful.
- [The Science of Business Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/the-science-of-business-management/) - The $550 infrastructure bill is not the salvation we are all hoping it would be. We are still faced with supply chain bottle-necks and a lack os skilled…
- [The Bottom Line is The Bottom Line](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/the-bottom-line-is-the-bottom-line/) - The $550 infrastructure bill is not the salvation we are all hoping it would be. We are still faced with supply chain bottle-necks and a lack os skilled…
- [Unstable Markets Skilled Labor Shortage](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/unstable-markets-skilled-labor-shortage/) - Contractors must stop competing in an ever-shrinking labor pool and join together to execute an overall construction industry solution to this critical…
- [Unstable Market Factors #1 INFLATION](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/unstable-market-factors-1-inflation/) - Contractors Thrive During Stable Markets but what if inflation is looming as in the 1970s?
- [Stable Markets: Where All Profits Reside](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/business-strategic-and-project-planning/stable-markets-where-all-profits-reside/) - Best-in-class construction business management practices are the only way to stabilize the highly complex, perpetually unstable construction markets that are…
- [INTRODUCING: The Secrets to Construction Business Success](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/the-secrets-to-construction-business-success/) - Tips on how to how to be successful, how to avoid the pitfalls that look like opportunities, and how the construction business works.
- [Do-It-Yourself Project Selection Tool](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/do-it-yourself-project-selection-tool/) - Designed for general contractors, subcontractors, construction managers, estimators, and senior construction professionals, the Project Selection Tool is also…
- [Hold on to Your Hats](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/hold-on-to-your-hats/) - We are entering into an economic recovery...avoid the impulse to rush headlong into it.
- [News Flash: Infrastructure Boom](https://simplarfoundation.org/newsflash/news-flash-infrastructure-boom/) - Biden’s $2 trillion “everything but the kitchen sink” infrastructure boom may fizzle in the face of the republican $568 billion traditional “roads and bridges…
- [Employee Engagement & Development](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/labor-labor-issues-business-construction/employee-engagement-development/) - Employee engagement and development is the key element to success in the construction industry.
- [Weekly Construction Message: High Quality vs Low-Bid](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/weekly-construction-message-high-quality-vs-low-bid/) - High quality versus low bid in construction procurement: what owners actually get when price is allowed to outrank performance.
- [Manual of Construction Practices](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/manual-of-construction-practices/) - Click here to download the full Manual of Construction Practices by Dr. Thomas Schleifer
- [Profitability Equals Viability](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/profitability-equals-viability/) - Best value procurement that focuses on being the most qualified contractor to do the job and properly assigns risk to the party that can best foresee and bear…
- [Compression](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-development-business-construction/compression/) - Compression occurs during construction market downturns when the larger and biggest contractors, determined to take any available work to keep their people…
- [9th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: The Construction Market Bracing for Long-Term Disruption](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/9th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-the-construction-market-bracing-for-long-term-disruption/) - Ninth Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: The Construction Market Bracing for Long-Term Disruption
- [6th Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Impact of Back-to-Work Restrictions](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/6th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-impact-of-back-to-work-restrictions/) - Sixth Crisis-era Message to Contractors from Dr. Tom Schleifer: Impact of Back-to-Work Restrictions
- [Mother Nature - Is Taking Us to School](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/mother-nature-is-taking-us-to-school/) - Change is Mother Nature’s constant state of affairs. In itself, change is neither good nor bad; it simply is. It only becomes “bad” when we resist it.
- [Embrace Change](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/embrace-change/) - EMBRACE CHANGE Because the only thing permanent in life is change
- [5th Crisis-era Message to Contractors - From Dr. Tom Schleifer - Pace of Recovery-Impact on Construction](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/5th-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-pace-of-recovery-impact-on-construction/) - Fifth Crisis-era Message to Contractors – From Dr. Tom Schleifer – Pace of Recovery-Impact on Construction
- [2nd Crisis-era Message to Contractors - From Dr Tom Schleifer - Immediate Measured Response](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/2nd-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer-immediate-measured-response/) - Second Crisis-era Message to Contractors – From Dr Tom Schleifer – Immediate Measured Response
- [1st Crisis-era message to Contractors - From Dr Tom Schleifer](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/1st-crisis-era-message-to-contractors-from-dr-tom-schleifer/) - First Crisis-era message to Contractors – From Dr Tom Schleifer
- [Current Construction Recovery](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/business-failure/current-construction-recovery/) - The euphoria of top line growth can mask the concurrent inflation in costs and put the all-important bottom-line in serious peril.
- [The Surety](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/the-surety/) - Sureties operate the “sports book” for the construction industry. They handicap risk by setting rates and issuing bonds.
- [Risk Minimization](https://simplarfoundation.org/procurement/risk-management-procurement/risk-minimization/) - Thorough planning, quality control, and equitable contract negotiations all play a part in risk minimization.
- [Reality Check #3](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/current-events-interests/reality-check-3/) - Risk Mitigation in Growth Markets
- [Productivity a Risk Factor](https://simplarfoundation.org/project-delivery/productivity/productivity-a-risk-factor/) - One of the most important factors in accurate estimating, planning, and executing profitable contracts is forecasting a productive labor force that can produce…
- [Sources and Uses of Funds](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/sources-and-uses-of-funds/) - Contractors must be able to see where their cash was used in order to understand their capital position at the end of an accounting period, the statement of…
- [Recognizing and Managing Risk](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/risk-management/recognizing-and-managing-risk/) - Recognizing and Managing Risk
- [Construction Market Cycles](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/prospering-cyclical-market/construction-market-cycles/) - Construction Market Cycles
- [Project Selection](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/project-selection/project-selection/) - Project Selection
- [Personal Professional Development](https://simplarfoundation.org/built-environment/leadership/personal-professional-development/) - Personal Professional Development
- [Financial Risk](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/financial-risk/) - Financial Risk
- [Project Selection Process](https://simplarfoundation.org/business-of-construction/project-selection/project-selection-process/) - Project Selection Process

## Pages

- [Home](https://simplarfoundation.org/) - The Simplar Foundation advances procurement, project delivery, and facility management through collaborative research between industry and academia.
- [Productivity in Multi-Trade Construction Workflows](https://simplarfoundation.org/multiskilling/workflows/)
- [Multiskilling Contact](https://simplarfoundation.org/multiskilling/contact/)
- [The Dr. Tom Schleifer Business of Construction Library](https://simplarfoundation.org/the-dr-tom-schleifer-business-of-construction-library/) - The Dr. Tom Schleifer Business of Construction Library: leadership tools and insight from more than 50 years in construction contracting.
- [Scholarships](https://simplarfoundation.org/scholarships/) - The Simplar Foundation Scholarship Program awards scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students in construction and related fields.
- [Research](https://simplarfoundation.org/research/) - The Simplar Foundation sponsors research with leading academics at high-impact universities across procurement, project delivery, and facility management.
- [Multiskilling - News - 260902](https://simplarfoundation.org/multiskilling/news/multiskilling-research-series-volume-1/)
- [Multiskilling Knowledge Center](https://simplarfoundation.org/multiskilling/)
- [Multiskilling - News](https://simplarfoundation.org/multiskilling/news/)
- [Research Team](https://simplarfoundation.org/multiskilling/research-team/)
- [Contractor Safety Context](https://simplarfoundation.org/multiskilling/contractor-safety-context/)
- [A Comprehensive Review of Prior Evidence](https://simplarfoundation.org/multiskilling/prior-evidence-review/)
- [How Construction Employers Develop, Verify, and Sustain Workforce Capability](https://simplarfoundation.org/multiskilling/workforce-capability-systems/)
- [Work-Time Utilization and Staffing Level Impacts](https://simplarfoundation.org/multiskilling/work-time-utilization-staffing/)
- [ENR - Supply Chain Snarls Aren't Going Away Do Something About Them](https://simplarfoundation.org/enr-supply-chain-snarls-arent-going-away-do-something-about-them/) - Read the ENR article on why supply chain snarls aren't going away and what construction leaders can do about them.
- [Thank you for your submission!](https://simplarfoundation.org/thank-you/) - We’ve received your details and will get back to you shortly.
- [Construction Resources](https://simplarfoundation.org/construction-resources/) - Construction resources from the Simplar Foundation, including Engineering News-Record articles on avoiding costly conflicts and managing risk.
- [The DNA of Construction Failure](https://simplarfoundation.org/dna/) - Download the slides from The DNA of Construction Failure, a Simplar Foundation presentation on why construction firms fail and how to avoid it.
- [Schleifer Dashboard](https://simplarfoundation.org/schleifer-dashboard/) - An interactive dashboard of Dr. Tom Schleifer's construction business indicators, including the R-Score, from the Simplar Foundation.
- [FM Business Case](https://simplarfoundation.org/fm-business-case/) - Facility managers: build a fundable, C-suite-ready business case. Download Simplar Foundation's four-part FM business case template and research report.
- [Journal](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal/) - The Journal of Research and Practice in Projects and Organizations: rigorous inquiry and field-tested lessons from real project implementation.
- [Submit an Article](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-submit/) - Submit an article to JoRPPO, the Simplar Foundation's practice-first journal publishing research, case studies, and industry insight.
- [About the Journal](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-about/) - About JoRPPO: a practice-first, open access journal connecting real industry challenges with applied research, case studies, and emerging technology.
- [Contact](https://simplarfoundation.org/contact/) - Contact the Simplar Foundation about research collaboration, scholarships, sponsorship, or the Business of Construction Library.
- [Blog](https://simplarfoundation.org/blog/) - The Simplar Foundation Newslog: research and commentary on the built environment, the business of construction, and facility management.
- [testing ai](https://simplarfoundation.org/testing-ai/) - Exploring AI-driven innovations in procurement and how the technology is changing sourcing and supplier processes.
- [IFMA Technology Report](https://simplarfoundation.org/fm-technology/) - The IFMA Technology Report: actionable procurement recommendations to help facility managers select and implement FM technology.
- [Subscribe](https://simplarfoundation.org/subscribe/) - Subscribe to the Simplar Foundation Newslog for research and commentary on construction, procurement, and facility management.

## Journal Articles

- [The Exodus of Women in the Facility Management Workforce](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal/the-exodus-of-women-in-the-facility-management-workforce/) - Women are present in the facility management workforce but sharply underrepresented in senior roles. Research on why they leave and what retains them.
- [Independent Cost Estimation (ICE) in Public and Private Project Delivery: Definitions, Statutory Frameworks, and Delivery-Method Comparisons](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal/independent-cost-estimation-project-delivery/) - Independent Cost Estimation is a key oversight tool for negotiated delivery methods such as Design-Build. How ICE works on public and private projects.
- [Enhancing Project Scheduling with AI Driven Analysis: A Case Study on Helipad Construction](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal/enhancing-project-scheduling-with-ai-driven-analysis-a-case-study-on-helipad-construction/) - A case study on using AI to improve schedule quality in Primavera P6, surfacing logic gaps project teams would otherwise miss.
- [Where Do Preconstruction Schedules Go Off Track? An Evidence-Informed Industry Commentary](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal/where-do-preconstruction-schedules-go-off-track/) - Preconstruction schedules derail in eight recurring domains, starting with vendor information. Where they go off track and how to catch it early.
- [Togal.AI vs On-Screen Takeoff: A Comparative Analysis of Time Efficiency and Accuracy](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal/togal-ai-vs-on-screen-takeoff-a-comparative-analysis-of-time-efficiency-and-accuracy/) - Togal.AI delivered roughly 70% time savings on common takeoff tasks while holding accuracy within about 5% of On-Screen Takeoff.

## Categories

- [Uncategorized](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/uncategorized/)
- [Business of Construction](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/)
- [Procurement](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/procurement/)
- [Built Environment](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/)
- [Partnering, Planning, PM](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/partnering-planning-pm/)
- [Project Delivery](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/)
- [Facility Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/fm/)
- [Organization Transformation](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/organization-transformation/)
- [Business, Strategic & Project Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/business-strategic-project-planning/)
- [Business, Strategic and Project Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/business-strategic-and-project-planning/)
- [Financial Management and Risk](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/financial-management-and-risk/)
- [Financial Management and Risk](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/financial-management-and-risk-project-delivery/)
- [Financial Management and Risk](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/procurement/financial-management-and-risk-procurement/)
- [Financial Management and Risk](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/financial-management-and-risk-built-environment/)
- [Leadership](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/leadership/)
- [Project Selection](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/project-selection/)
- [Leadership](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/leadership-business-construction/)
- [Leadership](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/procurement/leadership-procurement/)
- [Project Selection](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/project-selection-built-environment/)
- [Project Selection](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/procurement/project-selection-procurement/)
- [Project Selection](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/project-selection-project-delivery/)
- [Prospering Cyclical Market](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/prospering-cyclical-market/)
- [Prospering Cyclical Market](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/prospering-cyclical-market-built-environment/)
- [Risk Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/risk-management/)
- [Risk Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/risk-management-built-environment/)
- [Risk Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/procurement/risk-management-procurement/)
- [Risk Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/risk-management-project-delivery/)
- [Growth](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/growth/)
- [Growth](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/growth-built-environment/)
- [Overhead](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/overhead/)
- [Current Events/Interests](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/current-events-interests/)
- [Current Events/Interests](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/current-events-interests-business-construction/)
- [Current Events/Interests](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/partnering-planning-pm/current-events-interests-partnering-planning-pm/)
- [Current Events/Interests](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/organization-transformation/current-events-interests-organization-transformation/)
- [Current Events/Interests](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/fm/current-events-interests-fm/)
- [Current Events/Interests](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/procurement/current-events-interests-procurement/)
- [Current Events/Interests](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/current-events-interests-project-delivery/)
- [Labor & Labor Issues](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/labor-labor-issues/)
- [Labor & Labor Issues](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/labor-labor-issues-business-construction/)
- [Change Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/change-management/)
- [Change Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/change-management-project-delivery/)
- [Change Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/organization-transformation/change-management-organization-transformation/)
- [Change Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/change-management-built-environment/)
- [Succession Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/succession-planning/)
- [Succession Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/succession-planning-business-construction/)
- [Business Failure](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/business-failure/)
- [Business Failure](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/business-failure-built-environment/)
- [Managing Subcontractors](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/managing-subcontractors/)
- [Managing Subcontractors](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/managing-subcontractors-business-construction/)
- [Change Orders](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/change-orders/)
- [Change Orders](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/change-orders-business-construction/)
- [Equipment Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/equipment-management/)
- [Equipment Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/equipment-management-built-environment/)
- [Developer Delimas/Issues](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/developer-delimas-issues/)
- [Developer Delimas/Issues](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/developer-delimas-issues-project-delivery/)
- [Procurement](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/procurement/procurement-procurement/)
- [Board of Directors](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/board-of-directors/)
- [Dispute Resolution](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/dispute-resolution/)
- [Dispute Resolution](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/dispute-resolution-built-environment/)
- [Proposal Writing](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/proposal-writing/)
- [Proposal Writing](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/procurement/proposal-writing-procurement/)
- [Contractor Default](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/contractor-default/)
- [Contractor Default](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/contractor-default-business-construction/)
- [Contracting Methods](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/contracting-methods/)
- [Contracting Methods](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/contracting-methods-project-delivery/)
- [Scheduling](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/scheduling/)
- [Scheduling](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/scheduling-project-delivery/)
- [Productivity](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/productivity/)
- [Business Development](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/business-development/)
- [Business Development](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/business-development-business-construction/)
- [Business Development](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/business-development-project-delivery/)
- [Business Development](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/procurement/business-development-procurement/)
- [Weekly Construction Message](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/weekly-construction-message/)
- [Project Teams](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/project-teams/)
- [Project Teams](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/procurement/project-teams-procurement/)
- [Project Teams](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/project-teams-project-delivery/)
- [Cash Flow (Getting Paid)](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/cash-flow-getting-paid/)
- [Cash Flow (Getting Paid)](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/cash-flow-getting-paid-business-construction/)
- [Organizational Change Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/organizational-change-management/)
- [Organizational Change Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/organizational-change-management-built-environment/)
- [Organizational Change Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/organization-transformation/organizational-change-management-organization-transformation/)
- [Business, Strategic and Project Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/business-strategic-and-project-planning-project-delivery/)
- [Business, Strategic and Project Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/procurement/business-strategic-and-project-planning-procurement/)
- [Proposal Writing](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/project-delivery/proposal-writing-project-delivery/)
- [Facility Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/built-environment/facility-management/)
- [Leadership](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/organization-transformation/leadership-organization-transformation/)
- [Business, Strategic and Project Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/partnering-planning-pm/business-strategic-and-project-planning-partnering-planning-pm/)
- [Procurement](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/business-of-construction/procurement-business-of-construction/)
- [Labor & Labor Issues](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/organization-transformation/labor-labor-issues-organization-transformation/)
- [News Flash](https://simplarfoundation.org/category/newsflash/)

## Tags

- [#CLN](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/cln/)
- [#constructionsleadershipconference](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/constructionsleadershipconference/)
- [#simplar](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/simplar/)
- [#construction](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/construction/)
- [#ConstructionLeadership](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/constructionleadership/)
- [#Contractors](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/contractors/)
- [#ConstructionPros](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/constructionpros/)
- [#SimplarTalks](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/simplartalks/)
- [#JeffSawyer](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/jeffsawyer/)
- [#DrKennSullivan](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/drkennsullivan/)
- [#Networking](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/networking/)
- [#ConstructionFuture](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/constructionfuture/)
- [#BuildYourFuture](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/buildyourfuture/)
- [#ConstructionConference](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/constructionconference/)
- [#LoewsVentanaCanyonResort](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/loewsventanacanyonresort/)
- [#TucsonArizona](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/tucsonarizona/)
- [science of construction](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/science-of-construction/)
- [#momandpopconstructioncompanies](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/momandpopconstructioncompanies/)
- [#teambuilding](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/teambuilding/)
- [#constructionblog](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/constructionblog/)
- [#leadership](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/leadership/)
- [science of business management](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/science-of-business-management/)
- [dvantageous Business Decisions](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/dvantageous-business-decisions/)
- [decisiontree](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/decisiontree/)
- [Construction Company Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/construction-company-management/)
- [Management Tools](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/management-tools/)
- [the Schleifer mba](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/the-schleifer-mba/)
- [#winningteam](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/winningteam/)
- [#functional analysis](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/functional-analysis/)
- [Construction Company Structure](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/construction-company-structure/)
- [Team Building](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/team-building/)
- [management maturity](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/management-maturity/)
- [Hiring](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/hiring/)
- [managing](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/managing/)
- [Profit margines](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/profit-margines/)
- [unexamined beliefs](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/unexamined-beliefs/)
- [contracts](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/contracts/)
- [#reputation](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/reputation/)
- [acquisitions](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/acquisitions/)
- [Commercial Activity](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/commercial-activity/)
- [management](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/management/)
- [Billing](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/billing/)
- [profits](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/profits/)
- [#business](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/business/)
- [#growth](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/growth/)
- [#maturity](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/maturity/)
- [#generational wealth in construction](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/generational-wealth-in-construction/)
- [contractor survival](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/contractor-survival/)
- [contractor beliefs](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/contractor-beliefs/)
- [tricks](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/tricks/)
- [balance](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/balance/)
- [Accounting](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/accounting/)
- [Statements](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/statements/)
- [CFO](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/cfo/)
- [Construction Accounting](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/construction-accounting/)
- [financial report](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/financial-report/)
- [financial statements](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/financial-statements/)
- [direct method](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/direct-method/)
- [failures](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/failures/)
- [cash position](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/cash-position/)
- [gettingpaid](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/gettingpaid/)
- [financialmanagementrisk](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/financialmanagementrisk/)
- [growthinconstruction](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/growthinconstruction/)
- [profitinconstruction](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/profitinconstruction/)
- [construction profits](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/construction-profits/)
- [Strategic planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/strategic-planning/)
- [succession planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/succession-planning/)
- [financial planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/financial-planning/)
- [vision](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/vision/)
- [construction project](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/construction-project/)
- [project risk](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/project-risk/)
- [risk management](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/risk-management/)
- [construction company objectives](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/construction-company-objectives/)
- [risk plans](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/risk-plans/)
- [risk management construction](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/risk-management-construction/)
- [executing](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/executing/)
- [top line construction](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/top-line-construction/)
- [mbo](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/mbo/)
- [jobsite execution strategy](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/jobsite-execution-strategy/)
- [incentives](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/incentives/)
- [Communication](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/communication/)
- [construction project selection](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/construction-project-selection/)
- [construction job parameters](https://simplarfoundation.org/tag/construction-job-parameters/)

## Topics

- [Scheduling](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/scheduling/)
- [AI](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/ai/)
- [Primavera P6](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/primavera-p6/)
- [Project Controls](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/project-controls/)
- [Risk Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/risk-management/)
- [Planning](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/planning/)
- [Preconstruction](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/preconstruction/)
- [Permitting](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/permitting/)
- [Utilities](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/utilities/)
- [Supply Chain](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/supply-chain/)
- [Workforce](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/workforce/)
- [Estimating](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/estimating/)
- [Quantity Takeoff](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/quantity-takeoff/)
- [AI Tools](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/ai-tools/)
- [Productivity](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/productivity/)
- [Construction Technology](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/construction-technology/)
- [Construction Education](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/construction-education/)
- [Alternative Project Delivery](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/alternative-project-delivery/)
- [Facility Management](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-topic/facility-management/)

## Collections

- [Volume 1](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-collection/volume-1/) - Volume 1 of the Simplar Foundation journal, collecting peer-reviewed research on procurement, project delivery and facility management.
- [Issue 1 (Dec 2025)](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-collection/issue-1-dec-2025/) - Issue 1, December 2025 of the Simplar Foundation journal: peer-reviewed research on procurement, project delivery and facility management.
- [Volume 2](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-collection/volume-2/) - Volume 2 of the Simplar Foundation journal, collecting peer-reviewed research on procurement, project delivery and facility management.
- [Issue 1 (Jun 2026)](https://simplarfoundation.org/journal-collection/issue-1-jun-2026/) - Issue 1, June 2026 of the Simplar Foundation journal: peer-reviewed research on procurement, project delivery and facility management.