Last week, I talked about Jim Collins’ book Good to Great, and the common characteristics of great companies.  I’ve listed them below so you can have them in front of you again:

1. “Level 5” leadership at the top
2. First people, then processes
3. Confronting the brutal facts of your business and industry
4. Do only what you can be the best at doing
5. Maintain a culture of discipline
6. 6. Leverage technology to enhance what you already do well
7. Generate momentum that accelerates your growth over time

Last week, I focused on what it means to do only what you can be the best at doing.  Today, I want to talk about #6—“Leveraging technology to enhance what you already do well.”

We live in a technological world, so much so that if business owners don’t embrace technology, they may be doing themselves a disservice.  Many contractors go into business because they’re great at what they do.

I know a successful excavating contractor that took over his father’s grave digging business when he was younger.  This is a true story—his father refused to use anything but shovels and picks to dig the graves, but once the son took over, he purchased a backhoe.  Sure, there was a learning curve, but taking the time to learn how to use the backhoe (the current technology) made him substantially more productive.  In fact, he turned his father’s small grave-digging business into a large union excavation business.

This young man took the time to think about what would ensure the long-term success of his business.  Leveraging technology is not limited to heavy equipment, though.  There is wonderful technology available for the field and for back office operations.  Take some time and look at what you could be doing better, then see if there are any technologies that could help you enhance what you already do well.

Who is Running the Asylum at Foundation Software?

The answer is NONE and ALL.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. At Foundation Software, we try to avoid inmate takeovers by first assigning a lead analyst to oversee design for each project. We then provide a design methodology to follow. This methodology can be best described using an acronym I coined called ROPE. ROPE stands for Research, Organize, Plan, and Execute.

1. Research to gather information. This phase consists of consultation with Customers, Sales, Client Services, Quality Control, Programming and Management. Internet research, reading and analysis of our competition all come into play. Design considerations are not relevant at this stage.
2. Organize the research. Our lead analyst organizes information into logical components and processes. This may involve continued consultations with those people previously interviewed. Features are prioritized as well as added and eliminated based on the benefits they will provide to the end user.
3. Plan. The planning phase begins when our analyst designs the application from the user’s perspective. Usability and the correct application of features and benefits dominate the process. Depending on the nature of the application, there may be one or more review meetings for clarifications and revisions.
   
4. Execute. Finally, the programmers that do the actual coding will receive the final specifications document. They will study the document and then meet with the analyst to thoroughly review all aspects of the specifications. Concerns, questions, and suggestions will be made. There may be fine-tuning at this point, and then programming begins.

Although the entire design process is time consuming and intense, it has three major benefits. First, it results in an application that specifically addresses the users’ wants and needs and does it in an extremely efficient manner. Second, it reduces the overall time it takes to release the application to the market. Finally, it stands the test of time.

Well-designed software provides a more powerful solution. It also allows itself to be continually enhanced while remaining clean, efficient, and powerful. The inmates may not like this, but our construction clients sure do!

Fred Ode - Circa 1985

I get so tired of people asking the same questions about technology over and over again. I’ve been hearing them since I looked like I do in this picture! And they’re never the right questions. Technology has changed (and so have my looks, thank goodness), but my views have remained the same—technology is all about the next logical step.

We are at no loss for new technologies: iPads, tablets, netbooks, Droids, wireless everything, software, you name it! I can’t turn on the television without seeing something new. And they’re all useful, exciting tools—if your company is ready for them. But how do you know? I’ve created an evaluation method called, “People, Process, Technology.”

Start by making sure the right PEOPLE are in place. Evaluate whether the people who will be using this new technology have both the right aptitude and attitude. If they are not genuinely accepting of the change or its usage is over their heads, the technology, no matter how good, is likely to fail.

Next, get the PROCESS hammered out. You have the right people on board; so now give them a solid game plan to make this new technology work. That fancy new tablet to easily transfer data from field to office will do you no good if you don’t have a system to code and process the information. Don’t set your team up for failure!

Now you’re ready to add TECHNOLOGY into the mix. But be practical—the crawl before you walk approach. For example, maybe the first step for your business is switching from a completely manual or general accounting program to one focused just on construction. Or maybe your accounting is solid, but your estimating is done using spreadsheets and it’s time to look into a trade-specific estimating program. You don’t need to be a technology rock star. Simply start by technologizing (yes, I made that word up!) your basic needs before jumping into the latest and greatest trend.

In their coverage of the revolution in Egypt, The New York Times reported, “Movement Began With Outrage and a Facebook Page That Gave It an Outlet.” Recently I watched with the rest of the world as the people of Egypt used social media tools to organize a peaceful revolution that brought down a long reign of Mubarak. It made me pause to consider how social media–and the other new technologies that allow us to share information quickly like the smart phone–have forever changed the rules for society.

To be sure, changes in technology are also shaping the way business is conducted. As we noticed recently at World of Concrete, sharing real-time data has also quickened the pace of construction business. It seems that the smart phone is nudging some “back-office” business functions to the field, as construction firms use software to enter data in real-time and to make on-the-spot adjustments at the jobsite. That’s one reason we cover smart ways to use smart phones in the upcoming April issue. ( I thought I’d offer a sneak peek at the cover!)

I’m wondering: Do you use smartphones regularly in your construction business? What about ruggedized devices? Would you take an iPad to a construction site? Let me know if using any of these devices have been “game-changers” for your business.

I was a guest on a local internet radio show – Atlanta Business Radio (www.atlantabusinessradio.com) last week.  I was shocked to actually get a call from a prospect a couple of hours after it aired from a representative of a potential client and scheduled to meet with her after her vacation.  I was left in awe at how technology has changed the name of the game and allowed even the smallest or most obscure companies to get some air time that larger stations wouldn’t touch.  I pursued this avenue to possibly generate leads, but also to get more practice at public speaking, which I have never been fond of but find myself more and more required to do.  The format of an internet radio show also allowed me the chance to hear myself speak afterwards and learn what I can improve on and what important points I wanted to touch that missed.  I need to make my pitch more efficient.  Overall, it was a great learning experience.

Not a day goes by that I am not amazed at the advances technology makes – from concept to design, from sale to final walk-thru.  Technology has made our quotes more accurate, our billings more manageable and has helped to connect our people in ways not imagined even just a few years ago.  If we aren’t on board with technology, we are losing efficiency and opportunity.  I would dare say that statement cannot be argued with.

From a marketing perspective, technology allows us to search for and track leads without effort other than lifting a finger.  It allows us to virtually “meet” potential clients without actually meeting them.  Entire pre-engagement conversations can occur without physical contact.  This is great in many perspectives, but what it does is even more so set apart the face to face meetings that are such an important part of the marketing campaign of our companies.  Technology is the great leveler of our generation.  The system that allows small companies to have a larger presence than they could normally.  It also allows larger firms to break into smaller, more manageable customer focused sub groups without actually fracturing into an uncoordinated mess.

But there is still nothing like face time with clients and potential clients to help set your firm apart.  There is still nothing more effective at maintaining good word of mouth than a busy executive reaching out to past clients and discussing the projects that they have done for them.  There is nothing nicer than a handwritten note during the holidays expressing thanks for work past and hope for more in the future.  There is nothing better than getting to know your client a bit deeper than email allows. 

My point is that as technology allows us to become more efficient and capture more market than we thought possible with less effort, it also allows us to hide behind our desks and not build real relationships with our clients and potential clients.  Let’s not forget to network, talk with and shake hands with our clients, lead generators and prospects and rub elbows with them in more relaxed settings.  I say use technology and leverage it as much as possible as the benefits are amazing.  But the fundamentals of our business are relationships built over time and in person.  An internet radio show provided a lead to me at no out of pocket cost other than some gas and and hour and a half away from the office.  But that lead must be met with good personal follow-up in order to amount to an opportunity.  We should use technology for all its worth – but lets not lose the art of shaking hands.

One sidebar to the recent presidential election that I believe is monumental in importance yet hasn’t garnered much press is the incredibly successful use of the internet in a major national campaign.

President-elect Obama’s online machine was staggering in its size and scope, and clearly demonstrative of the pervasive capabilities that the internet has to offer.  Rather than being told – in one-way fashion – what interests one should have from conventional print, television and radio sources, the internet allows the customer to drive the focus of the campaign.  Now we may not be running for national or local office, but those of us in the construction business have a lot to learn about fully utilizing this vast and economical resource.

If we were told by a marketing expert that for relatively little cost we could understand our clients’ desires better; grasp what is key in their decision making process; pre-filter potential clients and ultimately appear more substantial as an organization, we would ask to whom we write the check.  The funny thing is the web offers these capabilities to us as we speak.  I believe it is time to wholeheartedly embrace the next generation of the web and make your site an interactive business development and management tool.

While having some web presence, it could be argued, is better than none at all, I tend to disagree with this sentiment.  Many of us simply place our hard copy brochures electronically on our site and call it a marketing expense.  Something is better than nothing is about all of the thought that goes into it.  But there is vast potential for learning about your clients without much effort.  Industry specific newsletters (some offered by professional marketing firms or done by yourself with considerable effort) can be sent to those who choose to receive them from your site.  While to the recipient the newsletter is free, to the business owner the information provided is priceless.  Every article that your client navigates to; every supplier site they are sent to; every extra click that a particular link receives is logged and presented to you as useful data.  Which past projects are the most popular and should be used more extensively in your print marketing campaigns?  What “green” or bathroom products receive the most hits?  What demographic actually comprises your online market (or your potential customer market) that you may not even notice from the corner office?  Which services receive the most hits? 

The data from an interactive website can be used to help focus a marketing campaign and to more clearly define where the nuts and bolts of building are intersecting with the customers’ desires.  No information is perfect, and many of the “clients” poking around on your site may be tradesmen, dreamers or competitors simply e-surfing.  In some cases, the data may even be skewed somewhat.  But there is nothing like getting quality information and feedback from potential, current and past clients that are not answering a ho-hum survey, but actually choosing to spend time the way they wish to in the comfort of their own homes or offices.  The strength of this possibility cannot be understated. 

Let’s move our websites from the “old internet” to version 2.0.  You may be surprised at what you will find.  In the case of a campaign, there may be some 40 million or people willing to donate $5 to your cause.  In the case of our businesses, we aren’t asking for donations, we are asking for something even better – real data from real clients about what is important to them.