Tag: 2008 January Issue
These items have all been tagged with the tag "2008 January Issue", You can see other tags in the Tag CloudConstruction Business Owner, January 2008
Editor’s Note: Following is the last part of our eight part series called, “Better Next Year,” by Fred Ode, CEO, chairman and founder of Foundation Software.
This summer, I let go of familiar.
In response to my body’s need for a physical challenge and my brain’s demand for mental clarity, I took off on a solo backpacking trip through the Appalachian Trail. In just over two weeks, I covered more than 140 miles in Virginia and Tennessee and dropped twelve pounds along the way. I also went for days without showering, endured several severe thunderstorms and slept outside alone (except for the mice and other wild creatures I heard in the night).
Construction Business Owner, January 2008
Editor’s Note: This is the first of three articles on practical, cost-effective, green building techniques by Jeff Binder of greenbuildingblocks.com.
A recent study points out that builders overestimate the cost of building green by over 300 percent. They tell clients that their new, green home will cost 17 percent more than a traditional one—when the actual increase is closer to 5 percent.
Construction Business Owner, January 2008
In today’s tough economic climate, it can be a real challenge to survive until things improve. In good times, work is plentiful, and even marginal or poorly managed firms can be successful. Tough times present an opportunity for you to review your operations, make an effort to understand what works and doesn’t work for you and intitiate constructive change that will make you a better managed operation. This will not only help you get through today’s tough times, but it will also better prepare you to thrive and grow once things get back to “normal.” In a nutshell, you need to revisit some basics and be open to change.Construction Business Owner, January 2008
Disaster recovery preparation is a huge buzz phrase in business today. Every day I go into businesses and talk about disaster recovery and ask what steps are taken to protect the business from a disaster. That is when the confusion starts; most companies are confusing disaster recovery with business continuity planning. Business continuity planning is the planning for a disaster; disaster recovery is the implementation of the business continuity plan.
Construction Business Owner, January 2008
The current sub-prime mortgage situation has dealt a serious blow to small and large homebuilders alike. Like all downturns, this too shall pass, but experts predict it may take quite a while for this housing market to stabilize. However, all is not lost: Commercial construction continues to thrive, and you can move your organization right into it.
Construction Business Owner, January 2008
Generating new business—it’s the lifeblood of every successful company. Construction companies—in fact, all companies—that market themselves effectively differentiate their services from the competition and stand a much better chance of driving qualified new business. Those with the willingness to hone their messaging and offerings to specifically serve a particular niche within the wider market do even better.
Construction Business Owner, January 2008
Work... the daily grind…it’s a place where productivity is measurable and the bottom line serves as a necessary evil. Some say work can’t be fun, because if it was fun then it would be called “play.” Can work be fun? Can work include a bit of humor and still see objectives attained? Can laughter and smiles benefit a work environment, or do they serve to create added risk to the organization? Humor in the workplace is a revolving door through which employees and employers pass each time a joke is told at the water cooler, a funny comment is made in a team meeting or a political cartoon is posted on the wall of a cubicle. The question becomes, where will the employee and the organization be led each time they pass?
Construction Business Owner, January 2008
Tell the truth. What are your real expectations for your safety management program? “Let’s be honest,” said one exasperated construction business owner. “I’d be happy if it only got my workers to do what they’re supposed to do in the first place.”
Construction Business Owner, January 2008
Editor’s Note: Written by our regular columnist George Hedley, each monthly edition of Get Your Business to Work provides you with practical, immediately applicable business management tools to assist you on your path to building a successful, growing business.
