Construction Business Owner, May 2008

Dear Jayme,

There's a guy in the company who does great work but has a really sour attitude. He's always complaining, whining and criticizing me and how we do things. When I talk to him about this, he gets insulted and angry, and it just makes things worse. How do I handle this?

Hal

Construction Business Owner, May 2008

As many of us in the construction industry, I was fortunate to learn the business from the ground up. Growing up on a farm in central Virginia, I had been running equipment of some sort since I was twelve years old, so naturally becoming an operator was my calling.

While I was working in Kansas City, MO, in the mid-1980s I jumped off my 4100 onto a patch of ice and, you can guess the rest of the story. I ended up with a bulge at the L4-L5 vertebrae.  I was lucky enough to work for a contractor who, even in the 1980s, had a strong return-to-work program. During the four weeks I was in therapy, the contractor had me come into the office and do paperwork, help in the bidding process by calling subcontractors and suppliers and perform various other duties.

Construction Business Owner, April 2008

Straight Answers to Tough Questions

Q:

We are a design/construction company based in the Cayman Islands.  We own several of your books and have attended one of your seminars.  We listen to all your advice.  We would just like to get your opinion and hope you will be able to assist us with this.  What do you think is the proper percentage commission to give to an estimator/sales person?  Also, if he has already received a maximum commission, should he still receive his wage?  We provide vehicles to the employees. We pay for the registration, insurance and fuel for each vehicle, but is it right to deduct some part of that cost from the employees' wages as they use the vehicles for their personal use, too?  We really appreciate it if you could answer these questions.  Thank you very much.

Hanna Bonzio

Plam Builders

Construction Business Owner, April 2008

Corporate social responsibility programs are generally selfless; they help companies mostly by generating goodwill. However, by partnering with Summit Academy OIC, in Minneapolis, MN, Veit has found a tangible solution to a major industry problem, while also improving quality-of-life for residents of the Twin Cities' most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.