Over the years, I’ve had the privilege to meet many artists, a handful of whom I’ve come to know as friends. George Jones, Jr., is a 4th generation broom maker from Florence, Ala. Jerry Brown was a pottery folk artist from Hamilton, Ala., and Bettye Kimbrell was a quilt maker who specialized in Cherokee leaf …
Over the last decade, maybe even longer, retail has been an interesting case study. We’ve written a lot about bricks and mortar vs online sales and how that will affect our industry in the future. The pandemic heightened predictions that physical stores were set to become a thing of the past. It’s true that distribution …
We’ve recently started using a 360 camera and corresponding HoloBuilder software on some of our projects, and it’s been a gamechanger for several reasons. The premise is simple. A member of our team uses the camera to capture images throughout the project–inside and outside–at established points on an architectural sheet floorplan. These are taken from …
At its roots, most of construction is a task-oriented business. To be successful, one has to always be moving from strategic to tactical thinking and back again. While tactical processes are probably more the core of our business, this also requires balancing the minute details with the “10,000 foot view.” One of the main things …
You never get a second chance to start the right conversation with strangers. Most of us will tend to lead in with a typical, “How are you doing?” or “ How was your trip in?” These predictable questions, along with comments about the weather, may be in our comfort zone, but they are not the …
All things considered, 2023 has been a volatile year. The war in Ukraine, one that we hoped would be resolved, rages on, and now there is war in Israel. We’ve gone back and forth on the state of the economy and what to expect in the future. AI has become a major topic of conversation, …
Mentorship doesn’t always have to come from the more experienced generation to younger team members. There is room for us all to learn from each other. I’ve been reading a lot lately about intergenerational prejudice, or the likelihood of being stereotyped by the generation in which you were born. I am a Baby Boomer, who …
About this time last year, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics released a study showing how likely a small business is to succeed over time. Only a quarter of businesses are still operational 15 years after they open. This article gives a few reasons, from ineffective business plans to lack of financing and trying to …
In business, there are all kinds of assets on the road to success. Cash flow is just one of them. One of the most misunderstood and undervalued resources is relationship capital, or mutual trust built over time. Just like “good will,” relationship capital is an intangible asset that doesn’t always show upon the balance sheet. …
I recently read an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal on feedback response, or the anxiety and sometimes visceral response some experience during performance reviews. It seems several major companies are considering changes in this process in the hopes of making the experience more constructive, retaining talent in the process. Some chose to rebrand …
This week, I was in Philadelphia participating in a small peer group of general contractors from the east coast to west coast. We are similar firms, but with our distant geographical locations, we are non-competing. We meet twice a year, with the idea that everyone contributes their best practices, and we’re all better for it. …
Perspective has a big role in how one views leadership. For me, it can be defined a couple of ways. The first is keeping a steady rudder in choppy waters. Equally important is understanding and inspiring those around you to reach whatever potential they wish to achieve, then raising the bar a bit higher. It …