Recently, I came across this post about failures of leadership. To me, Leadership is much more than following a set of rules or what someone has written in a book. Ideally it is instinctual and second-nature for one in the leadership role to not only guide, but also to learn. Failure is certainly a very …
Several team members from our company were invited to attend the 2011 World of Concrete and Masonry (WOC) in Las Vegas earlier in the year. For those not familiar the WOC, it features hands on events, a chance to network with peers in the industry, interactive demonstrations and competitions, hundreds of exhibits from suppliers from …
On a couple of our projects recently, we needed retaining walls built in “cut earth sections” as opposed to “fill earth sections”. In these projects we needed top down construction and a method that afforded easy accessibility and we were dealing with earth that would only be “cut” and not “filled.” The alternative? What you …
Three years ago we decided to plant a few tomato plants beside our office. That small patch of land has become much more. Our plot has grown into a full garden featuring silver queen corn, rosemary, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, watermelons, squash, turnip greens, cucumbers, peppers and of course—tomatoes. Beyond the beautiful produce, the beds have …
The clickety-clack noise a train makes when traveling down the tracks can be a soothing sound. But hearing that same noise while driving on the interstate is annoying. For me, it’s partly because it gets me to thinking about how the road was paved and how the breaks in the pavement are slowly, but steadily …
As the economy continues to improve, construction demand is slowly increasing. As a result, the demand for construction materials is also increasing and one has to assume those costs will continue to go up throughout 2011. Recently, I was talking with one of our fabricators who supplies steel for projects throughout the nation and he …
Every year, we have a Christmas gathering to bring all the Stewart Perry families together. The first year this reunion was held at our place, we spent one Saturday morning planting several hundred daffodils across the lake on the hillside. We chose that spot because it is visible from our conference room and is a …
Lately it seems like an increasing number of folks have seen the light when it comes to the drawbacks of dark-colored pavement. Black asphalt has traditionally been the surface of choice for our nation’s roadways and parking lots, but asphalt can act as a heat sink that retains the warmth of sunlight. The effect is …
ASTM International (American Society for Testing and Materials) is an organization that can have a substantial impact on construction projects, yet quite a few folks are not familiar with it. ASTM was founded in 1898 for the development and delivery of voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide variety of materials, systems and services. ASTM’s …
Imagine attending a conference and being introduced to a prospective client. This person asks about your company and professional background. Instead of replying to the prospect you say, “Let my friend Dave here tell you all about us.” And then you walk away without speaking a word. It is extremely unlikely that this potential client …
Few people endure slumps and a downturn in performance as often as professional athletes. Even the greatest sports stars suffer through stretches where seemingly nothing goes right. During his heyday, Michael Jordan had a commercial in which he stated, “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.” Then, after a short pause, …
According to the EPA, it is estimated that a staggering 800 million square yards of carpet is sent to U.S. landfills each year. That is enough to cover New York’s Central Park every two days. Fortunately, the carpet industry has begun to realize that there is no need for all this shag and nylon to …