A number of years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing an address by Charles Cawley. He started his business on a shoestring in an empty A&P food store. This startup would become MBNA Corporation, the largest independent credit card company in the world. As the story goes, one of his first orders of business was …
This week, we were finalizing a contract with a first-time customer when a breakout number of the total contract value changed by a relatively small amount. Our project manager felt the customer was under stress for other reasons. This difference troubled the customer, who asked our project manager if he could be trusted, point blank. It …
There are a zillion books out there on business that we all think we need to read to be successful. To me, the standouts are those that help us in business and in life, like Good to Great by Jim Collins and The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Who can ever forget the impact of fixing broken …
The purpose of any businesses is to grow. The last few years have been tough in this department, but remember how it was in the good ole days of last decade? We saw speed, revenue, market share and profit. Most business owners are wired with a desire to get “back to the future.” Not so fast. For …
I’ve recently been working on a project with one of our customers. Everyone is in a hurry to complete the submittal before a real estate committee meeting. All parties are doing their best with limited time, trying to meet the deadline. There has been a lot of stress in the process. Sound familiar? Last week, …
Charles Portis penned the novel True Grit in 1968. It was subsequently made into a movie in 1969 and a remake was released in 2010. The story is of a 16-year-old girl, an aging U.S. Marshall and a Texas Ranger. The trio overcame an endless succession of challenges to the avenge the murder of the …
We are about to start a project that has been in the pre-construction stages for two years. We’ve used of a couple of relatively new tools during this planning period: BIM (building information modeling) and IPD (integrated project delivery). It seems both initiatives are slowly working their way into real estate, design, and construction in one way …
Peter Drucker, a great thinker in management theory and practice, was often quoted on the importance of shaping “the futures that have already happened.” As we are seeing this Recession in the rear view mirror, we are thinking more about this aspect of our company. Is our procedural playbook thick enough? At times would a …
We are hiring for a new senior level project management position. The process has us thinking on many levels, including how candidates would fit into our team dynamic. I was reminded of a recent conversation with the former CEO of J.A. Jones, at one time the largest construction company in the world. Several financial reasons …
A few weeks ago, I was showing the former President of the San Francisco AIA Chapter around our offices. He has done design work for Google and other .coms. His first comment: “Wow, you guys have big offices.” They measure 162 square feet. This got me thinking what future concepts in office space might look like. While the …
Negotiation is a part of our business, and for that matter, most things in life. CBS MoneyWatch recently posted 12 Negotiation Tips for People Who Hate Negotiating, and I was inclined to listen. Here they are: Go first. Be quiet. Know what you want. Assume the best case. Avoid setting ranges. Have a reason for …
As an industry, the recent years have taken us through some lows. As we continue to look ahead and heal, it’s important to consider and overcome what could hold us back. At a recent breakfast, Brian Moore of FMI presented three challenges ahead of us, and some thoughts on how to keep them at bay. 1. Availability of entry-level employees. …