When I first started in this business, the idea of personal branding was in its infancy. Create a niche and a reputation for your company? Of course. But we didn’t necessarily expand the thought process to ourselves, or at least put words to the concept. The Internet has really leveled the playing field, making it …
We are in the preconstruction phase for a new adaptive reuse project which involves converting an existing steel fabrication operation, about 80 years old, into a mixed-use facility with office, restaurant and entertainment. This week, our customer and I were talking about several current initiatives that I was not familiar with at the time. I …
As I mentioned last week, I recently had a phone call with a sharp group of professionals from our region. I shared takeaways related to the vaccine and business operations. I also have a few notes regarding the service sector and real estate: It appears that across the Southeast, restaurants are beginning to enjoy increased occupancy in …
This week, I had an interesting phone call with a group of bankers, business leaders and healthcare professionals here in the Southeast. I left with a ton of takeaways. I’ll share those related to the vaccine and business operations this week and more related to service businesses and real estate next week. The vaccine is …
This has been a tough week among tough weeks for S/P and me personally. We lost a long-time project superintendent and a heck of a good guy. This virus plays no favorites. Larry and I have been working together since we were in our 20s. He was the reassuring type I could trust with anything. …
I was meeting with a couple of our project superintendents today, which is an extra cold and soggy one. We were discussing some particularly tough challenges they are facing on the job. For the moment, no one is having a good time. On the way back to the office, I got to thinking about all …
I’m not sure anything could have truly prepared us for last year. In a strange sort of way, it feels like anyone who went through the financial crisis of the last decade had a leg up. Although the disruption came from opposite ends of the challenge spectrum–one with financial roots and the other health related–they …
We’ve talked before about pervious concrete and how it can be a solid option in regards to storm water management. There are also times when, even thought it’s more expensive, pervious paving can be the more practical option. We recently finished a project on the coast. Upon completion, our customer quickly realized that more parking was …
Recently, one of our project managers priced a rather small, straight forward project. We negotiate a lot of our work, but on this particular project, the prospect had asked another couple of contractors to estimate it as well. The prospect selected another contractor who was about 25% below our cost, coming in about $125,000 low …
As I recently posted, I spent 10 days at home with the virus. After that experience, I’m not sure how anyone thinks working at home is sustainable. Many on our team told me they sure were glad we have kept our office open this year. There’s energy, frequency of good conversation and social interaction, none of …
This week has was not as I planned. Like many others around the country, I was diagnosed with the virus and have been quarantined at home. When I received the news last Friday, my first reaction was, “You have got to be kidding,” but in the end, I trusted the test. Gratefully, I’ve been virtually …
In this age of being ever-accessible, the time management skills we hear about so often can be in conflict with our capacity to “do it all.’ The latter is often referred to as personal bandwidth. I’m not sure about you, but being over-scheduled can leave me feeling bad about my lack of productivity and letting …