Last week, one of our managers traveled 23 hours to Guanghzou, the manufacturing center of China. The reason for his visit? Robbie was headed for Shinegolden Steel Craft Co, Ltd., a steel fabricator, to check up on a production of hot rolled windows and doors that we commissioned for a historical renovation project constructed in …
I have never met a strong person with an easy backgroud. Earlier this week I learned that a customer had laid off several members of their construction and real estate department. Losing a position is sometimes like a kick in the stomach and I reached out to the folks who are my business friends, offering to …
A rewarding part of this job is the mentoring aspect–helping folks find the areas where they excel and watching them thrive. Obviously I try to do this everyday for those around me. Having been in the industry for a long while, I will also get calls from people looking to make a move, and not …
To me, our society often values notoriety and success, and over the years I have seen folks drive harder and harder to achieve more without corresponding happiness. This begs the question, is success what really what sustains us along the trail? Not hardly. Harvard University conducted a study, tracking two sets of individuals over 75 years. …
It seems every profession these days requires continuing education courses during the year. CE credit is everywhere. What if Christmas required continuing education? What would it look like? I think it would look like this: Simple and Clear {Image Source}
It’s that time of year again. Like clockwork, right before the holidays kick off, I start to worry about work for next year. After all, as a service company in construction, we are constantly burning off work. Every year I take great pains with extensive due diligence figuring out which jobs we will have to …
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it is that water has a mind of its own. Where there is a will, there is a way for it to penetrate the building envelope, the walls, windows/doors and roof. Moisture intrusion and the resulting damage is best dealt with at the start, through well …
Networking. At times, it’s the most elusive part of any business and probably the hardest to master effectively. I’ve learned a few things over the years, both from networking the wrong way and also from building some solid relationships. I think my # 1 lesson learned is that networking is highly individual to the person …
The holidays are gearing up around here. This week, I walked out to the barn and saw this wreath on my Dad’s old Mustang. It made me think: What if this Thanksgiving, instead of listing what we are thankful for, we focused on who we are thankful for? Even 30 years after his passing, I’m …
There’s a talent shortage, and it’s hardly a surprise. I wrote a post about it in 2011 during the financial crisis, and with the upsurge in projects the last couple of years, it’s becoming more evident. During the crisis, folks had to leave the industry to find work to support their families. Baby Boomers are retiring, and GenXers and …
I can think of two projects, one in Miami and one on the Gulf Coast, were we found ourselves with unusual quantities of moisture sitting on the slab, within in the top portions. The folks on both of these jobs were not familiar with atmospheric conditions inside buildings and were hell bent that it was moisture coming …
Milton Berle was on to something when he said those words. In 1984, our very first customer had just raised $30 million dollars through an IPO and we were going to build all their projects in the U.S. I was in my early 30s and life was good. We had enough work to last a …