A Business Exists to Serve a Customer

Without satisfied and growing customers, nothing else a contractor does will matter.

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Few things are more profitable for contractors than recurring work negotiated with a select group of project owners. That’s why customers are the first key metric on the scoreboard

Quote: A business exists to serve a customer. Peter F. Drucker

Likewise, few things unite a culture faster than creating an intense focus on the customer in every job role description and evaluation.

Review your stated mission, vision, values, strategy, job descriptions, meeting discussions, evaluations, calendars, and other communications. How often does the customer come into them? Are they framed in a positive or negative manner?  

How clear is your market strategy, including your existing top customers and ideal customer profile? 

Recommended Reading: The Effective Executive:  The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done by Peter Drucker




Leadership and Management of Details
Building a great contracting business requires the right balance of leadership and management. While it is possible to separate them the truth is that many of the top leaders are relentlessly disciplined managers.
Functional Time Horizons
Starting out, the time horizons for strategy, winning work, and doing work are similar. As a contractor grows from 150 people to 500 people and beyond, those time horizons must stretch further apart while remaining integrated.
Average is Rare and Rarely Valuable
Study the differences between the varying levels of performance and work to close those gaps. Seeing how the average is trending can be very valuable to visualizing the trajectory, and that goes for every element on a Contractor's Scoreboard.