Death From Indigestion - Sustainable Growth

Many contractors are faced with a nearly overwhelming amount of profitable work in the current economy.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture

Many are posting record bottom-line profits helping their balance sheets recover from the recession.  

Quote: More organizations die of indigestion than starvation. David Packard.

With that it is important to remember the critical observation from David Packard:     

 “More organizations die of indigestion than starvation” 

Toyota is a very strong company with an amazingly strong culture and even they weren’t immune as they pushed their worldwide expansion a little too quickly.  Toyota was far from death but they did have some operational and quality problems. 

The ultimate root cause was discussed in Developing Lean Leaders at All Levels:  Their rate of revenue growth outstripped the rate they could develop their leadership (talent).  


Will the markets you are in today support you through the next cycle in the economy?  

Do you have a predictable way to develop new business - even in a tight economy?  

Are you investing enough today in building your competitive advantage for tomorrow?  

How does your talent acquisition, development and retention compare to your growth rate and your competitors?  

Learn more about sustainable growth for contractors




Setting Standards and the Feedback Loop
Set the standard. Train to the standard. Certify to the standard. Plan the work to the standard. Execute to the plan and the standard. Check against the standard. Make prioritized improvements to the standard, training, planning, and execution.
Continuous Improvement: Plan, Do, Check, and Act (PDCA)
Improving productivity in construction is exceptionally challenging. It must be embraced as a journey and not a destination. It must be made into a game so that people clearly see what winning looks like and fall in love with the process.
Planners vs. Doers
To understand why everything from project plans to business development plans to career plans don’t always work as intended, it is important to understand the psychological concepts of ego depletion and decision fatigue.