Four Steps to Sustainable Growth (10+10=0)

All contractors go through different stages of growth.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

 

Leadership Tools: 10 + 10 = 0

Growing contractors face an overwhelming amount of problems and opportunities as they move through the different stages of growth. There will never be enough resources to work on all of them, especially with the shortage of talent facing the construction industry.  

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."

Abraham Lincoln

The equivalent for the leadership teams of growing contractors is to spend a significant amount of time truly identifying the #1 bottleneck or opportunity in their entire value stream.  Then breaking it down into an actionable objective with key results that everyone can align around rather than a broad vision.   

This seems simple but in reality is VERY challenging, especially as a business grows. This is an area where experienced 3rd parties can add significant value because they don’t have all the biases that are inevitable with management teams who are looking at the myriad of problems and opportunities every day.  

Learn more




Prepare Your Business - People
Your people are your business. This is especially true for contractors where nearly 100% of competitive differentiators are the experience of your people. Now we are faced with lots of unknowns and yet we must act decisively.
10 Jugs of Wine - A Tale from Japan
Diffusion of personal responsibility can occur quickly on teams. Everyone must contribute. This is a simple tale from Japan that elegantly illustrates the point and includes how people react even when the failed results are clear.
18 Details That Make a Huge Difference in Cash Flow
There are 18 tactics contractors can use to improve cash flow at the project and the company level.