Becoming great Part 2: ten things a concrete specialty contractor should do

Concrete Construction, Oct, 2004 by Joe Nasvik, Tom Klemens, Bill Palmer, Jeanne Fields

In August we described the first five of what we consider the 10 most important business skills contractors should possess to successfully run their businesses. These are the things that often make the difference between profit and struggle, between having happy employees and having continuous turnover, between having loyal clients and always having to come up with the low bid. Starting in January, we will continue to develop these ideas in a new column, "The Business of Concrete Contracting," and will present a series of feature articles on each topic.

6 Develop yourself as a leader

Ask yourself this question: Is there enough time in the day to do what I need to do? If your answer is no, consider how you might make more time. This exercise should help you reexamine the division of responsibilities between yourself and your employees--and possibly how to develop yourself as a leader.

Owners of small concrete construction companies typically start with all the skills they need to build with concrete and to direct field crews. Once the company has established a foothold in the marketplace, some owners continue to see their role as one of leading the field crews. Although they are forced to learn basic management and administrative functions, their hearts remain preoccupied with "hands-on" field work. They are indeed the leaders, and companies would collapse if they weren't there.

But developing your" skills as the owner doesn't mean learning how to be the field leader; rather it means learning how to develop and encourage others in your company to become leaders. Your job is not to be the leader--it's to train leaders. You must become a leader of leaders.

The biggest challenge is to find ways to learn what you need to know. Rick Bohan, director of education and technical services at the Portland Cement Association, thinks that mentoring relationships provide the most support for this kind of learning. Find people who have already experienced the changes you are considering, and get their help and support. Set up a mentoring program within your own company, too, for employees who are struggling to learn leadership skills. The American Society of Concrete Contractors sponsors "MIX (Management Information Exchange) Groups," which provide helpful opportunities to learn from peers. Company owners struggling to learn more about managing their companies meet once or twice a year to compare notes, share full company information, and offer support to one another.

7 Provide customers with value

Owners often confuse price with value. The perception among many owners is that the lowest price is equivalent to the best value--and that's what gets the job. But to the contrary, most contractors know that the lowest price often means less value. If your company doesn't care about repeat business, then there's no need to offer value to your customers.

At the recent ASCC CEO Forum (sponsored in part by CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION), a speaker introduced the audience to the Cajun word lagniappe (pronounced lan-yap). Loosely translated it means "give in full measure-and a little bit more." If your company works to provide service and value to its customers and to generate repeat business, lagniappe is the way to build customer loyalty.

In the business of concrete, striving to provide customers with value and service becomes a lifelong commitment to learning. What causes problems is what you don't know. Learning to provide more value separates a company from a preoccupation with dollars and profit. Customers respond to "win-win" deals where both sides work to build the best structure. It's the best marketing your company will ever do.

8 Develop a company culture

Your company's "culture" may sound like one of those New Age things that, in the words of the visionary management guru, Arnold Schwarzenegger, only "girly men" would find interesting. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Culture is simply a clear definition of what your company stands for, and, as Peter Emmons, president of Structural Group, explained in his July 2004 article in CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION, "includes not only how others view your company, but also how you view the organization and teach generations to come."

"Successful visionaries," Emmons continues, "have learned that instituting a corporate culture requires a concerted effort by all members of an organization to ensure that employees and clients adhere to the company values at all times. But even though the process of creating a culture is not easy and requires an ongoing and substantial investment in both time and money, it can pay tremendous dividends through the creation of longterm relationships both internally and externally."

Defining your company's culture to yourself and to your team is the first step. David Layton, president of Layton Construction, has a clear view of this: "Our culture is embodied in the phrase 'constructing with integrity.' This isn't a marketing pitch, this is a value statement. Integrity is that eye for quality, that commitment to doing it right the first time. It means that you're dependable, you can be counted on; that you're professional and respectful of those you work with. We have very high expectations. And we believe in the end that's a tremendous benefit for our employees and our customers and the subcontractors we work with, because they know what to expect from us--and it's top-notch work."