David Layton CEO and president Layton Construction Co. Salt Lake City

Concrete Construction, June, 2004

* We are general contractors, but we do most of our own concrete work; although there are some markets where we subcontract the simple work, the more complex, formed, vertical work we do ourselves.

* I was born into the business. My dad had already founded the business 7 or 8 years before my birth. I spent a lot of time with my dad in my youth, observing him interacting with out employees and customers. Then I got a civil engineering degree, became involved full time with the business, got a business degree from the Harvard Business School, and here we sit today.

* In this area, we have been one of the top revenue growth companies of any type. Our growth is based on diversity of market and diversity of type of work. I don't necessarily give us credit for reading the tea leaves accurately, but in the late 90s, we knew we had to come up with a diversification strategy for our business. We had no anticipation of just how important that would turn out to be, but in hindsight it was fairly visionary.

* We're very career-oriented here. We provide opportunities for our employees, and we make a tremendous investment in them with training, advanced education, workshops, both industry-specific and bigger-picture things like leadership, presentation skills, organization, and creative and strategic thinking. We try to create well-rounded and talented individuals.

* We have taken a grassroots initiative to attract new employees. We offer quite a few internships to college students even before they've graduated. That gives us a chance to observe their skills and gives them an opportunity to experience our culture. That's proven to be very successful. We are a 100% employee-owned business. In other words, all of the stockholders are actively participating in this business--there are no free rides.

* We have a culture that 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. And if ever there was a need to do something right the first time, it's with concrete work. You get one shot to do it right, and it gets very expensive if you don't. Constructing with integrity is a part of everything we do here. It means that you're dependable, you can be counted on, and 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, our customers, and the subcontractors we work with because they know what to expect from us--top-notch work.

* We see design-build as a terrific opportunity to involve all of the participants from Day One to communicate expectations, experiences, contribution. To move forward together in lock step, arm in arm, supporting each other with the end in mind. Communication, trust, making and meeting commitments, admitting mistakes, taking care of problems, being proactive--all of those characterize out approach to design-build. And under it all is a foundation of trust and commitment to each other--we succeed together.

* The greatest trend I see in the construction business is that there is so little room for error that all participants have to perform at exceptional levels all the time. You've got to be a quality organization to compete long-term in the industry today. There is so much at stake, and there's very little contingency built into any aspect of the project. It requires an organization's best efforts every time to succeed. That's why, in my mind, today's industry is characterized by high-quality, value-driven firms that can deliver on that expectation.

* If I were giving advice to someone thinking of starting their own construction business today, I would tell them that they need a sound and solid capital base. You've got to be well capitalized in today's market. Secondly, you've got to come at it with an open-book style, establishing trusting relationships. It's about working as a team and leading a team rather than being the boss and telling people what to do. You've got to take care of your employees because if you do, they will take care of the customer.