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
Share

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




Root Cause Analysis to Behavior Level
Contracting businesses and projects always have problems. What’s important is that a team develops the skills and routine habit for continuously improving. When troubleshooting a problem it’s important to do Root Cause Analysis (RCA) down to behaviors.
Increased Value by Lowering Variability
A construction business is capable of providing a very high return to the owners who have their capital at risk as well as the team members that work there. Contractors with lower variability in profitability are both more valuable and more sustainable.
Internal Promotions and External Recruits (Target Ratios)
Having the right ratio of internal promotions and external recruits at different levels of the company is critical for growth and succession. Use these target ratios, rationale, and qualifiers to evaluate your Talent Value Stream (TVS).