The Right People - Jim Collins

Contracting is not a generally business where the strategies are complex or all that different. What differentiates contractors is their ability to execute the basic strategies consistently.

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Effective execution comes down to people, process and tools - in that order.

Quote: Leaders of companies that go from good to great not with where but with who. Jim Collins.

Jim Collins explores the traits of long-term sustainably growing businesses in his book “Good to Great” where he describes how leaders of the best companies view people and how they simplify their strategies.

  • Put together a high-level scoreboard of the basics you need for a sustainable contracting business.  This dashboard should include basic metrics around customer satisfaction, profitability, cash flow, growth, safety and succession bench strength for all key roles.  
  • Develop a company operating rhythm of key meetings and feedback reporting that address address each area of the scoreboard.  These will include opportunity review meetings, interview slots, project reviews, company financial reviews, evaluations, etc.  
  • Lead a culture where egos are focused on using whatever skills anyone on the team has to improve the scoreboard.  Eliminate ego about position and keep internal competition positive. 
  • Focus on continuous improvement to processes and specific role responsibilities adjusting regularly for the optimum outcomes.  

Schedule a call to learn how we help contractors grow profitably.  




Theory of Constraints (ToC) Basic Overview
You will never have enough resources to make every possible improvement to your company. The most important leadership question: If every other area of the operation remained the same, what is the one area where change could have the greatest impact?
Capital Constraints to Growth (The Basic Formula)
Capital is one of the three primary growth constraints for construction contractors. Use this simple formula to determine how much of your pre-tax net profits need to be retained in the company to support growth and to establish your safe growth limits.
TOOL: Effective Scoreboards & Scorecards Outline
One-page summary that can be used with your team to align them around the why, what, and how of effective scoreboards and scorecards. Next steps include worksheets to inventory and evaluate your current state of scorekeeping and designing the future.