Masonry Magazine May 2008 Page. 45
COACH GARY SAYS:
"We are much more than rocket scientists; we are project managers, and we can learn this stuff."
not actually in your contract's scope of work? How do you deal with it? Do you show some leadership and strength, help out your team, try and get paid a little bit extra for the work? Or do you just roll over, play the nice guy, always go along to get along with the client? See if you can just stay under the radar screen? Try not to tick off anybody?
Here's what happens when you don't stick up for what's rightfully yours: Your client loves it. He loves it so much that he sometimes expects that you'll do extra stuff for him, for free, every time he asks. He knows that you'll rarely challenge him. So, he sometimes exploits your weakness and uses it to keep his own project on time and on budget. You become a means to his end.
The awful truth is that, without consistent profitability, no tribe can sustain itself for long. Only as long as the bank account of the tribe's "chief" remains solvent. And, if more is paid out than is received, it can't go on indefinitely.
One of the most important abilities of your tribe is financial strength. Money and cash flow are the lifeblood of any contracting company. What you have unwittingly done, when you ignore opportunity, is to put your company at risk. You may have "gotten along" for a few extra days, but possibly at the expense of company health.
Begin by learning how to effectively deal with possible changes to your scope. Go right away to www.FullContactBlog.com. You can get Coach Gary's course on RFIs
COACH GARY SAYS:
"Invest a little time, effort and money into your education. The return on that investment is phenomenal!"
and change orders. It's free, except for the effort you need to go get it.
Learning how to use tools such as RFIs and change order requests will make your tribe stronger. Becoming a really good full-contact PM is not necessarily easy, but it can be simple. You just have to pick up the tools. IMAS
Gary Micheloni is a working project manager, speaker, author and consultant. Got a question? Go to the blog and ask him.
Copyright 2008 Gary Micheloni
COACH GARY SAYS:
"Learn to use your PM tools-and prosper!"
COACH GARY'S CORNER:
How's 2008 going for you, so far? Ready to learn that RFI thing? Get Coach's free course on Winning RFIs. Go to www.FullContactBlog com, and participate with Coach, Check out the free audio updates and other info that will help your projects. Also, you can get Coach Gary's book, "Get Paid for a Change!"
How Well Is Your Company Doing?
MASONRY NEWS CONTRACTOR TIP
Is your company doing well? If so, do you know why? I was in the last hour of my 20-hour flight from Sydney, Australia. Needless to say, I had a lot of time to think about what makes a company successful, and what keeps them there. Is it enough to be an honest person, an industry specialist and a cracker-jack businessperson who understands all the numbers? It's surely a combination of things, but the No. 1 answer I return to time and again is having the right people in the right places.
At the incentive training seminars I do for mason contractors at our headquarters in Ohio, I like to show a picture of a baseball diamond with all the players in place. To manage my company, I pretend that I am hovering above the stadium in a helicopter looking down on the players to assure every player is in the right place as I watch the game unfold. If a player is out of place, guess whose job it is to get him back where he will benefit the team? Mine. I will address the player and get him back in place, or replace him with a player who can and does perform well in that position. Business works the same way: You watch the whole picture, coach and redirect everyday, as if you are in the middle of the World Series.
So, am I the only one who sees it this way? Actually, I am finding more and more that many successful business leaders feel the same way. I attended the Inc. 500 business conference last year, when one of the attendees asked Jack Stack, CEO of SRC Holdings Corp., what he does if people are not performing up to his standards. His reply was that he gives that person an opportunity to work in another department that would better fit his work performance. And, if that position isn't available, he lets him go while giving him a soft landling (severance time and pay). He actually said, "My goal is to get non-performers into the hands of the competition as soon as possible." It is all about having the right people in the right places.
So, ask yourself this: How's your team set up? Is your second baseman where he should be when the ball is hit in his direction? If not, you'd better get him back in the right place, or get him playing for another team (your competition) as soon as possible. Once we have the right people and systems in place, survival in business becomes much easier.
Damian Lang is a mason contractor in Southeast Ohio who has four companies that do combined sales of $18 million. He is also the author of the book "Rewarding and Challenging Employees for Profits in Masonry." To order a copy of his book, or to attend one of his seminars held specifically for mason contractors, call Linda Hart at Lang Masonry, 800-417-9272.
Provided by Damian Lang, President of Lang Messery Contractors, Inc., and EZ Grout Corp.
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