Chairman's Message: Winter Is Coming

Words: Dick Dentinger

Here in Minnesota, where we sit at the northern edge of the Upper Midwest, we have no choice but to proudly embrace the seasons as they arrive. Like a few of our neighboring states, we experience all four seasons every year. Spring is messy and damp as the snow goes from pretty white coverings to a gradual dirty and muddy mess that enriches the thawing ground below. The ice melts on the lakes, and we go through a period of dysfunction where you can have a sunny spring day with short-sleeve temps, followed a few days later by a chance of snow showers. Summer then arrives with fanfare. Summer is short here, but due to the other weather extremes we face, Minnesotans rush outside and embrace every evening and weekend with any and all available summer activities: boating, fishing, running, biking, and hiking. After summer sneaks away, we are given a unique gift—the Upper Midwest fall season.

Fall is my favorite season of the year. It’s spectacular. The cool fall temps gradually get brisker as the weeks progress. Golf courses close for the approaching winter, while fishing and ski boats are pulled from the lakes and put in storage. Everywhere you look, the trees try to produce their own northern lights type of magic as the leaves begin to turn brilliant colors. Each tree species has its own schedule of change, which makes it even more of a spectacle as the colors range from rusty brown to soft orange, to fire-hot reds, and vibrant yellows, with stubborn pine trees remaining bright green as they refuse to change. With those vibrant fall colors surrounding us, while wearing comfortable flannel shirts or sweatshirts and breathing in that fresh cool fall air, my wife and I walk the paths and trails in our neighborhood. It always somehow connects us back to a time long ago. It’s a great season of the year, and it ramps up to Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holidays, of course, distract us as Mother Nature gradually fades out fall until we eventually realize the inevitable: winter is coming.

Winter weather is a trademark of the Upper Midwest. Enduring the harsh winter season is similar to how regions in the South or in the desert are challenged to make it through long periods of extreme heat in the summer season. Each region knows what’s coming. So, we embrace it. When winter is coming in Minnesota, we put away our summer fishing gear and bring out our ice-fishing gear. Hockey rinks and ski hills become packed with people embracing the new season. Office conversations are filled with chatter about what kind of snowblower was purchased or the road conditions driving in after a fresh snowfall. Most of us take a well-timed vacation to a warmer place during the winter to allow just enough relief so we can make it through the last few weeks of winter.

Still, even during the harshest weather, we simply prepare and continue as if it’s just another day. The people from the Northeast and out West can relate to what I’m describing. We know we have no choice but to set our alarms a little earlier on those days. We can’t hide out at home. It’s not a war happening around us; it’s just seasonal weather. We dress for the weather and gas up the car the night before so we can get to work the next day. We plow the driveway and leave early for work as the traffic will certainly be a mess. We prepare and endure. Along the way, we enjoy winter fun and hot chocolate in front of the fireplace. Then, spring arrives, and the seasons start a new cycle.

It's the same for our businesses in the construction industry. Seasons change, and we face seasonal challenges, such as extreme heat, extreme cold, or a rash of vacation requests during hunting season. We have no choice but to plan for it and embrace the reality of the season. When winter is coming, we’re challenged with trying to offer competitive pricing while still incorporating reasonable costs for winter conditions. We assume the schedules are accurate and consider enclosing scaffolds, heating costs, and the impact on our production and servicing our work under cover. Often, the gamble on winter cost assumptions may be the reason a contractor is lowest on bid day. It’s another example of how we are forced to take risks on bid day.

These weather seasons give us good training for other changes in our business environments, such as economic seasons. When there is the sniff of a slowdown, experienced contractors will sense it and try their best to prepare by timing the market for when to adjust pricing. It’s the same for reacting to a whiff of a booming market where we need to try to time the market and seize the opportunity to increase our pricing to make up for leaner times. It’s a tricky game preparing for and adjusting to the seasons a business will experience. Each region of the country isn’t always experiencing the same season, so with each season we survive, our forecasting and navigation experience makes each of us a more seasoned competitor. Which is why we all know, even though winter is coming, spring will soon be just around the corner.
About: Chairman’s Message
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