Quietly Re-Thinking Out Loud: Exploring New Paradigms for How We Manage What We Build
My collection of thoughts and ideas on the state of the Building and Remodeling industry and its future with regard to topics like: Technology, Project Management, CRM, Open-Book Management, Business Models, Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM), The Theory of Constraints (TOC), Systems Thinking, JIT, TQM, Lean Construction, CPM and the Lead Carpenter System.
The Paradigm Projects: Activity Based Pricing Seminar
How Much Should I Charge?
Activity Based Markup & Pricing for Builders Remodelers & Contractors
Back in the later 1980s I took a one day seminar sponsored by New England Builder Magazine (which later became The Journal of Light Construction) taught by the late Irv Chasen called How To Survive & Prosper in the Contracting Market in which I was introduced to the PROOF Pricing Methodology which a few years later I would see described in David Gertstel’s 1st edition of his classic book Running a Successful Construction Company as Capacity Based Markup. In the 35± years since then and numerous other seminars it remains the most important and most memorable training seminars I ever took in regards to running a building and remodeling company.
30 Plus Reasons Why Contracting Businesses Fail
I originally wrote this blog article back on Dec 11th of 2005. To the best of my recollection I was reading the Construction Contractors' Survival Guide by Thomas C. Schleifer and chapter 2 was entitled Elements of Contractor Failure and was inspired to do more...
The History of Markup Methodologies in the Building & Remodeling Industries
So while spending some long days of waiting in doctors waiting rooms I decided to dig around and try and see exactly what this COPE stuff was so I listened to The Contracting Handbook: Michael Anschel of OA Design Build on the Cost of Project Execution (C.O.P.E.)...
Book: Full Price: Competing on Value in the New Economy
From the October 2000 book "Full Price: Competing on Value in the New Economy" by Thomas J Winneger he divides potential customers into three categories: 1) 17% "Custom Clients", they are "wonderful people". 2) 56% "Vacillating customers", they don't know what they...
Read more“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river.
We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.”
― Desmond Tutu
John Boyd & the OODA Loop – Winning in Business and Life – YouTube
It was back in the early 00s that in one of the project management email list groups I was subscribed to I was turned onto a book entitled: “Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War” and discovered the OODA loop and it clicked,… it mattered,… it mattered a...
Is Apple Notes The Best Note Taking Tool?
This past Friday I got a call from a landscape and masonry contractor who wanted to know if FileMaker could help his company. It turns out this past spring his daughter graduated from college and joined his company in an office and management capacity to take is...
Read moreMarketing is no longer about the stuff that you make,
but about the stories you tell.
– Seth Godin.
A Richer More Robust Enhanced Transparency
The other day in a discussion about job photographs I mentioned a remodeler I used to do some some consulting with in addition to having some great camera equipment took the time to take some courses in photography and lighting and his job photos are as excellent as...
Home Diagnosis TV Series
Okay has anyone viewed this series yet? I just discovered it watching PBS promo this afternoon. https://homediagnosis.tv/
