Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/634023
M eeting contractors is Enjoy- ment Factor No. 1 in this job, so last month was a great start to the year: I got to spend time with three contractors in three different states. Between the three, there were great differences in markets, equipment and approaches. Un- derneath that, however, was a bedrock of commonality: They recognized opportunity. Not to get too corny, but if America is the land of op- portunity, then construction is the industry of opportunity. My three construction firms had vastly dissimilar backgrounds. One couple "inherited" their company from his father – much more complicated than it sounds and fraught with big risk. Another fell in love with construction early on and started working for a paving firm in high school. Now he's 30 years old – and has an $8 to $10 million firm. Still another directed her business acumen at benefitting from the disadvantaged business programs in her area. Today, she employs 75 people. They recognized talent. "It's not just one of us, it's all of us," said one contractor. "I brought together guys I can trust." Another: "I have a dream team. You have to surround yourself with people with real life experi- ence and who've seen it before. I look at every day as a school day." The third con- tractor referred to his equipment manager/ project foreman as "wicked sharp. I don't have to worry about anything he does, be- cause he's a perfectionist." They valued that talent. This isn't slap-on- the-back, glad-you're-here surface apprecia- tion, but rather a fundamental understanding that their companies exist and thrive because of the skills of their people. One recalled a particular high point when an employee called, excited to be moving into a just- purchased home in time for Christmas. It was the first time anyone in his family had bought a house. "I want our people to have a good life," she said. Echoed another: "If you take care of your people, the profits will come." They prioritized communication. All three stressed field-office-client communication. One contractor had just started a soft-skills campaign, bringing in an outside consultant to find better ways to communicate and re- solve conflict. "We didn't take it on because we failed at anything," he says. "We did it to help make us better." They are always looking for a better way. With machines running in the background, voice communication can be iffy on the jobsite. One contractor solved this with a group text to his key foremen; one they check every break. When a job called for the removal of massive hangar doors at a local airport, another contractor opted to use an excavator with a shear, while all other bidders opted to use a crane. A three-month job was reduced to seven days. These contractors opened up their offices – and in many ways, their hearts – to me; and I was one heck of a privileged guest. EquipmentWorld.com | February 2016 9 on record | by Marcia Gruver Doyle MGruver@randallreilly.com Enjoyment Factor No. 1