Construction and Contracting Business. Entrepreneur magazine
with the result that the individual team members play their best and the team wins the championship.
For a more specific example, let’s assume that Joe is a long-term employee who has much in common with the boss: Both attended college in the same city, love to play golf, and have sons enrolled in the same school; they often see each other at functions unrelated to their jobs. However, for personal family reasons, Joe’s production, attitude, and attendance have become a problem. The boss has several discussions with Joe who becomes more defensive and angry with each meeting. Joe’s behavior finally begins to negatively affect several of the office staff. The result is that company sales decline, the atmosphere in the office is dark and dismal, productivity suffers, and clients become upset with their service. Ultimately the boss will have to make the difficult decision as to whether or not to fire Joe. He will have to put personal feelings aside, take a look at the big picture, and make the ultimate decision about Joe’s fate.
aha!
For some training on leadership and how to hone such skills there are many great books to read and even courses to take, such as those offered online by Dale Carnegie Training at www.dalecarnegie.com/online-training. You might also read his classic book, How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Communication Management
Successful business owners must have excellent communication skills. Time, money, and reputation can be lost by owners who do not communicate clearly with both employees and clients. Many clients have preconceived ideas about what a contractor should do; oftentimes they do not read contracts and proposals carefully enough to really understand what they are getting. Usually, they do not understand blueprints; sometimes, they have a vision from a photograph in a home improvement magazine. It’s critical that a contractor-owner have the ability to clearly explain the services he offers and exactly what he proposes to do for the client. In the case of landscaping, it’s important that the client understand that it takes time for a landscape to mature; unlike a new kitchen or bathroom, the final product is not realized immediately upon completion of the work.
Owners must also be able to accurately communicate with employees. Because projects are often changed and adjusted midstream, good communication between the owner and the foreman is needed for the project to proceed accurately and on time. In addition, two-dimensional drawings are sometimes difficult to translate into the three-dimensional world. The contractor must not only communicate what must be done with accurate and legible drawings but also be able to explain verbally what the drawings mean.
Modern communication is most often conducted through cell phones (primarily iPhones or Android smartphones) and emails as well as texts. While this is fine for setting up meetings and having initial conversations, it does not replace in-person, on-site communications, which are imperative to real-world projects. In-person and on-site meetings are essential throughout the process, especially in the early stages or when changes need to be discussed and made.
The most important communication between clients and contractors are the specifics of each project, and they must be confirmed, reconfirmed, and signed off on. Communication must therefore be very clear with each and everyone working on the project. Emails and texts must be simple and to the point, and there needs to be a response confirming that such an email or text was received and acknowledged. You also want a paper trail, and/or electronic trail, on all important communications, especially when changes are requested and agreed upon.
Fortunately, smartphones allow for communication from anyplace and the ability to look at specs and other data at both ends of the conversation, as well as photos and diagrams. Make sure that all key personnel have the latest in mobile tools to make communication that much easier.
Organization Management
How many times have you heard someone say, “The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.” As business owners, you would much rather hear, “It went off like clockwork.” Contractors are often away from the office much of the day, and unless they have a very small family business, they do not really know what happens at the office. Employees are very aware of a disorganized boss who is out-of-touch with the day-to-day operations of the office and runs from one task to another in a seemingly haphazard way. Most owners are not aware of the office gossip and whispers that make the rounds; they probably would be appalled at what they would hear. Unfortunately, an owner’s own chaotic style often filters down to the office staff. However, if an owner implements a good organizational chart, with the assistance of employees who perform the work, each employee will know his own responsibilities and, as important, the responsibilities of every other employee. In this way the company will operate more efficiently, profitably, and mistake-free. Chapter 9 goes into more detail about organizational charts.
Send in the Delegation
A key to organizational success is the ability of an entrepreneur to delegate responsibilities to other employees. Very few business owners have the ability to perform all the tasks required to operate their business. They are likely to be experts at some things, very good at others, and nearly hopeless at others. Because most entrepreneurs have loads of confidence in their abilities, it is hard for many to admit to themselves, “I’m not very good in this area, I need help, and this is how I intend to achieve it.”
Delegating authority to others can be a difficult task not only because it may be hard to find the right person to handle the tasks but also because it is hard for an entrepreneur to give up some of the control of his business. The process of delegating involves four steps:
1. Finding good people who are trustworthy and have the expertise to be successful in the area concerned.
2. Hiring the person and incorporating him into your company.
3. Clearly communicating what is expected of them and how to find answers, or know who to contact, if there is a problem.
4. Giving someone else the ball, and allowing that person to run with it.
stat fact
According to National Association of Home Builders, homeowners spent about $150 billion on home improvements and repairs in 2013. That was 16 percent less than in 2011 ($178 billion).
The best entrepreneurs routinely monitor the activities of these employees but do not constantly look over their shoulders, micromanage their activities, or reverse their decisions without very good cause.
While the ability to delegate is important, over-delegating can become a problem. The owner may become too far removed from the daily activities of the business. The art of delegating is also the art of team building; owners must understand how all the pieces of the business fit together to form the whole. The risk in over-delegating is that decision making becomes too decentralized, communication breaks down, and the business becomes inefficient.
