NOW ACCEPTING
RESERVATIONS!
for
March 16-17, 2006

For the last three plus years I have been helping construction business owners get their businesses to work in roundtable boot camps called“Profit Builder Circles.” It is an exciting opportunity for me to give back to the industry that has helped me get what I want: time, freedom, and lots of wealth!

Got Fun?

Got Time?

Got Profit?

Got Wealth?

Got Great People?

Got Loyal Customers?

The many who have attended these working sessions leave with a customized action plan to help them reach their goals. Some are in the early stages of growing their businesses and need help getting organized and systemized. Some have a well-managed company and want to take it to the next level. Others want answers how to create equity and build their net worth. Just a few days ago I received the following fantastic letter from a graduate of our Profit-Builder program who has grown his business over 200% in less than three years!

What Gordon said after attending a ‘Profit-Builder Circle’

George:

I wanted to drop a line to let you know; almost 3 years after having participated in your program, I still keep many of the concepts we discussed in mind:

• At your prompting, I joined Young Executives Organization and have maintained a productive relationship with members of my peer forum.  That suggestion alone has contributed in the successful growth of our company . We have grown over 200% in only 3 years.  We’ve also improved profitability and maintained a strong, reliable, and appreciative customer base.

• I recently joined the Associated General Contractors and have developed many fruitful relationships among competitors and clients alike.

• Profit, profit, profit…I practice and preach the principal constantly.  We’ve become much more efficient at identifying loser jobs and clients, and removing them from our midst.  We are now making over 9% net profit after capitalizing $350,000 worth of equipment using $100,000 in cash directly from our cash flow.  We also paid off $250,000 worth of debt. Plus I paid myself a solid salary, and I’ve managed to acquire another property, which my company pays for in rent.

• I’ve managed to parlay an M1 property in Ventura (my last yard/office) into a High-Density Residential parcel which we’re working to developing into 25-30 residential condos.

• I’ve traveled to China to see my YEO mate’s factories first hand…on a whim. I went to Sri Lanka for 2 weeks last January to help with the Tsunami clean up…on a whim, and I’m headed to Costa Rica in January to work on a volunteer project in the jungle...not a whim.

• I’ve taken at least 6 weeks a year off.

• My kids actually know who I am and my wife no longer works in the office and is able to be a full-time wife and mother.

I really could go on and on, but I don’t want to gloat. 

I’m not saying I accomplished this because of your program, but the timing of our meeting was perfect. Your story of success and personal intervention allowed me to see first hand, what a businessman can accomplish through hard work, integrity, and common sense. I detected a like-mindedness and confirmation that what I was trying to accomplish was genuine and attainable. The experience I had with you was an affirmation of my personal and business principles.

I have a boat load of challenges ahead of me, and I am trying to appreciate these great times as best I can, because this all goes in cycles. There are a series of challenges on the horizon; the last two months have been incredibly busy for me. But I’m working on my business, and for the first time in 16 years, I’m having fun.

Thanks for all you do to help guide fledgling construction entrepreneurs to success.  Please consider me a resource for anything you try to accomplish in your future.

Sincerely,

Gordon Miller, Owner, GPM Sealrite, Inc.

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Check Out George's Upcoming Speaking Calendar:

1/16/06 World of Concrete - Las Vegas, NV

1/19/06 Michigan Infrastructure Trans. Assn - Mt. Pleasant, MI

1/24/06 East Kentucky Power Coop - Louisville, KY

2/3/06 - Church & Dwight Co., Inc. - Tampa, FL

2/6/06 - Canadian Masonry Contractors Assn - Cancun, Mexico

3/7/06 - NADCA Convention - Dallas, TX

3/8/06 - Michigan Green Industry Assn. - Novi, MI

3/13/06 - Ideal Lease of No. America - Dallas, TX

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This Month's Featured Article

Motivating Your Work Force                          

By George Hedley

I used to get tired of trying to get my people to do what I wanted them to do. They always had what appeared to be legitimate excuses why they didn’t get the job done on time, or why they didn’t follow my directions, or why it wasn’t their fault when something went wrong out on the jobsite. I used to think I couldn’t find any good help anymore. Or maybe people don’t care about doing a good job anymore. Or, it seems nobody will take charge, be responsible or accountable. I thought I was the only one who could do the job right. Perhaps, you feel the same some days.

People Are Different Than You

There is a way to build your construction business with the people you have. You can get them motivated, all on the same page, and working like a winning team with common goals, drive, and excitement. First, successful construction business owners and managers know their people are different than them. They realize employees are not motivated for the same reasons they are. People have different life experiences, backgrounds, beliefs, needs, goals, and personal pressures. Most people don't think the same as you do, they have different personalities, and will act and react differently than you in most situations. Everyone won’t do things exactly the same way you do with the same intensity. And just because you pay employees a good wage doesn't mean they're going to work their fanny off for you.

Younger workers today are very different as well. They like continuous learning and personal growth in their careers. They don’t like dead-end jobs without advancement in sight. They think they can do your job better than you can. They want to make a lot more money than you provide and will leave jobs quickly when offered more pay. Their loyalty is to themselves and what you can do for them. But, they want to participate in major decisions. They want balance in their life and would rather go home early than get overtime hours. Work is not their number one priority as they value family and friends more than their job. It is your job to discover each employee’s differences, what makes them tick, and help them achieve their goals in order for you to reach your business goals.

The Motivational Problem is You

Years ago, I went through fourteen secretaries over a two year period. I just couldn’t find anyone who would work as hard as I wanted them to. No one was ever quick enough, or smart enough, or good enough for me. One day I finally realized maybe the problem was me! I had to take responsibility that it was my responsibility to motivate my staff. It wasn’t their job to motivate themselves. Once I realized this fact, my personnel problems turned around, our people became great, and our employee retention moved to 90% plus every year. I had been the problem, not them.

To motivate your workforce, you've got to give them a reason to be motivated. People are motivated for their reasons, not yours. Don’t expect others to understand your passion for customers, or quality work, or the need to make a profit. They must want to follow your vision, achieve your goals, and get the job done properly.

For example, think of your children. You tell them what you want them to do, but they don’t always follow your wishes. Then you try to bribe them—$100 for an “A”, and they say, “Not enough, Dad.” Frustrated, you scream, “If you're not home by 10:00 p.m., I'm gonna kill you!” Well, you don't. You let them off the hook and they continue to stretch the envelope. The real problem is lack of accountability and responsibility without consequences. It seems like the same problems you have with your kids are the same with your employees.

Do Your People Want to Follow You?

Leaders influence others to want to do what they want them to do. The key words are to want to do. Employees must want to do what you want them to do to get the results you want. You tell and they decide if they’ll do it. When you tell your kids to clean up their room, they decide if they’ll do it based on needs, consequences, accountabilities, and responsibilities which affect their decisions.

Ask yourself: “What makes people want to follow me?” You know what doesn't work with your children (and employees) – confusion, lack of trust, no integrity, no accountability, and no consequences. A lot of business owners and managers say, “My people won’t do what I want them to do. I should get rid of them, but I can't afford for them to leave, so I don’t fire them.” What kind of accountability is this? If they don't have to do what you want them to do, why should they do more than the minimum, to keep their job? You've got to make them want to do what you want them to do.

Exceptional employees require two things – money and happiness. Money includes fair pay and competitive benefits, plus working for a strong company with a good reputation in the community. Happiness is the same, being motivated. Your job is to motivate your people to want to do what you want them to do. You accomplish this with inspirational leadership, continuous motivation, clear and continuous two way communication, an exciting vision, step by step directions, holding people accountable, and giving them full and unquestioned responsibility. Your number one job is to encourage and motivate your people to perform with energy, effort, and enthusiasm, so they'll go beyond where you want them to go.

4 Steps to Motivate Your Workforce

There are four simple and proven action steps to achieve bottom-line results through people.

1. Provide Clear Expectations

People need to know exactly what you want them to do and the results you want them to achieve—the expected specific results. Weak managers assume people understand what’s required, don’t take time to spell out what they want, and then don’t make people accountable for achieving desired results. The norm is to tell people to work real hard and try your best. But, this doesn’t let people know exactly what’s expected. People must be told and understand exactly what you want, the specific end results. Examples of clear expectations include:

“By Friday, I expect you to have this installed and 100% complete.”

“By the 30th of the month all invoices must be sent out.”

“No extra work will be started without a signed change order.”

“All timecards must be complete and turned in by 9:00am Mondays.”

“You must complete all footings within the 750 man-hour budget.”

Be specific with clear targets and define the exact results you want. And, make sure your people understand what their individual targets are, what’s acceptable and what’s not, when they hit or miss their target, their consequences for not achieving the results you want, and their rewards for a job well done.

2. Provide Regular Recognition and Praise

The second important action step you must use to get the results you want is to provide ongoing recognition and praise to the people who do the work. Weak and ineffective managers don’t take time to thank people for a job well done. Over time, this causes lackadaisical employees and poor results. In a survey of why people left their company, over 90% said they'd never been recognized or praised by their boss, ever, for anything.

People want and need feedback and positive reinforcement often for their contributions and efforts. Effective leaders give out praises at least every week to everyone in their sphere of influence. Use words like, “I appreciate you” and “Thanks for a great job.” Keep a simple chart in your day-timer to insure you recognize all your staff on a regular basis. Strive to praise everyone at least every week and check it off on your chart so you won’t forget someone. Verbal praises work the best, but occasionally write short handwritten notes to those who went beyond the call of duty.

3. Provide a Clear Understanding of the Big Picture

The third thing your people need is a clear understanding of the big picture (company, employees, customers, projects, etc.) and how they fit in. Successful business owners, managers, and foreman are open and honest and tell employees where their company is going—it's vision, what the future has in store, positive and negatives, and changes or adjustment required to be successful. People need to know what’s happening; otherwise, they tend to think the worst.

Several times a month I present seminars to company managers who learn great ideas to build and improve their businesses. When they go back to their offices, their people are often afraid they've been scheming how to squeeze them to work harder. That's not reality, but without information people fear the worse. Successful leaders constantly tell the real deal—business is good or bad, the future is positive or negative, sales are up or down, productivity is acceptable or not, our people are doing a good job or not. Hold semi-annual, all company meetings plus monthly project and department meetings where the big picture is discussed and open to questions.

4. Provide a Caring Company Attitude

The 4th action step is to let your people know you care about them as individuals. People need to know you appreciate them as employees and contributors to the company success. Employees want to know you care about them, their personal goals, future, personal development, and their children and family. People must know they're important. They want to know they will be listened to and have a say in the future of their company.  

To insure you continuously show you care about your employees, keep a “team member profile” sheet on each person in your day-timer. Include their name, family members, schools, hobbies, sports, interests, goals, challenges, contributions, etc. This way you can refer to it on a regular basis and keep track of each team member’s life.

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George Hedley owns a $75 million construction-development company and Hardhat Presentations. He speaks to companies on building profitable businesses, leaders, and loyal customers. He holds 2-day in-depth "Profit-Builder Circles" open to construction company owners in an interactive roundtable format. The "Profit-Builder System" includes proven tools to always make a profit, build equity, create wealth, win profitable jobs, motivate your people, and enjoy the benefits of owning a profitable company. For information on Mr. Hedley's programs or to receive his free management e-newsletter, visit www.hardhatpresentations.com , call 800-851-8553, or e-mail him at gh@hardhatpresentations.com.