Masonry Magazine June 1997 Page. 13
Within a few years, only minor projects will be run without a dedicated, technology-based, communication platform.
industry. Companies continue to make major errors in hiring for these roles due to confusion about the difference in sales and marketing, and which skill set is needed. A secondary cause is found in the lack of outstanding selling or marketing role-models within the company. If you're looking to get work in the short term, you likely need a salesperson, not a marketing person. Marketing is more concerned about image-building, finding the right markets, marketing communication and getting on bid lists or securing invitations to propose. Sellers are more concerned about finding and qualifying prospects, putting together the right buying proposition for this customer, this project, and landing the deal. Both skill sets are necessary for successful, growing construction companies. More sellers are needed per company than marketing staff.
Property and casualty insurance and surety markets remain soft. Rates are down and underwriting standards are relaxed.
Public-private partnerships (privatization) continue to struggle, but such alliances are critical for future public sector growth.
Doing Work
The continuing aging and retirement of skilled field supervisors is a major and growing problem. Contractors are committing time and money to prepare their future leadership, teams-whether those teams are family members or employee-shareholders. Aging owners are hungry for ideas on how to select and identify their future replacement. These owners also realize that they don't have the skills to train their replacements.
Accountability is a renewed theme in leadership skill development: how to develop a sense of accountability and responsibility within individuals. Facilitator skill development during the past decade emphasized teamwork and consensus-building. While these skills are still important, the timeliness required in construction decision-making requires accountability of the individual. Achieving outstanding results, then, relies both on teamwork and on individual execution, not simply agreement.
Training is a growing line-item in operating budgets. Demographic patterns continue the "graying of America." The construction industry has not yet made itself the career of choice for new entrants to the work force. These two factors have lead most contractors to conclude that more training is necessary for building a productive organization. Supervisory skills training, leadership training, and crafts training are all on the agenda of contractors who are assuming responsibility for their future.
Strategic planning and execution continue to be central targets for top management teams. More and more companies are including the "soft subjects" of culture development, corporate climate, working relation-
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