Masonry Magazine February 2008 Page. 49
COACH GARY SAYS:
"Pay attention to the important coaches in your own life."
Good teams and good companies find a way to win, even when things don't look so good. The only way to ensure you will lose a game before it's over is to quit. If you don't quit, you always have a chance. Even if you're dealing with the biggest GC or CM around, one who seemingly chews up small subs just for fun, stick to your game plan. Only perform the work you're contracted for, and to do so at a profit. That's the objective.
The good PM knows how he's doing on his budget and on each of his durations. He knows he can't afford to do any extra work, because no extra work has been factored into the budget and into the construction schedule. He sees this for what it is: a penalty to his contract. He points it out to the CM who is "refereeing" the project, and he expects a penalty of time and money to be called. More time on the clock; more time to win.
Others have faced far more dire consequences and overcome them, just as you will overcome the inevitable downturn in your local economy, along with difficult clients and impossible schedules.
But let me leave you now with a word of encouragement. I'd like you to know and remember the words of a great "coach" and statesman said on Oct. 29, 1941. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, with his country literally on fire, already written off, and considered lost to the Nazis by many others, said, "Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty-never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."
Team, think about something: "Coach" Churchill was certainly up against the dock. Things looked so bleak for him and his country, but he forced that game into "overtime." And that "sudden death" victory changed the course of the world.
As PMs, we're just faced with changing the course of our projects, not the world. So, in this New Year, even when some are crying "Gloom and doom," it is our time to shine. What some will see as bleakness, we will see as opportunity. We will see it as a time to lead, because we will never give in. IMAS
Gary Micheloni is a working project manager, speaker, author and consultant. Got a question? Go to the Blog and ask him, or email coachgary@fullcontactPM.com.
Copyright 2008 Gary Micheloni
COACH GARY'S CORNER:
Are you ready for 2008? Ready to make up that lost profit? Determined not to give in? Then get Coach's free report, "How to Stop Working for Free." Visit www.FullContactBlog.com, and participate there with Coach. Check out the free audio updates and other info that will help your projects. Also, you can get Coach Gary's book. "Get Paid for a Change
Having trouble getting people to
work for you?
MASONRY NEWS CONTRACTOR TIP
Many contractors complain they can't get good help to work for them these days. Maybe it's because, in reality, people don't work for you or me. People work for themselves. Think about when you first started you career. Did you go to work for a company to make the owner of the company a rich person? (I know that wasn't my goal when I was hired). People work for personal reasons. They go to work to make money for themselves and provide for their families. So from the start, owners and employees have different expectations and motivations. The challenge is blending the two into a profitable outcome.
In the RACE seminars I do for mason contractors, I tell a story about the early days when Lang Masonry was laying basements and doing small commercial jobs. One day, we were building a little strip center for my cousin (which was a stretch for our organization in those days). My laborer walked right passed a wheelbarrow full of mortar down the front of the strip center and asked me, "Do you need any mortar?" I replied, "Yes." As he walked back down the path he had just taken, I saw the wheelbarrow where he'd left it, 120 feet on the other end of the worksite. He had dropped it off there and walked all the way down just to ask me that question. We never needed mortar where the wheelbarrow was sitting. The only place the wheelbarrow needed to go was where the block was being laid. That puzzled me.
I wondered, "What are these guys thinking? What do they think about during a day? Probably things that benefit themselves, like who won the football game on Sunday, or who's the best racecar driver? Is it Earnhardt?" I wanted to find a way to get them thinking about results, so we could get the job done. So, I started studying what makes people tick.
As a result, I found we could motivate people to think about results. We do this by setting up proper pay systems and incentive plans to encourage them to do what was needed without constant supervision. Guess what? It works for us. Now, I do seminars for mason contractors to show how Lang Masonry uses incentive plans to increase production on jobsites and in the office. These plans have led to higher income for both the company and our employees.
The first thing I had to understand was simply that people work for themselves. If you are having trouble getting people to come to work for you, remember that, and then look at your compensation system. The old days of people working their hearts out for hourly pay just because they love the work are over. As managers, we have to create achievable goals that mean something to them personally. Today, people must see a connection, or they won't produce good results.
Damian Lang is a mason contractor in Southeast Ohio who has four companies that do combined sales of $18 million. He is also the author of the book, "Rewarding and Challenging Employees for Profits in Masonry." To order a copy of his book, or to attend one of his seminars held specifically for mason contractors, call Linda Hart at Lang Masonry, 800-417-9272.