Business Building: Winning Teams Need Clear Targets!

Words: George Hedley
Photos:George Hedley

If you don’t know the score, can you win? Imagine a basketball team that runs onto the court with no playbook, no set plays, and no idea of what the final score needs to be to win. Players are told, “Just hustle and do your best!” But don’t know whether to shoot, pass, or defend. At the end of the game, no one knows who won or lost, or even how many points they scored. Unfortunately, that’s how too many companies in the construction industry still operate today.

Are You Playing Without a Game Plan?
I recently surveyed over 2,000 construction contractors about their goal-setting practices, and the results were just as directionless as a team without a scoreboard. Ask yourself: Does your company have clear, written, and measurable objectives for every crucial part of your operation? Don’t be surprised if your answer is no; you’re in the majority. Only 39% of companies track annual overhead, profit, and sales goals. Even fewer have targets for:

Estimating accuracy
On-time project completion
Call-backs and rework
Site safety performance
Employee development
Bid-hit-win success ratio

Even more concerning, less than 29% give field crews specific targets for workmanship or productivity. Without clear, measurable goals, your team can’t know if they’re scoring points or missing layups.

Where’s Your Scoreboard?
Picture a basketball team without a scoreboard, standings, or even a target number of wins for the season. No shooting percentages. No defensive stats. No way to know if that last shot was crucial or meaningless. That’s the reality for many construction companies. Only 33% set job profit goals, establish on-time schedule targets, and track field labor productivity. Even when companies do set goals, even fewer communicate them to employees! It’s no wonder teams regularly watch their profit margins shrink. Without visible, shared targets, everyone’s hustling up and down the court, but no one knows if they’re making progress or working hard and not winning the game.

Build Your Winning Playbook
Research proves that people with written goals achieve twice as much as those without. It’s time to put a game plan in place. Here’s the framework I recommend, think of it as your construction project playbook:

The SWAT.COM Method
S - Specific: Detailed and clear goals eliminate confusion.
W - Written: Commit goals to paper or digital platforms.
A - Attainable: Goals must be challenging but achievable.
T - Time-Deadline: Every goal needs a specific finish line and completion date.
C - Challenging & Clear: Enough to motivate but easily understood.
O - On-Purpose & On-Target: Chosen for maximum business impact.
M - Measurable: So you always track and know the score.

Start by setting company-wide objectives, then break them down for divisions, projects, and individuals. For example, if finishing every project on schedule is your priority, set specific deadlines and spell out the key actions required to meet them.

Steps To Set Project Goals
Step 1 - Define goal description and deadline
Step 2 - Hold pre-project team strategy session
Step 3 - Identify all tasks and milestones
Step 4 - Assign responsibilities to team members
Step 5 - Schedule regular team meetings to track progress
Step 6 - Review progress weekly and make adjustments
Step 7 - Post project review

Run Plays Weekly and Monthly
Good basketball coaches set goals for every game and practice. Meet with your team every Monday morning. Set and assign clear, measurable tasks for the week, like “install 500 eight-inch blocks by Friday” or “Get all outstanding change orders authorized by Wednesday.” On a monthly basis, gather to review your “box score”, how is the team performing on schedule, safety, quality, customer satisfaction, productivity, and costs? Identify who’s hitting their numbers and who needs extra support. As projects get completed, gather your team for a real “post-game” review. What worked? What didn’t? Which “plays” (processes and systems) drove success? Take these lessons forward and keep improving your playbook.

Make Goal Setting Part Of Your Strategy
If you want to create a winning company, make scorekeeping visible at every jobsite and in the office. When everyone knows the score, teamwork improves, and distractions fade. Recognize when the foreman “scores” by delivering on schedule, and address issues when the crew falls behind. Set the expectations so everyone gets clear statistics to measure, strive for, and then review. No more passing the ball around looking busy without achieving the results you want to achieve. For a “Targets & Goals” worksheet to help you set up your construction scoreboard, email GH@HardhatBizcoach.com. Start with one project or department and grow from there. When you aim at something, write it, measure it, communicate it, and review it, you’ll start winning more games, projects, and profits, every time.

Remember: In basketball and construction, success is built on clear plays, visible goals, and a team that always knows the score. Don’t leave the game to chance, set your sights, keep your eyes on the score, and watch your team win big.

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George Hedley’s New Book Now Available!

George Hedley’s new, updated, and expanded 400-page book titled “Turn Your Construction Business Into A Profit-Making Machine!” is now available. This ‘how-to’ book details proven step-by-step systems, strategies, and solutions for construction business owners to grow, profit, and build successful companies. His BIZ-BUILDER BLUEPRINT SYSTEM is designed to help general contractors, builders, subcontractors, specialty and service contractors who want to move to a higher level, get off the low-bid treadmill, get organized, implement standard processes, make more money, and enjoy the benefits of a business that works for them! This book will show you everything you need to know to improve your profit margins, achieve better project results, win more customers, get organized and in control, and increase field productivity.

The book includes over 60 charts, worksheets, and examples, plus a downloadable Excel template to draft your business and financial plans, set overhead and profit goals, and build wealth. George developed these principles and systems to build his general contracting company from $0 to $50 million. Today, as a certified professional business coach and Hardhat BIZCOACH, he works closely with his 60-plus construction business coaching clients and improves their companies.

Now available on Amazon.com in paperback and eBook format.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
George Hedley CPBC is a certified professional construction business coach, consultant, and speaker, He shows contractors how to double their profits, grow, get organized, and turn their companies into BIZ-BUILDERS and Profit-Makers! He is the author of “Turn Your Construction Business Into A Profit-Making Machine!” available on Amazon.com. To talk, start a personalized coaching program, or get his free e-newsletter email GH@HardhatBizcoach.com. Visit his YouTube channel to watch his videos. To download online courses or get his contractor templates visit: https://constructionbusinesscoaching.com.

Business Building: Winning Teams Need Clear Targets!

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