“Do it as if your job depended on it” was a directive that I will never forget, even 45 years later.  Fateful words from an owner, to me, a new employee of Hydro-Air Engineering, long before it became MiTek.  Other lasting words have come to me from SBCA Hall of Fame (HOF)...

Now is the time for you to prepare to move up in management.  Over the last 20 years, dozens of plants formerly run by “hands-on” owners are now run by managers.   During the recent recession, many management candidates left our business.  And in the next 10...

If you are anything like me, you were delighted with the new format and content of the January issue. Congratulations to Anna and Thom on producing a first rate resource periodical. I was delighted to see new articles by Carl Schoening at Eagle Metal Products, Sean Hubbard at Square 1 Design and...

In January, I had the privilege of once again attending SBCA Chapter meetings. Having participated in meetings for many years as WTCA/SBCA staff, it was funny to think I was now calling in as an SBCA member. In the past, I spent 13 years working to support members, and now I was a member too!...

So, here I sit with plenty of work that needs to be done. I began thinking of when I first started in the industry, then becoming involved in the national association, then becoming the western distributor of involved. The one constant in all of that “doing” was that as a group we...

Do you think that some of your competition has a competitive advantage because their sales teams are processing projects via the Web on tablets? If they are able to start and/or update any project information, find the current stage of any task and also review any project’s schedule, all...

Obviously, we all make decisions based on value. Cost vs. benefit. Risk vs. reward. But too often, we are all encouraged to think of value only in terms of dollars and cents. Too be sure, money plays a big part, but it’s not always simple and straightforward. Building...

Industry’s averages for net-profits-to-sales ratio: Below average – 0% to 9% Average – 10% to 12% Common to see – 13% to 19% High return more common than most know– Greater than 20% (No B.S.) Do you know how well your company did in comparison to...

That was my reaction when I realized last week that 2016 was right around the corner. Well, actually I hit a stark realization around the middle of December when I had a birthday and could not figure out how I got here. You know, to this place in time. It seems like yesterday that I was a hairy...

This time of year, when most job changes occur, we need to especially engage our remote employees. We must nurture, retain and recruit more of these people who don’t have an office, but have become the backbone of many companies. Truss designers, bookkeepers, and IT people increasingly...