. Business and Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning sounds time consuming and unproductive. However, it is probably the most important function of a business manager whether in a large publicly traded firm or a small one to five person firm. Everyone who manages some function of a business enterprise does strategic planning. It might be in the shower in the morning, driving to the office, having lunch with a colleague, or dinner with the spouse. Firms that know the importance of Strategic Planning recognize that this activity results in profit on the bottom line. The successful managers recognize “their plan” must be documented, in writing, and communicated to everyone involved with the business. This includes bankers, their accountants and attorneys, and most important their employees.
A Strategic Plan includes nine levels of conforming the ideas, values, and direction the leaders desire for the firm. The levels are:
. Development of a Vision for the firm.
. Development of a Mission Statement.
. Identification of Realistic Goals.
. Statement of the Strategies required to active the Goals.
. Actions to support the Strategies.
. Development of Market Analysis and Sales projections.
. Development of Asset Needs Analysis to achieve the Sales projections.
. Development of a People Needs Analysis to achieve the Sales projections.
. Development of short term and long term financial forecasts.
Each of the above requires management dedication to arrive at realistic and executable actions by the management team and the firm’s employees.
. Managing Dysfunctional Management Teams
The most valuable assets of a construction firm are its people. In construction, senior management of the firm seem to focus on how well the firm’s equipment is maintained or the profit of the projects. These are important to developing a successful construction firm. However, managing its human assets becomes the most challenging and important function of senior management. This applies to the smallest of firms to large multi-market firms.
We have observed dysfunctional project teams usually result in schedule conflict and delays, miscommunication of important information, personality conflicts, resulting in less profitable projects. Managing the subcontractor’s project management team must been included in this discussion. Once members of the construction team begin to mistrust or doubt the actions of other members, effective communications by the team diminishes leading to lost profits by the whole team.
Placing the right people in the right positions must be the main goal of an effective team building process. It takes time and understanding by everyone involved. We assist senior management in the development of a team building plan based on the composition of the firm’s personal.
. Development of Meaningful Management Reporting
Traditional financial information systems give management the significant data about the current status of the firm’s assets, liabilities, and earnings based on approved industry standards and practices. The data accumulated by these systems require a delay in capturing the data and making the information available to managers. This produces a delay in final operating results. Managers require timely information data not traditionally captured by the traditional information systems using to monitor productivity, equipment use, employee time allocation, and status of equipment, materials, and supplies delivery dates by vendors. The development of the internet, cloud technology, and personal data devices provides innovative managers the opportunity to track and monitor activities of the firm in near real time. Video capturing and the ability to view live from anywhere in world expands the opportunity to substantially shrink the time information is passed from one user to another. We believe managers can take advantage of the new technology to capture and use types of data not readily available to them in the past. We will work with the firm to identify new technology available that fit their individual needs and circumstances.
. Development of Productivity Monitoring System
Productivity affects the bottom line of every firm from specialty retail operations, transportation, utilities, mining, and particularly construction operations. Smart managers of construction firms know productivity is the basis of having a successful project. Trade contractors like MEP, masons, drywall, and concrete installers must know the productivity of their work forces. The firm’s estimating departments base the pricing of the firm’s proposals using productivity factors from their field operators. Field managers track and monitor the individual activities of their teams to confirm the team’s ability to meet the required schedule dates.
Road contractors need to know how many feet of road base or concrete is placed each day. HVAC contractors should know how many pounds of sheetmetal or pipe is installed each day. Drywall contractors need to know how many wall panels are installed and/or sheetrock is hung each day. Systems to capture productivity data needs to be a part of the manager’s tool box. We can assist the firm or individual project teams in the development of methods to capture specific data they can use to track and monitor the field productivity. In all cases, we strive to keep it simple and easy to manage.
