This e-newsletter is dedicated to supporting High-Performing Contractors and all contractors working to become one. Written by Dennis Sowards

Leadership

Are leaders born or made? This is an age-old management question. If leaders are truly born and some seem to be, then all leadership training is for naught! However, if leaders are made, then focused training is needed and useful. There is rich debate on this subject. I feel both are right. Some people are born with leadership qualities, while most leaders learn or enhance their leadership ability through education and experience. What does all this mean to the high-performing contracting company and it’s managers? If you were not born a leader, there is still opportunity to become one. Consider these leadership qualities and how you can apply them.



Leaders define the vision. Do you have a vision of where you what to take your company? How clearly is it defined? How well is it communicated to your employees, customers and suppliers? Is it in writing? (If not written down it doesn’t exist!) How often is it reviewed, mentioned or discussed with your employees? Like mountain climbing, leaders define which mountain to climb. Which mountain are you climbing?

Leaders act in alignment with their vision? Do you have a plan to move towards your vision? Do you have specific actions you will take to move closer to the vision this year? How have you communicated these to your employees? Do they have actions they have committed to do in support of the vision? Does your budget align with these actions? How much time do you spend on these actions each day, week, and month? Like climbing a mountain, it is not enough to stand at the base and look up. You must start moving. Leaders identify the direction to start. They make sure everyone is properly equipped for the climb and knows the anticipated pathway.



Leaders engage their employees. There are no leaders without followers. Leaders communicate and inspire their employees to want to be part of achieving the vision. People need to know what’s in it for them. Leaders help employees see the vision and how it relates to each person’s own needs and desires. Leaders also weed out those people not committed to the same vision. When climbing a mountain, the climbing team needs to be committed to climb the same mountain together.



Leaders periodically evaluate progress towards their vision and adjust accordingly. Rarely do plans go exactly as designed. External factors change, as do the assumptions made in developing the plans. Just like climbing to the top of a mountain, one may need to adjust the path taken to deal with terrain or weather changes not anticipated. Leaders make the needed adjustments knowing where they want to end up. Mountain climbers use maps, GPS/compass and line of sight vision to make sure they are climbing the right mountain. Leaders do periodic evaluations to see how they are doing in moving towards their vision. When was the last evaluation session you held? With no vision or plans it is hard to know if you are making progress.



Some leaders are born, but the rest are made. Are you the LEADER your company needs? If not, you can still change and become one! It is more than DNA - it takes learning and hard work.

Customer Focused - Competition is healthy!

Jeffrey Gitomer says competition is healthy and good for us. Then he writes,



“Huh? Who the hell ever said that? No one from New Jersey!



“The truth is most people would rather see their competition die, or at least go out of business and never be heard from again.



“HERE’S THE CHALLENGE: How does a one address the issue of the competition in these times? I wrote about it in The Sales Bible in 1994, revised it in 2002, and revised it again in 2008’s new edition. BUT that was before the bottom fell out of the economy.



“HERE’S THE REALITY: Sales are down for everyone, and there are fewer prospects for new sales. Consequently the hunt for more sales, new sales, and especially take-away sales has intensified. You can no longer afford to “lose one on price,” and move to the next. The one you lost may be the ONLY one this week, or this month.



“HERE’S THE GROSS REALITY: You must know that your competition is having a meeting across town RIGHT NOW. They’re planning to cut their prices, steal your customers, and bury you. They’re gunning for your best customers.



“It’s a war. Fought battle by battle. Customer by customer. Action by action. Until the last salesman or saleswoman is standing. You’re the warrior. Winner take all.



“The weapons to deploy in your competitive war are:

• Value offered in terms of the customer.
  
• Proven differentiation between you and others.
  
• A quality standard that includes the word BEST.
  
• Memorable service.
  
• Technology. Be the highest.
  
• Web presence. Be the best.
  
• Timely/rapid response. Be the fastest.
  
• Friendly people. Be the friendliest.
  
• Availability. 24.7.365 is the minimum acceptable standard.
  
• Knowledgeable people. The most knowledgeable.
  
• Helpful people. The most helpful.
  
• Reputation in the marketplace or community. The best reputation. A long track record of success.
  
• Existing customers who speak on your behalf. NOTE: They’re the ones that create your reputation.
  
• Oh yeah, sometimes price.

“And here are the STRATEGIES to MASTER:

Speak kindly of your competition, or say nothing.

Respect them, and others will respect you.

If others speak negatively, DO NOT join in.

Know their weaknesses, but focus on your strength and value.

Know why they won, when you should have.

Know how they speak about you, and build response into your presentation.

Know how to beat them until they hate you.

Your victory is when you get the order.



“What you say, and the way you say it, weighs heavily in the competitive wars. Here are some clues:

• Never down the competition.
  
• Never use condescending language.
  
• Never “warn” the customer.
  

“IDEA: My friend Ray Leone teaches salespeople to refer to the competition as “industry standard.” It’s brilliant. He says, “Industry standard is xxxxx, but we are xxxx+yyyyy.” Very powerful.



“What you say about your competition is a true reflection of your persona. And even more powerful, it creates one of the key elements of the customer’s perception of you as a person. Part of their value judgment as they look to move forward – with or without you.



“Your job is not to down others; your job is to get to know the customer. Develop rapport, create open communication, give and get truth, establish believability, gain trust, and prove your value in terms of them. Interestingly, you do all this by asking for their knowledge of your product or service, their past experience, their history, and their personal knowledge and wisdom. The competition will come up in THEIR conversation. All you have to say is, “Wow, what happened?” and the rest of the story will flow.



“WRONG THINKING: Many people think that their product or service is becoming a commodity. Anyone who believes this is a weak salesperson. Hopefully your competition feels this way.



“SECRET WEAPON: Testimonials. Let your customers talk about their experiences with competitive products and services. Find customers that used the competition and switched to you. Find a customer who left you, went to the competition, and CAME BACK. Customers can say anything they want about the competition – you cannot. When you talk about the competition, it’s selling. When customers talk, it’s proof. REALITY: Testimonials will beat the competition when you can’t.



“FINAL WARNING: Do not use the words “save money.” If you believe you’re less than others, use the word PROFIT.”



Jeffrey Gitomer, Sales Caffeine 402

How to deal with the Recession

The recession is over- that may be true by the national numbers, but for most construction companies the downturn’s end is not yet in sight. So what do you do? Follow conventional thinking – downsize, downsize overhead, downsize operations and downsize everything. Downsizing is code talk for CUTTING. Cutting hurts no matter how you do it. There is an alternative. It is not magic – it takes real effort and commitment, but it does work. Instead of cutting go Lean. Lean attacks the seven types of waste to drive them down if not out. (Do you know what these seven wastes are?)

Going Lean requires you, as a leader, to invest time, to go watch for waste, and to actually listen to your employees. They see more waste than you ever imagined. A study by the Construction Industry Institute (CII) found that in construction - over 50% of the time is involved in wasted activities. How much do you need to reduce to survive the recession? If you could reduce 15% of your direct operation costs would that work? If you could reduce 25% would that do it? Lean can do that if you apply it and work at it. Lean does NOT require that you buy new software or equipment. The beauty of Lean is that it has simple approaches. If you are spending lots of capital you are not doing Lean.



One more thought – when your company does start coming out of this recession, how will you deal with growth? Many contractors fail because they can’t handle the growth. Will you do things the same way you have always done them, but hope for better results? (See definition of insanity). Learning how to be Lean now will be of great value when you start to grow. It will allow your company to operate in a more productivity way.



The choice is yours – cut like everyone else and lose good employees or involve your employees and learn how to operate Lean.

Learning Opportunities

You may be interested in attending one of these training seminars by Dennis Sowards:



Nov. 19, 2009 – Designing and Achieving World-Class Performance in Construction – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy Mayeux at 480.966.0377



Jan 28, 2010 – Lean Works in Construction – How it can work for you – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy Mayeux at 480.966.0377



Feb. 25, 2010 – Eliminating Treasure Hunts – Applying the 5S’s – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contactCathy Mayeux at 480.966.0377



March 25, 2010 – Job Planning that Really Works – The Last Planner not the First Planner system – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy Mayeux at 480.966.0377



April 22, 2010 – Lean Applied to Service – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy Mayeux at 480.966.0377



May 20, 2010 - Getting to the Root Cause by Analysis not Luck - Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy Mayeux at 480.966.0377



Sept. 23, 2010 - Lean Works in Construction – How it can work for you – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy Mayeux at 480.966.0377





Oct. 28, 2010 – Customer Loyalty by Design – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy Mayeux at 480.966.0377



SNIPS New article to read

Thought for the day

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

- Winston Churchill

For more information about the High-Performing Contractor assessment process contact Dennis Sowards at 480-835-1185

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