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Mark Eastman

Starting a Conversation with Someone Can Be a Scary Thing

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Why Do We Find This Simple Act to be So Terrifying?

Most of us are uncomfortable in situations when we are surrounded by people that we don’t know. It can be hard to start a conversation with people in these kinds of circumstances.

I know that I find this hard. For me, I often feel like what I have to say isn’t important. My initial feelings are those of inadequacy. This discomfort then becomes my focus, and I’m not fully engaged. Then, afterwards I can’t remember much…including people’s names.

It’s easy to get caught up in what we think others think, but ultimately, it comes down to being comfortable with who we are.

In the story of the woman at the well, John 4:4-42, Jesus is traveling through Samaria, a country of people that the Jews did not get along with. This issue was serious enough that many times when going from Galilee to Judea, Jews would go around the country of Samaria rather than go through it.

Jesus was resting by a well in Samaria, when a Samaritan women came to draw some water. Jesus asked her if she would give him a drink. This surprised the women because…He was a Jew.

Their willingness to have this conversation and talk with each other led to her being saved, which led to many more Samaritans being saved…

Their willingness to have an open and honest conversation was life changing.

Some conversations are harder than others, especially when we’ve done something that causes damage or harm to others.

This is the story of Joe and Amy. In 1992, Joe Avila was driving drunk and hit and killed Amy Wall, a teenage girl. Joe fled the scene of the accident and was later arrested for second-degree murder. While in jail in the days that followed Joe was afraid, sad, and angry…he was looking for a way to kill himself.

Two lives were destroyed the night Joe Avila killed Amy Wall, but God wouldn’t let their story end there.

While preparing for his murder trial, Joe checked into a six-month sobriety program with the Salvation Army. It was there that, as Joe explains, God “put some people in my life who made me understand what reconciliation was and forgiveness was. “A few months into the program, he came to the decision that would impact him, his family, and the Wall family, too.

Although Joe expressed remorse and went to rehab, the judge still had little faith that Joe was saved from his alcoholism and sentenced him to 12 years.

For the next seven and a half years, Joe was incarcerated at California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, California. Choosing to make the most of his life behind bars, Joe spent his time serving the prison’s hospice patients. Through Prison Fellowship Angel Tree, Joe was able to remain a presence in his daughters’ lives. And he served in the chapel, sharing the Gospel with his fellow prisoners—the highlight of his incarceration.

Not long after Joe’s release, his mentor called to say that Amy’s brother, Derek, wanted to meet with him. For years Joe had prayed that God would help him reconcile with Amy’s family. Even so, Joe was nervous about the meeting.

That first meeting with Derek was several hours long. Derek told Joe about all the things he and Amy used to do together, how much he loved her, and that he had thought Joe was a monster who should get the electric chair for what he had done.

But then Derek explained that his family had been following Joe’s progress behind bars. They knew he was trying to make his life better.

Joe told Derek something he had long wanted to say: “I’m really sorry for what I’ve done, and I hope that someday you can forgive me.”

Later, Joe’s mentor called again. This time, Rick Wall, Amy’s father, wanted to see Joe. During that meeting, something miraculous occurred.

Rick told Joe about the two days a year when he visits Amy’s grave—on her birthday and the anniversary of her death. And then Rick said, “Joe, I know what you’ve been doing for a long time now, even when you were in prison, and I approve of it.”

Joe’s prayers for reconciliation were being answered. “Rick Wall, Amy’s father, forgave me before I even asked him to forgive me,” Joe says.

You want to talk about a hard conversation. Most of us will never experience these kinds of hard conversations. In both situations there was open honesty and forgiveness.

We need to remember that God made us in His image, and God doesn’t make mistakes. It’s up to us to believe in ourselves.

If the Samaritan woman at the well and Joe Avila can have hard conversations like this…we can too.

What Do You Need to Know to Run a Successful Construction Business?

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It Has More to do With Business and Less to do With Construction

There’s something exciting about the thought of starting your own business. It seems like a great idea initially. The problem is that most people don’t realize what it takes to operate a successful construction company.

We’ve all seen construction companies get started and then go out of business.

 According to the Small Business Administration…

60 percent of US construction companies fail within the first five years of operation.

These companies reportedly blamed several factors for their failure, including labor shortage, politics, insurance, taxes, natural disasters, and subcontractor incompetence. While these things may be a part of the problem, if we look a little deeper, we’ll see…

The real factors that brought about construction company failures are internal and within the owner’s control.

The reasons are more likely poor planning, inaccurate scheduling, hiring the wrong people, inability to innovate, poor management, and bad or no business system.

The good news is, that the next generation of construction businesses can learn from their forefathers’ mistakes and avoid failing for the same reasons. 

Owning or managing a construction business is a hard thing to do. And to do so successfully is especially hard.

The solutions to problems that can put construction companies out of business may not be easy. It takes a lot of planning, production management, hard work, and discipline to keep the business running successfully. But at least…

Most issues faced in a construction business are controllable.

Finding out what challenges are likely ahead can help construction companies be prepared.

Here are some reasons construction companies fail –

Lack of funding and/or poor cash flow – One of the reasons construction companies fail is not enough funds or unwise use of funds.

The ultimate dream of any professional in the construction industry is to earn more by owning and running a business, rather than collecting a paycheck working for someone else. But keeping a business operating at a profit is never as simple as just doing construction work.

There are processes and systems that need to be in place for collecting from customers and paying the bills. Construction requires tools, vehicles, and equipment, and these aren’t cheap.

It’s critical to maintain positive cash flow, have a budget for bills, and money saved for emergencies.

Overlooking these things can quickly lead your company to failure.

Poor project performance – One bad project can lead to a construction company’s closure.

Project performance is more than the physical construction work. The internal business systems for proposals, change orders, project management, invoicing, etc. are often not thought off when thinking about construction projects.

Construction projects are about good results. This includes starting and completing projects on time and within budget. Meeting contract requirements and customer expectations.

Failure in any of these areas may mean the closing of your company.

Failure to plan – Just like good planning can lead to a successful construction project, the same is true for building a successful business.

In project planning, you define goals and processes according to the customer’s requirements. You are intentional and clear on where the project is going and how you’re going to get it there.

A good builder will do the same when it comes to their business.

Consistant clear communication with customers, production teams, and suppliers is one of the important pieces of a good business plan.

The likelihood of companies going out of business without a plan increases exponentially.

There are a lot of risks lurking on a construction site that can cause a project to go poorly. The best way to avoid these risks is through awareness, understanding, and preparation.

The same is true for your company. If you become aware that there’s a problem and understand it, you will be more likely to avoid it. Instruction and learning can lead to building your dream business.

The road to success in the construction industry may be long and rough, but it’s worth it.

Become more successful through improved processes, systems, and management; take it one step at a time, and soon enough, you can achieve your ultimate business dreams.

Let us know what your biggest construction business struggles have been in the comments below.

How Can We Best Help in Times of Disaster?

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We Naturally Want to Help, But Sometimes This is the Second Disaster

Pastor Lee was on vacation this past week, and we were blessed with Rev. Bob Baer and his wife Cherri in his place. Their message was about ministering in times of disaster.

These two have been involved in disaster response through UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) for years. UMCOR offers humanitarian relief and development and assists churches and communities in ministering to persons in need. UMCOR comes alongside people suffering from disasters – famine, hurricane, war, flood, fire or other events—to serve as a source of help and hope. UMCOR also provides technical support and training for partners to address emerging and ongoing issues related to disaster relief and recovery.

I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside them in disasters, training for disaster relief and organizational planning. They know what they’re talking about.

They pointed out that UMCOR is currently working in Ukraine and Turkey providing relief to those suffering.

One of the things that they shared about is a situation that I can identify with…

The second disaster after the disaster.

When we become aware of a disaster whether it’s around the world or around the corner, we naturally want to help. The problem is…most people don’t know how. Their first thoughts consist of giving. Giving stuff and giving help. This includes things like clothes, shoes, blankets, water, food, furniture, etc. These are all things that probably are or will be needed. The problem is knowing how much of what.

There have been situations where so many people showed up to help so soon after a disaster that there wasn’t even time to know what was needed.

Or so many supplies showing up that there was nowhere to keep it and more than what was needed.

Both things can become a second disaster.

An example of this is after the tornado hit Greenburg, Kansas. There was a church in the next town over that became the place where things that were given were being stored. After a short time, there was so much stuff that they ran out of space in their building. So, they had a semi-trailer brought in and then a second one!

One day, one of the people responsible for this stuff suggested that they should lock the trailers, but after some discussion it was decided that if someone wanted or needed something that they could help themselves.

Then a few days later someone did get in one of the trailers…and left more stuff.

That’s when they decided to lock the trailers.

No matter the intent of the givers…dealing with all this stuff takes time and energy away from the real disaster.

Regardless of the disaster there are needs. The best way to help is to connect with a reliable and vetted organization that has knowledge and experience in disaster response. They can give you the information you need so that you can give and help in the best possible way.

Help those that are suffering get back to their new normal as quickly as possible.

And don’t be part of the second disaster by giving without a plan.

How Implementing a Plan Can Help Us Build a Successful Business

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The Five Remaining Areas of the “Job List” Building Block

Back in December we started discussing the importance of building your business on a solid foundation and why people in the construction industry avoid doing it. Then we talked about how a reporting process like the “Job List” can be an important building block in a construction business foundation. Last week we looked at how the “Job List” can help us plan for the future.

A business won’t stand long if it’s not built on a solid foundation.

So far, we’ve discussed how…

  • Creating and recording project numbers can help you focus your attention on the right kinds of projects.
  • Tracking project bid amounts will give you a clear picture of where you are in relationship to meeting your financial goals for the year.
  • Tracking dollar amounts of signed proposals will give you the rest of the picture of where you are financially in relation to where you want to be by the end of the year.
  • Tracking dollars collected from projects will give you a clear comparison of your signed amounts with your collected amounts.
  • Percentage of jobs signed will let you know if your pricing is too high or too low.
  • Percentage of dollars signed per dollars bid will let you know how you’re doing in relation to reaching our financial goal for the year.
  • Percentage of dollars collected per signed simply lets you know if you’ve collected everything that was bid.

Now let’s look at the final five areas of this document and how they fit into a solid business foundation.

Average dollar amount of projects bid – This number (cell I-30) is just like what it sounds like. It’s the average dollar amount of all the projects you have done proposals for. It can be helpful to know what this information is. It can help you determine if you should make changes to the sizes of proposals that you should be doing.

Average dollar amount of projects signed – This price (cell J-32) lets you see what the average dollar amount of your projects is and how it compares with the proposed amounts. Like the average bid amount, this number let’s you know what size of projects you normally do. You can then make changes to what proposals you focus on.

Average dollar amount of projects collected – Like the percentage of dollars collected, this number (cell K-34) lets you know if you’re increasing or decreasing the dollars you collect after proposals are signed. This can be a critical piece of information about how accurate your proposals are.

These next two areas are instructive when it comes to production planning as it relates to achieving your revenue goals.

Projected timeframe for doing signed projects – This information (cells I-23 and J-23) tell you how long it should take you to do the work of the proposals that you currently have signed. This is determined by dividing what your gross revenue goal for the year is by 52 weeks. Then dividing the current total signed amount (cell J-22) by that weekly revenue target number gives you the number of weeks needed to do that work.

Projected date work should be done – Like the projected timeframe, this information (cell K-23) converts the projected time it should take to do the work of the currently signed proposals to a date. This is achieved by adding the number of weeks (cell I-23) to the starting date (cell H-23). This then gives you a target date on the calendar that the work should be done to stay on task and achieve your dollar goal for the year.

I find these last two pieces of information the most revealing and helpful when it comes to staying on target.

This information can increase the sense of urgency and focus, and this is something that is critical to building a successful construction business.

I hope you’ve found this series on the “Job List” as a foundational building block helpful. If you would like more information about this or other business systems and processes, go to SolutionBuilding.net or reach out us in the comments below.

Why is it That We Miss the Target So Often?

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Most of the Time it’s Because We Aren’t Focused on the Target

Why is it that we can so easily lose our focus? There are a few reasons for a lack of focus. It could be the millions of things that surround us every day that are working extra hard to get our attention. Or it could be because we’re bored, tired, wired, or busy.

Focus can be hard but it’s vital for accomplishing your goals.

Too often when we are about to accomplish our goal, we lose our focus and quit. Focusing and persisting can be hard but it’s worth the effort.

“A sailor who fearfully watches stormy seas lash his vessel will always steer an unproductive course. But a wise and experienced captain keeps his eye firmly fixed on the lighthouse. He knows that by guiding his ship directly to a specific point, the time spent in discomfort is lessoned. And by keeping his eye on the light, there never exists one second of discouragement.”

From the 7th Decision in The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews

I will persist without exception.

If you’ve ever come close to achieving something but didn’t quite reach your goal, you’ve probably heard the saying, “Close, but no cigar.”

Have you ever stopped to think about this phrase? And why a cigar?

The expression, “Close, but no cigar” means that a person fell slightly short of the desired outcome and therefore gets no reward.

The phrase most likely originated in the 1920s when fairs, or carnivals, would hand out cigars as prizes. At that time, the games were targeted towards adults. Yes, even in the ’20s most carnival games were impossible to win which often led the owner of the game to say, “Close, but no cigar” when the player failed to get enough rings around bottles or was just shy of hitting the target.

It’s easy enough to see why it’s hard to hit a target when playing carnival games where the odds are stacked against you.

But real life isn’t a carnival game.

In real life we can hit our target if we align our goals with God’s

Too often we think we have it all figured out only to find out later that we don’t, like Nicodemus the Pharisee in John 3:1-17. He was a smart Jewish leader and should have known what the Scriptures said. He said to Jesus, “You could not do miracles unless God were with You.” And Jesus replied, “You must be born again before you can see God’s Kingdom.” Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?”

Jesus replied, “Everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life. God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life.” 

Close, but no cigar, Nicodemus.

When we disregard Scripture and live our lives contrary to its teaching, we will miss the target. There is a difference between knowing of God and KNOWING GOD.

Live your life so that you don’t hear God tell you…close but no cigar.

God held nothing back in His love for us, not even His Son! We should hold nothing back in our focus on the target.

How Does the “Job List” Help Us See the Future of Our Construction Company?

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That’s a Question We’re Going to Continue Answering in This Week’s Solution

Previously we discussed the importance of building your business on a solid foundation and how it can prevent your business from falling down around you. We talked about the different parts of that foundation and their purpose.

Next, we talked about construction companies that are avoiding these foundational building blocks because they are out of their comfort zone. It’s amazing how people in the construction industry will use all sorts of power tools and equipment but are afraid of paperwork.

Then we began breaking down the “Job List”…one of those foundational building blocks. In that post we looked at how it can tell you…

  • Which types of work were consistently the most profitable
  • How you were doing at meeting your financial goals for the year
  • When you should have the signed projects finished to stay on track
  • How well you’re doing at getting proposals signed
  • What the average price of your projects are

We began with how the “Job List” can help with creating and recording project numbers, tracking project bid amounts and tracking dollars of signed proposals.

Now let’s continue looking at how the “Job List” can help us plan for the future.

When we look at the total project bid amount and the total signed amount we can see where we are in relation to our financial goals for the year. (See the previous post for more details on this).

Next is…

Tracking dollars collected from projects – This collected amount (column K) is exactly what it says it is. It is where we enter the amounts collected from each project weekly. This total gives us a comparison to our signed amount (column J) and let’s us see if our projects have increased or decreased after signing.

Percentage of jobs signed – This percentage, 60% (cell I-24) is the percentage of proposals that have been signed. This is cell B-22 (15) divided by cell C-22 (9). This information lets us know how we’re doing with our pricing. If the number is below 15%, we’re not selling well. If our number gets too high, above 50%, we may not be charging enough.

Percentage of dollars signed per dollars bid – Knowing this percentage helps us as we’re looking forward, to know how we’re doing in relation to reaching our financial goal for the year. Based on the percentage of 53% (cell J-26), knowing that if our goal for the year is $400,000.00, we need to have done twice that many dollars of proposals.

Percentage of dollars collected per signed – Just like tracking the amount of dollars collected is pretty straight forward, this percentage of 93% (cell K-28), is the same. This simply lets us know if we’ve collected everything that was bid. If not, there may be some outstanding receivables, or we may have made changes during production that reduced our receivables number. It’s also possible for this number to be more than 100% which means that there were changes made during production that increased our receivables.

There are still five more areas of information that the “Job List” provides but to keep this post from getting too long today, I’m going to stop here. I know that this feels like a lot but it’s not nearly as overwhelming as it seems.

Just like there’s a lot to constructing a building, the same is true for building a successful business.

The five remaining areas are –

  • Average dollar amount of projects bid
  • Average dollar amount of projects signed
  • Average dollar amount of projects collected
  • Projected timeframe for doing signed projects
  • Projected date work should be done

Of these next five areas I think the last two are the most revealing.

I’m looking forward to bringing this “Job List” topic to a close in the next post.

What is “Shiny Object” Syndrome, and How Can We Avoid Being Tricked by it?

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By Having Clarity of Purpose and Being Intentional in Our Actions

In today’s world, where we’re flooded with information, it’s common for people to get “shiny object” syndrome. Shiny object syndrome is a disease of distraction. It is especially prevalent in highly motivated people who crave new technology and cutting-edge developments.

It’s like a dog being distracted by a squirrel.

A good example of this is Dug the dog in the movie Up. In this movie, eight-year-old Russell and Carl, a man in his seventies, end up going on an unexpected adventure that involves a makeshift airship of helium balloons and a house. When they end up landing in South Africa they encounter Dug, a talking dog.

We experience this squirrel distraction in their first meeting when Dug gets sidetracked. So that we aren’t pulled off course like Dug…

We need clarity of purpose and laser like focus.

In Matthew 4:1-11, Satan is attempting to distract Jesus with “shiny objects”.  After Jesus has gone for 40 days without anything to eat, Satan tempts Him to turn some stones into bread. Jesus tells the devil, “The Scriptures say ‘No one can live on food alone. People need the spoken word of God.’ “

Next, the devil took Jesus to the highest part of the temple in the holy city. Here the devil pulls out the angel card and says, “If you are God’s Son, jump off. The Scriptures say: ‘God will give his angels orders about you. They will catch you in their arms, and you won’t hurt your feet on the stones.’” Jesus answers with “Don’t test the Lord your God.”

Finally, Satan takes Jesus up on a high mountain and offers Jesus the world if He will bow down and worship him. This time He says, “Go away from me Satan! The Scriptures say to worship only the Lord your God.”

We need this kind of clarity and focus.

Jesus knew His purpose, and He didn’t let a squirrel (Satan) distract Him. He stayed focused on His purpose and was intentional in His actions.

Like Jesus, we are surrounded by distractions daily. There are shiny objects everywhere vying for our attention.

These shiny objects can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. It’s up to us to be clear on our God given purpose and be prepared so that the squirrels don’t distract us.

Satan is good at showing us the world and all it has to offer as a way of getting us to chase squirrels.

If he can get us to chase shiny objects, we forget that…

It’s Jesus we’re supposed to be chasing.

The Final Step in Raising the Construction Contractor Accountability Bar

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This is How the Construction Contractor Evaluation Works in the Real World

It’s time to bring this process of evaluating construction contractors to a conclusion. Like most things needed to run a successful business, this process of evaluating and holding the construction industry to a level of excellence isn’t as simple as we’d like it to be.

This doesn’t mean it’s not worth the effort.

We started this series by pointing out the fact that there is a problem and that construction contractors have a worse reputation than used car salesmen. Second, we discussed why a system for rating company’s and individual’s performance would allow us to move average toward excellent. Next, we looked at what the process would include and what would be rated. Last week, we concluded with how a numerical rating would allow for accurately scoring the performance of those being evaluated.

This evaluation system will give us some clear and concrete information to help us make better decisions regarding construction projects.

  • The first thing it will do is give our production team a clear understanding of what is expected of them.
  • Second it will give each company and/or individual a report for each individual project.
  • Third it will give production teams a rating to see how they compare to the standard of excellence.
  • Fourth it will let us as the general contractor see how we rate in comparison to our standard of excellence.
  • Finally, it will give us a process for comparing companies and individuals when we are going through the process of determining who will be doing specific construction projects.

Here are some examples of the evaluation process in action.

This process will start by providing companies and individuals with the evaluation process so they will know what’s expected of them. It’s unfair to have something expected without knowing what those expectations are. The contents of what is included in these expectations can be found in Part 3 and Part 4 of posts.

Let’s start by rating Painting Company A on the project that they just finished.

These are the areas to be scored, with each specific sub-section scored independently and averaged will give the score for each area.

_____ Time management – 54

_____ Attention to detail – 67

_____ Communication – 51

_____ Quality of work – 75

_____ Respect for the budget – 76

Overall project average – 65 meets standards

You can see that this company scored lower in a couple of areas and higher in others, ultimately scoring in the mid-range of meeting standards. When this company receives this report…there needs to be some attention given to the areas with the low scores.

The next thing we’ll look at is how the accumulation of scores given to subcontractors can give us, as the general contractor, a way to see how we rate in comparison to our standard of excellence.

Let’s say we’ve done a small bathroom upgrade that included a plumber, an electrician, a painter, and a carpenter. Here is each subcontractor’s overall project average score.

Plumber’s project average – 77

Electrician’s project average – 71

Painter’s project average – 65

Carpenter’s project average – 76

General Contractor’s project average – 72

This score of 72, while it falls within the area of “meets standards”, it’s below where I expect us to be. If we’re doing our job right and meeting our expectations…we should be scoring closer to 85

It looks like we have some work to do.

Finally, this system will provide us with a way to make the best choice when deciding between multiple subcontractors. For example, if we are looking for a painter to do a job, we can compare scores from previous projects or overall averages.

Painting Company A’s project average – 65

Painting Company B’s project average – 69

Painting Company C’s project average – 76

As you can see looking at these averages, there is a clear front runner. What you can’t see is what specific section scores make up these averages. For example –

Company B scored high in the areas of Attention to detail and Quality of work but scored low in Time management and Communication. While Company C scored a constant average in all areas. With this information, we, as the general contractor, can determine which painting company would be the best fit for the upcoming project.

There is no question that the construction industry has our work cut out for us to get the bar raised to excellence. Rome wasn’t built in a day and getting the bar raised that high won’t be either.

Remember, Rome was built by laying one brick at a time.

I hope this series of posts about the construction contractor evaluation has been enlightening and helpful.

We hope to have the finishing touches on this Construction Contractor Evaluation system done before much longer. When it’s ready we plan to make it available at Solution Building. Once it’s ready, get your copy and…

Join me in raising the construction industry bar.

Why is it That Some People Can’t Stop Pre-telling the End of the Story?

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It Would be Helpful if Those People Had a Spoiler Alert Alarm

It’s fun when reading a book or watching a movie and we’re trying to figure out what’s going to happen. It’s like solving a puzzle or riddle and makes our creative brain go to work. Part of the thrill of those kinds of stories is in trying to figure it out before you get to the end.

It puts a real damper on the fun of figuring it out when someone who knows the ending spoils it.

One young man had such a friend. This friend was notorious about spoiling the ending of movies. One day when the friend had spoiled another movie ending, the young man had had enough. The young man came up with a plan to get even.

He knew the friend loved jigsaw puzzles and he was always bragging about finishing them. So, the young man got a puzzle for his friend and before giving it to him, he took some of the key pieces out that were critical to the finished picture. 

One day, when the young man was at the friend’s house, the friend said, “You know that puzzle you gave me, some pieces were missing. I looked everywhere for them. I don’t know where they went. They are a key part of what the picture is supposed to be. I sure would like to see the finished picture.

The young man reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic bag with the puzzle pieces in it…they had been cut up into little, tiny scraps.

Sometimes it’s good to know how the story is going to end.

Here’s where I’ll give you a SPOILER ALERT.

In Matthew 17:1-9 Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on the mountain and tells them how the story’s going to end. God comes to them in a cloud and tells them, “This is my Son and I’m pleased with Him. Listen to what He says.” Before God dropped in, Jesus’ appearance changed, He began shinning like the sun and His clothes become as white as light. Then Moses and Elijah show up and start talking with Him. These two represent the law and the profits being fulfilled in Jesus.

This story ends with a promise of eternal life.

One good series of books that tell a great story of the battle of good and evil and keeps us reading to the end is the Harry Potter series.

Back in 1999, when J.K. Rowling was in the middle of writing The Goblet of Fire, the author received a letter. It came from Anne Kidder, the family friend of 9-year-old Natalie McDonald who was dying of leukemia.

The books “had been her respite from the hell of leukemia,” Kidder told Maclean’s, a Canadian magazine, in 2000. “And because I’m the sort of person who thinks there must be something I can do, I badgered Rowling’s publishers in London, sending them a letter and an e-mail and a fax for her.”

Rowling herself responded to Natalie with a “beautiful” email that revealed secrets from the book and talked about which characters she liked best. Sadly, it was too late — Natalie died the day before the email was sent.

Natalie’s mother, Valerie, and Rowling kept in touch. The following year, Natalie’s family traveled to Britain to meet Rowling. It was on that trip when Valerie was reading The Goblet of Fire to her other daughters on the subway when she discovered an incredible gesture from Rowling: a passage in the book contained Natalie’s name. As a Gryffindor, no less, the house “where dwell the brave at heart, their daring, nerve and chivalry.”

It’s sad that Natalie wasn’t able to read the rest of the Harry Potter books. Sometimes, here on earth, no matter how bad we want it, some stories don’t end the way we want them to.

J.K. Rowling did something remarkable for this young fan who was dying. Natalie McDonald was the only real person ever named in any of the Harry Potter novels. As the author of an unfinished story, Rowling was able to change it.

As long as we’re still alive we can rewrite our eternal stories.

This is why it’s important for us to tell people about Jesus’s story and how it ends. It’s okay if we’re a spoiler when it comes to this story.

Why We Need Numbers to Help Construction Contractors Achieve Excellence, Part 4

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How Else are We Going to Know How High the Bar Actually is?

Over the past several weeks we’ve discussed how low the bar is regarding the construction industry and the need to raise it. We talked about how most people working in construction aren’t even aware that there’s a problem. Then we looked into how an evaluation system could improve those standards. Last week, we broke down what construction contractor excellence should consist of.

This week we’re going to look at the hard part of the process…putting numbers to performance.

The number of goals made or correct answers given provide a numerical value of a person’s accomplishments. Evaluating performance is harder, it’s about expectation and perception.

The variation of perception is one of the main reasons this process gets left undone.

What’s acceptable to me, may not be acceptable to you and vice versa. This is why a system for giving a fair evaluation is important.

The rating part of the process –  

  • This is an objective form of reasoning used to analyze and evaluate companies, contractors, and individuals in each of the five (5) different rating categories.
  • Evaluations must be based on the company’s or individuals actual performance, not the comments or opinions of others.
  • The evaluation must reflect the combination and culmination of events during the entire project. Single events of outstanding or faulty performance should be considered in context of the overall project.

The following tendencies need to be recognized and avoided in order to keep the ratings as objective as possible.

  • “Halo Effect” – rating the company or individual the same in every category based on a general opinion of their performance. Each category must be evaluated separately and objectively.
  • Bias – rating a company or individual based on whether or not the person doing the evaluation likes or dislikes the company or individual being evaluated.
  • Undue credit for length of service – rating a company or individual based on their length of service instead of the quality of their performance. In other words, thinking that they must be exceeding industries standard because they have been doing this work for 15 years.
  • Loose ratings – giving higher ratings out of a desire to please and remain in a positive light with the company or individual.
  • Tight ratings – rating companies and individuals below standards due to the person doing the evaluation being a “perfectionist”. If all the companies and individuals are rated too low, it reflects on supervision!

We need a consistent and simple way to score each of the five (5) areas of accountability that we discussed last week; time management, attention to detail, communication, quality of work and respect for the budget.

Each area was divided into various sub-sections that scored independently and averaged together make up the score for each area being evaluated. These five (5) scores then averaged together give us the overall score of the evaluation.

The following notes offer a further explanation of ratings and describe standards of performance. They should be taken as general illustrations of the standard expected rather than as comprehensive definitions. Evaluators should use their judgment in determining other factors which should be taken into account in particular situations.

Here is the numbering system for rating each area –

  • FAR EXCEEDS STANDARDS 4.7 -5.0 –

This is the highest level of performance. Few companies or individuals will score at this level. It is only attained by top performers, if ever. This performance rating is characterized by an exceptionally high quality of superior craftsmanship done in a timely manner. They constantly seek out and assume responsibilities above and beyond expectations and contribute new ideas or ways of improving operational and/or procedural matters.

  • EXCEEDS STANDARDS 4.0 – 4.7 –

Evaluations in this range are very desirable. Companies and individuals who score in this range demonstrate above average performance in their position. Performance approached that of excellent in craftsmanship and production. Require a degree of supervision that is less than typical of most companies and individuals. They make significant contributions to production and periodically seek out and assume responsibilities beyond expectations.

  • MEETS STANDARDS 3.0 – 3.9 –

Performs in a responsible and comprehensive manner, however, improvement should be expected on future evaluations. Requires a higher degree of supervision than should be needed. Performs work in a professional manner and makes acceptable contributions to production.

  • NEEDS IMPROVEMENT TO MEET STANDARDS   2.0 – 2.9 –

Companies and individuals scoring in this range are considered marginal. Performance of is barely adequate. Requires extensive direction and review to keep projects moving forward. Companies and individuals scoring in this group should be informed that if there isn’t improvement they will NOT be used on future projects.

  • FAILS TO MEET STANDARDS 1.0 – 1.9 –

Companies and individuals should never score this low. Performance in this range is nowhere near acceptable standards. The performance is low and chances for improvement are unlikely. Every project that this company or individual is on is sending a message to customers that job performance and quality are not important!

Once each of the areas has been rated based on the performance on the project and the overall average has been determined, that number is multiplied by 20 to give us the overall score.

These scores then will be as follows:

            94 – 100     FAR EXCEEDS STANDARDS

            80 – 93       EXCEEDS STANDARDS

            60 – 79       MEETS STANDARDS

            40 – 59       NEEDS IMPROVEMENT TO MEET STANDARDS

            < 40          FAILS TO MEET STANDARDS

Today’s post along with the three previous ones will provide a construction contractor evaluation system that will begin raising the bar to a level of excellence.

Like most things, this can seem a little overwhelming, but so did your first construction project when you started it.

Just start building the wall one brick at a time and before you know it…it’s done.

The key to building anything is having a good plan and following it. This construction contractor evaluation system is a part of such a plan.

Here at Timber Creek Construction, we’ve been looking for a process to hold ourselves and our production team accountable. Implementing this plan is how we’re going to do just that.