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To Whom Would We Go?

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Peter Has Foot-in-Mouth Disease

We all have experienced cases of foot-in-mouth disease, but it seems that Peter has a severe case.

There are several instances of Peter talking (or acting) before thinking.

There was the time when Peter, James and John are with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration.

While Jesus was praying, “the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor… Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)” (Luke 9:28-33)

Then there was the time when the disciples went ahead in the boat and saw Jesus walking on the water.

“When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:22-31)

And don’t forget the time when the disciples are eating their last meal with Jesus, and He tells them that they will all deny him before the night is over.

 “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” (Matthew 26:31-35) And we talked about Peter’s denial last week.

Peter was Peter and even with his mistakes he would continually come back and ask for forgiveness.

And then Jesus was crucified before he had a chance. This left Peter broken and lost so he went back to what he knew…fishing.

After Jesus’ crucifixion and appearances His followers were left not knowing what to do. Then while they were fishing on the Sea of Galilee this happened.

Several of the disciple were fishing and not having any luck when a man on the beach asks if they’ve caught any fish. They replied that they hadn’t.

Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

Then one of the disciples said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he jumped into the water, and headed to shore. When the others got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

“Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. (John21:1-14)

After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these.”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep. (John21:15-17)

I find it interesting that Jesus asked this question of Peter three times. This is the same number of times Peter denied knowing Him.

In John 6:22-70, Jesus is telling the people the commitment it was going to take to be one of His followers and people began to leave. Then His disciples were complaining, and Jesus ask the Twelve, “Are you going to leave?”

And Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go?

You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

This is really what it all comes down to. No matter how many times we mess up or what we do, Jesus will forgive us because…

To whom else could we go?

Being Aware of Bid Mistakes is the Best Way to Avoid Them

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This is the First Step in Building a Better Proposal

Even though Gene was still overwhelmed, and his schedule was packed, he knew the only way to ever get control was to keep his upcoming appointment with John.

Gene had spent a lot of time this past week considering the questions John had asked at the first meeting.

  1. Why do you do what you do?
  2. Do you love what you do?
  3. Why do we need to do proposals?

As Gene was driving to the office of SMR Construction, these questions were still banging around in his head with a wide variety of answers and no real clarity.

As he entered the office, Gene smelled something amazing. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was. John was providing lunch this week, and the smell made his hunger apparent.

In the conference room John was stirring some chili. “Lunch is ready. Grab a bowl and let’s get started.”

As they sat down John asked, “Did you come up with answers to the questions?”

Gene sat there for a minute and said, “I’ve come up with way too many answers. About the time I think I have it figured out; another answer shows up.”

John grinned, “That sounds about right.

The important thing is not having every answer to every question, but rather to continually be asking the questions and actively looking for the answers.

I still ask and answer questions every day.”

“A good way to find WHY answers is to figure out things that work and things that don’t. Let’s start with a WHAT question. John handed Gene some papers and said,

“What are the most common bid mistakes contractors make?

Here are seven mistakes that construction companies consistently make that cost them a fortune in both time and money. The first one is…

#1 Customers lack clarity – You remember the story I told you last week about that misunderstanding I had with a customer? This is a perfect example of how the lack of customer clarity is a problem. You need to provide a clear detailed description of the work and the materials you’re going to provide. A clear scope of work helps avoid customer confusion. The Building a Better Proposal provides a system to give clarity to your customer.

#2 Production crews lack clarity – The scope of work not only provides customers with clarity, but it also gives the production crews a clear understanding of the work to be done. This prevents subcontractors and employees from doing more or less than the project includes. Too much work done means cost overruns. Too little and the customer is unhappy. The Building a Better Proposal system gives the production crews a clear description of the work to be done.

#3 No production budget – When the production crews don’t know what the budget for the project is, they often spend more than expected. These cost overruns mean less profit.

When I was just starting out in business a banker told me…

If you take care of the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves.

Let your production crews know how many pennies they have to spend. This will lead to more dollars of profit. The Building a Better Proposal system provides the production crew with budget numbers.

#4 Unsatisfied customers – Unhappy customers can be a series problem. Not only can they be a drain on company morale, but they can cost you money and hurt your reputation. They’re paying you to have their dream turned into reality. When they don’t have an accurate project amount before the work’s done, they won’t be happy when it’s finished and costs more than they expected. The Building a Better Proposal system gives the customer a clear expectation of cost before the work starts so that when it’s done for that price, they’ll be happy.

#5 Unprofitable projects – One of the biggest problems in construction is Guesstimates. Guessing at the amount of time and material it’s going to take to do a project is a big risk. Different size projects require different overhead and profit margins. The Building a Better Proposal system provides predetermined options of overhead and profit when preparing a proposal.

Proposals done this way can increase the profitability of your projects.

#6 Trying to do everything yourself – Most small construction companies only have a few employees. Their focus is usually on the physical construction which doesn’t leave time for doing accurate detailed proposals. Most contractors don’t like paperwork. This leads to hasty, inadequate, and oversimplified proposals. The Building a Better Proposal is a system that allows you to focus on doing construction while office staff does paperwork.

#7 Your bidding system isn’t customizable – Most construction projects consist of a variety of different areas of construction. You need a system that gives you the freedom to pick and choose what’s included and what’s not. Because markets vary greatly based on geographic locations, you need a system that you can adjust to your area’s specific requirements and rates. The Building a Better Proposal system allows you to customize proposals in these ways and more.”

John could see that Gene’s eyes were glazing over. “I know this is a lot to take in and doesn’t feel like we’re getting any closer to actually doing proposals, but I assure you…

Getting clear on these mistakes is the first step to providing better proposals.

Next week we’ll break down and look at the parts that make up the Building a Better Proposal.

You can check out the other Business BUILDing Tools that John uses here.

If you have questions about the Building a Better Proposal tool or how we can help you take control of your construction business, set up a free 30-minute construction company consultation.

Being Aware of the Common Bid Mistakes is the Best Way to Avoid Them

by

This is the First Step in Building a Better Proposal

Even though John was still overwhelmed and his schedule was packed, he knew the only way to ever get control was to keep his upcoming appointment with Gene.

John had spent a lot of time this past week considering the questions Gene had asked at the first meeting.

Why do you do what you do?

Do you love what you do?

Why do we need to do proposals?

As John was driving to the office of XYZ Construction these questions were still banging around in his head with a wide variety of answers and no real clarity.

Going in John smelled something amazing. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was. Gene was providing lunch this week and the smell made his hunger apparent.

In the conference room Gene was stirring some chili. “Lunch is ready. Grab a bowl and let’s get started.”

As they sat down Gene asked, “Did you come up with answers to the questions?”

John sat there for a minute and said, “I’ve come up with way too many answers. About the time I think I have it figured out; another answer shows up.”

Gene grinned, “That sounds about right.

The important thing is not having every answer to every question, but rather to continually be asking the questions and actively looking for the answers.

I still ask and answer questions every day.”

“A good way to find WHY answers is to figure out things that work and things that don’t. Let’s start with a WHAT question. Gene handed John some papers and said,

“What are the common bid mistakes made by contractors and how can you avoid them?”

#1 Your customers lack clarity – You remember the story I told you last week about that misunderstanding I had with a customer? This is a perfect example of how the lack of customer clarity is a problem. You need to provide a clear detailed description of the work and the materials that you are going to provide. A clear scope of work helps avoid customer confusion. The Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal will provide you a system for giving clarity to your customer.

#2 Production crews lack clarity – The scope of work not only provides customers with clarity, but it also gives the production crews a clear understanding the work to be done. This prevents subcontractors/employees from doing more or less than the project includes. Too much work done means cost overruns. Too little and the customer is unhappy. The Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal will give the production crews a clear description of the work to be done.

#3 No production budget – When the production crews don’t know what dollar amounts have been figured to do the project, they often spend more than expected. These cost overruns mean less profit.

If you take care of the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves.

Let your production crews know how many pennies they have to spend. This will lead to more dollars of profit. The Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal will provide you with budget numbers automatically.

#4 Unsatisfied customers – Discontented customers are the worst. Not only can they be a drain on company morale, they can become serious problems that can cost you money and hurt your reputation. They’re paying you to have their dream turned into reality. When they don’t have an accurate dollar amount before the work is done, they will not be happy when it’s finished and costs more than they expected. The Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal gives the customer a clear expectation of cost before the work starts so that when it’s done for that price, they will be happy.

#5 Unprofitable projects – One of the biggest problems in construction is Guesstimates. Guessing at the amount of time and material it’s going to take to do a project is a big risk. Different size projects require different overhead and profit margins. The Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal provides predetermined options of overhead and profit when preparing a proposal. Proposals done this way can increase the profitability of your projects.

#6 Trying to do everything yourself – Most small construction companies only have a few people working. The focus is on the physical construction and doesn’t leave time for doing accurate detailed proposals. Most contractors don’t like paperwork. This leads to hasty, inadequate and oversimplified proposals. The Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal is a system that allows you to focus on doing construction while office staff does paperwork.

#7 Your bidding system isn’t customizable – Most construction projects consist of a variety of different areas of construction. You need a system that can include all or one. Because markets and geographic locations are so different, you need a system that you can adjust to your specific requirements and rates wherever you are. The Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal allows you to be able to customize proposals in these ways and more.

Gene could see that John’s eyes were glazing over. “I know this was a lot to take in and doesn’t feel like we’re getting any closer to actually doing proposals, but I assure you…

Getting clear on these mistakes will give you a head start to providing better proposals.

And next week we’ll start working on the first step to Building a Better Proposal.

Previous post in this series:

What is Construction Clarity and How Do You Find It?

Learning How to Get a Construction Project Started Out Right

It’s Time for the First Meeting

Your Business Doesn’t Have to be a Scary Movie

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How to Avoid Business Disaster

Have you ever noticed how in horror movie’s people make the worst possible decisions? The Geico commercial where the young people decide to hide behind the chainsaws (while funny in the commercial) is way too real for most construction companies. In the commercial they choose to ignore the one running car that would help them avoid the catastrophe that is otherwise inevitable.

Why do so many businesses hide behind the chainsaws?

In most cases it’s written in the script. This is the way it’s always been done. Like in the movies, this will end in disaster. It’s time to rewrite your script.

In construction one of the root causes for disaster is not having a safe and secure method for doing proposals. A silver bullet is used for stopping a werewolf, witch, vampire or other monster. The Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal is just such a bullet.

Here are 7 common mistakes that cost contractors a fortune…but don’t have to.

  1. Your customer lacks clarity – Crystal clear communication is critical to your success. A clear scope of work avoids confusion between you and your customers.

2. Production crews lack clarity – Like the customer, the people working on the project need to know what’s expected. If the wrong things, too much or too little is done it results in losing money and/or unhappy customers.

3. Unclear production budget – If subs/employees don’t know what the budget is, how can you expect them to not overspend. This is a sure way to lose money.

4. Unsatisfied customers – Your customers have hired you to provide a completed construction project. If everyone isn’t clear about the expectations the customer is not going to be satisfied in the end.

5. Taking on unprofitable projects – Guessing at what your labor and material cost are going to be is a huge risk. Having a system that uses, cubic feet, square feet, lineal feet, etc. removes the guess work. Not to mention having predetermined overhead and profit margins.

6. Trying to do everything – In small companies your focus is on the physical construction. This doesn’t leave much time for doing bids. This proposal system allows you to delegate work to others. It’s less expensive to hire administrative people than construction personnel.

7. You don’t have a system that is customizable or scales – Most construction projects consist of a variety of different areas of construction, not to mention different markets and geographic locations. Add to that markups and profits that can be adjusted. You need to have a system that can be made to fit your specific needs.

Small and medium sized construction companies too often follow the same script that everyone else is. They hide behind the chainsaws, even though they know this is a bad idea.

Don’t hide behind the chainsaws!

Rewrite your script so that there’s a silver bullet to stop the proposal monster. At the very least…get in the running car.