Bruised by the downturn, builders turn to the fundamentals of the construction game.
Source: BUILDER Magazine
Publication date: 2007-08-01
| By Pat Curry |
The perfect spiral pass lands cleanly into the waiting hands of a receiver, who has just bolted through a seemingly solid wall of defenders. A field goal kicker puts one through the uprights from midfield with seconds left on the clock. A defensive line saves a win by refusing to give an inch on fourth and goal.
At crunch time, the gridiron pros make it look as natural as breathing. But none of the jaw-dropping athleticism displayed during the game happens by accident. It's the result of untold hours of body-bruising practice, whether the players are hot, cold, tired, sick, or emotionally drained. Day after day, year after year, elite athletes drill the basics until they are mastered. And then they run the drill again.
For builders, the current market conditions are no game and the stakes are nothing less than survival. You can't afford to drop the ball because there just aren't that many opportunities right now to put points on the board. That's why it's critical to master the fundamentals of the business: hiring and hanging on to good employees, holding a customer's hand through the sales process, controlling your jobsite, and building customer satisfaction through warranty service. These are the basics that builders keep saying they have to get back to. They're critical processes that have to be practiced every day until they're so ingrained, they're as natural as breathing. And then it's time to run the drill again.
