Balance?

We are finally entering spring, and the weather seems to be a bit better. The market is in good shape and has been for a while. Perhaps your basketball team is still in the hunt.

Sometimes it’s easy to think we are in balance and all is good with the world. But “balance” is by nature easy to disrupt and never a constant. It’s so easy to teeter off center and lose your balance. We’ve all be on a roll when things unexpectedly take a turn in the opposite direction.

Nothing worth accomplishing is ever easy, and ensuring we stay in balance ranks right up there the best of them. When we are younger, it’s easier to think we think we know all the answers and everything will be just fine. When I hear this type of answer, I remind the person that being cocky is a sure way to fall hard. Never take yourself too seriously or fall into the trap of thinking you are more important than you really are.

The reality is that all of us will be totally out of balance at one time or another in our lives. It could be compared to small wind or a large gust coming out of nowhere, but eventually the wind ceases and we get back up to hopefully try again.

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No Secrets.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a dinner where Alessandro Acquisti of Carnegie Mellon spoke on privacy issues related to the web and how “big data” is changing things for the better…and worse.

Since the Internet and social media came along, it seems we share more personal information than ever before. There are plenty of upsides to this, but it also can open the door to violations. Alessandro gave the example of using facial recognition software to identify a person, find publicly available information, and then infer private information like a social security number. A maze for sure.

He also shared that privacy is not necessarily about having something negative to hide, and even well-meaning transparency policies can be misdirected. I would imagine people had the same kind of fears when the combustion engine was invented for the auto, replacing the horse. To me, it is hard to wrap ones head around, but exciting, and the unknown can be a little scary. I try to approach with the knowledge that nothing is ever really private, and once on the Internet, it seems to live forever. 

If you have 15 minutes to spare, this TED Talk by Alessandro is worthy of your time. And while we’re on the subject of TED, if you do not already support the organization in your city, I would recommend it. We’ve been involved for a number of years, and continue to be impressed with the impact.

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3 Questions to Determine If You Can Transfer Cyberrisk Contractually

As breaches and other cyber attacks grow in number and magnitude, construction businesses are trying to push risk to others contractually. To understand this strategy, start by answering the following questions:

Maintaining Project Cost Data

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Bona Fide & Certified

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The Era of the Smart City

A recent infographic, “Generation Z Characteristics: 5 infographics on the Gen Z lifestyle,” groups those born from 1995 to 2012 into Generation Z and summarizes the findings of Vision Critical’s study on the media habits of consumers. The study states, “As Gen Zs enter the workforce…companies can’t afford to act within conventional assumptions or generational frameworks.” This fact becomes even more apparent when you consider that Generation Z has never lived in a world without internet, without technology as the main driver of economic growth.

The Tech Your Drivers Need

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March 2019 Construction Industry Stats

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The Tool You Need in Your Tech Ecosystem

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6 Articles You Need to Read on Women in Construction

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Why Your Company Needs a Lean Building Program

As many companies look for ways to improve internal and external operations for the current surge in building, expansions and improvements, numerous programs like lean construction come to the forefront with its proven effectiveness. The Lean Construction Institute (LCI) was founded in 1997, with a mission to improve the construction and design industries through Lean approaches to project design and delivery.

3 Questions to Determine If You Can Transfer Cyberrisk Contractually

As breaches and other cyber attacks grow in number and magnitude, construction businesses are trying to push risk to others contractually. To understand this strategy, start by answering the following questions:

Maintaining Project Cost Data

InEight's David Swider on project cost data and why what you think you know isn’t always accurate.

Bona Fide & Certified

In construction, do certifications matter? Read what it can and cannot do for you and your business here. 

The Era of the Smart City

A recent infographic, “Generation Z Characteristics: 5 infographics on the Gen Z lifestyle,” groups those born from 1995 to 2012 into Generation Z and summarizes the findings of Vision Critical’s study on the media habits of consumers. The study states, “As Gen Zs enter the workforce…companies can’t afford to act within conventional assumptions or generational frameworks.” This fact becomes even more apparent when you consider that Generation Z has never lived in a world with internet, without technology as the main driver of economic growth.

The Tech Your Drivers Need

Western Star truck expert Tim Norton on technologies that increase operator safety & owner ROI.

March 2019 Construction Industry Stats

American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the United States Census Bureau construction stats.

Walking the Tightrope of Tough Decisions

Tips on how to handle the hard conversations & move projects forward on the jobsite by expert Mark Anderson. 

From the Horse’s Mouth (or Head)

Several years ago, I spent 10 days on Ireland’s famed Connemara Trail, traveling from Galway to Cliftonover on horseback. We crossed pastures, road beds and a few swamps and galloped on abandoned railroad beds. Along the trail, I learned a valuable lesson which I thought I knew, but it was evident I did not: “Give the horse its head.” 

In other words, do not hold so tightly on the reins that the horse cannot use its head to help the rider safely reach the destination. After all, between the two of you, the horse is the one with its feet on the ground, feeling the terrain as you go.

I think sometimes in contracts and in other ways we may conduct our businesses it can be easy to hold the reins too tight. We try to anticipate every single “what if” that might occur and try to put a solution into words. I told someone this week that we always try to hire the very best managers, whether in the office or in the field, and once they’ve earned our trust, then we should give them free reins as long as they continue on the right path. When this works, it’s beautiful.

There may be some lessons for all of us here. Surround yourself with quality people let them do what they do best, and you will be infinitely more successful.

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The Tool You Need in Your Tech Ecosystem

Learn about the crucial tool you need in your construction tech ecosystem. Managing a fleet of heavy equipment in the construction industry brings the challenges of scheduling the equipment, monitoring usage and managing traffic at the jobsite, to name a few. And all fleet managers know that timing is everything on the jobsite.

3 Crucial Components of a Top-Notch Fleet

West Valley Construction Company’s Jimm Vosburgh on the most crucial components of fleet management - sustainability, assets & maintenance.

Preparing to Bid in a New State

How to properly license your construction business for bidding a new state. 

6 Articles You Need to Read on Women in Construction

This week (and every week, for that matter), raise your hard hats to the women who go to work on jobsites or in the back offices of construction companies each day.

How do you see automation affecting construction fleets in the near future?

Construction industry experts weigh in on how automation will affect construction fleets.

Driving Collaboration

Chris Ransom with Verizon Connect on 4 ways fleet data can counter management challenges & speed up project completion.

Why Your Company Needs a Lean Building Program

As many companies look for ways to improve internal and external operations for the current surge in building, expansions and improvements, numerous programs like lean construction come to the forefront with its proven effectiveness. The Lean Construction Institute (LCI) was founded in 1997, with a mission to improve the construction and design industries through Lean approaches to project design and delivery.

Top 5 Tools from World of Concrete 2019

The 5 hottest World of Concrete 2019 construction trends and the tools to go along with them, as told by tool guru Michael Springer and the editors of Construction Business Owner magazine, here. 

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The Best Reason to Invest in a Drone

Today’s jobsites are complex environments requiring multiple trade suppliers to coordinate across all project stages. Additional complexity comes in the form of labor challenges, regulatory changes and, for some contractors, outdated work systems. Fortunately, in a historically low-tech industry, advanced technologies are starting to mature and add real value to construction site management.

World of Concrete 2019 Sees Best Attendance in 10 Years

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Who Are the High-Performing Contractors of Tomorrow?

A dissection of the major trends affecting the construction industry in 2019 & beyond. Are you one of the high-performing contractors of tomorrow? Find out here.

Preserving Our History With Story Corps

You can hold onto family heirlooms and look through old photo albums, but there might be something about hearing a family voice that really makes memories come alive.

Last weekend, my daughter Chappell and I participated in a 40-minute recorded interview hosted by our public radio station. If you’re not familiar with NPR’s Story Corps, the idea is that two people enter a recording booth and have a conversation, asking a few questions prepared in advance, with the intent of preserving family history and stories.

You receive a copy at the end, and it’s also cataloged at the Library of Congress for future generations of your family to listen and learn.

I was a little unsure of how things would go, but it ended up being a casual conversation between the two of us with Chappell asking questions about our family, grandparents and great-grandparents along with other things we’ve experienced in life. We covered everything from the tough times our family experienced during the Depression and WWII, to my father and me building a cabin on Lake Burton, my thoughts for our city and some advice for each of my three children. Our allotted time went by very fast, but I know the experience was worthwhile.

The facilitator told me they are continuing around the country, and if you get the opportunity, you might consider participating.

 

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Work Boot Trends to Watch in 2019

Wolverine's Work Boot Trends to Watch in 2019.