Workers' Compensation Claims: A Common Employer's Nightmare

Workers’ compensation claims and how to keep them under control have always been a concern for employers. Incidents ending in claims occur in virtually all industries and can be costly and time consuming. There is no federal workers’ compensation law that addresses workplace injuries. It is a state issue, and each state enacts and enforces its own legal framework. Today, every workers’ compensation claim raises the potential for a variety of workplace laws to come into play.

From Painful Beginnings

A new corporate headquarters was recently completed near our place. It’s sleek, well-designed and sends the right message. When talking to one of their leads, I asked why they chose Gensler for the design. The answer: “They make things painful in the beginning, drilling hard on the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ before they ever get around to what the place will look like. They were focused on making the building a long-term home on many levels.”

My first cousin, Bryant Rice, started his career with Gensler, and along the way designed with Google and Apple, too. I asked him to share a few thoughts on this type of intentional design. A summary follows.

Most people don’t consciously realize what a building or setting communicates. It’s subliminal. You just know when a space has been carefully conceived with intention. The hard thing with architecture is you really don’t know you have gotten it right until it is finished and being used. That’s when you see what is being modified by the inhabitants, how the phone is being answered, what lunch time conversations are like. Space can be altered after it is built, but there is no substitute for careful planning, for both function and spirit.

I agree. You must get into the minds of the people who will call a building home. Office buildings are more than four walls, a roof and a floor. Buildings are visual manifestations of our values and culture. Timing and budgets are usually difficult, but taking the time to weigh benefits and disadvantages of design is always a good investment.

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Tech & Tires: What You Need to Know Now

What you need to know about top trends in on-the-road tire manufacturing and tire design

Why Firms Should Automate Time & Material Tracking

While construction has been one of the slower industries to adapt, the digital tech genie is now out of the bottle. According to the World Economic Forum, the construction industry will be almost entirely digitized within 10 years, with an overall potential savings of $1.2 trillion globally due to increased efficiency and productivity. Those kinds of numbers can’t be ignored. So the question becomes, where can firms best maximize new digital solutions?

Getting to Know the Technology in Your Power Tool Battery

The advantages of lithium-ion battery technology make compact, heavy-duty tools the standard, not an exception. And the three inherent benefits—more power, increased runtime and no weight penalty—are the basic building blocks behind what makes this battery system attractive. Lithium-ion cells can either hold more power in the same-size package (as tools change) or maintain the same power in a smaller package.

3 Growth Barriers Keeping You From Reaching Your Goals

Construction business owners usually begin their industry venture with a long-term vision of what they want their company to do for them. For example, when you buy stock in a public company, you want the stock to earn dividends and increase in value over time. When I coach contractors, I begin by asking, “What is your long-term vision? Can you define where you want your business to be in 5 years? To help find the answer to this complex question, my clients complete an exercise that explores:

Beyond Gallipoli

I am a member of a group that provides startup capital and mentoring to young entrepreneurs in our city. This week, I attended a presentation on the life of Winston Churchill that was sponsored by our group. As the past can give us some insight to the present, it was nice to see young entrepreneurs in the audience listening.

I have visited Churchill’s childhood home of Blenheim, but like most, I know him from the war years of 1940-45. We learned that he struggled with depression throughout his life, especially after the colossal loss of life and tragedy at the Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey, circa 1915. His failure there got him kicked out of the British Army, which led to deep depression. Seems he found solace during this time, and throughout his life, through painting, which he believed made him more creative and a more effective leader.

Winston Churchill’s successes during World War II were somewhat framed by many failures from the previous three decades. In his words, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

It was suggested that we build on Mr. Churchill’s thoughts, creating an environment that encourages intelligent failure, being flexible, but keeping our eyes on the route ahead. After all, failure can be, or is, a most essential step toward success.

{Image Source, a Painting by Churchill as seen in Vanity Fair}

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