Culture

Take personal responsibility for making things happen. Respond to every situation by looking for how we can do it, rather than explaining why it can't be done. Be resourceful and show initiative, and embrace the responsibility and trust that you have been given by seeing things through to conclusion. Ask for help or assistance when needed, but remember that you own it.

Recognize that the reason we work is to support the people and things we love outside of work. Work efficiently and professionally so that you can maximize the time doing the other things in life that are important to you. Take work seriously and be your best so that you can achieve a healthy balance.

Do the little things, as well as the big things, that blow people away. Create extraordinary experiences they’ll tell others about. Mere customer satisfaction is for lesser companies. Create customer loyalty by doing the unexpected and by making decisions that reflect a reverence for long-term relationships.

Know and practice the safety procedures for your job. Watch out for the safety of your teammates and our subs. Never take short cuts that compromise your safety or the safety of your teammates or our customers. Safety is everyone’s responsibility.

There’s no better way to earn people’s trust than to deliver on your commitments, EVERY TIME. Do what you say you’re going to do, when you say you’re going to do it. This includes being on time for all phone calls, appointments, meetings and promises. If a commitment can’t be fulfilled, notify others early and agree on a new commitment to be honored.

Our customers expect us to respond to their questions and concerns quickly. Whether it’s in person, on the phone, or by email, be a fanatic about response time. Getting back to people promptly demonstrates your passion. If you don’t know the answer to a question right away, respond quickly by letting people know that you are working on it and give them a deadline to expect your response.

Spend time up front to get organized, including tools, software, use of our systems and having a clean work area. Have a personal organization system for everything you do. When times get tough, it’s the discipline of your system that will keep you on track, and when you go on vacation, you can have peace of mind that your systems will help others fill in for you.

Create clarity and avoid misunderstandings by discussing expectations up front. Communicate precisely what we’re going to do and what will happen when. Deliver big news in person or by phone, rather than via email and find out from your customer if there is a way to phrase the information that works best for them before confirming in writing.

Part of our tremendous success as a company is the knowledge that being allowed to serve our customers is a privilege and if we don’t continue to perform, we may not have a company tomorrow. Check your ego at the door, and be grateful for all of our blessings.

Don’t procrastinate tough decisions. Tough problems come up every day in construction. Once a problem is identified, take the time to gather complete and accurate information, discuss the problem with experts and trusted advisors, and move for a quick resolution.

Speak honestly in a way that helps to solve a problem, rather than simply making a point. Make clear and direct requests. Be willing to ask questions, share ideas, or raise issues that may cause conflict when it’s necessary for team success. Address issues directly with those who are involved or affected.

Listening is more than simply “not speaking.” Be present and engaged. Give people your undivided attention by quieting the noise in your head, limiting distractions and stopping the desire to multi-task or look at your phone. Above all, listen to understand.

Just fix it. Focus your attention on developing solutions, rather than pointing fingers or dwelling on problems. Identify lessons learned and use those lessons to improve yourself and our processes so we don’t make the same mistake twice. Get smarter with every mistake. Learn from every experience.

Make every interaction friendly, warm, and helpful. This includes phone calls, emails and voicemails. Always identify yourself, use people’s names and smile. Be personally engaged. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Understand both your internal and external customers’ world. Know their challenges and frustrations. Show “business empathy” by thinking from their perspective. The better you understand them, the more effectively you can anticipate, meet their needs and make them look good.

Work from the assumption that people are good, and that the intent behind their actions is positive. Set aside your own judgments and preconceived notions. Give people the benefit of the doubt and create win/win solutions.

Stay ahead of the competition by regularly and realistically assessing every aspect of your job and the services we provide to find ways to get things done better, faster and more efficiently. Avoid making extra work or creating new steps.

Take pride in the quality of everything you touch and everything you do. Always ask yourself, “Is this my best work?” and get in the habit of doublechecking. Everything you touch has your signature. Sign in bold ink.

Don’t let your own ego or personal agenda get in the way of doing what’s best for the team. Worrying about who gets credit or taking things personally is counterproductive. Make sure every decision is based solely on advancing team goals.

Recognizing people doing things right is more effective than pointing out when they do things wrong. Regularly extend meaningful acknowledgment and appreciation — in all directions. Be for each other.

Record a follow-up date for every action and take responsibility to see that it gets completed. Follow-up personally whenever possible. Persistence is often the difference between success and failure.

Customers hire us because we are experts in our field. Bring solutions to problems before they are asked for, find ways to expedite schedules and help customers to meet or beat budgets. Never ask questions without posing a solution, and never accept anything just because it is the way it has always been done.

Always provide our customers with bids that contain detailed clarifications and never leave anything out just because it is not shown on the plans. We bid the plans, but always provide clarifications and alternate prices for unclear issues. This idea applies to more than just pricing and means that at our company, we have a comprehensive, all-inclusive mentality.

You can do all of the things described here, but if you don’t close out well, profits are eroded and the last impression the customer has might be negative. Get a lightning focus at the end of the project and finish strong.

While our passion for excellence is real, remember that the world has bigger problems than the daily challenges that make up our work. Stuff happens. Keep perspective. Don’t take things personally or take yourself too seriously. Laugh every day.