Builders new to the business imagine
that success lies just around the corner.
They believe that a few years of
hard work, combined with an honest
approach and a continuous stream of jobs
bid at 10% overhead and 5% profit,
will turn their dreams into reality. More
experienced builders know, however,
that the road to success is full of potholes
big enough to sink the company, together
with the builder and his or her dreams.
After ten years as a business consultant
working exclusively with builders,
remodelers, and their subs, I have begun
to see patterns common to both successful
and unsuccessful companies. Not long
ago, I reread an article from the Harvard
Business Review called "The