Whether you call it a career track or a framework, whether you spell it out in a handbook or tell people during job interviews, you must have a path for field personnel to follow if you want them to grow and take on more responsibility. Remodelers who have carved out this path have shaped it to their companies' needs, bringing newbies along and nurturing homegrown lead carpenters, project managers, and even vice presidents. Read more
For 12 years, Ann Arbor, Mich., remodeler Gary Rochman expertly steered his company along on an even keel. Trained in both architecture and carpentry, he loved the flexibility and control of being able to execute every aspect of a job. Read more
They could have felt like Sisyphus if they'd let themselves. “There were times when things were very tense,” says Michael Menn, architect and principal of Design Construction Concepts, Northbrook, Ill. “The subs were [annoyed], we were being strung out on payments, things were being built and installed and then two weeks later eliminated and eventually added back in ó in another location. Read more