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Proven business strategies for operating a profitable and efficient construction firm. Written by a successful management researcher, advisor, and educator to construction contractors, The Construction MBA reveals effective operating practices for managing the multiple processes that must work simultaneously to make a construction firm consistently profitable. The methods in the book apply to both general and specialty contracting firms and describe how to grow both the top line and bottom line. This strategic resource explains how to integrate metrics into your business model that allow you to identify and react to critical trends. You'll learn ways to gain the competitive edge by adopting superior processes, speeding up your business cycle, and maximizing client satisfaction. Tips for positioning your firm on the "sweet spot" of the risk-reward curve are also included. Real-world case studies demonstrate the concepts presented in this practical guide. In addition, eight legendary management books are reviewed and their lessons are applied to the construction contracting business. The Construction MBA covers: The new business model Corporate objectives and strategies Work acquisition Operations management Human resources Financial management Technology Good operating practices Click here for a free Preview Click here for the Purchase Link

These helpful guidelines outline work and material deficiencies in new homes and residential condominium units that are covered under the statutory warranty. Click here to download!

Contains the 10 most commonly reported warranty items and provides helpful tips for builders on how to avoid them. Click here to download!

Builders are required to conduct a Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) of all homes. Builders can use either this PDI form from Tarion or their own PDI form, provided it contains, at minimum, all of the information that is contained in the Tarion form. Click here for the form!

At last, you’ll soon be moving your buyer into their new home! Before you do, you’ll participate in a Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) with them. The PDI is your first chance to walk through your new home. You’ll have an opportunity to explain about how things work and how to properly maintain them. Most importantly, you’ll be able to identify anything that is damaged, missing, or incomplete. This is how you can celebrate the new home and enhance your reputation. This document will help you to do it right. Click here to learn more!

You can go after the job you want...and get it! You can take the job you have...and improve it! You can take any situation you're in...and make it work for you! Originally published during the depths of the Great Depression---and equally valuable during booming economies or hard times---Dale Carnegie's rock-solid, time-tested advice has carried countless people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. The most groundbreaking guidebook of all time introduces simple and life-changing concepts such as: A simple way to make a good first impression How to criticize other people---and not be hated for it An easy way to become a good conversationalist What to do when nothing else works Making people glad to do what you want Learn the six ways to make people like you, the twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking, and the nine ways to change people without arousing resentment. Click here for a free Preview Click here for the Purchase Link

Why is 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, with over 1.5 million copies in print, such an extraordinary bestseller? Because a little over ten years ago Bob Nelson took the seeds of an idea and turned it into something indispensable for business. The idea? That it’s not a raise that motivates an employee, and it’s not a promotion—what really sparks a person to perform are those intangible, unexpected gestures that signify real appreciation for a job well done. Now, after having worked with thousands of organizations in the years since 11001 Ways to Reward. . . was first published, Bob Nelson presents a second edition packed with hundreds of new ideas and examples of how companies are using rewards and recognitions to boost productivity and keep their valued employees happy. Airplane mechanics are rewarded with balloons and pinwheels. Another manager calls his employees’ mothers and thanks them for raising such industrious children. There are ideas from the offbeat (The Margarita Award) to the company-wide (a quiet room) to the embarrassingly simple (a hand-written thank you note) to the wacky (the Laugh-a-Day challenge) to the formal (a two-week promotion to special assistant to the president). Each section includes no-cost rewards and low-cost rewards, both public and private, making this new edition an indispensable resource for making the person/achievement/reward equation work. Click here for a free Preview Click here for the Purchase Link.

Master some of the toughest situations you'll ever face in a new home sales office. "Deal with It!" is a resource book for the new home sales professional who is looking to step up their game by turning tough sales office challenges into selling and service opportunities. This book covers such difficult sales office situations as: Handling multiple prospects simultaneously Closing when a decision-maker is absent Dealing with people who are abusive and argumentative Helping a customer through " buyer's remorse" Selling to the incentive-driven prospect Closing on the first visit Remembering prospects' names Customers who want options that you do not offer Selling a heavy inventory of least popular plan Dealing with the relentless negotiator Click here for a free Preview Click here for the Purchase Link

Whether we're dealing with an underperforming employee, disagreeing with our spouse about money or child-rearing, negotiating with a difficult client, or simply saying "no," or "I'm sorry," or "I love you," we attempt or avoid difficult conversations every day. Based on fifteen years of research at the Harvard Negotiation Project, Difficult Conversations walks you through a step-by-step proven approach to having your toughest conversations with less stress and more success. You will learn how to: Decipher the underlying structure of every difficult conversation Interpret the significance of what is said---and what is not Identify the erroneous but deeply ingrained assumptions that keep you stuck Manage strong emotions---yours and theirs Spot ways your self-image affects the conversation---and ways the conversation affects your self-image Filled with examples from everyday life, Difficult Conversations will help you at home, on the job, or out in the world. It is a book you will turn to again and again for advice, practical skills, and reassurance. Click here for a free Preview Purchase to see full text Purchase Link

Watch this video from the Cold Climate Housing Research Center to learn about one of the most important parts of the building envelope – your walls. This video will help you understand how the performance of your wall is affected by thermal bridging, moisture travel and air leakage.

Strong customer service skills are the key to satisfied customers----and word-of-mouth referrals. In this expanded edition of NAHB's bestseller, Customer Service for Home Builders, Carol Smith and William Young offer practical, inexpensive guidelines on customer service for home builders. Learn what customers expect from builders, the role of the sales team, how to handle difficult situations, and how customer service differs for remodelers. A must for superintendents, customer service reps, and salespeople. Click here for a free Preview Purchase to see full text Purchase Link

This outstanding addition to Carol Smith's Customer Relations Series covers four major issues confronting a builder's front-line personnel: preconstruction meetings, frame stage tour, new home buyer orientation, warranty service. Meetings with Clients covers policies and procedures and predictable situations for each issue and provides the step-by-step information needed to successfully master each issue. For example, the Orientation Section tells the reader how to prepare for the orientation, how to begin (outside at the curb). where to end (in the kitchen), and provides sample dialogue to help with various situations along the way. Learn how to help the new home buyer celebrate the completion of the home and ways to keep the orientation a positive experience. The book also explains step-by-step how to handle difficult situations that may arise during an orientation. This Self-Study Manual also provides the information needed on these topics by a candidate for certification as a Customer Relations Professional. Click here for a free Preview Purchase to see full text Purchase Link