The Good Remodeling Fight
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The grass is usually greener in the other remodeler’s yard, especially during a business drought, but the truth is that even the most successful remodeling companies struggle at times. It’s the struggle, in fact, that often makes them so much stronger over the long haul.
Take Rich Gaspar. His life in Seattle sure looks sweet. He started Gaspar’s Construction in 1973. It's now a 30-person design/build firm (shown here; Rich is in front row, fifth from right), with a separate handyman division. They’re projecting $6.5 million in revenue this year – making 2009 the biggest year ever.
“Our job is to nurture our clients, to help them discover what is best for them,” Gaspar told me in an email Wednesday. “We don’t sell anything. We help them buy.” As if it were so easy. The reality is that Gaspar’s hasn’t skated through the last 36 years on charm alone. The company has struggled in this recession, as it did in the recessions of the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
A few weeks ago, Gaspar shared some of his best business strategies in a “survivor’s panel” at the Remodeling Leadership Conference (coverage here). He distributed a card, shown below, to attendees, and laid out the following, as paraphrased here.
Don’t Go Emo, Owners
“Rely on a well thought-out plan defined by benchmarks,” Gaspar said. “It’s hard to separate yourself and your business from the barrage of bad news, but in order to develop a positive, concrete response, that’s the first thing that you have to do: disconnect from the ongoing negativity.”
The owner determines the company’s culture, Gaspar said. How you behave affects everyone. “The owner needs to infuse a daily sense of purpose and direction in his company. [Think of] that old saying about turning lemons into lemonade … or, ‘Never let a serious crisis go to waste.’”
The Stockdale Principle
Gaspar shared “the Stockdale principle,” named after Jim Stockdale, the highest-ranking American prisoner in the Vietnam War. “All around him were fellow prisoners who exercised positive thoughts, like ‘We will get out of prison by Christmas, or we will be out in one year or by Easter.’”
Stockdale, by comparison, chose to “look at the facts on a daily basis, e.g., ‘Today I have some food and some water, and I am probably going to get beaten also.’ He was pragmatic and didn’t play the card of ‘I will be just optimistic and everything will work out fine.’”
Stockdale got out of prison alive, Gaspar said, but many of the prisoners “who played the optimism card” did not. “The principal is: Retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties. And at the same time: Confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
Defined Strategy, Defined Objectives
“Tactics are king! Quarterly benchmarks let you know if the tactics are working and will lead you to the goal,” Gaspar said.
At a quarterly off-site management meeting, Gaspar’s management staff analyzes the company’s one-page strategic plan.” On that plan:
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Company core values/beliefs
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Purpose (why),10-to-30-year horizon
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Targets (where), 3-to-5-year horizon
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Goals (what),1-year horizon
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Actions (how), current quarter
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Yearly theme
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Company strengths
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Company weaknesses
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Opportunities to exceed expectations
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Threats to achieving the plan
The Monthly Pulse
What’s the soundtrack for your remodeling company? Gaspar’s has a new one each year, and its monthly all-company meetings begin with it playing. At that meeting, Gaspar and managers share the strategic plan with all staff, discuss the ‘theme’ for the quarter and year, and show the company ‘dashboard’ on the conference room interactive whiteboard.
More about the monthly all-company meeting:
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The dashboard is updated weekly with department financial goals, actual numbers, and current “deltas.”
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The dashboard includes production volume per project manager, referrals, salesperson volumes, and the ‘pulse’ of every client with a job larger than $10,000, on a scale of 1 to 10.
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The general manager shares “atta boys” – kudos – that any employees have received.
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The meeting concludes with a motivational quote.
Between this honest sharing of information and a team approach to problem-solving, “the entire company can get its arms around the same goals—the possibilities are unlimited,” Gaspar says.
Built on Knowledge
“The companies who invest in continuous education and the development of their people will retain the best and own the future,” Gaspar said at the conference. “Knowledge is power.” Some means to this end:
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Specialized teleconferencing training (weekly or biweekly) for sales staff, handyman division, and management team.
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Out-of-state sales training for 3 to 6 staff every quarter.
Yep, training costs money and means homework, Gaspar said, “but the power of having our entire company on the same page, talking the same language about management and sales keeps our company cohesive and our goals aligned.”
Wrapping up, Gaspar recounted a conversation with one of his project managers about the value of training.
“He said the production department sees that the company cares about their careers and wants them to grow with the company – this motivates them. The line staff see the training going on in management – they want to be a part of it.”
Thanks, Rich. Soldier on, remodelers.
I welcome your comments. Please post them here or email me at lthayer@hanleywood.com.
Leah Thayer, senior editor
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