With a real worker shortage today and with researched projections that say the amount of annual construction put in place will almost double by 2040, a critical strategic question becomes who will build tomorrow?
Discovering meaningful data can be powerful and provocative. Gaining access to The Perryman Group’s projections for the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) and the traditional FMI “Construction Put in Place” report provided such an energizing experience. The blend of these insightful documents, which cover the exact same geographic area, unleashes fact-based optimism and stimulates many questions for all contactors and construction-related firms.
March 30, 2018
Kiley writes about Disruptive Innovation in the world and in the construction industry: “Incremental innovation is part of the ‘continuing improvement’ mindset, taking the existing processes and methods in the current value chain and finding new and better ways to do them. By contrast, disruptive innovation [has been] defined as ‘creativity purposely applied to explode (disrupt) the current value chain and rearrange it for the benefit of the disruptor.’”
March 07, 2018
It is not uncommon to see an article paying tribute to a construction industry CEO or company owner when they pass away. These leaders have higher profiles; their achievements are known to more people. However, any company owner or CEO will tell you that many people have played critical support roles in all that they accomplished. We honor one such superb support team member in this piece.
February 28, 2018
Kiley writes that successful privately held construction companies have a lot to offer prospective workforce recruits over publically held corporations, including offering much more predictable and stable environments in which to build careers.
January 31, 2018
The city of Houston received very favorable national profiling in the immediate aftermath of Harvey. The nation watched as diverse citizens melded together to become one force – humanitarian Houstonians, “their brother’s keeper.” Everyone dealt with each other with elevated appreciation, respect and pride, which fueled the Astros baseball team to their World Series win.
January 08, 2018
The construction industry lost two fine men, sons of prominent contractors, both chips off the old block, smart, successful and generous with their time talent and treasure for many Houston organizations. Andrew Baird Linbeck, son of the late Leo Linbeck, Jr, died on November 8, 2017, and Paul Dunbar Chapman, son of the late Dave Chapman, died on November 29, 2017. Andrew was 53; Paul 64; cancer was the cause in both cases.
December 22, 2017
In this article, we revisit a familiar theme: leadership development. We recycle this basic topic for two reasons. First, there is more urgency; according to a recent FMI survey, 35% of CEOs and senior leaders in construction companies will retire in the next five years. Second, many of the next-generation leaders will be younger than usual. Many will be millennials, because the Generation X cohort is so small.
November 21, 2017
Our Houston area construction industry lost two good men in the last couple of months: Jerry Lowry and Damon Gowan. They were similar in make-up: leaders who were quiet doers. Both held many profiled industry leadership roles, but both remained grateful and humble; they were givers above all, and led very parallel lives.
November 07, 2017
When Masters Champions Jackie Burke and Jimmy Demaret built the Champions Club in Houston in the 50s, they wanted to attract members with both character strength and competency, who played golf and life by rules, so that the club would become a community of trust and skill. And to symbolize this, they installed full-length lockers that close but do not lock. Today Rolexes, TAG Heuers, credit cards and wads of bills are left in lockers that don’t lock. They have never had a theft.
October 11, 2017
