DECEMBER 2011 - Electrical Business Magazine

it's your business
RON COLEMAN, B. Comm., FCCA CMC
Articulating business values
If they will steal for you, they will
steal from you.
If a customer overpaid me $100
cash, would I tell my partner?
What value systems do
you espouse? How
are you and your
business perceived?
Your company should have a culture;
a culture of which you are proud and
that customers appreciate. Everyone in
the company must subscribe to the same
value system for the culture to prevail.
When recruiting new people, it is essential
that your value system be a part of the
recruitment process.
Bid and spec contractors have to be quite
ruthless when it comes to running their
projects. They got the job because their price
was low; now they have to find a way to make
money. Ensuring they get paid properly for
every extra, getting every possible extension
and recommending changes that will generate
more profit are common strategies that pay
off for the successful bid and spec contractor.
Contractors who do design-build, service
or specialty work usually get the
work because of their perceived
value. They must take a very
different approach to winning
and managing projects... a softer
approach.
It’s not my place to say which
way you should go, but it is
essential that you and
your team are on the same page,
whatever that page may be. I will say this:
whatever reason you have for making money,
you want to make sure you are being ethical.
A business built on unethical practices has no
right to survive and prosper.
I ask my contractors whether they’ve
ever padded their timesheets on work that
is charged by the hour. When they have, it
communicates the message throughout the
company that it is okay to cheat the customer.
Once employees learn this lesson, it doesn’t
take them long to start applying this same
philosophy in their dealings with you.
The goal for you, your business and your
employees is to achieve the desired results
ethically. You need to instill an ethical
corporate value system in your people and
your dealings with everyone.
The takeaways
• Understand and articulate the values
you espouse.
• Instill these values in all your team members.
• Make sure your customers know you run
an ethical business.
• Make ethical behaviour a part of everyone’s
job description.
Ron Coleman, B. Comm., FCCA CMC, a
member of the Institute of Certified Management
Consultants of British Columbia, just published
his latest book, “Building Your Legacy: Lessons
for Success from the Contracting Community”,
which teaches you how to make more money
while having more fun. A noted speaker, he has
completed many interfirm financial comparisons
of groups of construction
companies in Canada and
the United States. Ron’s
numerous published education
programs include a 36-hour
business management course
specifically designed for
the Electrical Contractors
Association of British
Columbia (ECABC). Visit
www.ronaldcoleman.ca.
48 • December 2011 • www.EBMag.com