Lean Design Hot elevation + Lean = Fast sales The overriding principle of Lean Design is marketability. The winning combo is to make the home simple and efficient to build while having...
Quality Management Quality is a companywide issue Quality is not about tunnel vision, a focus only on the reduction of variation in production alone. Quality is no longer just about the...
Building Operations Excuse me, sir…your PowerPoint sucks Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Guy gets up to give a presentation. Self-deprecating intro. Well-dressed. Strong voice. He’s...
The Design Side Investors buying to rent give the market a boost An article in today’s Wall Street Journal shed light on investors who are buying foreclosed homes, fixing them up, and renting them out....
Remodeling Insider Momentum gaining at IBS 2013 The past few years have been excruciating for the National Association of Home Builders’ International Builders’ Show. However, the falling...
Building Operations Translation consternation “I’ve got a 40-page company policy and about 40 Hispanic employees. Any advice when it comes to translation?” This question came at me...
The Design Side More Americans courting indoor-outdoor living The courtyard, an ancient concept for bringing natural light into homes while preserving privacy, is in full flower in America today as lots...
Building Operations Communicate your vision like Amazon.com's CEO Wanted: Woman who could get me out of a third world prison. This is how Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon.com, articulated what he was...
The Design Side Greening initiative serves twofold purpose Last June, Retrofit Chicago’s Commercial Buildings Initiative was launched as part of the Obama Administration’s Better Buildings Challenge....
Lean Design Decorative ceilings—that’s what’s up As I travel the country working with builders I am always on the lookout for emerging trends. There is a hot one cooking right now...
Building Operations 5 Keys to Being a Good Salesman by Jerry Jones Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones offers tips for successful selling
Building Operations Catalog ideas; don’t shoot them Yesterday I attended a Construction and Safety Expo outside Chicago. General contractors, Sub-contractors and Safety Suppliers were dishing...
The Design Side Mason City, Iowa, has the Wright stuff A little off the beaten path—but well worth the drive—is Mason City, Iowa, home to the last standing Frank Lloyd Wright hotel. My partner...
Customer Satisfaction Do You Communicate Efficiently or Effectively? Consumers now receive 81 pieces of email for every one piece of U.S. Mail, and some experts believe email is becoming increasingly less effective
Quality Management Sustaining quality: Underlying causes for failure A question that regularly arises is how to sustain quality management or to put it another way, what are the reasons for quality management...
The Design Side Seeking FLW: The Historic Park Inn As a self-confessed Frank Lloyd Wright dork, you would think I already knew about the Historic Park Inn in Mason City, Iowa—the last...
Remodeling Insider It’s 2013, what do you expect? As we closed the books on 2012, many readers reported to Professional Remodeler that business has been picking up steam, according to a...
Remodeling Insider The long-term impact of Sandy In late October, Hurricane Sandy destroyed much of the Eastern Seaboard. In the days following the superstorm, Professional Remodeler was on...
Remodeling Insider The value of relationships A good friend of mine who is also a 40-year veteran of the construction industry has taught me a lot about relationships over the past few...
Remodeling Insider Award programs worth time and effort This past summer, staff members of Professional Remodeler convened in a conference room on the outskirts of Chicago to review this year’s...
Remodeling Insider A new endeavor Many of you are looking at this editorial page and probably wondering: Where’s Jonathan? And who is this new guy? Recently, long-time...
Building Operations What’s your moon shot? You probably missed it. Nearly everyone did. At the end of last year Kansas City quietly became the first metro area to be wired with...
Lean Design Have master tubs jumped the shark? Sept. 20, 1977, was the day that I breathlessly awaited the conclusion of the shark-jumping episode of "Happy Days." All week long I had...
Building Operations How to be an instant conversation starter In your personal and professional life, being easy to talk to is a skill worth developing. But good conversationalists are rare. There are...
Great Solutions for Builders 3 lessons I learned from you As you may have noticed by now, I am a flat-out junkie for lessons. Nearly every article I have written for Professional Builder,...