Passing On Your Business
Look around today and your are likely to quickly see many discussions on transitioning your business to the next generation. Face it, the management minds that established the control of the residential industry by cast-in-place concrete are nearing retirement and the second or perhaps third generation of leadership now must take up the reigns. This […]
Eskers Celebrate 60 Years
CONGRATULATIONS Stay around the CFA long enough and you will meet some truly unique companies. We look no further this issue than the great town of Teutopolis, IL (some know it as Esker-ville) where the Esker family has celebrated 60 years of continual family-run business with their company, J.B. Esker & Sons, Inc. It’s hard […]
Marketing 101
It was once written, “These are the best of times, these are the worst of times…” and truly the residential industry feels that pain right now. Returning from the last two meetings we can truly say we’ve never heard such wide spread diversity to the message of the state of the industry. Places are busier […]
CFA Strategic Action Plan 2007
This past October, the CFA Board of Directors and several interested CFA members met in Salt Lake City, Utah for a daylong strategic planning workshop. This was the first such effort since 2003 when a similar workshop was conducted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The beginning of this effort identified one primary motivator for the theme of […]
It’s All About You!
Simply put, strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next several years, how it is going to get there, and finally determining a system to evaluate and measure the progress. At the recent Strategic Planning Session held in Salt Lake City, the Executive staff, Board of Directors, and numerous other members began […]
CFA Plans For The Future
The Concrete Foundations Association spent an entire day last month locked in a room brainstorming about the future of the CFA (actually we were free to come and go as needed). Some great ideas were put forth and we feel the initiatives will help invigorate the Association while preparing it and the members, for future […]
Crisis Communication Plan Crucial to Successfully Surviving the “What Ifs” in Today’s Marketplace
One element of a communications plan that is often overlooked is the all important crisis communication plan. While the construction industry is accustomed to having a written plan for a jobsite accident, such documents also are essential to guide your firm should the media call you and put you in a reactive position for a variety of other scenarios, ranging from layoffs to a disgruntled employee or a […]
GPS Management Tools That Work
The costs of running a business, any business, are rising. Talk with any owner and you are not likely to find any argument to that statement. So as the rising costs of operation tighten the hold on profitability—what are the options to fight back? What are proven means you can employ to improve your chance of maintaining margins or possibly […]
CFA Company Certification Program Nears “Roll-Out”
The Concrete Foundations Association company certification program is in its final stages of review before anticipated “rollout” early in 2008. An overview and solicitation for input was presented at the summer meeting and committee members are planning to submit the program to the full Board of Directors for possible action at the fall meeting in […]
WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR CFA?
When commenting on any CFA Summer Meeting, I feel that it is almost obligatory for me to tell everyone what a huge success it was and that anyone who could not attend really missed out on a great experience. However, in the case of this year’s meeting that was held in Stowe, Vermont, those comments […]
