Definition of Sustainability

How sustainable is your construction business?

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Leadership Tools: Definition of Sustainability: The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.

Not your ability to build sustainable buildings, but the true sustainability of your business.

  • Are the market(s) that you are in stable or at least counter-cyclical to each other throughout various economic cycles?

  • Are those market(s) growing, stacking the cards in your favor that your company will continue growing?

  • Do your customers love you to the point where they keep coming back to you for projects?

  • Do you have good business development capabilities that will create predictable revenue growth?

  • Do you have good talent development systems, ensuring that your revenue growth does not exceed your ability to grow and retain leadership talent?  

  • Are you generating enough free cash flow to support your growth?

Sometimes, an outside perspective can be invaluable for helping assess and improve your sustainability. 

What does your scoreboard say?  




Lean Principle - 8 Categories of Waste
The first step in improving labor productivity in construction is improving everyone’s ability to see the waste. Waste can then be broken down into 8 major categories. Like colors these are often interrelated.
Bill Walsh - Planning the First 25 Plays
Construction success depends on both the ability to rigorously plan as well as the ability to quickly react to changing field conditions. This is similar to sports and a lot can be learned from the disciplines of great coaches.
Investing for Sustainability - Growth Hurts
“I can’t afford to invest more in talent development or process streamlining because we have a bunch of bad projects.” Contractors must invest for sustainability.