The answer to every strategic question is simple: it depends on what you want. When you know your true goal—whether it’s staying small and profitable or growing into an industry giant—your path becomes clear.

Figure out how you win. It’s not enough to start a business. It’s not enough to say you’re different and better than your competition. You have to actually be different…

To me, the foundational element is care. Care is your ability to put the interests of others at the front of your mind. You are not focused solely on what is best for you.

In this series, I hope to help you, subcontractors, who want to increase your win rate. I also want to help general contractors understand what their subcontractors go through when pursuing a project.  

If you want to thrive in this environment, you must have an extremely well defined sales system in place. One where you walk clients down the path to partnership and it ends with them naturally wanting to negotiate…

…sometimes owners are extremely understanding as to why you’d want to award a subcontractor with a higher bid—they just need to really understand why it makes sense.

…the GC’s agreement with the owner greatly matters. Subcontractors can gain a competitive advantage by being smart about it…

…I never considered how a GC’s Agreement with the owner might change how we bid and win projects. In my mind, it didn’t matter!

….a 10%-20% win rate just isn’t enough! 

The more you can create a culture of gratitude, the more your people will start thinking about WE instead of I.

…business development is a key responsibility for almost every position because without finding and securing new projects, there’s no work to bill.

Every time you create, you express yourself deeply—no matter what it is that you’re creating.

In short, too many leadership teams manage through rules and authority…

If you are able to respond professionally and keep your team focused, you will avoid problems, prove that you are not like other contractors, and everyone will be a lot happier. 

Through deep care for others, you are able to sense their thoughts and emotions so you can best understand what they’re going through. Without empathy, it’s extremely difficult to motivate others…

Smart jerks can get promoted, but they make terrible leaders. And terrible leaders break cultures and make good people question if they want to stay. Meanwhile, good people are your company’s most important asset.

…the ones who believe they are capable of greatness usually end up getting there.

If you have ever wondered if you should find a mentor, try asking yourself these 4 questions to determine if it would be worth your time.

If you want to overcome fear, the first thing you have to do is address it head on: you must admit that you’re scared.

...the employees who take feedback and actually do something about it are the ones climbing through their organizations.