Contractors seeking sustainable growth must have aggressive and balanced strategies for acquiring work and building talent.
In the current economy it makes a lot of sense to selectively focus on fewer projects where you have the talent to build them profitably. This strategy is short-term efficient and you will make a lot of money doing so. It is also long-term ineffective:
- Building business development capabilities takes time and deliberate practice. The economy will experience a hiccup and you will want to have built competitive advantages through aggressive business development tactics as well as advanced preconstruction services.
- There is no better time to improve your portfolio of customers than in a “hot” economy.
- If you are not growing then you will not be able to provide opportunities for your team members to grow in the long-term. Someone else will and you will lose people over time as they take on other opportunities.
- Winners are attracted to other winners. The best measure of winning in business is sustainable; profitable growth. That will attract the right talent.
On a scale of 0-10 how would you rate your business development capabilities?
Your talent development capabilities?
