Blogs

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Design Spotlight* UNPUBLISHED

Rites of spring

Spring is here, regardless of the fact that it is snowing in the D.C. area as I write this at the end of March, and it’s the beginning,...

Lean Design

The goods for today’s move-up buyer

Move-up buyers are a fickle bunch, and this blog entry focuses on a Lean Design for that group. It is actually an excerpt from a future...

Quality Management

Lessons from an ‘Extreme Home Makeover’ project

ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover challenged Veridian Homes (of Madison WI) in 2008 to build a home for a family in need. The home builder’s...

Market Data + Trends

'Married with Children' only 20 percent of all households

During the last 50 years, the rate of growth of households has outpaced that of population growth in the U.S. The total number of...

Lean Design

This 2,800-square-foot stunner makes them slam on the brakes!

I had the pleasure of meeting Mary Schumacher from Schumacher Homes a few years back while doing plan reviews at the International Builders'...

The Design Side

The Wrights are still cutting edge

As regular readers know, I rarely miss an opportunity to mention Frank Lloyd Wright in my blog. That goes for his descendants, too. FLW’s...

Quality Management

St. Patrick: 10 Lessons in Leadership

A look to St. Patrick's Servant Leadership as an example of how we might develop our own leadership skills

St. Patrick with a shamrock in a stained glass window at the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows, Chicago.

Design Spotlight* UNPUBLISHED

Solving housing's labor problem

Although recovery for home building has been looking up for a while—with new-home starts in 2013 up 18 percent over 2012 and new-home sales...

Economics

Housing market continues to improve

While analysts continue to argue about whether or not the dip in housing sales in the first two months of 2014 is weather-related or not,...

Building Business

The Truth Behind February's Home Builder Confidence Decline

The Wells Fargo/NAHB Builder Confidence survey, for February, reported a historic drop in Builder Confidence. The report was hyped and in...

Quality Management

Lean project helps Colorado DOT: Post disaster repair of highways and bridges

This is a case study by ASQ and its a great example of how quality tools can be applied to the construction industry. 'When...

The Design Side

When a house is just a house

Maybe you saw the New York Times article “In Housing, Big is Back (Not Counting the Extras).” While it doesn’t overtly herald the return of...

Economics

Declining homeownership in the United States

The boom and bust cycle of the first decade of the 21st century had an enormous effect on U.S. homeownership rates. The overall rate in the...

Quality Management

Video interviews with Ford on Quality: Leadership, culture and innovation

“Two approaches to improvement to avoid: systems without passion and passion without systems” Tom Peters, Thriving on Chaos, 1987 This is...

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Reducing Transactional Costs in Your Supply Chain

As we recover from the holidays and look back on the year, it appears we should all give thanks that 2013 has shaped up to be a pretty good...

The Design Side

Four days in the garden of good and evil

If you’ve never been to Savannah, Ga., by all means go, especially if you love 18th and 19th century architecture. I just returned from a...

Quality Management

Adapting Baldrige to the National Housing Industry

“How will my investment in a criteria/award program impact my bottom-line?” is a question commonly asked by senior leaders. In other words,...

Quality Management

Six sigma, lean etc etc where to start !

There are a whole range of quality management tools and techniques and that includes Lean and Six Sigma. Includes being the key word. They...

The Design Side

Isn’t it eclectic?

I’ve come to the conclusion that American residential architecture, like America itself, is a melting pot. I would even argue that the true...

The Design Side

We Built This City

I’m looking forward to the new movies being released in December, particularly the next installment of “The Hobbit.” One film I doubt will...

Building Operations

Immigration Evolution: Common sense from an unlikely source

Ed is a close friend of mine. He’s 33. He’s married with two daughters, ages 7 and 4. He works two jobs. He’s active in his church. ...

Building Operations

Why Starbucks and The Container Store are laughing at you

Starbucks and The Container Store think you’re a joke. OK… maybe not you specifically. They think your training program is. Laughable...

Customer Satisfaction

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

I have taken quite the respite from my blogging activities, despite statistics that showed a growing readership. For whatever reasons, I...

Building Operations

How Tom Hanks can double your leadership potential

The Love Boat Bosom Buddies Taxi Happy Days Family Ties Splash Bachelor Party The Man with One Red Shoe ...

Actor Tom Hanks sitting on a sofa with his feet up, relaxing

Building Operations

You're a chicken: The Evolution of Purdue Safety Spanish

When it comes to learning – you’re a chicken. A free-range chicken, to be more specific. I’m not implying you are frightened. Not a “chicken...

Home Builders Institute's Schools to Skills Grant Application Open Through December

As Mortgage Rates Rise, Buyers Lose Purchasing Power

Renters Are Choosing Single-Family Homes for These Features