Blogs

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Quality Management

Locate the untouched market

Gary Zajicek is my guest blogger. With 35 years experience in the industry from carpenter to VP of Construction and Customer Relations, he...

Building Operations

Breaking comfort

Fast Company Magazine named Bryan Cranston - the main guy in Breaking Bad and the dad from Malcolm in the Middle - the #8 most creative...

The Design Side

Tiny, but not without charm

There’s a 1920 California bungalow for sale in Los Angeles that is tiny (480 square feet) and expensive ($449,000) … and yet, very appealing...

Building Operations

Schnellenbergerize yourself

College football fans forget the Miami Hurricanes program was nearly dropped. No, not because of the cheating and lying and the 1995 SI...

The Design Side

Gold Nugget winners take aim at the McMansion

An article that was published in The Atlantic a couple of weeks ago got me thinking about McMansions, which were ubiquitous during the...

Remodeling Insider

Remodeler rebuilds own home following Hurricane Sandy

It’s been seven months since Hurricane Sandy slammed the Mid-Atlantic and New England shorelines. Sadly, for most Americans, the storm has...

The Design Side

Further reflections on design leadership

I recently read an article written by Bill Lurz, a former colleague at Professional Builder. Bill is now editor-in-chief of AvidBuilder.com....

Quality Management

Employee satisfaction, strategic awareness, and innovation

More employees quit their jobs and the dramatic impact of a new yogurt company! These two stories over the past few days reminded me of the...

Building Operations

Buy it now book recommendation: Ctrl Alt Delete by Mitch Joel

I’ve been enjoying the Chicago Blackhawks run to the Stanley Cup Finals. I went to a party last week where a friend, Bobby Krueger, owner...

Building Operations

To get attention, B_R_E_A_K the pattern

Two teachers start their respective 8 am classes. Both classes have talkative students. Teacher Uno raises his voice, demanding...

Quality Management

Servant leadership

Servant leadership emphasizes an increased service to others, a holistic approach, promoting a sense of community and the sharing of power...

Building Operations

Why you should embrace the Hispanic conflict

Shawn Coyne is a writing partner to Steven Pressfield. Mr. Pressfield wrote The War of Art, the most important book ever written for...

Building Operations

Leadership by the numbers: What’s yours?

Leadership is a numbers game. The equation revolves around how many people you can positively impact on a daily basis. That is, how...

The Design Side

Architecture goes to the dogs

The late Roger Caras, president emeritus of the ASPCA, once said, “Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole.” No dog...

Building Operations

The feed vs. the hunt

My son is 6 years-old. It’s a fun age. Witnessing your progeny develop original thoughts on shared topics is a trip. My son is...

The Design Side

Owning a Wright home comes at a price

It’s well known that Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes, while they’re architectural masterpieces, often have structural issues such as leaky...

Lean Design

Don’t miss out on this opportunity!

Scott Sedam and I are presenting at PCBC from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on June 5. The program is below and you can get your tickets right now...

Building Operations

Rosetta Stone, relevance, and retention

Living in a small sliver of the language pie Rosetta Stone enlarged, we owe a debt of gratitude to the public company. Rosetta has been...

Building Operations

“We’ve done this a lot. You...as a group…are stupid.” 

Last week I went to the Chicago filming of “America’s Got Talent”, the NBC show that accepts all comers who don’t make it on American...

The Design Side

Home buyers go back to the farm

One of the latest trends in community development is the farm—an integrated space for the production of organic food. I don’t think this is...

The Design Side

Is “master bedroom” politically incorrect?

A number of homebuilders in the Washington, D.C., area have stopped using the term “master” to describe the largest bedroom in the house....

Building Operations

The “knowledge worker” rant

I despise the term Knowledge Worker. Why? Let’s start with the definition of Knowledge Worker and you can judge for yourself. Knowledge...

Remodeling Insider

Selling the team game

What if I told you there was a simple way to increase the production of your sales reps to provide a competitive advantage for your...

Quality Management

New product development

There are some characteristics that should be embedded in any New Product Development (NPD) process. This includes customer input, the...

The Design Side

TV shows influence home design

In an earlier blog post, I talked about being inspired by the home improvement shows on HGTV. But I know at least one builder who gets...

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