Blogs

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The Sweet Spot

If we just take away people's houses, that'll get the lazy bums back to work

We all know the job market continues to be lousy more than two years after the recession officially ended. There's a variety of reasons for...

The Sweet Spot

Obama jobs program to include 'mortgage relief' ... and why it won't matter

The Washington Post is reporting this morning that President Obama's jobs program will include amongst its many proposals more relief for...

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6 building product trends for 2011

Photo: Ply Gem Windows’ Builder Series Pocket Door can span up to 12 feet and is just $400 for the base model. If you missed the...

The Sweet Spot

Five cities poised for home price growth (and five that aren't)

In case you missed it in the news section of HousingZone, Fiserv and Moody's Analytics are predicting home prices will increase in 365 out...

The Sweet Spot

Is remodeling up, down or moving sideways?

There's not much doubt where new construction sits these days -- bouncing along the bottom.The remodeling market, on the other hand, is a...

Best Practices

Has the Economy Forced Everyone to Lie

I recently conducted several searches in both residential and commercial businesses in multiple states. The positions ranged from...

The Lean Builder

Soft costs? That hurt so much, how could it be anything but hard? — Lean Tuesday with Scott Sedam

I am finishing up my September column for Professional Builder based on a list of the 10 biggest myths of Lean Building, and I just wrote...

Lean Design

Elevations: Butt ugly to beautiful for zero cost — Lean design with Todd Hallett

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The rise and fall of the American Dream

So, they said we needed change. They said it would get worse before it got better. They said unemployment is decreasing. They said the rate...

Quality Management

Hotspots: corrective and preventive action

A hotspot is a recurring problem, by focusing on the top ranking hotspot with corrective and preventive action they can be reduced or...

Quality Management

Do you remove things that get in the way of progress?

Here are some interesting results from a 2011 survey by the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. % Agree or Strongly Agree As it...

Building Operations

5 Ways to get better Results as a Leader

Over my 30 years of working with senior leaders, I have seen the good the bad and the very ugly. It seems that any “C’ level person who...

Lean Design

Add horsepower to your existing plans — Lean Tuesday with Todd Hallett

Growing up near Detroit, I know that old plans are like old cars —sooner or later they start costing you more money than they are worth. It...

The Lean Builder

Honest wrong beliefs: Sometimes it’s what we know that gets in the way — Lean Tuesday with Scott Sedam

As I write this week’s blog on a plane from Detroit to Vegas, I happened upon an article in the Delta in-flight magazine about healthy...

Quality Management

The all American home

When we talk about sustainable home building we focus on energy efficiency and green. But another level of sustainable building is ensuring...

Quality Management

SMART

The SMART acronym is an excellent way to evaluate your goals and objectives. Are they Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely...

Building Operations

Maximizing your Real Estate Brokers Performance

For a little less than two years, I led the 15th largest real estate brokerage firm in the US. It was an interesting departure from the day...

Building Operations

3 Ways to Optimize Employee Performance

It's time to refocus attention on your employees and begin turning your people back into highly productive, committed members of your team

The Sweet Spot

Time for remodelers to innovate is now

During the housing boom, new products were being introduced into the home building market at a staggering rate.According to the Harvard...

The Lean Builder

How to Save $5,000 Per Unit

If you knew you were losing about $5K per unit due to just one item of waste in your houses, would you do something about it?

Quality Management

Clean job sites…who cares!?

Disorganized and untidy job sites are covered with destroyed or damaged materials, reflect chaos between trades, reduce productivity and...

Lean Design

Exposed: The most common framing mistake in home building, Lean Tuesday with Todd Hallett

Headers, headers everywhere! Nearly every builder I have ever worked with (regardless of geography) initially had far too many headers and...

Quality Management

Talent management and best practices

We spend a lot of time and effort training our teams and developing them in our culture and so the retention and ongoing development of our...

Quality Management

Sustainability and social responsibility

The construction industry dramatically impacts the environment, with buildings consuming 17 percent of the world’s fresh water, 25 percent...

Lean Design

Lean design and curb appeal: A marriage made in heaven – Lean Tuesday with Todd Hallett

Lots of matrimony talk lately. From the saccharin sweet royal wedding to the much publicized split between J’Lo and Marc Anthony - some...

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