In 1985, a young man was sent to Columbus, Ohio, to negotiate a contract of $275,000. His supervisor had commanded that young salesman to come back with the order and allowed, if necessary, that the salesman had the latitude to adjust the price by as much as $25,000.
I just spent the last few hours researching statistics about the dangers of falls in roofing. This research took me not only through statistics but reams of rules and regulations on fall protection from state and federal agencies, as well as those of several other countries.
There is an old saying, “You can’t draw blood from a
stone.” The significance of the adage is that you must accept the limitations
of the world around you. Right now your business is suffering like every other
business in the world, and, like every businessperson, you are probably trying
to figure out ways in which you can outsmart your competition in the short
term.
Ben Franklin conducted the first reflectivity
test in the 1760s. He took different colored swatches of fabric - from dark
colored to light colored - and placed them in the Philadelphia snow. As the sun
beat down, Franklin
noted that the snow melted around the dark colored fabric prior to the snow
melting around lighter colors.
As human beings, we generally know what is good
or bad for us, but temptation may win out. I know that piece of holiday pie or
that extra helping of bread is not good for me, but what the heck. As the
market slows and job opportunities shrink, contractors tend to chase risky jobs
like a junkyard dog going after a bone.
Being the boss is a pretty good feeling for most
people. Those of you who own your business or have management authority draw a
certain comfort from calling the shots and being able to tell subordinates what
to do.
When you consider all the good things that can
come from a down cycle in the economy, it is hard to be depressed about it. I
am not referring to silver linings, but golden
opportunities.
It
would be business as usual for me to add a P.S. to this editor’s note reminding
you that it is not too late to sign up to attend the International Roofing Expo
(IRE), which runs concurrently with three days of the NRCA convention next
month. Most of you would agree, however, that business is anything but “as
usual” right now.
This is not a pleasant article to write, because
it has to do with failure. But don’t equate failure with being a loser. Thomas
Edison failed with thousands of different filaments before finding one able to
sustain the light of an incandescent bulb, and he most certainly wasn’t a
loser.
Unless
you are trying to make the country western singing circuit, singing the winter
blues isn’t going to help you. Staring at four walls and worrying about the
recession just makes things worse. Even in good times winter can be a troubling
season.
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