I'm in a bad mood right now, which makes it a good time to address a pet peeve. The reason is a phone call I made - two phone calls, actually - trying to reschedule an annual appointment with my ophthalmologist.

This subject came up in a conversation with a friend of mine who runs a sizable plumbing service company. A valued employee who worked as a dispatcher had just become a new mom and wanted to continue in her job working from home.

How is it that a species such as ours, one that can maneuver spacecraft on planets millions of mile away, that can probe the inside of atoms, that can mesmerize viewers/listeners/readers with artistic masterpieces, be so stupid as to fall for so much phony baloney?

In last month's article, I dealt with the white-collar segment of construction industry theft represented by embezzlement. Now, let's turn our attention to the more common problems associated with the theft of tools, equipment and materials, which can be thought of as construction's blue-collar crime wave.

Rarely do you find anyone in the construction business who hasn't been victimized by "shrinkage" of tools, equipment and inventory. Most estimates peg construction theft to be a $1 billion industry. Pilferage is estimated to add a percentage point or two to the cost of new homes and small commercial buildings.

Jeff Edson of Restoration Roofing, formerly Western Systems Inc., in Longmont, Colo., had a dilemma. There was another roofing company nearby with a similar name (Western Roofing) and customers tended to confuse the two, so Jeff decided to enact a name change. He sought my opinion on his marketing strategy for a mailing campaign to inform clients of the name change to Restoration Roofing.

"Communication failure" is a catchall term that describes the cause of probably 90 percent of all business problems. Failures to communicate happen in many ways, for many reasons. Let's examine some of these and what can be done to correct them.

A seminar on construction law doesn't make for the most enjoyable afternoon, but I attended one several years ago by Chicago construction attorney Stanley Sklar that was good enough to keep my eyelids pried open for four hours. Sklar is a straight shooter. "If you are looking for a fair subcontract, it does not exist," he told the audience.

Knowledge is recognizing a good poker hand. Wisdom is knowing when to hold it and when to fold it.

Last month's column contained a list of simple things you can do to smooth out rough spots in your day-to-day activities. Here, in no particular order, are more tips on how to run a better business.