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Figuring Out How to Accomplish Goals

February 6, 2020January 6, 2020 by Mark Eastman

The word "Goal" with a dart hitting the center of a target on the letter "o"

The Focus Needs to Be on the Accomplishment, Not the Setting

We all have visions of what our dream life will look like and it can be frustrating and depressing when things don’t turnout like we planned.

In my last post I referred to Hallmark movies and how people tend to like them or not. The more I’ve thought about this the more it seems that those who like them are generally positive and those who don’t…not so much. (Keep in mind that I have done no scientific study about this.)

As I look back over this past year and my goals that were not accomplished, it’s disappointing. Sure, some goals were, but many weren’t. I find myself beginning to get negative. If I’m not careful I start believing that I can’t really do those things anyway, who am I kidding. It’s just some unrealistic fairytale dream, like a Hallmark movie.

Giving up is like dying while you’re still alive. Don’t give up!

So, it’s a new year full of new opportunities and possibilities. I don’t know about you, but I’m setting some new big amazing goals for 2020. What, you might ask, is going to make this year different than the rest? The others are in the past and can’t be changed. This new year is a clean page to write whatever I want on.

I have to be careful when putting my dreams on a new page. There are so many they begin to overlap and run off the edge. There are so many big wonderful things to do, it’s easy to continually dream more and bigger. What’s hard is clarity and focus. This year we’re going to clarify our mission and narrow our focus. One tool we’re using for this is Donald Miller’s, Business Made Simple.

A goal without clarity of mission is like a small boat without a rudder.

There are tons of goal setting systems and programs out there, I know because I’ve used many of them. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with any of them. Many of them I’m still using. What I am saying is that I need to clarify my mission. I’m tired of ending up wherever the current takes me. Goal setting is an important part of accomplishment, but the mission needs to come first.

I can set goals all day long, but if I’m not clear about the mission, I may be setting the wrong ones.

If I hope to accomplish that which I have been put here for I need to start with clarifying my mission first and set my goals accordingly.

If all goes well, we hope to have the new Solution Building web site operational later this week.

God Cared Enough to Send the Very Best

February 6, 2020January 2, 2020 by Mark Eastman

We Should Do Nothing Less in Return

Hallmark Christmas movies are on at our house a lot this time of year. Typically, people either love these movies or can’t stand them. I’ve discussed this multiple times with different people over the past several weeks.

I think the dislike comes from a negative place…a place of, life isn’t filled with happy endings like every Hallmark movie ever made.

Regardless of where you are on the spectrum of Hallmark movie appreciation, you should admire the company’s clearness of vision. They are a private, family owned American company founded in 1910 and still going strong today. Their slogan, “When you care enough to send the very best.” was created in 1944 and has been used consistently ever since.

God cared enough to send the very best, when He sent His Son.

If God cares enough for us to do this, we should incorporate a version of the Hallmark slogan into our own lives. To “Care enough to give the very best.” Every day we should be giving our very best to God and to others.

This doesn’t mean that every day is going to be sunshine and lollypops. It means that even when things aren’t going so well, we can still give our very best in that situation. It’s an attitude and we can control it.

Just like in the Hallmark movies bad things are exaggerated by people making presumptions or decisions without all the facts. Too many times we do the same thing in real life. Hallmark does have an advantage of experienced writers. We can write our own happy ending too.

If we accept the Very Best (Jesus) that was sent to us by God and in return live our very best (accept Him as our personal savior) as explained in the Bible, we can have a better than Hallmark happy ending of eternity in Heaven.

The Conclusion of The Construction Proposal Is the Contract

November 15, 2022December 29, 2019 by Mark Eastman

Putting A Period at The End of The Proposal Communication

The discussion of “Building a Better Proposal” began with the problems that arise from poor communication. We talked about this being the responsibility of the contractor and some of the reasons this is a problem.

Over the last several weeks we laid out the “Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal” going over the different parts of the system, an explanation of the system, gathering of information, writing a scope of work, putting a price to the project and finally how to put all of the pieces together into a proposal ready to present to the customer.

Once you have a signed Proposal, conclude with a Contract.

The Contract completes the Proposal process and covers things beyond construction. Things like funding, additional documents, property boundaries, time within which the project will be started and terms and conditions.

Construction Funds – This isn’t something that is relevant to every project but will be to some. If it is, the information would be included in this section of the contract.

Description of the Work – A complete and full Scope of Work could be included here but not needed if the customer has been presented a Proposal. If so then a brief description of the project can be inserted and a reference to the specific Proposal and any other additional documentation, i.e. blueprints, drawings, spec sheets, governing body documents, etc.

Property Lines – This is another category that isn’t relevant to every project but certainly can be. If working inside of city limits, normally there are set back requirements and easements, this makes it critical to know where the property boundaries are or to have a licensed surveyor make this determination.

Payment – Like the description of work above, this should be in the Proposal. If no Proposal was given to the customer, then this should be specified here. If a Proposal was given repeat it again here.

Time for the Completion of Work – The duration of the work from start to finish is typically expressed in the Proposal. Due to the varying number of Proposals prepared and presented to customers, there’s no way of knowing what order they will be signed and returned. With the Proposal being signed and returned prior to the preparation of the Contract, the start date of the project can be determined and specified here.

Terms and Conditions – An in-depth explanation of specifications, descriptions, expectations, insurance, warranty, media permissions, etc. These will be specific to your company, type of work and location.

I would recommend that to have a legal expert or attorney review your Proposal and Contract templates as well as any other agreement document to make sure they meet your specific needs.

We’ve now gone through the process of meeting with a customer all the way to getting a signed Contract. Now it’s time to do the “construction” part of the project.

Communication will be needed in this part too.

Just because you have a signed Proposal and Contract don’t think the communication is done. In most construction project changes occur. These changes need to be treated like separate, sub-projects of the original with Change Orders.

This is a topic of discussion for a different day and one that we’ll have in the future.

If you know anyone in a construction trade or related industry that you think would benefit from learning the “Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal” share a link to this Weekly Solution or the to the Solution Building website.

Don’t forget to check back in the next couple of weeks for the upcoming announcement.

Anticipation Can Be Stressful or Exciting

January 11, 2020December 26, 2019 by Mark Eastman

It’s Up to Us to Decide Which It Will Be

Christmas has come and gone for another year. That’s okay because we will look up in a few days and it will be here again.

Some people find the Holiday season stressful. The busy, rushed and harried pace can get overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

We get to choose how it’s going to be.

I love the anticipation of looking forward to opening presents on Christmas morning. I don’t want to know what I’m getting until I take the paper off and open it. I will be extra careful to not see what’s in boxes and bags around the house leading up to Christmas. The looking forward to the unveiling of the surprise is exciting.

Advent is a season of the liturgical year observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas and the return of Jesus at the Second Coming.

This season really is more about waiting than coming. Joseph and Mary both showed great faith and patience waiting for Jesus’ birth. Because they were not married yet and she was pregnant they were looked down on. They had to trust what they had been told by God and believe it to be true.

Look forward to the future possibilities God has for you with excited anticipation!

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

How To Put The Pieces Of The Construction Proposal Together

November 15, 2022December 22, 2019 by Mark Eastman

The Last Piece Is Always the Most Fun

If you’ve ever done a jigsaw puzzle, you know how frustrating it is to get to the last piece…and you can’t find it anywhere. This is the same frustration a customer feels when they don’t have the full picture of what is to be included in their construction project.

Giving the customer a complete and thorough proposal gives them the full picture.

Doing puzzles growing up I remember when getting near the end of a puzzle the level of excitement would begin to amp up. In the accelerated push to get it finished more people would get involved, in the rush, often a piece would get lost. Finding the missing piece and putting it in made the picture complete.

There’s a real sense of accomplishment when the last piece of the puzzle is put in place.

It’s the same finishing a proposal…the final piece is now in place. The hard work of gathering the info, preparing the Scope of Work, and pricing are done. All that’s left is putting them together to provide a clear picture for the customer.

Jane Smith’s laundry/sewing room project.

Start with the Proposal template.

Insert the customer information in the open areas at the top of the first page as it pertains to the project.

To: This is the name of the person who requested the proposal or is responsible for the project organization.

Re: This is a name describing this specific construction project.

For: This is the party or organization for who the project is going to be done for.

At: This is the address of where the construction project is going to be performed.

Copy and paste the description of the work to be performed and material to be supplied from the Bid Sheet on to the Proposal template. (See below)

Next, take the prices from the Worksheet for each individual described action on the Proposal and place it on the right side of the page. At the end of each section put the total price for that section. (See below)

Now that the description of the work to be performed, the materials to be used, the prices for each action and the totals of each section have been placed on the Proposal template, it’s time for the project to be totaled. Complete the Proposal by defining the payment schedule, determining the date in which the Proposal will expire and the duration of time to complete the project. The only thing left is signing of the document.

Once the proposal is signed, I recommend following up with a Contract. Even though the signed Proposal serves as a legal and binding document, there is nothing in the Proposal about when the project will be started. The Contract also includes more detailed customer information, a list of any referenced documents, a place for construction funding information, property specifics and legal terms and conditions.

We’ll look at a Contract in the next post.

If you’ve found this series on the “Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal” helpful and you or someone you know would be interested in the templates for Building a Better Proposal, keep checking back. In the next few weeks we have a big announcement coming.

Worrying Is A Waste of Time and Energy

February 6, 2020December 19, 2019 by Mark Eastman

Avoid the Worry Trap

Worry is a real thing. It can eat away at our spirit like cancer. Too often time is spent worrying about things that no amount of worry will have any effect on. For some, the holiday season increases the level of worry.

It’s easy to get sucked into the commercial world of Christmas. This perspective will leave us feeling overwhelmed and inadequate. The world’s view is focused on money and gifts and trying to keep up with the Jones’s.

This isn’t how Christmas is supposed to be.

In the article “The Fog of Worry”, Earl Nightingale wrote about the counterproductive action of worry. He compares worrying to a fog covering a city.

According to the Bureau of Standards, “A dense fog covering seven city blocks, to a depth of 100 feet, is composed of something less than one glass of water.” So, if all the fog covering seven city blocks, 100 feet deep, were collected and held in a single drinking glass, it would not even fill it.

Worrying can trap us in a fog with no seeming way out. Mr. Nightingale goes on to explain this with an authoritative estimate of what most people spend their time and energy worrying about.

40% – never even happens.
30% – are over and past and can’t be changed.
12% – are needless heath worries.
10% – are petty, miscellaneous worries.
8% – this small percentage is the real legitimate things worth concerning ourselves with.

92% of worries are a fog that we create.

We need to focus our time and energy on the possibilities rather than the negative. This time of the year everything seems more intense, both good and bad. We just look for the good, the lights, the giving, the music, etc.

On Christmas in 2018, there was a nine-hour standoff between a man who barricaded himself in his home and the police. It began when he started shooting after his sister-in-law came to check on him, so the police were called. He continued firing shots at the police, from a second-floor window, hitting cars and nearby homes.

At 6:00 AM the next morning the SWAT negotiator tried something different…he started singing the Christmas song, “White Christmas”. When the song was over the man surrendered. This brought the standoff to a conclusion with no one being injured.

Music, especially Christmas songs, have a powerful message and connect with our emotions.

We can choose if we are going to focus on the negative or positive in this Christmas season and throughout the whole year. It’s up to us to make the choice.

Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.

How To Price A Construction Project Proposal

November 15, 2022December 16, 2019 by Mark Eastman

Now It’s Time to Give the Project A Dollar Amount

The next step in the “Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal” is to determine the price for the project. We’ve talked a lot about the importance of communication to provide a clear description of the work to be performed. Now we’ll go through the process of determining consistent and accurate prices.

Poor communication will cause heartache, poor pricing will cost you money.

We’ve gathered the necessary information and prepared the Scope of Work so let’s put some numbers to the project.

Here we’ll combine the next two steps in the process; determining what pricing is needed for each specific construction tasks to be performed and quantities pertaining to each.

STEP 3 – PRICING THE PROJECT

This process uses two different Excel spreadsheets:

The Worksheet –
An Excel spreadsheet with all the construction sections and tasks listed out with optional overhead and profit markup formulas inserted in the appropriate locations.

The Data Base –
An Excel spreadsheet with prices for material and labor for a wide variety of specific construction tasks.

Based on the descriptions on the Bid Sheet, content from the Data Base will be copied and pasted into the correlating cells on the Worksheet.

EXAMPLE PROJECT:

Using Jane Smith’s Scope of Work for her laundry/sewing room addition we’ll determine the right information that needs to be copied from the Data Base and pasted to the Worksheet. Reference the Smith, Scope of Work here.

Questions need to be answered like:

Which tasks need to be inserted into the Worksheet? Many of the tasks have options; which to use, will depend on the specifics of the project.

For example; How is the excavation, trenching and landscaping going to be done…with a skid loader, mini excavator, by hand or a combination?

Smith, Addition – Scope of Work, Sitework Section:

Data Base:
Copy pertinent cells to be pasted to the worksheet. (highlighted cells)

Smith Addition – Worksheet, Sitework Section:
Paste copied cells in worksheet template. (highlighted cells)

More questions that need to be answered:
Is the footing going to be formed with wood or poured in the ditch without any forms?

Smith, Addition – Scope of Work, Foundation Section:

Data Base:
Copy pertinent cells to be pasted to the worksheet. (highlighted cells)

Smith Addition – Worksheet, Foundation Section:

Paste copied cells in worksheet template. (highlighted cells)

After the pertinent information from the Data Base has been placed on the Worksheet it’s time to fill in the specific quantities. This will then provide the prices for the work to be done.

STEP 4 – QUANTITIES

On the Worksheet you will fill in the quantity needed to do the work on that line item. This may be lineal feet, square feet, square yards, cubic feet, cubic yards or numbers of pieces. Once this is completed you will now have prices for the Proposal.

Notice the highlighted cells in this spreadsheet. These are adjustments made due to the attributes of specific tasks on specific projects. In the case of this project the small size and location of the work in the back yard require some additional work and therefore additional cost.

I know this is a lot of content and information but it’s not as scary as it appears at first glance. The question that you need to ask yourself…

Do I want to be intentional at serving the customer’s needs at a profit or just guess and take a chance?

The next step is to bring all the pieces together in a thorough and accurate proposal that will give the customer a clear picture of what they’re getting and how much it’s going to cost. Check back next week for this part of the process.

How To Price A Construction Project Proposal

November 18, 2022December 16, 2019 by Mark Eastman

Now It’s Time to Give the Project A Dollar Amount

Poor communication will cause heartache, poor pricing will cost you money.

We’ve gathered the necessary information and prepared the Scope of Work so let’s put some numbers to the project.

Here we’ll combine the next two steps in the process; determining what pricing is needed for each specific construction tasks to be performed and quantities pertaining to each.