December ’06
By
Quinn McGuire
Why would a bunch of “concrete” folks be playing a “pink ball” golf tournament? A pink ball tournament? Good question! Perhaps it was because they enjoy the comradery of their industry friends and associates on a beautiful early fall afternoon. Or, perhaps it was because they know the annual ACI golf tourney finances our scholarship fund and special events. And they knew it was good to support their industry. Or, for the male participants, it was a chance to demonstrate that we have supreme confidence in our masculinity. Regardless of the reason(s), our annual fall tournament was a success. Thank you to all of the individuals and companies who participated and sponsored, and to those who organized it.
In early November, I had the good fortune of attending the Sierra Nevada Concrete Infrastructure Conference in Reno and in Las Vegas, NV. The keynote speaker was Charles Vander Koi. If you have not heard or seen him before, put him on your “things-to-do” list for seminars at World of Concrete. Mr. Vander Koi speaks regularly at WOC and is a paid consultant to contractors all over North America. He speaks from experience, as he was a successful civil contractor for many years. He gave 2 talks: one on estimating and the other on managing people in today’s cultural revolution. These presentations were powerful.
Mr. Vander Koi has interesting “hooks” to keep the crowd attentive. One of these hooks was in the estimating seminar, where he suggested adding the “ding-dong factor” as a line item on a bid or estimate where one can make up what “ding-dongs” might cost a contracting company in performing the project. I think I have seen that “ding-dong factor” in action a few times and have a negative effect on more than one company. Hopefully, I have never been one of the ding-dongs.
In the management seminar, he suggested to be wary of “egg-sucking dogs”! Not exactly a term of endearment! “Egg-sucking dogs” are employees who used to be good, very well trained, and could make the company money, but have turned into a cancer for the company because of their attitudes. They can be very difficult, nearly impossible to change. He advocated getting rid of them – and doing it NOW. Then, he challenged all of the attendees to be careful of becoming one of those “egg-sucking dogs”.
World-of-Concrete is coming up in mid-January. Also on January 9th, our chapter will have an interesting seminar by Ralph Godfrey, a consulting engineer, on moisture mitigation in concrete. In February, we will feature a seminar on previous pavements – other wise known as “thin horizontal water containment structures that can handle vehicular traffic”. Later in the spring, come April, our focus will turn to architectural or decorative concrete.
In the meantime, please remember to give thanks for our many blessings during Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. And, how about giving an extra prayer for our troops.