CONSTRUCTION STIMULUS WILL BOOST EMPLOYMENT AND CAPITAL SPENDING

Ohio general contractor Brian Burgett today told members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to recommend to the full House economic stimulus activities that would have an immediate positive impact on economic activity.

"An infusion of federal infrastructure funding would have a direct stimulus effect by putting more contractors and their employees back to work," said Burgett, President and CEO of the Kokosing Construction Company, Fredericktown, Ohio. "We have excess capacity at Kokosing and throughout the construction industry. Federal investments will create jobs in the Midwest and throughout the country. Additional public infrastructure projects will allow our industry to maintain our work force and necessitate hiring more workers. It will allow us to purchase equipment and preserve manufacturing jobs."

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CONSTRUCTION STIMULUS WILL BOOST EMPLOYMENT AND CAPITAL SPENDING

Technorati Tags: Construction,AGC,Construction Spending,Economic Relief,Stimulus package

Steve Jobs at the whiteboard (c. 1991)

 

Some 17 years before The Back of the Napkin was published, and before death-by-PowerPoint was a familiar refrain, Steve Jobs was not only a master of the slide presentation, he was a clear and thoughtful presenter at the whiteboard as well. I love this old presentation below featuring Steve Jobs at the whiteboard as he methodically, yet passionately, explains NeXT's positioning and future growth opportunities. Sure, his projections did not pan out and NeXT never really enjoyed large commercial success, but NeXT's influence in the computer industry was big (and Jobs would go on to sell NeXT and its object-oriented operating system to Apple in 1996 for over $400 million...and the rest, as they say, is history).

A lot of what Steve covers in this short "chalk talk" are the kind of things an entrepreneur would cover in a pitch: The market, the competition, sales and the channel, challenges and solutions, etc. This is a good and interesting presentation, but many people — especially business educators — will find the content illuminating as well. Steve states the fundamental questions right from the start: "Who is our target customer? Why are they selecting our product over the competition's? What distribution channels are we going to use?" The video is quite low-rez which makes reading the whiteboard difficult, but this is well worth a look.
Part 1

Part 2

An early Jobs demo on interpersonal computing
If you still have not had enough of going down Memory Lane, then check out this NeXT demo by Steve Jobs circa 1991-92. Pretty impressive stuff actually, especially when you consider that this was before most people ever heard of the internet or email, etc. (There are three additional parts to this demo on YouTube: 2, 3, 4.)

This is from Presentation Zen, and written by Garr.

Contractor's Guide to Building Information Modeling

 

The Contractor's Guide to Building Information Modeling

A Must for Contractor's Using Virtual Design

Order Form

This informative guide will assist you in determining how to get started using Building Information Modeling (BIM). Item # 2926 · Retail: $75.00 · AGC Member: $25.00

Other available BIM products can be found at the AGC Bookstore:

BIM: The Actual Risks of Virtual Modeling

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Building Information Modeling: Planning and

Managing Construction Projects with 4D and Simulations

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BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling

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Green BIM Handbook

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Project Delivery Systems for Building Construction

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CM/GC Guidelines for Public Owners

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CM/GC Best Practices for Public Owners and Contractors

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CONTRACTORS URGE HOUSE DEMOCRATS TO INCLUDE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT IN RECOVERY PLAN

It is estimated that $100 billion of new infrastructure projects have been delayed due to the reduced credit market. Coupled with construction materials cost inflation, fewer contracts are going out to bid, resulting in 52,000 lost construction jobs and a further deteriorating national infrastructure. Over the past year, AGC has met with congressional leaders, sent strong messages to both the House and Senate, and signed on to letters from transportation related coalitions in support of infrastructure investment. Speaker Pelosi has indicated that the Economic Forum will help Congress develop a plan that will create jobs by building roads, bridges and highways.

"Construction has always been an engine of economic stimulus and can play that role once again," said Sandherr. "Increases in infrastructure investment can be quickly put into play and will have a direct, immediate and dramatic impact on the economy."

CONTRACTORS URGE HOUSE DEMOCRATS TO INCLUDE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT IN RECOVERY PLAN

Technorati Tags: Construction,Contractors,AGC,Economic stimulus,Recovery plan

Seven Steps to Cost Reduction

Seven Step method for solving a cost reduction problem:
1. Define your problem
2. Define your ideal solution(Stop doing it!)
3. Gather the facts
4. Try various combinations, look outside the box, but be careful what you ask for you might get it.
5. Break the pattern, not everything happens outside the box. It is interesting how many things are solved within the box. Do not forget the simple solution. Complexity is seldom a solution; it is usually part of the problem.
6. SCAMPER it
a. What can you Substitute?
b. What can you Combine?
c. What can you Adapt?
d. What can you Modify or Magnify?
e. Can you Put to other uses?
f. What can you Eliminate or reduce?
g. What can you Reverse/Rearrange?
7. Leave it sit for a day, but set a deadline. Sleeping on it has value!

This is an excerpt from a rather wordy blog post of mine over a year ago.

Technorati Tags: Cost Reduction. 7-step metod,Problem Solving,Manufacturer,Solutions

AT&T Reply to Your Small Business Question

 

Hello,

Small business expert, John Jantsch, has posted a customized response to your business challenge.

To review the response, follow the link below.

http://smallbiz.att.com/community/expertadvice/johnjantsch

Thank you for looking to the AT&T OnwardSmallBiz web site as your ultimate resource for the latest industry news and insights. Continue to turn to AT&T Onward Small Biz for expert advice to keep moving your business onward.

Sincerely,

The AT&T OnwardSmallBiz Site Team

Technorati Tags: Duct tape marketing,John Jantsch,AT&T,small business,onward small biz

Other links: Duct Tape Marketing, Business901 Weblog

Marketing Plan Pro Review

 

A review by Ivana Taylor on the new Marketing Plan Pro. A good PR piece for Duct tape Marketing. Remember the definition of PR: A positive mention of your product or firm by a 3rd party.

BestPoints

• Practicaland easy to use — This is not your corporate marketing plan. It is intuitive and uses your natural entrepreneurial thinking. This makes it very easy and quick to fill out.
• Hasaudio guides and examples — I love that John Jantsch does these little introductions as audios – it feel like he’s coaching you through the process. There are also several examples for each section – you can read, get inspired or just copy and edit to change later.
• Resourcesreduce the risk of procrastination – Love the resources section! This will get you started on creating the business of your dreams.

What They Could Have Done Better

The software won’t write your plan for you – but it comes pretty close.

Youhave to listen to the introductions – there’s no reading or writing ahead. On the other hand, there was NOT an audio instruction for the Gap Dashboard section, and I felt that many of us would have liked some additional explanation to complement the instructions that were provided.

WhoShould Get Marketing Plan Pro

• Marketingprofessionals for any size organization — this is a great tool to get your thoughts and ideas out of your head or off of scraps of paper, into an outline.
• Smallbusiness owners and entrepreneurs creating their first real marketing plan, or looking for a painless way to create a plan.
• Independentconsultants who help clients create plans and want a structure to follow.

About the Author: Ivana Taylor has spent over 20 years helping industrial organizations and small business owners get and keep their ideal customers. Her company is Third Force and she writes a blog called Strategy Stew . She is co-author of the book “Excel for Marketing Managers.”

Othersites for Marketing Plan Pro:

Nonprofit Marketing Plan

Nonprofit Marketing Plan Forum
MarketingPlan Pro powered by Duct Tape Marketing, Coaching Offer

Duct Tape Marketing

TechnoratiTags: Ivana Taylor , Small Business Trends , Marketing Plan Pro , Duct tape Marketing

SmartBrief: Construction economist sees more problems to come

 Market Update

• Construction economist sees more problems to come
  Residential construction will be slow next year and costs will continue to rise, according to AGC's chief economist, Ken Simonson. He also predicts that the commercial sectors performing well now will begin to sour and that school construction will slow as declining home prices bring fewer tax dollars. However, military construction and energy projects should do well. The Tennessean (Nashville) (9/29)

So what do you think? Have you changed how you do business?

 

Technorati Tags: SmartBrief,Construction,Residential,Nashville