Construction Contractors Survival Gu

By Thomas C. Schleifer

Book Overview

The turnover rate for companies in the construction industry is high. This book identifies the ten key elements of contractor failure and shows how to avoid them. Each element of failure is defined, illustrated by real examples, and ways are discussed to avoid or minimize the risks involved. The final chapter shows how to bring all these elements together to develop a positive and workable management strategy. This survival guide should prove invaluable to the 1.4 million individual construction-industry businesses in this country.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471513245
• ISBN13: 9780471513247
• Release Date: March 1990
• Publisher: Wiley-Interscience
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Avoid the traps.

The author uses real world examples to illustrate some of the pitfalls of construction contracting. The price is high for such a small book, but size is not necessarily an indicator of value. The author's insight into how to read the books to accurately determine profitability should more than repay anyone running such a business.

The First Book a Contractor Should Read

"Your management decisions alone determine whether you will succeed or fail in the construction business." As a general contractor, my attention was caught by this the opening sentence in Thomas C. Schleifer's "Construction Contractor's Survival Guide". After reading the book I ordered a copy for every one of my project managers and other key staff and continued using it for training throughout my construction career. Schleifer was formerly a consultant to the surety industry, where it was his business to understand the causes of contractors' failures, and it is from this perspective that he describes in his book the ten most common causes of contractor failure and how a contractor can avoid them. No contractor should be without this book. Nick B. Ganaway General contractor and author of "Construction Business Management, What Every Construction Contractor, Builder and Subcontractor Needs to Know"

Required Reading

Anyone interested in going into the construction biz should make this required reading. If you are already a contractor then this book reminds you how difficult our line of work is and gives you some ways to limit the dangers.

A must read for everyone in the construction industry

Reading this book makes one rethink "the bigger the better" philosophy. In this book, Tom discusses from his experinces as a consultant as to why there are so many companies that fail in the construction industry and what could be done to prevent the cash flow problems...

CONTRUCTION CO. SURVIVAL BY EXAMPLE NOT PHILOSOPHY.

THE WISE MAN LEARNS FROM OTHER PEOPLES MISTAKES ,THIS BOOK OPENS YOUR EYES TO THE MINE FIELD THAT YOU FACE WHEN RUNNING A CONSTRUCTION CO .IT HAS HELPED ME TO SEE THE ROAD IN FRONT. K MALONE