Mel Lester, The Business Edge When I first started writing proposals back in the mid-1980s, adding a few graphics was a fairly radical concept. There seemed to be a widespread expectation that technical service proposals must be staid and boring – nothing but the facts, ma'am. Now, attractive layouts, color, and ample graphics are common features in our proposals. But the proposals I've reviewed in recent years still lack effective design for the most part. While they are generally appealing to look at, they fail to meet the most important document design criterion – function. Effective design goes beyond pretty; it facilitates better communication. Let me suggest a few design tips that will distinguish your proposals, not just in terms of their visual impact, but also in their ability to clearly convey your message(s) to your prospects.

Charles H. Green Have you ever had a difficult client? I don't mean the client from hell, I just mean garden-variety difficult. Difficult clients come in lots of different flavors. • There's the client who will not take the time up front to share critical information, explore ideas, or otherwise involve you in the early stages of a project. • There's the client who just cannot make a decision, regardless of how much data or analyses you provide at their request. • There's the client who is frozen by politics or fear or ignorance, who will not face facts about critical issues. • Finally, there's the client with personality issues, who argues, or rejects, or is otherwise disrespectful to you and your team, yet often shows favoritism to someone else or another team. Fortunately, there is a common thread to all of these cases, which--if we understand it--can help us succeed. The common thread has nothing to do with the clients. The common thread is us.

The AGC Pipeline The AGC Pipeline is a publication for AGC’s Municipal & Utilities Division. It covers legislative and regulatory affairs affecting utilities contractors and excavators, educational and networking opportunities, issue alerts calling members to action, and AGC advocacy efforts on behalf of contractors engaged in utility construction. Archive | Subscribe

AGC joined 190 other industry groups from a wide selection of economic sectors to express concern about a growing path of influence whereby groups use lawsuits that seek to force federal agencies to issue regulations that advance their policy priorities. These lawsuits are used to negotiate rulemaking schedules and other concessions from agencies outside of the traditional regulatory process. Unfortunately, impacted parties, including private citizens and states who may be subject to the regulations at issue, have been denied the opportunity to intervene in these suits as some courts have held that they lack standing to participate.

With America Recycles Day coming up on Nov. 15, members of AGC’s Environmental Forum Steering Committee stepped forward to share their achievements and observations on how construction recycling goes much farther and tackles much larger amounts of material than everyday recycling. We have put together a document, in addition to this article, to really show just what AGC members are doing to promote recycling.

Guide to LEED 2009 Estimating and Preconstruction Strategies walks the reader step by step through the LEED 2009 for New Construction process, offering advanced techniques for estimating the actual costs, in time and money, for building green.