Marcia Kellogg There are just some clients that your business cannot afford to have - you know who they are: the ones who are highly commodity-based and have limited experience, whose projects result in little or no profit, and who are a drain on your firm and its resources. Instead of trying to find projects that suit the firm, client-based firms identify clients with whom they can develop and nurture a partnership over time. It’s a philosophy that is primarily interested in owning the client, not the project. Most importantly, the focus of a client-based business is maintaining the relationship at all costs. Firms that align their cultures with the business goals and objectives of their clients realize a vast improvement in performance, because they have a true belief and purpose in the project and the client with whom they are working, and this spirit resonates throughout everything they do.

Julie Huval, Beck Technology The acronym “BIM” is showing up more and more in our industry. Owners are requiring it on projects, countries are setting standards for it, and firms are touting expertise in it. But what is Building Information Modeling (BIM) and, as marketers and business developers, why should we care?

AGC members are developing young professionals to lead their firms and the construction industry into the future through a group of programs that form AGC’s Construction Leadership Council (CLC). AGC chapters give them different names — Construction Leadership Council, Young Constructors Forum, Emerging Leaders Group, Young Executives Committee, Future Leaders Forum, Young Leadership Program — but they share the mission of nurturing talent.

The Business Development Forum has created a new platform for A/E/C professionals to network, gain insight into the latest construction market trends and share business development best practices! Join the Business Development Forum in their new LinkedIn group to find out more about the latest tips and trends in BD and how you can get involved in the AGC Business Development Forum.

Thursday, August 18, 2016, AGC hosted a virtual PIAC (Public/Private Industry Advisory Council) meeting featuring Ken Simonson, AGC’s Chief Economist. During the meeting Ken provided a construction spending, labor, and materials outlook followed by facilitated discussion led by the PIAC Chair, Rick Andritsch, Partner/VP, at VJS Construction Services.

BuildCon 2016 brings together high-level leaders in the building construction industry to keep them up to speed on the latest market developments affecting the industry.

Mike Clancy, Cynthia Paul, FMI Corporation Contractors’ get work departments can be like a car with a bad alignment. While everyone is working hard to get where they want to go, some of the effort is being pulled toward the “ditch” of low hit rates, missed opportunities and undeveloped client relationships. All that is needed are a few key adjustments to win your fair share of work.

Construction employment increased in three-fifths of metro areas between August 2015 and August 2016—the smallest share in nearly three and a half years—as contractors in many areas report difficulty in finding qualified workers, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said the new data underscores the need to make it easier for school officials to set up programs that teach skills like construction.

Thirty-six states added construction jobs between August 2015 and August 2016 while construction employment increased in only 24 states between July and August, according to analysis of Labor Department data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said demand for construction appears to be cooling in some markets but added that many firms report they would be expanding their headcount if they could find qualified workers to hire.

Two-thirds of construction firms report they are having a hard time filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce, according to the results of an industry-wide survey released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that many firms are changing the way they pay and operate to cope, but warned that labor shortages could undermine broader economic growth and called for new workforce measures to improve the pipeline for recruiting and training new craft workers.