Happy New Year! Actually I've written this column a week before Christmas and a few days before I took off for a week's vacation to enjoy time with friends and family over the holiday season.
By the time you read this column, all of the turkey leftovers will be long gone , Christmas tree should be tucked away and I will be enjoying some cool electronics I discovered at Boxing Day sales.
The sense of urgency that everyone had for the end of the year is now replaced by the uncertainty of what 2011 holds in store for the industry. The difference I am seeing between December 2008 and in December 2009 is that people are actually busy. Busy by working on several projects and completing tenders for lots of available work. The uncertainty that I am seeing is if we should think about expanding again, or keep our business at current levels.
The second thing I am noticing is the abundance of new contract advertising in the publications, new subscribers and companies wanting to showcase their work. From reviewing the trends of the Construction Plans on display at the Barrie Construction Association, the transition from 2010 to 2011 show the most plans on display in more than years. Are we fully recovered from the 2008 depression? I think Canada is on the right track; our neighbours to the south have a lot of catching up to do.
Reflecting back on the past two years I can easily identify a few things that helped not only our company weather the rough economy but also start to grow is the focus of our internal culture. The culture is about building relationships, finding opportunities to meet people ace to face and sponsoring of great industry events. The social media age is upon us but the greatest benefit I have found it to bring is that the new media helps us to connect and communicate with new and existing customers. The social media age does not replace face to face meetings; it just allows ease of follow up and makes it easier to remain in touch.
Some of the new relationships I have started for 2011 are: The Ontario Sheet Metal Contractors Association special profile appearing in the February issue of the Ontario Construction Report, Media sponsorship of the second annual BIM Forum in Toronto www.insightinfo.com/bimtoronto and the fifth Bi-Annual Construction Labour Relations Forum in Toronto www.insightinfo.com/constructionlabour.
Watch for the third issue of the Canadian Design & Construction Report Magazine, our national publication, coming out in the next few weeks. The Winter Issue is a special “Awards Issue” with extensive coverage on the Wood WORKS! 2010 Awards and the 2010 Ontario Concrete Awards.
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