The 7-Power Contractor® Radio

No time to work on the business? This episode lays out specific tactics you can take to literally manufacture time—and get your life back. https://7powercontractor.com/why-so-busy/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide for the plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical, and other contracting ind...

Learn how Operating Manuals lay out your policies and procedures so that once you've trained everyone, you can use them to hold everyone to the same, fair standard. https://7powercontractor.com/police-state-permissive/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide for the plumbing, heating, cooling,...

Making it OK for employees to ask for help gives you the opportunity to help them get better and more easily identify instances where it has progressed from a training issue or a discipline issue. https://7powercontractor.com/okay-employees-ask-help/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide for...

Office politics and gossip can create a minefield that is tough to navigate. Learn how implementing policies and procedures can reduce the risk of HR problems at your company. https://7powercontractor.com/office-politics-gossip/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide for the plumbing, heating...

Get your contracting business pointed in the right direction by setting up effective mission, position and end game statements to guide your progress. https://7powercontractor.com/mission-position-end-game/  

Learn a fool-proof way to prioritize and energize all those great ideas so that you work on the right things, at the right time, in the right way with  Master, Top 30 and Top 5 project lists. https://7powercontractor.com/top-five-list/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide for the plumbing,...

Your business is supposed to serve your life, not your life serving your business but the fact is at first especially, some sacrifice is required. In this episode I talk about how to minimize that sacrifice by working smarter not harder. https://7powercontractor.com/work-smarter-not-harder/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant...

The ability to stop what you're doing (and time away from your business will help) can help you learn how to work smarter and not harder and avoid burning out. This episode talks about how to do just that.  https://7powercontractor.com/important-vacation/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guid...

Ever set goals and even have actions attached to them but you never seem to reach those goals? The step you might be missing is belief. https://7powercontractor.com/goals-beliefs-actions-leadership-foundations/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide for the plumbing, heating, cooling, electri...

What's the difference between a Leader and a Manager?  It's a great question because it can be confusing to distinguish between the two roles. In this episode I explain how to tell the difference. https://7powercontractor.com/leader-versus-manager/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide for t...

What are you going to do right now to make things better moving forward? One of the ways to make your future better is to organize your workspace. Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide for the plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical, and other contracting industries. The host of and contribut...

Making smart long term investments involve spending money. Are you starving your future by pinching pennies today?

Business is serious business, am I right? Yes—and no. There are times when taking a light hearted approach can be helpful and a welcome release of the tension that tends to build up when the company is running full tilt. In this episode I provide some guidance for when to bring humor into the mix to make things better. https://7powercontractor.com/leading-with-humor/ Notice to listeners: T he info...

Everything's going well. You've got customers. The phone is ringing. Time to start another service line, right? Not so fast. In this episode I outline the perils of acting out of boredom rather than from the foundation of a solid strategic business plan. https://7powercontractor.com/beware-actions-born-boredom/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures...

You're being watched—did you know that? Your employees are studying your every move to determine what is OK behavior at your company. In this episode I explain how to make that crystal clear and why you must tow the line like everyone else if you want to make it work. https://7powercontractor.com/actions-speak-louder/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and str...

Family's fight. It's what they do. My brothers and I are very close and when we all were working together in the famly business, we had some doosies. In this episode, I'll provide some guidance on how to successfully navigate through the family dramas to get everyone refocused on the business. https://www.7powercontractor.com/business-family-fighting-work/ Notice to listeners: T he information in...

Conferences, training seminars, webinars, demonstrations—who goes? If you're like we were in my company, it was us! In this episode I explain why it's more beneficial to use those opportunities to train your techs so that they can become more capable and better at their jobs. https://www.7powercontractor.com/training-seminars-probably-just-you/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, a...

If the culture is crummy in your company, whose fault is that? Yours! The good news is that because you created it, you alone can fix it. In this episode I'll tell you how. https://www.7powercontractor.com/no-accidental-company-culture/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide for the plumbing,...

Scared to take time out of the business to work on it? In this episode I wax on about how there is a 90 percent chance nothing bad will happen if you take two hours a week to work ON the business instead of in it, along with some tips on how to do just that. https://www.7powercontractor.com/90-percent-chance/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures p...

Getting rid of a bad employee can improve your business immediately, but if not done carefully also can cause a lot of problems. In this episode I talk about the steps of corrective action you can use to document departures from expectations outlined in your operating manuals and either get them back on board or make separation easier for both parties. https://www.7powercontractor.com/right-way-fi...

I have a new title for you: Chief Executive…Communicator! What is that? In this episode I explain the critical importance of this role, which involves creating your vision and helping your employees see that vision as their vision too. https://www.7powercontractor.com/chief-executive-communicator/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are...

Employees always on social media? What can you do? In this episode I address how to manage through employees who are always connected. https://www.7powercontractor.com/employees-social-media/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide for the plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical, and other cont...

Your customers are always plugged in and the last thing you need is for the TV cameras to show up on your doorstep or for a customer to leave a bad review online because of a misunderstanding. In this episode, I outline some things you can do reduce the risk of these things happening to you. https://www.7powercontractor.com/mitigating-bad-pr-public-relations/ Notice to listeners: T he information...

Bad employee? Or just bad fit? Sometimes it can be hard to tell. In this episode I outline the difference between the two and provide some guidance on what you need to have in place to be able to address both of these situations in a constructive manner. Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide...

In part two of of the right way to cut business costs I'll address things such as inventory, marketing expenses, and unnecessary overtime for techs.  https://7powercontractor.com/how-to-cut-business-costs-part-2/ Notice to listeners: T he information in this book, along with the forms and structures provided, are meant to serve as a helpful reference guide for the plumbing, heating, cooling, elect...