To Cut or Keep? A Leader’s Guide to Managing an Intermittent Employee

By: Eric Chester

My new high-end coffee brewer drives me absolutely insane.
It brews the absolute perfect cup of java – hot nectar of the gods – about every third day. The other two result in either an average tasting cup of convenience store coffee or an evil black muck that you wouldn’t throw down your kitchen drain for fear it would eat through your pipes.
I don’t get it. I use the same beans and follow the same procedure every day, but the coffee that ends up in the pot is wildly inconsistent.
Is there any problem more perplexing than the one that is intermittent?
You know… bliss one minute; misery the next.
As a manager, that perplexity is multiplied exponentially when the intermittent problem isn’t a ‘thing’ but rather one of your employees. That worker who’s a rock star one day and a royal pain-in-your-neck the next.
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Something to O.D. on...

                          Books you should never put down

Grit to Great

- By: Linda Kaplan Thaler & Robin Koval

In Grit to Great, Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval tackle a topic that is close to their hearts, one that they feel is the real secret to their own success in their careers--and in the careers of so many people they know and have met. And that is the incredible power of grit, perseverance, perspiration, determination, and sheer stick-to-it-tiveness. We are all dazzled by the notion that there are some people who get ahead, who reach the corner office because they are simply gifted, or well-connected, or both. But research shows that we far overvalue talent and intellectual ability in our culture. The fact is, so many people get ahead--even the gifted ones--because they worked incredibly hard, put in the thousands of hours of practice and extra sweat equity, and made their own luck. And Linda and Robin should know--they are two girls from the Bronx who had no special advantages or privileges and rose up through their own hard work and relentless drive to succeed to the top of their highly competitive profession.
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Commodity Trends
Copper:	Prices have fluctuated during the last quarter. However, it is once again hovering just under $2.10.
PVC Pipe:	PVC Resin prices have risen slightly. There has been a $.03 to $.04 increase during the last quarter.
Diesel:	Prices have risen to $2.63/gal; still less than the $3.00/gal. for the same period last year.

 

Building Trends   (Source: ITR Trends Report - May 2016)
Housing Starts:	Starts are up 14% over the last 12 months. They are forecast to rise to 11.8% nationally in 2016.
Office Bldg Construction:	Office construction is still growing, but at a slower pace. The growth rate is anticipated to decline through 2016.
Commercial Construction:	Warehouse construction is up 17% LTM, and will continue to rise through 2016 due to the rise in ecommerce.
Water & Sewer Facilities:	Up 3.3% LTM. We should see growth thru 2018 and avoid the recession phase of the cycle.
Educational Bldg Construction:	Up 8.6% LTM. Forecasting a small increase in 2016 and about a 6% increase in 2017.