The direction and development of the building materials industry with Jeff Booth
We recently launched our Quarter 3 plan to the BuildDirect team. It is the 9th quarter that we have been running the same process where we lay out the top 5 priorities for the quarter and the steps needed to achieve them. I found out a long time ago that if you keep improving a little every day, eventually those little changes add up to make big changes. It is why having a passion for getting better every day is one of our core values. … [Read more...]
I love this blog post from Debbie Travis in that it tells a story of how the building industry is changing. As customers see that they can get better value AND service, word spreads. By blowing away customers expectations, what starts as a drip, quickly becomes a stream. We started BuildDirect over 10 years ago so we have been working a long time on getting things right. It sure seems to be working. In Debbie's own words...."The times they are a changing" Thanks to Debbie for her kind comments. P.S. Watch … [Read more...]
NEVER GIVE IN! Be willing to change tactics, but never give up on your core purpose. Be willing to kill failed business ideas, even shutter big operations you've been in for a long time, but never give up on the idea of building a great company. Be willing to evolve into an entirely different portfolio of activities, even to the point of zero overlap with what you do today, but never give up on the discipline to create your own future. Be willing to embrace loss, to endure pain, to temporarily … [Read more...]
I thought it would be interesting to look at the current downturn in housing in the United States and compare it with past housing led recessions. The US has officially been in a recession since early 2008 but to those in the building industry, I am sure that it feels far more like a depression than a recession. The contraction in the building industry started in early 2006. January, 2009, marks the third year of declines. Any time that supply rises faster than demand, supply has to shrink in … [Read more...]
I recently spoke at a technology event hosted by www.BCTIA.com where I talked about www.BuildDirect.com, the challenges we have overcome while building the company, and where I thought we were heading. I am extremely proud of our people, our journey and the company we have built, but I told the audience that I believed it was only the beginning. I went on to tell them that as far as I was concerned, we were going to build a world class company that will transform the building industry, … [Read more...]
The market is terrible, with the building industry being the eye of the hurricane. It is more important than ever to invest wisely in the "right things", but too many times in this type of environment, businesses forget what is important. For me, the most important "right thing" is: Adding real value to customers. This recent quote from a customer says a lot about our people and products and gives me a sense of pride in a job well done. "Awesome...perfect. I just installed over this weekend … [Read more...]
Tom Peters has a great blog post on leadership in tough times. For those serving the building industry, it is particularly relevant because the blog post originated from a speech he recently gave to the Pacific Coast Builders conference. From the post: "I spoke last Friday to the Pacific Coast Builders Conference—those left standing remain at the heart of a Perfect Storm. One solution to passing my 90 minutes would have been a prayer meeting. Passing on that due to lack of leadership qualifications, … [Read more...]
While at the helm of BuildDirect, Jeff is also an active member of the international Young Presidents’ Organization, and is a frequent speaker to industry groups throughout North America. Jeff also makes time to lecture in business courses at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. [Read More…]
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