Structure: Build Muscle on Strong Bones – Part 2

 Start Somewhere

Along the way, I got more serious and started to build some organizational structure into our days and weeks. The first sign of this was the day Pete (my sole employee at the time) and I decided to give up our coffee and honeybun stop. I said to Pete, “Let’s get to work by 8:00 am because it’s going to be hot.” Next time I said, “Let’s put in a ten-hour work day and try to get this job done; that way, we can start another job tomorrow.” Structure.

Structure Your Day

I was thinking ahead and looking to build structure and muscle. Today, we start meetings as early as 6:00 am. Our physical workday typically starts at 7:00 am; the field works until about 3:30 pm. (Of course, we do encourage overtime.) The management team and I never go home before 3:30, so it’s a long day. You might even call it rigorous.

Structure More Things

I came to realize over time that I needed to add structure that governs time, money, meetings, training; everything! For example, the guys working for me needed to get paid every Friday. I got paid whenever, but I made sure I had payroll on Friday for everybody else. We pay every Friday and I’ve never missed a payroll in 40 plus years. My accountant once told me that I should pay biweekly, because it would save me some payroll fees and make it easier for the company from an administrative standpoint. I thought, good for me, but not so good for the employee. We stuck with paying every Friday.

Structure Meetings!

I’ve been adding muscle-supporting structure to Nolan Painting for the past forty years. One of the most effective ways to communicate and provide structure is by establishing a regular, recurring meeting schedule. These meetings are significant and strategic, so Jon, the president, and I are in most of them, although we don’t always run them. I’ve been refining this process and improving these good structures continually.

The next few posts will cover the meetings that I have found to be essential. I hope you can learn from my trial-and-error and progress faster than I did in adding structural support to your vision, mission, and values.

See you Thursday. Build muscle and structure.