“A federal agency has joined some of the nation’s biggest landlords in trying to repeal stronger safety requirements for new skyscrapers that were added to the country’s most widely used building code last year, arguing that they would be too expensive to meet.

“The new provisions, which include requiring tall office buildings to have more robust fireproofing and an extra emergency stairwell, were enacted as a result of an exhaustive federal study into the collapse of the twin towers at the World Trade Center seven years ago this week.

The entire article is worth a read. Emotionally charged politics vs. economic interests of major political contributors square off. In the middle is the NIST’s report following the investigation of the WTC collapses and the ICC attempting to translate that data into applicable codes.

Link to Article, Link to ICC News Release from 2005

The billable hour is the dandelion of law practice: pervasive and not so popular.

So, when seeking to avoid the neg ative effects of a system that provides the profits for many a firm, there can be as many approaches as there are landscapers in the phone book.

Three law firms were among those changing the billable equation last year in hopes of reducing associate and client dissatisfaction. Each took a different approach, and though it’s still early, each firm’s leaders like the current results.

In summary, the concepts largely relate to reducing requirements for first-year attorneys, not billing clients for work by first-year attorneys, and flat-fee billing. This last concept is not discussed at much length in the article, but is worth exploring further. 

The Shepard Law Group, an employment law firm out of Boston, ditched billable hours completely in favor of flat fees. They call this “Up-Front Pricing” on their website, explaining that for the client, “You will always know how much our work is going to cost before we do it.” As they also state, “you don’t pay for our time — you pay for the work we do and the value you receive.” What a concept. 

Link to Article, Link to Shepard Law Group

The two companies that managed the design and construction of the costly Big Dig project here will pay more than $400 million in an agreement with the government over leaky tunnels and a fatal ceiling collapse.

State and federal officials said Wednesday that the companies, the Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation and Parsons Brinckerhoff, had acknowledged oversight failures and agreed to pay the state and federal governments $407 million. Several smaller companies will pay an additional $51 million, they said.

Michael J. Sullivan, the United States attorney in Boston, called the agreement “evidence of our commitment to vigorously investigate and prosecute those who have perpetrated a fraud on American taxpayers.” The Big Dig, long considered the nation’s most complex highway project, has cost about $15 billion over nearly two decades.

Link to Article

Ernest Svenson, an attorney in New Orleans at the forefront of using technology in the legal industry, recently taught a CLE for Louisiana attorneys on the concept of Digital Workflow. As part of the reference materials for his talk, he used the above clip that highlights the perils of new technology, from the perspective of folks from a long time back.

Link to Article (with links to his materials for the presentation)

Apple Inc. co-founder and legendary hacker Steve Wozniak [book review] recently found a new passion in energy-efficient housing. Last month he told PC World magazine, “I have a long dream to build my own house in a very energy-efficient approach. That’s going to be very soon. It uses the right kind of wood that serves as a heater and as an air conditioner, combined with some other techniques in how the wood is assembled to operate energy life pressure. You don’t have to add energy into a house after you build it. I love that concept. It’s like the way I used to make computers. I want to build it myself. That’s a project that could be finished this summer, next summer, but not too far from now.” Here at ECN we thought you’d like to know more, so we interviewed Woz by email. Here is a transcript of our questions and his answers. His preface: “I’m too busy to do this [interview] now, but I’ll do it anyway. I have to say that I’m not a green expert but did encounter some technologies that were very right for a home.”

Link to Article

Many remodelers and house flippers will fall under the purview of a state agency that regulates the building industry starting next month.
New changes to a state law have made home builders slightly more accountable if they build a defective home, and also have broadened the definition of who qualifies as a builder.

Starting Sept. 1, remodelers who do more than $10,000 of work to a home will have to register with the Texas Residential Construction Commission. And if they get into a quarrel with a homeowner over the quality of work, the fight will have to go through the agency’s dispute-resolution process.

That remodeling work will have the same warranty that a builder gives on a new home — 10 years for structural elements, two years for systems such as water and air conditioning and one year for workmanship and materials, San Antonio attorney Gary Javore told members of the Greater San Antonio Builders Association last week.

Link to Article

Experts estimate that the average new house will exhibit three to 14 construction defects. Some builders have a reputation for standing behind their work and quickly fixing problems, whereas others drag out repairs.

No one keeps a comprehensive public record of construction defects or the building industry’s response to them, making it difficult for the average home buyer to research a builder’s track record of quality and customer service.

Chief among the points made that indicate bias are regarding builders’ response to defects and the “new legislation in California.” (That would be SB-800.) In the article the reporter slams builders that repair defects quickly without disclosing such repairs. Some of the points made about binding arbitration are well taken, but a builder that responds with repairs to homeowner complaints is good customer service – not deceptive practices. Overall, the article attacks builders but does not offer any proposed solution to the problem.

This reminds me of a story from a decade or so ago… A man purchased a Rolls Royce and was motoring along (you don’t cruise or drive a Rolls, you motor along in one) when he noticed a problem. One of the struts was broken. The new owner was somewhat perturbed, understandably, and contacted the nearest Rolls Royce dealer. Shortly thereafter a mechanic showed up and replaced the strut on the side of the road. He wouldn’t accept payment of any kind. The owner of the vehicle tried in vain the next day to contact Rolls Royce regarding his repair – after all, a part like that in a Rolls would probably cost over $1000. He at least wanted to thank the man that helped him out. Finally someone at the company explained to the owner, there was no such repair man – “a Rolls Royce does not break down on the side of the road.” That story may not be true, but it does make a point.

Link to Article

Shares of Standard Pacific Corp. plunged to a nearly seven-year low Monday on growing concerns that the homebuilder won’t be able to cover its debt.

The stock of the Irvine, Calif., company tumbled $2.28, or 18.7 percent, to $9.91 in afternoon trading. Earlier in the session, shares plummeted to $7.51, a level not seen since the stock hit $7.50 on Aug. 29, 2000.

Link to Article

But few have felt it as forcefully or as suddenly as the USG Corporation, the nation’s largest maker of drywall, the paper-wrapped plaster boards used to build walls in homes and offices.

USG, based here in Chicago, is in some ways a throwback to earlier times, when far larger swaths of the economy were unprotected against the brutal ups and downs of the business cycle. From banking to warehousing, modern managers have expanded nationally and globally, to minimize the impact of a downturn in any one region, and employed tactics like hedging and outsourcing to reduce risk and lower costs.

Link to Article

Ryland’s net sales also fell 17 percent year over year in the second quarter, from 3,023 in 2006 to 2,521 this year. Compared to the first quarter of 2007, sales were down most in Texas, and off in the Southeast and North, but Ryland’s sales in the West were actually up 7 percent, Dreier said.

“Sales trends improved as the quarter progressed, although I’m hesitant to read too much into this, as the selling environment continues to be challenging across the country,” he said.

“Our sales were up in the West, and the only thing I read into that is that we had a really lousy year last year in Vegas, Phoenix, and California,” Dreier said.

Indeed, Ryland saw its cancellation rate jump from 28 percent in the first quarter to 34 percent in the second quarter. Dreier put the blame for the spike in cancellations on high inventory levels that make it harder for would-be buyers to sell their homes, forcing them to back out of closings.The company’s backlog at the end of the second quarter decreased 39.2 percent to 4,953 units from 8,151 units in 2006.

Ryland is also shifting its product mix from traditionally one-third each of entry-level and first and second move-up products to roughly 20 percent entry-level and 40 percent each for first and second move-up.

“We’re doing less true entry-level, it’s just harder, and the numbers don’t work,” Dreier said.

Wow! This is the fourth article in the last week that highlights the plight faced by major builders. The last couple sentences are very telling however – entry-level housing is not profitable enough for developers.

Link to Article

D.R. Horton Inc, the largest U.S. home builder, on Thursday reported its first quarterly loss as a public company after taking more than $1 billion of charges, chiefly related to the lower value of land and other assets.

For its fiscal third quarter, ended June 30, D.R. Horton posted a loss of $823.8 million, or $2.62 per share, versus a profit of $292.8 million, or 93 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Link to Article

Pulte Homes Inc. faces an uncertain future, analysts said Thursday, a day after the company said it swung to a second-quarter loss amid a struggling housing market.

After the bell Tuesday, Pulte reported a loss of $2.01 per share on $2.02 billion in revenue. Sales dropped 40 percent for the quarter, and the company took almost $750 million in charges related to the land it owns.

Link to Article

These are posts from a special 43 Folders series looking at the skills, tools, and attitude needed to empty your email inbox — and then keep it that way. You can visit each of the posts by clicking the title.

Link to Slides on Slideshare.net
Link to Inbox Zero Series

Update: Another productive individual, Michael Hyatt – President and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, provides some additional insight into the processing of email. A self-described “recovering email addict”, Hyatt recently took the advice of Tim Feriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, and took a radical, if not controversial approach to handling email. He only checks email twice per day. Read more about the success he has had with the experiment.

Beazer Homes USA Inc. said Monday that an informal Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry to determine if any person or entity related to the company violated securities laws has become formal.

The Atlanta-based homebuilder said in an SEC filing issued after the market closed that on Friday it received a “formal order of private investigation” issued by the SEC in this matter.

“Beazer Homes will continue to cooperate fully with the SEC regarding this matter,” the company said in the filing.

It did not elaborate on the review.

Link to Article

Don Neff is president of La Jolla Pacific Ltd., an Irvine-based consulting firm that advises homebuilders on ways to improve the quality of their construction and avoid construction-defect claims. The firm operates in 10 states and claims to have assisted 1,000 clients in the building of more than 50,000 homes. Register reporter Jeff Collins spoke with Neff (not related to prior Insider Q&A guest Doug Neff of IHP Capital) about the state of the housing market and the current quality of homebuilding.

This question and answer session is interesting on a number of levels. La Jolla Pacific provides quality assurance and quality control risk management services to builders. The key to understanding such a firm is that risk management component. Risk is the quotient upon which the entire insurance industry is built upon. Insurance carriers are almost universally responsible for financing the construction defect litigation industry. If a developer/general contractor is sued by a group of homeowners or a homeowner association, usually the first thing that happens is that the builder’s insurance company is notified. The insurance company (after checking that the policy is still good!) hires a law firm to represent the builder. The law firm representing the builder then hires a team of experts and at the same time, files cross-complaints against the subcontractors that worked on the project in question. Now there are certainly exceptions to the rule, but that is the general method of operation in the CD industry.

From the moment the case is filed against the builder, their insurance company begins paying out money. Defense attorney firms bill by the hour. The experts designated bill by the hour. Documents have to be copied and organized and submitted. Even if the case is settled out of court, and even if the subcontractors and their respective insurance carriers pay the lion’s share of the settlement amount, the carrier for the builder will pay substantial amounts of money to their lawyers and experts. If the case goes to trial, the trial preparation costs for defending the builder will often run well over $100,000 alone. The only time that the builder’s insurance carrier recoups any of those costs is in the rare occasion that a jury finds in favor of the defense. So how does the insurance company remain solvent and return a profit to shareholders? Pretty easily, actually.

The insurance carrier reduces pay out on claims by reducing risk in the first place. One way of reducing risk is to insure builders with excellent track records – not unlike auto insurers providing better rates to drivers with fewer accidents. In construction, the high cost of litigation has prompted the carriers to go a step farther. On larger developments (more risk), the carriers are requiring better quality control/assurance (QA/QC) and are sometimes even requiring third party consultants to assist in that process. The cost of such services is prohibitively expensive to smaller developers, but the offset in insurance premiums is advantageous to the larger builders. (Builders that have seen numerous construction defect claims pay much higher premiums and as a result, some developers have resorted to insuring themselves.)

So what does this have to do with the article? Don Neff is asked by the reporter to weigh in on the relationship between the real estate market slow down and the potential for construction defect litigation. Mr. Neff asserts that even though the profit margin is decreasing due to significantly less demand, the construction quality overall will be better. He insists that builders will be more likely to spend more money for better quality control (i.e.: hiring firms like his) even though the profit is less. Economics must not have been offered at his school. History has shown us time after time that when profits go down, companies cut costs in order to boost the profit margin. The U.S. auto industry responded to decreased demand for domestic vehicles by cutting jobs – tens of thousands of jobs. Without such cutbacks, many of those companies would probably not be in place today. The auto industry did not increase quality control practices which would therefore increase labor costs and charge more to the consumers.

I guess we shall see whether Mr. Neff’s optimistic outlook is correct or not.

Link to Article

A Nietzsche-quoting judge said a promise penned in blood by a businessman was not an enforceable contract. Superior Court Judge Corey S. Cramin ruled Monday that Stephen Son could not be forced to repay Kim Jin-soo more than $140,000 that Kim provided to Son’s companies, not to Son himself.

Son punctured his finger and drafted the promise in a restaurant after his companies accepted cash from Kim but failed to turn a profit.

Son was not required to guarantee those transactions, the judge said.

“Blood is the worst of all testimonies to the truth,” Cramin said, paraphrasing German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Kim’s attorney, Richard Radcliffe, said his client might appeal.

“We think the blood speaks for itself,” he said.

This is a follow-up to an earlier post regarding the enforceability of a contract written in blood on a napkin.

Link to Article

First up – the massive multi-billion dollar Abu Dhabi carbon-neutral and zero waste city envisioned by sometimes controversial Norman Foster of Foster + Partners:

World’s first zero carbon, zero waste city in Abu Dhabi The first project as a result of the Masdar Initiative is a new 6 million square meter sustainable development that uses the traditional planning principals of a walled city, together with existing technologies, to achieve a zero carbon and zero waste community. Masterplanned by Foster + Partners, the initiative has been driven by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, and will be a centre for the development of new ideas for energy production. Masdar responds to the urban identity of Abu Dhabi while offering a sustainable urban blueprint for the future. Due to be launched at Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2007, it is an ambitious project that will attract the highest levels of international expertise and commerce, providing a mixed-use, high-density city. The exciting programme includes a new university, the Headquarters for Abu Dhabi’s Future Energy Company, special economic zones and an Innovation Center.

Link to Article

Next is the $7B MGM CityCenter encompassing 76 acres on the Las Vegas Strip (who knew there was 76 acres available on the Strip?) master-planned by Ehrenkrantz Eckstut and Kuhn Architects and featuring the contributions of a variety of high profile architects:

CityCenter is expected to cost over $7 billion. The original cost estimate was $4 billion, but had been pushed up by rising construction costs and earlier design changes. MGM Mirage expects to build over 2,800 condo-hotel and condominium units within Project CityCenter. The Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas hotel at CityCenter will include 400 hotel suites as well as more than 200 condominium units designed to appeal to an international demographic. Two leaning 400-unit condo towers, located in the middle of the CityCenter site and above several floors of retail space, are designed for younger demographic who desire living in an urban environment. CityCenter will also include a 4,000-room resort hotel designed by world renowned architect Cesar Pelli, and more than 500,000 square feet of retail space. The other condo buildings include a condo-hotel with about 300 apartments and a bigger tower with about 1,500 condo-hotel units.
The multi-use project is being designed with green technologies to make it one of the world’s largest environmentally sustainable urban communities. Plans include garden roofs, the use of reclaimed water, and an on-site power plant. MGM Mirage will pursue LEED certification for the project as outlined by the U.S. Green Building Council. MGM Mirage has reached a $100 million agreement with Siemens to design and build a central energy plant to help power and cool Project CityCenter.

Link to CityCenter, Link to Wikipedia entry

Buying legal services is generally compensated, still, by the hour. But, according to Wall Street Journal writer, Ashby Jones, on May 2, 2007 (Marketplace Section) says that technology now permits law firms to gather cost information in greater detail than ever… and thus permits them to determine what it cost to deliver those services. With this, law firms are more willing to enter into fixed fee arrangements.

Despite this warm introduction, Poll goes on to warn that the increase in fixed fee billing may lead to a price war akin to cell phone services, airline tickets, and even perhaps used cars. But in the end, good legal counsel is worth the price and is a necessary component to any corporation’s operations.

Link to Article

Executive Hubris: How to Check Your Ego and Avoid Ruining Your Company and Your Career By Mathew Hayward

Hayward lays it out plainly: “If you are going to have a successful career and life, you are going to have to learn to check your ego.” Using examples such as Buffett and Welch to show that CEOs don’t have to have huge egos to succeed (and Dean Kamen of Segway as an example of hubris at work), Hayward offers ways to keep an eye on your ego while pushing the limits of success.

Link to Article download page

Apple’s “Mac @ Work” site regularly showcases different companies that rely upon Apple technology for their business needs. In the most recent feature, one of our own is highlighted – a construction attorney, Renée Mancino, Esq.

In Las Vegas, high-stakes showdowns don’t just take place on the gaming tables — they also happen across the tables in conference rooms every time lawyers go head-to-head.

Attorney Renée Mancino recently prevailed in a $2.5 million dollar Las Vegas construction dispute by keeping a poker face and a confident low-key cool. She claims that the winning hand she held wasn’t due to luck, but to the way she organizes her cases — and her entire home-based law practice — using Macs.

The article focuses on how this successful attorney has forged her own path working from a home office. She relies on the help of three paralegals, a high-speed wireless internet connection, document scanners, some specialized software, and the good graces of the e-filing system at Clark County.

Link to Article

“Here’s our money, we trust you, just come into our homes and devastate our lives,” a Home Depot customer tells NBC4. “It’s just been a nightmare,” says another.

Now Home Depot is a company that not unlike Wal-Mart, has its share of fans and foes. The fairly common home improvement supply store is a wonderful place for do-it-yourself types and professional contractors alike. The inventory at most locations runs the gamut of what most people would need for even some more complex projects. Part of the Home Depot experience includes (besides a futile search for employees with much construction experience) numerous advertisements for “installation services.” The basic situation behind this is that Home Depot contracts work to various subcontractors to install materials and components supplied by the retail emporium. The convenience is tantalizing. The possible results may not be.

NBC 4 (Los Angeles) has undertaken a series of investigations spurred by reports of fraudulent and downright unpleasant business practices related to Home Depot’s contractors. The reporters are Joel Grover and Matt Goldberg.

• Part 1 of the series shows a situation in which a Home Depot roofing contractor gives a recommendation and cost estimate to replace an entire roof without ever setting foot on the roof. Unfortunately, the roof had been thoroughly examined by a former LA City Housing Inspector shortly before the contractor’s visit. Following this first report, Home Depot responded to questions from NBC and issued a carefully worded statement although they declined an on-camera interview.
• Part 2 gets down and dirty and includes reports from several former customers of the Home Depot services program that indicate defective construction and code violations. Again, the retail chain issued a response but did not participate on camera.
• Part 3 aired this week and is perhaps more hard-hitting than either of the other two reports. This time, internal documents from the company and further interviews give the indication that the company has a policy of up-selling contracting services. In this report, however, a representative of Home Depot does speak on camera, even though he had to use cue cards…

My personal experience with the Home Depot in Hemet, once to put in countertops and another for floors in my own home, were both positive. I believe their problems relate to sub contractor selection and supervision. This is the same problem that plagues the whole building industry, and part of why I don’t build anything anymore. Subcontractors (roofers for example) all look good on the surface, but they also are depending on their sales staff and workers to produce the completed product. I believe the root of the problem involves time and budget deadlines that are necessary to stay competitive and profitable, that lead to workers cutting corners and out right cheating to keep up. The problem is not new, it has always existed, but is more noticeable now with media coverage. It would be interesting if you had statistics to go with the investigative news shows. How do the “Bad examples” stack up statistically to the “Good examples” (such as mine)?

From Consumerist

Presentation Zen is a site that anyone involved in public presentation of information should visit on a regular basis. (For more insight into graphical presentation of information and reports, see Edward Tufte.) Reynolds’ website couldn’t have a more appropriate name as he truly espouses a “Zen”-like approach to presenting. In the defect industry, many cases are mediated and ultimately settled based upon the information and evidence that is presented by the experts. In the situation of a mediation, the more effectively an expert can present his evidence to the experts representing opposing parties, the easier it is to discuss the valid points of the case. The easier it is to discuss the actual matters at hand, the more likely that settlement will occur. But no matter how effective or snazzy an expert’s presentation is, if there is no mutual respect, the mediation process will go nowhere. Publicly questioning the credibility of another expert or attacking their opinions is no way to gain support.

“If one bad mouths a competitor in Japan they shame not only themselves but the group to which they belong. One who speaks poorly of others is not to be trusted…. When one remembers that there is no end to mastery — that one can and must be better the next day and the day after that (and the day after that) — then it is foolish indeed to ever look down one’s nose to anyone, especially our rivals. Ultimately, the real rival is within us anyway.”

Link to Article

Wynton Marsalis has long been renowned for his musical abilities, but he also was recently honored for his talents in leadership. The USA Today recently published an article consisting of a question & answer session with Marsalis regarding his thoughts on the connection between jazz and business leadership. Link to Article

I’ve (in my past history) been a spectator to jazz by having a son deeply involved in it and the music business. The concept and performance of jazz has always amazed me. I played the Trumpet in school but was never great at it. The music “protocol” I was exposed to involved performing someone else’s written music under the strict supervision of the director. This is similar to my years as a General Contractor building custom homes and custom home remodeling. I was always “performing” to the written details of the customer and the Building Department.

Jazz is all about taking what you are given (the root melody) and using your experience and skill to find the right notes, rhythms and style, to provide the maximum performance, every time you get your instrument out of the box.

Construction Defect Investigation is similar in that there are no written protocol to the investigation other than “don’t miss any thing that can or is causing a problem,” on behalf of the client that you are working for. This is true from both plaintiff and defense perspectives.

In the article by Wynton Marsalis, I feel the following parallels with the tips he offers:

“Everything in jazz and business starts with integrity. Listen to others. Respect them. Build trust.”

In my business, if you ever lie, your career is over, immediately. You do have to listen to other’s opinions and filter their opinions with your own experience and background. Working with others in a non-confrontational manner builds a trust that allows for successful mediation.

“Groups who work together ‘swing.’ They believe ‘we’ is more important than ‘me,’ and by doing so, absorb mistakes.”

Establishing mutually respectful relationships with all those you work with, regardless if they are on “your side” or “the other side” is important. Those in the past that have been so arrogant as to believe “their opinion was the only right opinion” are mostly no longer with us in this business (construction defect investigation and litigation).

“You can be creative inside or outside of tradition. Inside, you reinvigorate. Outside, you counter-state.”

You can never stick with the same investigative system and report production format that you or others have just because “That’s the way we’ve always done it.” You always have to push the envelope to find new ways to investigate (to save the client on case costs and yet never “leave any stone unturned”) and report formats that make the transfer of information easier for all to grasp and use.

“Creative people dare to be laughed at. They don’t act like what they are. They be what they are.”

I’m sure there will be a lot of people laughing at me for writing this blog, but I believe there will be some that get something out of it and those will be the ones we are providing this service for, for free.

“Embrace opposites. They are, in fact, the same.”

There are a lot of opposites in the small community of Construction Defect Litigation. I’m not sure I can embrace them all, but I will try to listen and at least understand where they are coming from; even if it is out of this solar system.

The thing about Jazz musicians is that they are never done “getting there.” They are always looking for ways to improve and get more out of what they have to work with. At Steve Hill Construction Consulting, Inc. we are always looking for ways to do a better investigation, write a more informative report, that can be understood and used by more “players” in the system, to find a faster route to mediation, for the combined benefit of all involved. I am always looking for ways of stretching my skills. That is why in the last year along with construction defect investigations I also got involved with a Criminal investigation (for the California Attorney General), a Wrongful Death Investigation (on behalf of a corporation that owned a medical office), and a Home Owners Association (investigating improper construction defect remediation). I feel the more varied your experience background is, the better your investigative and report writing skills will become, to the benefit of your clients.

Don’t feel bad if you aren’t prepared, because you aren’t alone. According to a recent survey in Computerworld Networking, “About 32% of 170 IT managers and staffers surveyed said they aren’t prepared to meet the requirements of the federal edict, 11% said they are somewhat prepared, while 42% said they don’t know the status of their companies’ preparation.”

Link to Article

[update 10 Jan 2007] Could you produce old e-mails and IMs in the event of a lawsuit? – detailed article from Computerworld regarding the issue.

A suggested listing of traits most valued by clients set forth the following items:

1. Show up on time
2. Do what you say
3. Finish what you start
4. Say please and thank you

Link to Article

Following an investigation into government contractors, the company was found to employ a number of individuals that were not legal U.S. residents or citizens. The company has agreed to pay $4.7M in fines and plead guilty to criminal charges. In addition, the president of the company, Melvin Kay, Jr., and the vice president, Michael McLaughlin, face personal fines and possible jail time. Sentencing is scheduled for March of 2007.

Link to Article

“Fed up with rising labor costs, a new generation of entrepreneurs is launching millions of tiny companies differing from business in the past: They don’t want employees.

“The trend, building since the late 1990s, hit a milestone this year when the number of these microbusinesses reached 20 million — one for every six private-sector workers, a new analysis of government data shows.

“In place of paid employees, owners harness new technologies to outsource work, often linking up with other like-minded entrepreneurs to get jobs done in a virtual assembly line spanning the globe.”

Any guess as why an article like this might show up on this website?

SHCC, Inc. is a one-man show. Everything not done in-house it outsourced. Lean and mean. Well, maybe more like “lean and courteous/professional/thorough” – but whatever. It seems other people are finding the benefits of doing business this way also.

Link to Article

Link to Article

“The first major conclusion is that nobody is great without work. It’s nice to believe that if you find the field where you’re naturally gifted, you’ll be great from day one, but it doesn’t happen. There’s no evidence of high-level performance without experience or practice.

“Reinforcing that no-free-lunch finding is vast evidence that even the most accomplished people need around ten years of hard work before becoming world-class, a pattern so well established researchers call it the ten-year rule.”

“The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call ‘deliberate practice.’ It’s activity that’s explicitly intended to improve performance, that reaches for objectives just beyond one’s level of competence, provides feedback on results and involves high levels of repetition.”

An exhaustive study by researchers at Florida State University looked at successful performers in a variety of disciplines. That study has since been expanded into additional fields including business. With the notion that “[a]nything that anyone does at work, from the most basic task to the most exalted, is an improvable skill,” these studies are looking at the relationship between successful business leaders/innovators and the exalted artists, performers and athletes sitting on the other side of the coffeehouse.

Link to Article

“Expecting gratitude in exchange for having done something that was hard. Yes, you built a company, you might even have bootstrapped it. Yes, you’ve got the machinery and the packaging and the retail space. Yes, you’ve navigated hiring people and yes, you finally shipped. I couldn’t care less. I’m not going to buy your brownie/consulting/services just because you worked hard on it.”

Link to Article