Without increased opportunity, the best young talent may leave the company. This is a difficult dilemma, but creating unprofitable growth to meet these needs can spell disaster for all employees. Overhead is growing. There is a perception by many contractors that the laws of economics dictate overhead expenses will go up every year and definitely cannot be reduced. The reality is that all overhead items are variable and can be adjusted to fit the demands of the marketplace at any point.
Capacity is underutilized.
This is another oft-used but highly suspect reason for growing the company. Too many contractors define their capacity by the bonding credit available to them. The construction industry needs a collective wake-up call. Every contractor needs to decide to take a job only if he can earn a reasonable profit. Rice can be reached at FMI's Denver office.