Spring has sprung in the Construction Manager office. The spirit of newborn lambs and cherry blossoms has wafted its way over this issue to bring you an uplifting selection of stories about fresh starts.
How about changing your look, sorting your head out, improving the way you do business, wiping out accidents? It can be done. And the people who feature this month can show you how.

Do you get on with your kids? And what has that got to do with being a construction professional? Roofing contractor Darren Taylor, Construction Manager's guinea pig on a six-week inside-and-out makeover, found out during life coaching that the way he managed people had a direct impact on his family life.

Darren had to bare his soul to make his personal breakthrough, a theme which continues with our cover story. An unlikely figure to join the touchy-feely brigade, Wates' Rod Bennion decided that the answer to plunging profits was to convert the company's claims-conscious culture to a communicative one. And that involved admitting to himself that he could be scary...

It's all about relationships. And how you treat those who work for you. As framework fever sweeps the industry, main contractors will find themselves competing to have the best specialists on their list and on their bid team. If you're a poor payer and your culture sucks, you could be in big trouble. Turn to page 18 to find out why.

And finally the case of born-again Bovis Lend Lease. All over the UK the families of board members and senior site staff will be looking on in wonder this weekend as Dad dons goggles, ear plugs and a dust mask to install two rawl plugs in the bathroom. And now they're trying to brainwash the whole staff and their subcontractors' workers too. Are they barking?.

If this all sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Because, like the spring lambs, new ways of doing things are always a little bit wobbly at first. And change takes time. But isn't it inspiring to know that people are trying?

Source

Construction Manager