Manufacturers of many heavy-duty, engineered industrial products—such as gas turbines, electric drives, wind turbines and heavy trucks—derive most of their top-line revenues from their factory production, while the sweetest...
We asked a random group of electrical contractors one question: “What do you think the best service electricians all have in common?” It was amazing how strikingly similar their responses were. Before we get to their answers...
Traditionally oriented electrical contractors and highly trained electricians are in jeopardy of being shut out of future opportunities in what has always been a major part of what they do: the installation, service and...
Centuries of discovery, invention and science, achieved by countless generations of individuals with superior genius, great imagination or just plain luck, have advanced the electrical industry to where it is today. But...
Electrical contractors form joint ventures for many reasons: to improve their competitive position to win a contract that they have targeted, for new construction or for service and maintenance. No matter the motivation...
Just a few months ago, experts in commercial office interior design were promoting workspace layouts with relatively dense, open clusters of furniture, furnishings and equipment. Today, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic...
Every discussion about why electrical contractors should enter the low-voltage segment of the business omits the most important consideration: The day is fast approaching when they will have no other choice but to do it. For...
The difficulty electrical contractors face every time they attempt to find and attract talented new people dates back further than the oldest tool in their warehouse. It’s always been that way, in good times or bad. Since the...
Just saw a play in New York, “Two’s a Crowd.” The songs by Jason Feddy were terrific. Set in a Las Vegas hotel, the lead actor played an electrical contractor from Cleveland. I cheered out loud when he said that. I asked the...
“This place looks like a dump!” bellowed Larry, a service electrician, as he opened the door to his customer’s electrical equipment room. He should have closed the door behind him before blurting out his assessment of the...
Many contractors wish for some form of recurring revenue that keeps on giving while they keep busy bidding or working on their installation projects. Fire alarm system maintenance can meet this goal. As with any business...
With more than 100 million homes in the United States, the residential service/maintenance market offers electrical contractors a broad spectrum of opportunities. However, competitive pricing, economies of scale and other...
Having successfully completed a series of good-sized service jobs for a company he described as a great customer, a prominent electrical contractor (who wishes to remain anonymous) was making a routine visit to the company’s...
In a YouTube video, two psychology professors staged a playful indoor exercise featuring six men and women, who were dressed in either black or white, passing basketballs back and forth. We, the viewers, were told that we...
Try not to think of pink elephants. That silly proposition makes us chuckle when we hear it because we know that, as soon as someone says, “pink elephants,” we will unavoidably visualize pink elephants. We think in pictures...
