From Our Clients

"I had the pleasure of meeting Ted Garrison at a NECA event. I was so inspired by his passion and awareness of our industry I invited Ted to present to our entire company.  He delivered an inspiring seminar and we are still using his training materials six months later for motivation and training."

- Chris Jaskiewicz, COO of Valley Electric

"Wanted to let you know the keynote was great. Based on conversations I had over the next several days, everyone enjoyed the topic and presentation. John Boyle from North Dakota said, '˜Ted Garrison was worth the price of admission.' Thanks for your time and I look forward to your next Garrison Report.'

- Vince Duobinis, Sr. Mgr. Market Development, Centennial Contractors Enterprises, Inc.

"We hired Ted to give us a true economic look at where we are; where we are going; how we get there; and what we need to do to make things better. Ted delivered...big time."

- Gregory Mankevich, Exec. Dir., NECA Management Education Institute

"Great presentation. Great speaker, very interesting."

- Shane Schrader, President, Schrader Excavating

"Dynamic, engaging, and knowledgeable of current affairs. A paradigm shift in your current thought process. Wake up your after lunch group with Ted!"

- Marty Sutinen, VP, MJ Electric LLC

"Ted made me think about things differently. Keeps you involved and interested."

- Jon Wolf, Owner, CY Blue Plumbing, Inc

"I have had the pleasure to hear Ted's presentation at our recent NECA's Future Leaders Conference in Las Vegas.  He and I are singing the same song for the need to change and constantly improve the way we currently do business."

- Rex A. Ferry, NECA President

"Engaging speaking format and very interesting subject matter and strategies. Excellent presentation!"

- Karen Petersen, Dir. of Mktg. & Bus. Dev., BBM Structural Engineering

Keynotes

Ted's keynote presentations based on Construction 3.0™ Strategies offer bold discussions on how the construction industry needs to change. They are designed to set the tone for an event, but more importantly the intent is to make people think so they leave with a different perspective. Many of Ted's views make people uncomfortable because they go against conventional wisdom. His goal is to get people talking because what the construction industry needs most is greater dialogue on how to resolve its challenges. These programs are intended for managers and executives in all areas of the industry. Learn more about Construction 3.0™

The programs listed below are designed to demonstrate the breadth of Ted's Construction 3.0™ Keynotes, not just to provide a list of available programs. It is recognized that keynotes are unique and must be customized to each client's specific needs. Anyone interested in a keynote should contact us to discuss your specific requirements so we can develop a program that maximizes the benefits delivered to your audience.

PDFWhy You Need to Get out of the Construction Business (Alternate Title: How to Turn Around Your Business in the Midst of an Industry in Turmoil)

This program is for you if you are:
  • struggling to maintain profitability.
  • scrambling just to get work.
  • having difficulty finding and keeping enough qualified craftspeople and managers.

Learn More

Obviously this program is not suggesting you stop building things because that’s what you do. The business you are in is what you do that provides value for your clients. This means you must define your value proposition and reframe your business around it. This is the only way you can address the series of interrelated challenges facing contractors today. However, crisis creates opportunity. Those companies that recognize and take advantage of the opportunities have a bright future. Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad wrote in their best-selling book Competing for the Future, “If a top management team cannot clearly articulate the five or six fundamental industry trends that most threaten its firm’s continued success, it is not in control of the firm’s destiny.” This program unravels the trends that are impacting the industry, but more important, it introduces nine business principles, collectively called Construction 3.0™, that industry managers and executives can implement that will allow their company to not only survive but thrive in today’s hypercompetitive marketplace.

Key takeaway points include the following:
  • Improve your ability to compete in the hypercompetitive construction industry
  • Boost profitability by removing the obstacles to that goal
  • Position your company as a problem-solver, not as a contractor, so you never have to compete on price again
  • Build an organization that attracts top people and clients

PDFStop Telling Your Prospects You Are the Best Value. Prove It!

You need to attend this program if you are:
  • struggling to maintain your profit margins when negotiating with clients.
  • making short lists but not getting the project award.
  • forced to compete for work from past clients.

Learn More

While price is always a factor, successful contractors determine what is most valuable to their clients then focus on maximizing that value instead of trying to be the cheapest. Peter Drucker said that marketing and innovation were two skills at which business must excel. By marketing he meant market research—finding out what the client needs. Innovation takes this information and creates a better solution, in essence, better value for the client. The Construction 3.0™ strategies and principles give you the tools to improve your company’s profitability by focusing on the client’s needs. However, offering the best value isn’t enough. We live in a skeptical society. People don’t trust the government; they don’t trust the press; and they certainly don’t trust contractors. To compete based on value, you must be able to prove your value proposition, or your prospects are likely to select the lowest price. It’s essential that all construction managers and executives grasp the critical concepts in this program to effectively compete in today’s hypercompetitive marketplace. Contractors that have implemented these practices have seen their profits double and even triple.

Key takeaway points include the following:
  • Strategies to better understand the client’s needs
  • Strategies to remove waste and increase value for all stakeholders
  • Strategies to increase your ability to deliver better solutions
  • Methods to achieve better collaboration

PDFFire All the Managers

This program is for you if you are:
  • frustrated with the lack of initiative by your managers.
  • feeling you must be involved in every important decision.
  • struggling with problems that suddenly appear and threaten the success of your projects.

Learn More

Managers do things right; leaders do the right things. This distinction is critical because unless you are doing the right things, it doesn’t matter how well you do it because you are wasting valuable resources. To compete in today’s hypercompetitive marketplace, successful companies must realign their efforts to meet the new challenges. Construction 3.0™ leadership, unlike traditional leadership, offers a proven record of creating peak performance. Despite popular beliefs, effective leadership isn’t about greater controls or influencing and motivating others. Effective leadership is the ability to perceive existing conditions and align available resources to produce maximum results. Jim Collins in Good to Great called this putting “the right people on the bus in the right seats.” This program explains how to maximize performance throughout your organization by creating an effective leadership model based on alignment. In an environment where there is a shortage of qualified industry managers and leaders, it’s critical that companies identify their best current and future leaders and know how to develop their full potential. Construction 3.0™ leadership shows managers and executives how to improve their company leadership to improve performance and profitability.

Key takeaway points include the following:
  • Improve performance and profitability through effective leadership
  • Improve collaboration across company lines by employing effective leadership skills
  • Create a process to not only improve current leadership but develop your future leaders
  • Build an organization where everyone takes responsibility for results—no one is just putting in time

PDFSecrets for Owners to Control Project Costs and Risk

You need to attend this program if you are:
  • a buyer of construction services.
  • frustrated with contractor performance on your projects.
  • concerned about missing deadlines or experiencing budget overruns.

Learn More

The idea that value must be part of the equation is not new. Edwards Deming's fourth point of management was, "End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag." Price is always a factor, but when it's the only factor, it encourages lower quality and, shocking as it may sound, costs more in the long run. Unfortunately, awarding work based on only the lowest bid benefits only low performers because they have mastered the art of the low bid and catching up with change orders. Unless the contractor's performance is part of the evaluation process, you are exposed to buying a clunker at a low price. Construction 3.0™ embraces the Best Value Procurement process proposed by Dr. Dean Kashiwagi of Arizona State University, which offers a way for clients to get what they want: high quality, minimal change orders, no litigation, minimal project risk, met budgets and schedules and life-cycle cost considerations. As a research associate with Dr. Kashiwagi's Performance Based Studies Research Group, Ted explains how to create a process that will save buyers of construction services money and headaches. In addition, Construction 3.0™ increases value for all stakeholders and creates a win-win situation, which is the only sustainable solution. Many of the secrets revealed in this program can even be applied in the public low-bid arena.

Key takeaway points include the following:
  • A process to anticipate contractor performance on your project
  • A process that allows you to include all your concerns in the selection process... not just the bid price
  • A process that allows you to control your project costs
  • A process that allows you to ensure that critical deadlines are meet

PDF10 Trade Secrets from The Art of War

You need to attend this program if you are:
  • bidding everything in sight with little result.
  • forced to sacrifice your profits to get work.
  • feeling like the recession has you in a vise.

Learn More

If General Sun Tzu had been a modern contractor, he would have been successful. Anyone who is shocked at the comparison of The Art of War to construction contracting reveals he hasn't read the book. If you don't think contractors are fighting a war, what do you call a price war? Price wars have as many casualties as real wars. More important, despite the title, The Art of War is really about avoiding battles. Instead, Sun Tzu's major point is that an army, or in our case a business, must subdue its enemy through superior strategy. While his book may be 2,500 years old, it's still highly relevant today. This program reveals to managers and executives how his strategies will help you maximize performance by outthinking rather than outmuscling the competition in areas of leadership, management, marketing and execution.

Key takeaway points include the following:
  • Secrets to improving your command of leadership
  • Powerful management tactics to improve performance
  • Killer marketing strategies
  • Boost your ability to outthink the opposition

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