OVERVIEW

When you sign a contract to perform any kind of construction work, there's no turning back you're expected to deliver what you promised. You must complete the job on time and on budget and produce the quality the customer expects or you'll be out of the game. And to make it worthwhile, you'll do everything in your power to live up to your profitability goals and minimize the headaches along the way. The faster you're in and out, the better.

Of course, this is easier said than done. There's no such thing as a perfect construction project, where the plans and specifications are crystal clear and complete, site conditions are ideal, the end user knows exactly what he or she wants, and the parties involved work together in blissful harmony. There's also no such thing as a "normal" construction project in which everything goes according to plan; the unexpected always looms around the corner.

Even before groundbreaking and throughout the course of the work, a vast assortment of issues will pop up to challenge you, including design flaws and discrepancies; unforeseen site conditions; funding issues; an ambitious completion date; changes to the project scope; materials and labor shortages; delayed materials deliveries; differences in contract interpretation; disagreement over change orders; uncooperative project participants; poor communication; bad weather; a difficult customer or end user; underperforming subcontractors; antagonistic neighbors. And the list goes on.

Too many contractors allow themselves to be vulnerable and even defenseless when the curveballs come at them. Unappreciative of...