In Washington . . and Ottawa

I'm in Washington D.C. now (Actually Alexandria, Virginia) for tonight's Design and Construction Network Happy Hour. These in-person events connect the dots between online "social networking" and real, human interactions.

It's worthwhile for me to buy a plane ticket, pay a night's hotel bill, and come to Washington for a two hour event because here we can put faces to names, make connections and share insights.

The new social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter are not a replacement for the more traditional forms of networking. They simply accelerate and facilitate the process. As always, if you think of networking events as hard rock selling opportunities, you are likely to be disappointed. If you think of them as opportunities to meet, share and give your best support and assistance to the people around you, you will succeed.

The Design and Construction Report, our first online publication, results from this process.

Online or off . . .

In just a few minutes, I'm on my way to Washington, D.C. as the relaunch of Washington Construction News is about a month away. One of the visit's highlights will be a meeting do discuss an impressive online addition to the publishing mix. Separately, I'll meet personally with a client who I've only known so far through Internet postings and emails. Finally, I'll spend some time with local publisher Karen Buckley, who I first "met" through a Craigslist online career posting.

The stories of the evolution to real business beyond these initial online meetings and encounters seem, in retrospect, to be somewhat improbable.

Somehow, out of a needle-in-haystack process, electronic ether has turned into meaningful business. Online networking has become something much more; a life-changing connection of experiences which would have been seen as unfathomably impossible just a decade ago.

But most of my online relationships are not real relationships; they are casual and frankly insignificant links. Looking through my linkedin.com list, for example, I noticed that most of the people there that I hadn't known first through offline contacts are really strangers to me. They are just "other names".

So what resulted in the change?

Somewhere, somehow, we moved from the general to the specific, from anonymous to personal. Most likely the beginning of the change occurred with an email not out of the can, followed by a phone conversation or (even more effective) a meeting at an industry association conference.

Now we were working on wholly different levels. I'm not suggesting the initial communication required much effort or work; in fact, if either of us had to strain too hard to make the connection happen, I think both of us would have backed away. (In sales, few people are eager to deal with a desperate sales rep who is trying too hard.)

Most successful marketing and sales is just like that. Sure, you have to put effort into the process and not rely on chance, or blindly spending huge amounts of money in hoping something will happen. But the real reason you succeed is you are able to connect through something more personal and meaningful than the results of binary electronic arithmetic.

Risk taking and rewards in life, business and marketing

Among my experiences today, I rode the Roslyn Metro Escalator -- At 205 feet, 8 inches, the escalator to street level is the third longest continuous span escalator in the world, an engineering marvel.

Today, as we conducted interviews for writer/editors for Washington Construction News, I thought about the ironies and opportunities that define our lives and choices.

In Washington, we are resurrecting a business that had fallen apart -- yet in its original birth and its resurrection reveal intriguing lessons about risk, failure, choice, and revival.

(What is a Canadian doing in the U.S. capital city, publishing a local newspaper? And how, three years after closing the publication as our business almost failed, could I come back and re-start it in the midst of a major recession?)

I'm here because of accident, experience, and choices made in far away places at far away times.

What drove me to fly to Africa and live out the end of the Rhodesia/Zimbabwe war as a journalist, only to return home just as a major recession in 1980 threatened to destroy the newspaper industry (and, like the current crisis, resulted in the failure of dozens of publications across North America.)

And why, back in 1987, did I decide to exploit a loophole in U.S. immigration regulations, collecting several thousand dollars in revenue as I embarked on my first visit to Washington -- to deliver applications for the first U.S. non-preference visa lottery. (Our initiative proved to be successful in more ways than one: Several of the approximately 300 people who paid us between $25 and $100 for their chance at a Green Card, indeed received one -- I did!)

These observations may seem like brags, and they are, in a way, but my list of dumb mistakes and blunders is equally impressive. Many of my lessons have been learned through the school of hard knocks.

Nevertheless, in Africa I learned an important lesson: Risk is a relative thing -- and perceived risk is often greater than real risk. After all, who really has more job security? The person who owns a business, keeps a close eye on it, and cuts where necessary, or the person with a job who can be cut anytime (or clings to a morale and mind-sapping job just because of "security"-- giving up soul and heart in exchange for a "steady pay cheque".)

If you are afraid now for your future, if you are yearning for security and hope, remember that the biggest risk may be taking none at all. This does not mean I'm advocating throwing good money after bad and investing real cash in an untried business. You need to find a way to start without any money (or very little, if you wish.)

Then, if you have the courage to follow your dreams, you will find opportunities in places and circumstances you least expect.

I'm happy to be thinking these thoughts as I sit in the airline lounge at Reagan National Airport waiting for my flight home.

To Washington . . .

In a few minutes, I head to the airport for a busy day in Washington, DC as we co-ordinate the relaunch of Washington Construction News. I'll be meeting with new publisher Karen Buckley and prospective editors and writers.

If you are in the construction community in the Washington DC metro area and would like to receive a free subscription, you can request it with this online subscription form.

Can you emulate this Washington DC initiative in your own community?

This image is from the home page of the Washington D.C. Design and Construction Network's new website at http://www.dcdcn.com. Could you co-ordiante a similar network in your own community?

“Successful networking is all about relationships, not “links.” The goal of the Washington DC Design and Construction Network is to develop mutually beneficial relationships both online and in person.” (from the Washington D.C. Design and Construction Network website)

The Washington D.C. Design and Construction Network is an intriguing and exciting example of how online and offline resources can be combined to create a vibrant regional networking community. Yesterday, in launching the network's own website, Tim Klabunde, publisher of the CofeBuz blog and Director of Marketing at W.H. Gordon Associates Inc., an engineering practice in Chantilly, VA, wrote:

It has been an exciting past two weeks for the Washington DC Design and Construction Network as our membership has grown to over 550 members! With all that is going on, let me get straight to the three things you need to know:

1) FREE Procurement searches, MBE Directory, Construction News, and Networking Information - The Washington DC Design and Construction Network website is now up! Take a moment to stop by at www.dcdcn.com and you will find a wealth of information including: links to all of the regions procurement websites (aka: get work), today’s Washington Business Journal (updated every 5 minutes), and of course the official MBE Directory of the Network!

Please take a moment to thank Melissa Allen of WFT Engineering, Vicki White of ECS, and Carolyn Evans of Global Engineering solutions for all their work helping bring this together!

2) JOBS - LinkedIn was kind enough to add an additional Tab to our LinkedIn page called "Jobs.” If you are looking to hire someone or would like to post your resume, please stop by! I have already been told that several interviews have been set up as a direct result of our group, so go check it out!

3) HAPPY HOUR – The details of our next Happy Hour are almost finalized! During our last Happy Hour I promised many of you a larger venue, and I am excited to announce that we have arranged to shut down an entire restaurant and use it for our Happy Hour! Yes, you read that right, one lucky restaurant in Arlington will be closed down to the general public and open to the members of the Washington DC Design and Construction Network for our happy hour! So, if you know someone that might want to come that isn’t in the network, be certain to send them this link (http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?gid=926787) and tell them to click “Join Group.” As all of you already know, it is completely free and all that is required is a LinkedIn account.

The network's new website is impressive, with an incredible collection of links and resources for anyone to use without requiring any sort of paid subscription -- and participation within the network is also free.

Notably, the network developed and found its potential in an incredibly short time; just a few months. Online resources such as linkedin.com combined with offline groups and associations can combine effectively to accelerate the process.

The network here succeeds because the leadership and membership appreciate the most important underlying principal of successful networking: You always put yourself second and focus on the interests and needs of your colleagues and others joining the network. While your own marketing and self-interest rewards are indirect, they happen, as your community grows and people want to do business with you.

Could you take the lead and co-ordinate a similar network in your own community?

Karen Buckley new publisher of Washington Construction News

Karen Buckley holds Ford Harding's Rainmaking book at the SMPS-DC gathering in February.

Karen Buckley is the new publisher of Washington Construction News.

She combines years of experience in technology and print media – most recently co-ordinating the advertising sales for a community newspaper in Northern Virginia.

She will work with construction community groups and associations to provide membership building publicity and work with individual companies and organizations to achieve positive recognition for their businesses in the metropolitan D.C. area.

Washington Construction News will resume monthly publication in May 2009. Qualified readers in the architectural, engineering and construction industries in D.C. and the neighbouring Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs can request a free subscription at http://www.washingtonconstructionnews.com.

Karen can be reached by email at kbuckley@cnrgp.com or by phone at 888-432-3555 ext 225.

If you are looking for a rainmaker, look to yourself

Tomorrow, I'm heading to Washington, D.C. to attend a meeting of the Society for Marketing Professional Services DC Chapter, meeting fellow SMPS bloggers and rainmaking/marketing gurus Ford Harding and Tim Klabunde. Hopefully, as well, by the end of the day in Washington (I catch a 10 pm flight to Toronto), I'll be ready to engage the final selection for our new Washington Construction News publisher.

Through this whirlwind day in the U.S. capital, at back of mind is Friday's deadline for an article in the upcoming issue of The SMPS Marketer, the association's national magazine. The assigned title is "Recruiting rainmakers".

Here is the paradox. If you ask people like Tim or Ford, "What is the best way to recruit Rainmakers", they may say: "Why don't you become a rainmaker yourself -- especially if you are an owner or partner in the business/practice?" Essentially, as Ford Harding points out in his most recent blog entry, if you own or are a partner in the business, you can't simply dump this responsibility on someone else. Hired sales people (or "business developers" if you want to avoid the word "sales") simply cannot do the job as well and with as much passion and client relevance as a real partner/owner -- and if you have been around for a while, your network of existing relationships will far exceed any contacts your new hire can bring to the picture.

But here is the interesting thing -- you don't need to sell your soul or twist yourself into contortions to be an effective rainmaker; you simply need to change your attitudes to your business development responsibilities. If you are true to yourself, if you are authentic, and your relate your own interests and passions to your business development model, you can succeed.

Still, there are times when you will have to go outside your organization to hire talent. This ideally happens when you are growing, to new markets and opportunities. This is where an effective and relationship-oriented business development and hiring system really works well.'

More soon . . .

The real Washington

At the D.C. Metropolitan Subcontractors Association (DCMSA) meeting Casino Night, from left, Kevin Glass, Early, Cassidy and Shilling, Inc. (insurance and surety bonds), Bob Houston, director of estimating at Shapiro & Duncan Mechanical, and William A. Hicks, controller, with John Rhee, Project Manager, from PowerMax Inc. Mechanical Contractor.
At right below: Barbi Carter, member services co-ordinator, with Barbara Sanders, director of education and meetings for the DCMSA.

No time wasted yesterday, as I and North Carolina publisher Bob Kruhm spent the day in Washington D.C.'s North Virginia and Maryland suburbs connecting with local construction associations and interviewing potential publishers for Washington Construction News.

The Washington D.C. area, of course, is much more than government -- of course real people with real jobs, challenges, and aspirations live in this community.

Undoubtedly the recession has hit this area -- staff at the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association (representing home builders in the District of Columbia and its Maryland have been laid off and builders are struggling to survive. Other contractors in the commercial side are challenged as well by intense competition, project delays and financing challenges.

Yet, undoubtedly, the powerful presence of the federal government here allays some of the market challenges. This region is a wonderful place to work; combining diversity, history and opportunity.

Yesterday evening, we visited a casino night event organized by the D.C. Metropolitan Subcontractors Association (DCMSA). Under association rules, we could not attend the business meeting -- where, under a lawyer's guidance, members share information about the business practices of general contractors.

Strict rules are observed to prevent any violation of anti-competition or Combines laws, while allowing the sub contractors the necessary information about payment and business practices of general contractors and developers; giving them the tools to know if there are warning signs about potential slow or non-payment of their invoices.

Not surprisingly, this type of information is vital in a recession, and DCMSA staff say membership has increased significantly in recent months.

At the Casino Night, I won and lost a pile of funny money, but we all ended the game ahead, knowing the importance of relationships, association participation, and industry support.

Craigslist and your leads

A couple of weeks ago, as a long shot, I paid $25.00 to Craigslist for this career opportunity listing.

Associate Publisher -- Washington Constuction News (Greater Washington DC area)

---

Reply to: job-1007829772@craigslist.org ^[?]
Date: 2009-01-26, 12:01AM EST

Co-ordinate advertising features and build relationships within metro DC area architectural, engineering and construction community (including suppliers, subtrades and general contractors) in this rewarding opportunity with fair base salary and realistic potential income to $100,000 annually.

You should be able to work independently, without supervision, as you will be working from your home. Relevant sales experience is less important than your interest and commitment -- we can evaluate your sales aptitude during the selection process.

For more information, see http://cnrgp.blogspot.com/

To my surprise, we received approximately 50 resumes, many at least superficially qualified, within one day. Response quickly dropped off, but I deduced that spending another $25 would result in another flood of resumes. It did.

We still haven't found the right person, but several candidates from the previous posting are still under evaluation, so I placed a third ad (another $25.00) and even though it is 3:30 a.m. on Monday, we've received three responses since I posted the listing at midnight.

(Why midnight? Craigslistings are chronological, during the day, each new listing displaces the one previous for the top spot, but the first listing of the day is always in the highly visible bottom spot for the day (when you are scanning a letter, do you read the signature and P.S. line before delving into details?) If my guess is correct, we will receive another 50 to 60 resumes -- bringing the total number of inquiries to 150; about the right number for us to select the one finalist we are seeking.

Sure, you say, you are looking for work, not offering employment. However, would a $25.00 listing under an appropriate category in your market be appropriate if you are ready to pay someone to bird-dog or solicit leads for you. You might be able to set up a system to pay for results; or find someone worthy part-time on commission. (If you offer a salary, like we do, you may be overwhelmed with response.)

Inauguration Day

The world is watching Washington DC today, and I've assigned a writer to attend an inauguration event co-ordinated by the Associated General Contractors of DC, as we review several applications for the opportunity to be the publisher of the revitalized Washington Construction News.

These are exciting times to be in or connected with Washington -- and the government funds may be the likeliest opportunities for work in states and communities across the U.S.

With expanded Washington coverage, we'll hopefully be able to help contractors and sub-trades (as well as architects and engineers) find some of this work, but ultimately, you will succeed most if you've built your own connections and relationships -- by the time opportunities become public, usually someone has an inside track.

The new order

Barak Obama takes office on Jan. 20. Soon, infrastructure funding will flow. How can you capture some of this money?

Soon, the U.S. will have a new government, and soon, the plans for a gigantic infrastructure blitz will commence. As this occurs, we are preparing to relaunch Washington Construction News and have already started co-ordinating editorial coverage, including an Associated General Contractors (DC Chapter) Inaugural Day party. Washington will be where things are happening in the next while, as the public money flows to states and local communities -- and then, hopefully to architects, engineers, contractors, sub trades and suppliers.

Undoubtedly the public funding create conflicts, problems, and potential corruption. You may also wonder if the infusion of cash by increasing the national debt to unprecedented levels will just add to future problems. I'm not an economist and won't dare answer that question, other than to scratch my head at how fiscal mismanagement under supposedly conservative administration led to a situation where the economy risks severe deflation. (Clearly a collapse in housing/real estate values for people burdened by high mortgages and job losses is an invitation for depression-level problems.)

In these circumstances, infrastructure expenditure on construction seems to make sense; after all, the assets will continue to be of value to the community for decades going forward, and the people and businesses put to work will be in the U.S. (and Canada) and not some third-world country.

How can you connect to this government money?

First, and most important, while much work will be bid publicly, your chances for success are much higher if you have cultivated great relationships with relevant officials, either locally, at state levels or (if you are really in the game) in Washington. The Brooks Act will certainly bar you from low-ball entry offers unless you have proven competence and great existing relationships.

Secondly, you will want to enhance and build your relationships with others who know where the money is flowing. This is especially the case if you are a sub-trade or supplier/or local general contractor. Here, undoubtedly, the multi-chapter SM PS network will be helpful to you (though you may be a little late if you are not currently a member and haven't already cultivated your relationships.)

Your chances for success remain, as always, where you have connections, relationships, and a solid reputation.

The Brooks Act -- who you know and what you know

One of this blog's readers sent me an email with a simple question: "Do you know about the Brooks Act?" It is perhaps the most important element in considering who wins architectural and engineering projects at the federal level -- and in many states -- and creates a major barrier to entry for outsiders, and a real competitive advantage and power-base for design firms with solid Washington connections and relationships.

I discovered this 'old' (2002) reference to the Brooks Act on the American Society of Civil Engineers site. If you are thinking of competing for federal work as new infrastructure funds are available, read it carefully.

Brooks A/E Act Turns 30

This week marks the 30th Anniversary of the Brooks A/E Act, mandating the use of Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) for federal procurement of A/E design services. Rep. Jack Brooks (D-TX) introduced the Architect-Engineer Selection Act after a GAO report pointed out that there was no statutory basis for use of the QBS method of selection. The bill was signed into law on October 27, 1972 (Public Law 92-582).

Congress later expanded the act to include surveying and mapping as well as architecture and engineering services. Since 1972 the QBS method of procurement has been extended to include highway, mass transit and airport grant programs as well as prime and subcontracts under the Superfund program. In 1988, Congress amended the Brooks Act and supplied a new definition of covered services.

The Brooks Act has set the model for procurement acts in over 35 states as well as the ABA Model Procurement Code for State and Local Government.

So what does that tell you?:

You are not going to walk in the door and pick up Washington business unless you know -- and have relationships -- there.

Say as an outsider you submit a bid; you might have the lowest price because your cost structures are really under control -- or you are simply desperate to win the work. Your bid will be passed over for the design firm or contractor with a solid work experience and credentials, and these subjective measures will be strongly influenced by personal relationships and experience between the design professional or contractor and government officials -- in other words, they will almost inevitably select incumbents they like, over strangers they don't know.

With several years experience in the Washington, D.C marketplace (I broke the 'rules' and as a Canadian started Washington Construction News in 2000 -- the former print publication has evolved to become The Design and Construction Report), I've seen how insiders get the business, and outsiders wonder why they lose -- and how insiders in one element can be outsiders in others. Take one contractor who almost always wins certain military contracts, but can never get any business at the Post Office. "The building designs and standards are virtually the same," the contractor told me as we drove around Washington's suburbs. "But we can't get our foot in the door."

So, how do you break in and get this work?

1. You should waste no time establishing relationships with AEC firms connected already in the Washington area. Here, your membership in local Society for Marketing Professional Services or relevant trade association chapters may be helpful. You'll learn which members are already established in Washington, and can begin building your connections with them. This is vitally important in gathering intelligence and connections for opportunities where local procurement is possible
2. If you have lots of money, and know your way around, you could buy or joint venture with an established AEC firm/consultant serving the DC area. Their value has risen in recent weeks, of course, so be prepared to pay. Alternatively, you could hire (at some cost) key people with knowledge of the local industry.
3. In your local market, get to know the movers and shakers within the federal system; then connect the dots and find out which companies have established relationships, and figure out a way to connect the dots. One Florida based architect, for example, won a major design project after receiving a call from "Washington" -- then used local knowledge and skill to capture and exploit the opportunity.
4. Naturally, you should be wary of scams -- some consultants will purport to have Washington connections which are more flim-flam than substance.

(Blatant sales message to follow . . .)

You may find value in participating in The Design and Construction Network (http://mydcn.com) and promoting your business through the Design and Construction Report. The DCR evolved out of relationships established in the Washington, D.C. area and the network traces its roots and home base to the national capital area. You may find the connections you need to build or enhance relationships for federal government work both in the D.C. area and your own region through connnections developed here.

Today in Washington

Today, I fly to Washington, D.C. to start the process of re-establishing Washington Construction News. I'll attend a meeting of the SMPS DC Chapter tonight, and meet with Chris Chapin, the local publisher, tomorrow, while co-ordinating editorial contractors.

One thing apparent from emails and communications with with several people over the past few weeks is the severity of the U.S. recession on the construction industry is much greater than official statistics show, though the problems are far less severe in the D.C. area (or, for that matter at our home base in Ottawa, Canada) than they are elsewhere in the country. The reason, of course, is the 'security net' that government creates for the local economies.

Because you may wish to learn about opportunities in the Washington, D.C. area for your own business, please feel free to email me at buckshon@cnrgp.com.

Online Networking is not real networking -- Tim Klabunde's solution

In the past year, I've had the fortune of meeting with Tim Klabunde in Washington through our mutual involvement in blogging and the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). Tim and I share some fundamental values -- that effective business development occurs when you put your short term interests aside, and focus on sharing, giving, and developing relationships that go beyond your immediate focus and requirements.

Tim has shown these qualities at the highest degree with his imitative in coordinating on linkedin.com Washington DC Design and Construction Network. He writes about this process in his Cofebuz Blog posting: Online Networking is Not Real Networking.

Now that the network has grown to more than 200 participants, he is taking things to the next stage, creating off-line opportunities to connect, share, and communicate.

Can you make similar connections and build relationships within your own community?

Returning to Washington

We published Washington Construction News from 2000 to 2005 -- and now, three years later, are preparing to resume publishing in the U.S. capital city.

A surprise --and much appreciated -- call from our former U.S. publisher, Chris Chapin, set the wheels in motion for this business restoration.

In the years we originally published in Washington, we did many things right, but some things wrong. Relationships and lasting connections with the community, alas, took second place to transactional selling. I didn't understand the importance of internal business controls, systems, meetings, and accountability.

You can go back to the very beginning of this blog (use the archives function) to learn more about what went wrong, and what turned things around.

We're hiring someone to work with Chris. You can live anywhere in the greater D.C. area -- job postings set the 'location' in Northern Virginia because Chris lives in one of the Maryland suburbs, but your talent is far more important than your street address. We'll pay a reasonable starting salary; your income potential will be in high five or low six figures (and if you are selected for the work, your likeliness of achieving this potential is high.) We can't relocate anyone, so you will need to live in the area to qualify, but direct sales or construction industry experience are far less important than your ability to do the work, which we will assess through a fair and comprehensive screening process.

Please feel free to email your resume to buckshon@cnrgp.com.