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Strategies
for Success
by
Jim Peterson |
What
makes a decorative contractor stand out among his peers? Two
successful decorative contractors discuss the importance of
employees, ongoing education and forward thinking.
At the recent American Society of Concrete
Contractors’ Annual Conference in Dallas, I had the
opportunity to spend time with two successful decorative concrete
contractors from different parts of the country and find out
a little about how they do what they do. What has contributed
to their past success, and what do they see as the key to
their future success?
Tom Ralston Concrete
Tom Ralston follows in the footsteps
of his father, Jim Ralston, and his grandfather, Wilbur Thomas
Ralston, who founded the company in 1928. Ralston has been
involved in the Santa Cruz, California-based company since
1964, taking control of the company when his father retired
in 1989.
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Tom Ralston believes in the importance
of keeping employees motivated to do good work. |
Ralston credits his success today to
passion and having a goal, working long and hard hours, and
having and keeping a talented crew.
“Keeping a talented crew is accomplished
by keeping the crew pumped up,” says Ralston. “For
our company, that means paying people fairly, providing them
with interesting projects, treating them with respect and
decency, and providing rewards with other things besides just
money.”
Ralston feels he finally has key employees
on board for the long haul, instead of always wondering when
key employees would be leaving the company.
“People want potential, security
and some excitement,” he says. “Without the right
people working the business with their hearts, not just their
bodies, the business is not going to go anywhere.”
Ralston notes that communicating with employees about the
future requires a lot of one-on-one time, talking to each
employee about what he would like from them and what he can
do for them. One major goal he has right now is to spend more
time managing versus tinkering with new construction processes.
“I am not doing my company a good
service if I’m totally focused on the creative side
and not working with my people,” Ralston says.
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