The subcontracting marketplace is segmented into tens of thousands of companies having trouble squeezing profits out of the chaos. Worst of all is that contractors who are sick and tired of the grind, or who are at retirement age, have a devil of a time exiting the business.

I am the Customer. I’m going to offer you a peek from my viewpoint, free of charge.

FMI Corp., the well-known construction industry consulting and research firm, recently published a scholarly analysis titled: “Why Contractors Fail: A Causal Analysis of Large Contractor Bankruptcies.” It’s filled with examples of large general and specialty construction companies that went under. If you don’t want to invest the time I’ll briefly summarize its content as follows.

Nobody personifies sports fanaticism more than football coaches. Maybe it takes that kind of obsession to be a winner in the NFL or NCAA Div. 1. I wouldn’t know. Since at this stage of life I have little use for learning the proper techniques of blocking and tackling, football coaches have nothing to teach me that I have not learned better from persons in other walks of life.

As noted, criminal background checks are no guarantee you’ll discover the deepest, darkest secrets of job applicants. But it’s virtually guaranteed that you won’t discover them-until it’s too late-without doing background checks.

Recruiting and hiring people are only half the battle. All the expense and effort you put into it can be lost if they don’t like working for you. So this month we’ll discuss how to get off on the right foot in introducing top-notch people to your company.

This month, we’ll get more specific by focusing on what ideally should be three phases of the hiring process. You risk costly mistakes by taking shortcuts in the critical decision about who to put on your payroll.

It’s not hard to find good people – it’s only hard to find them in a hurry.

For every boss, firing someone is the least favorite part of the job. These days it can also be perilous from a legal standpoint - and occasionally physically threatening - as well. Yet, sooner or later, almost every employer finds it necessary to carry out this unpleasant duty.

Pseudo-holidays, such as Columbus Day and Presidents Day, give respite to those of us who live in traffic-clogged metropolitan areas. Millions of motorists experience the giddy feeling of doing the speed limit to and from work for a change.