May 22 2007 7:34AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |
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Enough is enough!  We have been bombarded with negative stories about the housing market, subprime mortgage dilemma, foreclosures and CEO mismanagement and improper manipulation.  After I read the morning paper I want to go back to bed and lay there in a fetal position with the covers over my head.  OK, I am exaggerating a bit.  But the fact is all of this negative communication about the housing industry can really affect how we approach each business day, our customers, suppliers, vendors and manufacturers. 

Sure this downturn in the market is not fun but, it is a reality that we all have to deal with and, the key is how we deal with it.  There are two ways to work in a down market, the first is for builders to demand lower prices and discounts, slow payments to vendors and suppliers, beat up the sales force, and just take a “its my way or the highway” approach to doing business.  I have seen this approach before and it doesn’t do much for nurturing partnerships in the long run.

The other approach is for builders to bring their internal teams together to collectively determine how the company will get through the downturn and come out stronger when the market comes back.  They also work with their suppliers, vendors and building material manufacturers to determine how to improve and streamline processes so that all of them can minimize the “hurt” and improve their business relationships and come out of the downturn stronger.  When the market drops like it has, all of us feel it and it effects each of us and we must strive to work together to improve efficiencies, processes and, yes, relationships because, in the long run, we need each other.  So, it makes sense that we need to support each other not only through the good times but through the bad times as well.

I want to thank Judy Rump of Viega Plumbing and Heating Systems for the inspiration to write this article as she sent me this message yesterday.

“I would like to suggest including some builder info on a positive note such as there are still over 1 million families that will be purchasing homes this year in the U.S.  The industry seems to be focused on negatives and that is true, sales are down.”