1. Winners are Focused!

No surprise here, right? As a construction leader you never expect to "lose." You set your sights high, you communicate those sights clearly, and you remind yourself and others to remain focused on the objective.

2. Winners Expect Challenges & Prepare Accordingly!

No winner expects to go unchallenged. Everyone wants to knock off the best. It's the same in construction. If you think your competitors are not working to "take you out" then you are greatly mistaken. Even good competitors will not give you a break when it comes to trying to outsell you, nicely informing your customers that perhaps your not quite the construction company that they are. Winners expect this and prepare new strategies, provide new services, and take fresh steps to presenting excellence in new and innovative ways.

3. Winners Work Earlier, Harder, and Later!

It continues to impress me when I read of outstanding athletes who, when others are relaxing, are working out, watching more film, perfecting techniques that are already "All-Pro." To be a construction "winner" you must get up earlier to get your day off to the best start possible. You must make more sales calls, do a better job pre-planning your projects, read more prints, know more technical information, and out strategize the competition. And, you must simply work later into the night working to make sure your "troops" are ready for the next day, having all of the resources they will need to work without any downtime.

4. Winners Prioritize Health & Mental Wellness!

i've yet to meet a true champion that didn't take care of their body and mind. To be a champion you must be at prime condition both physically and mentally. it's the same for construction leaders. Take the time to get your sleep and to eat healthy. Eating your way through fast-foods and consuming large quantities of "adult beverages" may appear to be macho when you're young but in time you will become fat, slow of movement physically and mentally. Now, not everyone is capable of working out 2-3 hours a day, we don't have that kind of time but we must condition our bodies to be strong and healthy so that we can outlast our competition. Strong minds make for better strategy making, better leadership, and better decision making when the heat is really turned up.

5. Winners Simply Never Quit!

A winner may get beat but they don't quit on themselves. They learn from their losses and are quick to make good adjustments to get back on the winning track. When construction winners lose a bid to another construction company they contact the customer and ask about their reasons for not selecting them. They don't do it angrily but with a sincere interest about determining if their choice was based on price, presentation, etc.

6. Finally, Winners Plan to Win!

This almost sounds too simple yet this is exactly what great winners plan. Every winner studies their competition and plots their course of effort accordingly. Similarly, construction winners recognize their competition; what their bidding tendencies are and what concessions they'll offer the customer. Then, the winning makes the appropriate adjustments and "goes for it." It isn't always pretty but it is what is needed to get the work.

Winning is not for everyone. Many contractors and construction leaders are only too quick to place the blame on others when they don't get that job they were hoping to win. That's the big difference between contractors who simply compete from those who truly plan to win. You must do your homework, paying close attention to the "little things" that can take you off your game and stay focused on how to win.

Read about winners. Read about athletes, military leaders, great politicians, business leaders, and don't forget those unheralded winners like high school teachers and coaches, and perhaps the greatest winners in our lives, our parents. Study these folks and look to your own efforts and what you an do to sharpen your edge when it comes to developing that winning habit.

The Gangbox Boys!