Although winning isn’t everything, it feels pretty good when you do.

I recall vividly as Al Davis, former owner of the Oakland Raiders said “Just Win Baby” It got me thinking about what Levco and the remodeling industry, in general, have in common with the game of football.

I also got caught up in the frenzy of college football this year and celebrate another fantastic BSU football season.

From my armchair, “Remodeling is much like a football game, except when it is done correctly, there are only winners, no losers”.

• Both teams develop a game plan based on reviewing tapes and having faced similar challenges. Although we don’t use tapes we review previous projects to learn from them.
• We have owners that agree to play each other. In our case, the opponent is in the form of a remodeling project.
• We both use lots of illustrations to plan out what we will do.
• Football uses a coach and we use a Project Manager who calls the plays.
• We both take a break at significant milestones to review the plan for the next phase.
• We both believe that we are the best despite there being other teams out there that do the same thing just a little differently.
• 

  Kellen Moore

  There is a set of rules that we are all supposed to play by, some teams do a better job of it.

• Occasionally we both drop the ball. We always pick it up and keep playing.
• When we take a break, we rehydrate for the next set of downs.
• Football has players that specialize in all areas of the game from running and passing, to kicking. We have employees with overall knowledge of the game and employ specialty subcontractors for those complicated tasks.
• We both plan ahead and use the best resources and are always on the lookout for the best talent available.
• A fumble isn’t always a bad thing.
• We make progress and have setbacks on a regular basis.
• We both keep track of statistics.
• Occasionally we punt.
• Extra points are scored on clever plays.
• We both celebrate small victories and have occasional setbacks.
• In the end we all celebrate the game and in our case the completion of the project.

After looking at the similarities between football and remodeling, I was left at the threshold of trying to describe what winning means to me.  I borrowed a phrase frequently that was created at Flying Pie Pizza,  “We Always Win”.  As I see it, the only way to have our interests aligned is to let everyone know how we measure our success. As I open the door here is what I see.

Winning for Levco is:

Our Team

1. Creating a team approach to each project and developing relationships that are solid.
2. Knowing that we did a great job and created what the client wanted.
3. Keeping in control of the schedule and the scope of work.
4. Having Change Orders signed before additional work is started.
5. Coming in on budget.
6. Tinkering with our systems to improve our process.
7. Showing that we care.
8. Finding a better idea no matter the source.
9. Listening very carefully to each other and allowing every voice be heard.
10. Adapting to existing conditions.
11. Finding clever solutions to complicated problems.
12. Anticipating problems and special needs before they arise and handling them in stride.
13. Keeping everyone and everything up to date.
14. Getting everyone paid on time.
15. Dealing with problems swiftly and decisively in an honest upfront way.
16. Celebrating our successes.
17. Learning from setbacks.
18. Creating a fabulous remodeling project that looks like it was always there.

In closing, winning for us does not come at anyone’s expense. The beauty of remodeling in Boise, Idaho is that I have created a working model for our continued success and prosperity. The fruits of our labor go way beyond a paycheck which is why we do what we do so darn well.

Rest in peace Al, you won a lot.

Love Joe

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