Best Practices Construction Law : Construction Lawyer & Attorney : Matthew DeVries : Stites & Harbison Law Firm : Green Building & LEED Litigation

If you've read a newspaper, scrolled through a blog, or watched the television over the past 48 hours, you should know about the miracle story of Ted Williams.  Dubbed "the homeless man with a velvety voice," Williams was discovered on the streets of Ohio looking for work.  Already he has received some lucrative offers.

As of this morning, Williams recorded his first commercial voice-over with Kraft Foods and he has been offered a job by the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.  His golden voice is being pursued by NFL Films and others for possible work.

What can you learn from this streets-to-stardom story?  First, I will admit it ... I am a sap.  As I watched the interview on the Today Show with Williams and his 90-year-old mother, my eyes welled up.  What a reunion!  Then my wife walked into the room, saw my red eyes, and I told her the truth:  "Man, my allergies are really acting up this morning!"

All kidding aside, one of the greatest lessons for executives is to embrace a sense of urgency in your business development efforts.  As reported by the Tennessean, the Cavaliers did not know much about Williams, but they were moved by his ordeal.  "When you know something's right, you just have to launch,"  Cavalier's marketing executive Tracy Marek said. "One of the big things that we talk about here, with our organization, is how important urgency is — when you see something that feels good and seems right."

Times are difficult in this economy.  The construction industry continues to see very slow growth.  It's important to trust your instincts, try new approaches, and use the tools available to you to increase business.  Perhaps your next project is right around the corner if you are willing to embrace urgency and explore new opportunities.

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A week does not go by without a friend, colleague, or new acquaintance asking me, "How do you do it all?"  The short answer: "It's tough ... very tough ... but I have some help.  For home and family issues, I have my lovely wife.  For unloading the dishwasher, I have my son.  For getting out letters, I have my legal assistant.  For researching legal issues, I have a number of associate attorneys who can help.  And for blogging and staying current with the construction industry, I have Google Reader." (...Okay, so my answer was not that short...)

I use Google Reader to track and scan over 100 blogs, news sources and Twitter feeds relating to the construction industry, leadership, marketing and social media.  Rather than try to explain how it works, check out the following short video:

Now, let's see how Google Reader has helped my blogging efficiency for an actual blog post.  A few months ago, I read an article in my Google Reader about two tunneling machines being used on a project in Puget Sound. Since the article highlighted what I thought was an instance of a "construction project gone wild," I blogged about the incident, as well as some construction management tips. 

How can Google Reader help you? The tool can be used:

• To track your "go to" websites that you regularly check
• To track certain terms in the mainstream media (i.e. "construction bids Tennessee" or "green incentives for developers")
• To follow certain Twitter feeds for people or terms

Since words have different meanings to people, there may be problems with some of the initial feeds you set in Google Reader.  It may take time to determine whether the inquiries you set are returning useful information.  Overall, this is a "must use" for anyone in the construction and green building industry.

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As I was driving to work, a super-hero-like voice interrupted my morning news program on the radio: "Green Power Switch is coming to a neighborhood near you!  Green Power Switch will allow you, the consumer, to choose to purchase “green” energy from the companies that sell the power that TVA generates."

That’s right! The Tennessee Valley Authority and local power companies are banding together to offer their customers various alternatives of renewable energy (i.e., solar, bio fuels and wind).

Self, I ask, what’s the big deal with that? The big deal is that the speeches and PowerPoint presentations we’ve heard on renewable energy legislation and its effects on the construction industry are becoming a reality.  

Just a few weeks ago, the Green Ribbon Committee on Environmental Sustainability issued its recommendations to Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, including the following: 

• "Implement program at NES to switch from petroleum oil to a soybean-based oil for transformers used city wide."
• "Develop a Metro Green Fleet program to expand the use of electric vehicles, hybrids and bio-diesel to help diversify energy supplies, decrease emissions and support regional economic activity."
• Adopt an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system for NES residential customers that would enable them to manage their energy consumption and conservation efforts.

From government initiative ... to legislative enactment  ... to industry standard ... to consumer incentive ... renewable energy will have a dramatic effect on the construction industry as a whole. Already, we are seeing green-related ordinances that affect the day-to-day business operations of your hard-hat construction contractors, laborers and suppliers.  Take, for example, the green cement ordinance in Dallas, Texas that requires use of cement from "dry kilns" versus "wet kilns."  That's good news if you operate a dry kiln ... not so good news if you operate a wet kiln.  In other instances, the issue is finding its way into the court system like City of Albuquerque v. AHRI, which blocked enforcement of various state energy conservation codes in New Mexico on preemption grounds. The plaintiffs were a group of HVAC and water heating equipment trade organizations, contractors and distributors.  (Steve Del Percio discusses the City of Albuquerque v. AHRI case on www.greenbuildingsNYC.com.)  

These are just a few examples of the 411 (... information ...) that you can find here at Best Practices Construction Law.  Check back soon for an overview of other green-related legislation affecting the construction industry.

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