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

Everyone knows that this is a slow week for work ... unless you work in retail and there is a mad, crazy 75% off sale. For me, I am using the time to clean up my legal files, assess the deadlines for the next three months, evaluate what went right in 2009, contemplate what went wrong in 2009, and plan better for 2010. 

With so many ways to attack this evaluation process, I want to share with you my top sources of evaluation (in no particular order):

For career development ... Cordell Parvin is a fellow Richmond Spider (...although a few years before me...) and former construction attorney. I came across Cordell's name about 6-7 years ago when I was contemplating a move to Dallas, Texas and I reached out to fellow law school alums. While that venture did not turn out, I have kept in touch with Cordell regularly through his books, blog, and Tweets. While you can find a lot by browsing his blog, my favorite year-end posts include:

• Why You Should Create a 2010 Plan ... Cordell has a webinar on this topic today.
• Practical Tips on How to Do Year End Planning
• And today's post about Planning at the 50,000 Foot Level

For balancing family and career and life ... sure you have your Zig Ziglar's, your John Maxwell's, and even your Rick Warren's ... but my favorite, local, "living-life-right" model is Nashville's own Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing. I first started following Michael's blog, Leading with Purpose, at the beginning of this year when I revved up my career planning and life assessment. Michael is a model husband-father-businessman-leader, who Tweets about leadership and life. Here are a few of my favorite posts, including the year-end assessment:

• Seven Questions to Ask about Last Year ... the Year Ahead post is expected soon.
• Five Characteristics of Weak Leaders, which gives you a look at how not to lead.
• Two Approaches to Influencing the Family ... notice that Michael likes numbers!

For sheer motivation ... speaker and author Andy Andrew challenges you to evaluate the importance of halftime. As for me, this week is my "halftime" moment and the second half is about to begin. The year 2010 presents some great opportunities for my career, my family, my community and my church. How about you? I know. I have lived them, too. The past few years have been tough. But the best years lie ahead.

What are you going to do to make 2010 different? ... or better yet ... What are you going to do to make a difference in 2010?

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Seth Godin is the bestselling author of ten books on topics about marketing, the spread of ideas and managing both customers and employees with respect.  This week, Seth released an e-book, a FREE DOWN-LOADABLE BOOK, that addresses some exciting ideas for the new year. 

Why is this important for the construction industry?  Just download the book and find some of the following nuggets of encouragement and advice for the new year:

• Seth Godin (blogger and speaker): "...the more you give the more you get..."  Seth speaks of the importance of generosity in our lives.
• Howard Mann (entrepreneur and author): "They do business through personal relationships, by delivering great customer service and it's working for them."  Howard suggests that you stay connected and build personal relationships, which does not always  mean that you Tweet or blog more.
• Michael Hyatt (CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing): "When times are tough, vision is the first casualty. Before conditions can improve, it is the first thing we must recover."  Michael highlights that vision is the lifeblood of any organization.

Are you being generous in your business?  Are you investing in personal relationships?  Do you have the vision that your company needs to get you through these difficult times? 

Some of the most successful construction business owners I know are also some of the most generous people that I know.  Even if they are not blogging, Twittering, or Facebooking, they know how to build personal relationships with their clients.  They also treat their employees well and they have the ability to stand at the helm of their company, encouraging their people through the tough times.  Are you doing the same?

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One of my favorite leadership gurus, Michael Hyatt (CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing) posted a few good recommendations a couple months ago about using templates for greater efficiency.  Michael wrote:

For years, I have used the concept of “templating” to improve my productivity. The idea is that you create a template for any task that you find yourself doing repeatedly. So instead of “reinventing the wheel” every time, you do it once, save it as a template, and then reuse it.

In my construction litigation practice, I have used various templates to make my life easier during various stages of a construction disputes.  This week, I want to share with you a couple of those templates.

The first one is a mechanic's lien information sheet (pdf) that outlines the background information that is needed for me to file a Notice of Non-Payment or Notice of Lien on behalf of a client.  The type of information that I need to file a lien includes the following:

• Is the project residential or commercial?
• Is the Contract with the owner of the property or the prime contractor?
• Name and address of property owner and prime contractor.
• Name of project/subdivision; property location map; and property address and/or lot number.
• Type of service/material/labor supplied to the project.
• Commencement date (ground breaking) of the project.
• Beginning date of your work on the project.
• Total amount invoiced to date with a copy of the invoices.
• Amount owed or unpaid on the project.
• Last date of your work on the project.
• Date entire project was completed.
• Any “Notice of Completion” recorded?
• Any payment bonds issued?

While this information appears to be a no-brainer request for those contractors who file liens on a regular basis, I have found over the years that my clients appreciate the template that I send them.  This way, there is no confusion about what information I need from them and I am able to more effeciently help my client pursue their rights.

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