Monday, September 10, 2007

Paradigm Engineering News 9-10-07

Environmental News

Construction News

  • Ara K. Hovnanian, president and CEO, of K. Hovnanian said in his third quarter conference call on September 7th that staffing cuts and debt as well as inventory reduction has positioned them generate $175 million to $250 million of cash flow in the fourth quarter 2007 and $100 million to $400 million of positive cash flow into 2008.
  • People in Boston are a bit panicked about home prices. "Price declines have been most sharply felt in those metro areas that have been among the most overvalued." The market adjustment continues.
  • The Federal Reserve ( FED) meets a week from tomorrow on September 18th to decide if they will drop nterest rates. The analysts I read are split about 50 - 50 on whether there will be an interest rate drop.
  • Non-Residential Construction spending posted it's tenth consecutive month of growth in July.
  • The economy lost 4000 jobs last month, less than one hundreth of one percent of all the jobs out there. The loss was almost entirely due to residential construction losses, and commercial builders are looking to hire them.
  • The Fed released guidance on September 5th suggesting that the mortgage lenders who have people approaching foreclosure should work with their clients to help avoid default.
  • I believe there will be more difficult times in the next few months for the industry, but it still looks to me like things will turn around for the residential market by next summer.
  • For Paradigm, there are many many new commercial builders, and even residential builders who are just beginning to hear about our services.
  • Many are anxious to talk to us, since we can help them plan their stormwater program and value engineer their plans to possible reduce their overall stormwater costs.
  • Ara K. Hovnanian, president and CEO, of Hovnanian Builders said in his third quarter conference call on September 7th that staffing cuts and debt as well as inventory reduction has positioned the builder to generate $175 million to $250 million of cash flow in the fourth quarter 2007 and $100 million to $400 million of positive cash flow into 2008.


Paradigm's PIPES: Servant's Heart


"Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

It seems a paradox that putting our clients first results in the promotion of Paradigm. This is a cultural value of Paradigm as a company, of our teams, and of our team members. Last year, a team of people at different levels across the organization met and were asked "What does it mean to have a servant's heart? Together they produced the following list:

  • We are willing to serve the needs of others first
  • We serve with a positive attitude
  • We serve with a humble spirit
  • We are committed to delighting our customers with excellent service
  • We hold ourselves accountable to keep our commitments and sacrifice for others
  • We anticipate our customer's needs by proactively delivering preventative care
During these times when it seems everyone around is making sacrifices for each other and for our customers. I look up to see I see Karen Carlson making extraordinary effort to make sure that our clients' contracts are right before we start to bill. I see Caleb Winn in HR work proactivly to make sure our benefit changes are handled smoothly. I see CJ McCormick noticing a new bank being built and taking the time to see who the builder is to discover if we can serve them and Paradigm by adressing their stormwater issues. I see John Cernero patiently teaching the commercial sales group the components of a SWPPP. I see it in Cindy Steel's willingness to help people find just the right data they need. I see it Sharon White dropping what she is doing to fix your PC when it is not even her job. I see it in Production, in inspectors and client managers and consultants going beyond reasonable service on a daily basis without being asked. A servant's heart brings joy to those who serve in this way.

...And so these values do not change for us: Professionalism, Integrity, having a Pioneering Spirit, serving with Excellence, and having a Servant's Heart.

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