Builder’s Library: Ten Threats to Success

Most builders never really know why their construction businesses fail. The demise is often so sudden and unexpected that the natural tendency, both for the builder and for all of us who lend a sympathetic ear to his story, is to blame a particular project that turned sour or a competitor who took work away with low-ball bids. But the real reasons are much closer to home, according to Thomas Schleifer, a longtime contractor who has made a career out of exploring how and why construction companies fail. In Construction Contractor’s Survival Guide, Schleifer draws upon his 30 years of experience in construction to present an analysis of the causes of contractor failure that is both familiar and unexpected. Schleifer contends that most contractor failures