12 minute read
Do Well and Do Good
from CCR June 21
Why giving back matters— and why it is something your company should practice
By Gary Ellis
There is an instructive and inspiring phrase that I believe should serve as a guide for important business decisions: “Do well and do good at the same time.” What does it mean to do good and what distinguishes it from the goal to do well? For builders, I believe doing good requires establishing a “why?” for the work we do and organizing guiding principles based on the answer to that question.
I believe most of us in the construction industry intuitively understand that the work we do truly, deeply matters. At Jacobsen Construction Company in Salt Lake City, where I recently began serving as CEO, we refer to this idea as the “noble purpose” of our work. Yet, it also is worthwhile to move beyond our day-to-day intuition and take a longer view of the underlying reasons that— upon closer examination—truly explain why the work of the construction industry holds the meaning and importance that it does.
Doing Good
Since assuming the role in January, my short time as CEO has taught me more clearly that building enduring communities is the ultimate “why?” behind the work we do. As builders, we ultimately are in business to support each client’s vision of what is possible in their organization— and in the enduring communities they create and bring together—by using our specific expertise to construct exceptional structures. It is in those structures where life happens—where people come to be together, to learn, to worship, to recreate, to heal, to build their careers and to do good in the world. While every building we construct ought to hold intrinsic beauty and inspiration for all occupants, everything we create also is vitally a means to an end—a functional tool that furthers the underlying dreams and aspirations of our client. To me and my Jacobsen colleagues, this naturally means finding clients whose values align with ours is an important part of creating meaning in our work. It also means that each client must feel that we are truly partnered with them in focusing on their larger, underlying goals made possible by the construction project, and using those larger goals as a guiding light for all project decisions. If a client did not feel that their big picture organizational objectives were our ultimate guide, then that would mean we lost sight of the true purpose of our work. I also believe that to do good contains another layer of meaning in the construction industry: It means creating opportunities for success, prosperity and fulfillment for our employees and trade partners. A career in construction can be remarkably rewarding, with opportunities to use a wide range of organizational and people skills to work on an unthinkably diverse array of projects and, in some of the most exciting places in America and throughout the world. A construction career also unquestionably opens the door to financial prosperity, opportunities for advancement, and the stability of benefits such as health and dental insurance, employee assistance programs, and even employee ownership at some companies, including Jacobsen. Creating avenues of financial opportunity for people throughout our industry is a thrilling way to do good.
Doing Well
Of course, to do well and to do good in the construction industry are interdependent principles. Without a way to sustain a profitable business model, all the good we want to do would be out of reach. So, we must understand that to do well is intimately connected to the rest of the goals we have for ourselves as builders. Using my educational training as an accountant, I have spent much of my 20-year career at Jacobsen focusing on the do well half of the equation—and directly supporting all those who do good for our clients—by ensuring our
business model could sustain our company’s financial stability and keep it thriving. Eventually, this led me to serve in the CFO role for six years. This role helped to broaden my horizons and helped me better understand how our company’s secure financial standing opened up a whole world of possibilities for finding and completing meaningful and challenging work for world-class clients, and empowered us to give back to our communities through impactful philanthropic giving. And since being named Jacobsen’s president in June 2020—and then president and CEO starting in January 2021—I have had the humbling opportunity to learn even more about the synergy and virtuous cycle between achieving our noble purpose as builders and strengthening our profitability. This learning experience has been made possible by the dedicated company leaders I get a chance to work with every day, who offer a diverse set of perspectives, and are responsible for putting into motion our strategy of achieving financial success and making a lasting difference in our communities in the process. The economic crisis that enveloped the world in 2020 challenged all of us in the construction industry to find nimble ways to do well. Certainly, no construction market in the country was exempt from delayed, canceled or reduced projects, nor the pandemic-era difficulty of staffing all jobsites with appropriate levels of manpower while also keeping those jobsites safe from the coronavirus. Despite this uniquely unpredictable economic crisis, our industry has largely come roaring back over the past several months and has been a big contributor to the American economy’s resilience in the face of the pandemic. Even still, as the floodgate of demand for projects has opened, the pricing of some raw materials such as lumber has proven to be severe. And labor shortages continue to strain contractors large and small.
It is during unpredictable eras like this when it is especially important to fall back on time-tested practices that can keep a general contractor steady amid volatile changes in market conditions. These include expert monitoring of shifting market factors impacting material pricing and delays, transparency and realistic communication with clients about how delayed or highcost materials might affect project costs and schedules, deep research of material alternatives that provide cost and schedule savings without compromising overall quality, and continual communication with subcontractors about their availability and adjusting sequencing of projects as needed to ensure steady progress at each jobsite. These are demanding practices that require heavy institutional investment, but all are underpinned by the successful principles of hard-earned market expertise and a company culture of honesty, openness and thorough communication. I know firsthand that these common-sense and stabilizing financial strategies that lead a company to do well—when paired with a united sense of noble purpose and meaning in our work that inspire us to do good—will lead to invigorated employees; eager trade partners; and clients whose trust has been earned and whose dreams have been realized, leading them to come back again and again with the invitation to help them make the world a better place. CR
Gary Ellis joined Jacobsen Construction Company in 2000. An accountant by trade, Ellis quickly rose through the ranks of the company to serve as CFO for six years. He also has previously served the company as Executive VP of Business Development. Ellis is a trusted leader and relationship builder at Jacobsen known for his innovative strategic planning for the long-term strategic growth of the company. As part of Jacobsen’s long-planned leadership succession strategy, Ellis was named company president in June 2020, and named president and CEO in January 2021.
Transcending time with natural slate
The Palisades Field House and surrounding playgrounds were designated as historic landmarks and added to the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites in 2016. History offered two epic periods of note. The first pertains to the site’s long periods of prehistoric occupation by Native Americans from approximately 8000 BC to 1700 AD. The second dates from the establishment/development of the Palisades Playground for recreational use beginning in 1922... and subsequent design and construction of a field house and park completed between 1935 -1936.
In 2014 the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation requested community input for the modernization of the existing field house and park. Ultimately, the Washington D.C. based design-build team of MCN Build and cox graae + spack architects was contracted to modernize and improve the existing field house structure and the adjacent park. Archeologists had long determined that the areas along the Potomac River (including that now known as the Palisades Playground) were and are recognized as sites of Native American settlement stretching from 8000 BC to 1700 AD. Located on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River and bounded by two stream ravines, artifacts including stone axes and hoes, pottery fragments, stone projectile points and knives, beads, ornaments and other types of artifacts were collected in early investigations, many currently curated by the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History. Designed by the National Park Service in the 30’s, the original field house is a true example of the Colonial Revival style, popular in American architecture at the time. It included an auditorium/gym with game rooms for children, offices, restrooms, a small kitchen and more. In 2016, efforts to bring improvements and new facilities to the Palisades community were initiated. As part of a design-build team headed by MCN Build, cox graae + spack architects designed and administered construction for a modernized Palisades Community Recreation Center. The project scope included a modernization and restoration of the 6,500 square foot existing Field House and a 7,000 square foot addition. Specific program spaces were to include a multi-purpose room, flexible rooms for classes, meetings, and community functions, a gymnasium for indoor basketball with striping for other activities, a fitness room and other spaces tailored to serve both teens and seniors. According to Don Gregory, AIA, Principal at cox graae + spack architects, “In many ways, this project transcended time. Our marching orders were to work on an historic site dating back thousands of years, with the centerpiece being a building which was 85 years old. Our client was not just the District of Columbia... but also, many local community organizations and members with whom we connected via a structured community outreach program. Needless to say, we had many masters. Our collective goal was to update the facility, but in doing so, exhibit the past, present and future. After much deliberation, we were able to come up with a program that was accepted by all.” No major construction needed to be done on the initial older building, as Gregory stated “it had great original bones. However, we did replace deteriorated windows and doors... and restore and replace lost interior finishes utilizing original design drawings as a guide.” He went on to explain that there was only one place for the new addition to be built... and that was not at the current building’s front. Rather, it was on the side closest to the river, where those who were inside could see across the Potomac River to Virginia and vice versa. “We envisioned glass walls on all sides facing the river offering exceptional views. Yet we wanted the proposed addition to blend in with the understated features of the original building... and clearly, we did not want the end result to be described as a ‘glass box.’” “So,” continued Gregory, “We considered various materials that would be
The original field house.
complementary with all that glass. One restrictive D.C. preservation mandate, which was much appreciated, was that we were not to ‘mimic the original building’s form and cladding materials. The addition had to exhibit a clear separation between what was original and what was new.’” To make a longer story shorter, that’s when a natural slate CupaClad® rainscreen system was considered and shortly thereafter, specified. “We evaluated and promoted the use of natural slate for the project for its beauty, timelessness and longevity. CupaClad® natural slate was well received and approved for use in our several public presentations to D.C. Historic Preservation Agencies. We also carefully considered how the grey/charcoal-colored, horizontally placed slate units were to look and be installed. Our team managed the design and installation of the slate units, not unlike typical masonry corner-to-corner installations, where only full or half-length units were to be installed. In layman’s terms, this translated into corner conditions where no ‘fill-in’ material was needed as the slate units wrap the corner conditions seamlessly. There was no doubt in our minds that by following this dimensionally rigorous, but sensible approach, CupaClad® rainscreen would work out.” stated Gregory. CupaClad® is a natural slate rainscreen cladding system providing a range of cladding solutions, from traditional to contemporary, offering architects and specifiers a wide choice, suited for any individual design. Highest quality, durable CupaClad® slates are installed using a new and efficient installation system, painstakingly crafted by Cupa Pizarras, the world’s leading source of top-quality slate surfacing materials for construction. It should be mentioned that CupaClad® systems are quick and easy to install by any facade contractor. Once installed, the slate is safely set-in place. Because with natural slate there is no color fading… it stands up to any climatic change, and no maintenance therefore is ever needed. “We really enjoyed working with the CupaClad® product and the CupaClad® people,” concluded Gregory. “We have another project utilizing CupaClad® on the boards and plan on specifying it for future projects.” One of these autumn days, you may find yourself in Northeast Virginia, leisurely driving along the George Washington Parkway. Looking eastward and admiring the seasonal foliage, you see beautiful combinations of red, brown and yellow. If you look another second or two (driving safely, of course...) you might also have a quick view through the leaves of an exquisite building consisting of glass window walls and a stately greyish, charcoal-colored stone façade that nicely complements the leaves. Get used to seeing it. That view was designed to continue looking good while lasting essentially forever. CCR
Don Gregory, AIA
