Think Zero

21/08/2013

YORscep update

07/08/2013

Why are architects websites so bloody awful?

Look, I love the architecture business in all its diverse glory, I spent ten years in it, I’ve worked with them, and employed plenty, but it’s high time that the profession realised that their websites can be so bad that … Continue reading →

28/07/2013

Hi, I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help

It was 25 years ago today, that President Reagan said those famous words in a speech to the Future Farmers of America. In that speech, he called them the 10 most dangerous words in the English language. Ronald Reagan went on to say … Continue reading →

05/07/2013

Construction buying event with GB Building Solutions

17th July 2013 @ GB Building Solutions, Wakefield. Meet the buying and estimating team from GB Building Solutions at this YORscep Members Only event where buyers and estimators will be on hand to talk about GBGS, their upcoming projects and … Continue…

28/06/2013

CIH Conference gold lamé lama report

http://www.thinkzero.co.uk/cih-conference-gold-lame-lama-report/

The Chartered Institute of Housing's annual conference has certainly established itself at Manchester Central over the last couple of years, and has benefitted from its move towards a mixed exhibition and conference. The mix has opened up the visitor profile away from public sector housing officers towards a wider industry focus.

The mood of the event definitely had something of a split personality though. Whilst chatting to delegates and exhibitors, an overriding impression of division struck me. The people and organisations that are firmly ensconced in the public sector seemed to have a gloomily pessimistic outlook for the next twelve months. Departmental budget cuts are being taken personally, which is understandable if your position is under threat, but it's hardly going to change anything for the better.

Conversely, the private and third sector seemed much more positive. Everyone seemed to be heartily fed up of talking about the financial hardship that's been around since 2008, so they are planning to get on with business in this new reality.

In other words; this is it folks, so lets make the best of it.

Lots of the people that I spoke to had great plans and initiatives that they were using to make themselves stand out and look different from the crowd. No longer were they relying on being cheapest (value is a given now) or even just being on a clients preferred supplier list, they were thinking about market position and how their business culture could be leveraged to create a point of differentiation among their peers. Ideas were ten a penny, and some of them were stunning in their simplicity and brilliance.

A typical example was the ESH Group who have spent the last few years investing heavily in their CSR programs, to the point that they it doesn't look like typical cynical corporate CSR, they really do care, and it's spreading across the culture of the business. They have even created the Grow Your Community fund that's handing out cash to projects, which goes above and beyond what most firms would dream of doing. And guess what... it's winning them work, and not necessarily at the cheapest price!

Harris Construction Management were another great example. Lucy Noonan and her husband who's a structural engineer at Curtins Consulting have volunteered to spend a couple of weeks in Kenya working with a refuge. It's not your ordinary refuge though, oh no! This one needs a watch tower to protect the residents from the dangers they are escaping, and Harris CM have freely given both time off and cash to help the project.

This is all impressive stuff because this sort of initiative is being embraced simply because it's the right thing to do, rather than because clients are making it the price of working for them. The smart clients and procurers will take this on board and make more use of the triple bottom line as a route to selecting who they work with in the future.

And the gold lamé lama's? Well, it's the only photograph I managed to take, and if and somebody has already gone to all that trouble to hand them to you on a plate... why not make the best of it?

26/06/2013

Paul Senior takes over as the new national Chairman of the NFB

Congratulations are due to a chap that we have a lot of personal and professional respect for here at Think Zero, with his selection as the new national Chairman of the National Federation of Builders (NFB) for 2013/14. Sheffield-born Paul … Continue…

26/06/2013

Posts from YORscep Member opportunties for 26/06/2013

25/06/2013

LHC's Schools and Community Buildings Framework Contractors announced

Ten contractors across the UK have been appointed to public sector procurement consortium LHC’s new framework arrangement for refurbishment and extension works for schools and community buildings. LHC is a not-for-profit consortium set up to provide…

22/06/2013

This month's TZ Saturday Surgery kicks off at 11am @ Cafe Moco 202 West Street Sheffield S1.

19/06/2013

Posts from YORscep Member opportunties for 19/06/2013

18/06/2013

Saturday Surgery - join us in Sheffield this week when we'll be looking at the Framework pipeline

Every month we hold an informal drop-in surgery in Sheffield where Members can call in for a chat over a coffee. Join us this coming Saturday at Cafe Moco on West Street in Sheffield when we’ll be looking at the pipeline … Continue reading →

15/06/2013

Recent opportunities for Members of the YORscep programme

Reroofing works in East Yorkshire
SCEP Member event with GB Building Solutions
Supported Living Unit, Brough, East Yorkshire
PQQ SOS 2 -PQQ Patterns & Flaws

www.yorscep.co.uk

The YORbuild YORcivil and YORconsult Supply Chain Engagement Programme delivered by Think Zero

15/06/2013

We know how hard it is to get away from work sometimes, so we hold a regular Saturday Surgery where we discuss frameworks, business development, industry activity and anything else that’s topical.
Next event: Saturday 22 June 2013 @ 11am – 12pm

15/06/2013

We've been chatting to lots of our clients recently who are profitable on paper but are suffering with poor cashflow.

As a result we've introduced a few clients to our affiliate Geoff Belk, who's a specialist at finance for firms in the building industry.

Factoring is a great solution that turns your unpaid invoices into working capital to help with day to day issues such as buying stock or paying wages.

While your business may be generating sales, optimising cash flow and keeping on top of late payments can distract your focus.

You can receive up to 95% of the value of an invoice up front, allowing you to fully outsource your sales ledger management and credit control function, saving you time and money in staff costs.

The process is simple; once you have raised the invoice, you receive up to 95% of the invoiced value, your factoring partner then collects the amount owed using a friendly and professional credit control team before giving you the balance, less an agreed fee.

To find out more about invoice factoring, or to see if Geoff Belk can beat your current factoring deal, call him on 07501 254150.

12/06/2013

Posts from YORscep Member opportunties for 12/06/2013

23/05/2013

Applications for boiler installers are now closed. Thanks to everyone who applied, the response was great! http://ow.ly/ljDIw

This application process has now closed and responses h…

22/05/2013

The Prompt Payment Code signatories

Prompt payment is critical to the cash flow of every business, and especially to smaller businesses within the supply chain. But it is not just the timeliness of payment, though fast payment is always welcome, but rather the certainty of … Continue…