ForConstructionPros.com

L.L. Geans may not be the biggest concrete contractor around, but with a systems approach to management it may be one of the best run. Over the last 20 years, company president Rocky Geans has focused on making the company successful with an organization that would be envied by much larger enterprises.

For Geans, there was no single "a-ha" moment where he decided to create systems; rather, they arose out of necessity as he tried to grow the company from the small four-man company he took over from his father.

"It's allowed the business to grow and run beyond what I can reach," Geans says. "The processes and the company can continue without me."

For many contractors, learning to let go is the biggest hindrance to growth. While they want to get bigger, they don't want to lose control of the company. Systems make it possible to maintain control without being on every job, everyday, Geans says.
"When there are problems, they pop up sooner when you have systems," he says.

For example, several years ago Geans had some employees doing side work. To complete these side projects, the employees were using the company's equipment, ordering concrete and materials and billing it to the company, and doing it on company time, all adding up to big hits to the bottom line.