Marketing is Leadership

The concept that marketing is leadership caught my attention while reading Cohen's book. I work as a general contractor/construction manager and use this philosophy on a daily basis. I did not connect the two concept until reading this chapter. As the GC we need to motivate out subcontractors to help us reach our goals. Our subcontractors help us be successful in each of our projects, it doesn't matter if it is a $20,000 renovation or a $1 Million job from scratch.

Throughout the job I, as the site superintendent, need to market the importance of the job and each of it's milestones to the subcontractors working on the project. Milestones can be as simple as weekly improvements so the client can see progress or attaining building inspection so the job is completed within code. The biggest milestone of the project is attaining the Certificate of Occupancy and turning the space over the client.

Drucker has five important questions that every organization needs to understand. These are the same questions that my subcontractors need to understand to complete the job.  The five questions and the basics of how they are used for out projects are as follows.

1. What is our mission? To complete the project within the allotted time frame without sacrificing quality so we meet our customers exceptions.
2. Who is out customer? The new client taking ownership of the space and the architects and engineers that designed the space. We also need to meet the expectation of the building managers.
3. What does our customer value? A quality office space that allows them to conduct business, host meetings and bring in clients.
4. What are our results? A satisfied customer
5. What is our plan? To execute the project to satisfy the customer. Push the schedule to minimize any chance of a delay in completion.