Thanks C&W Concrete!

There are very few things that are not "fixable" in construction. If the framers goof up and frame the door at the wrong height, they take 30 minutes, tear it back apart and frame it correctly. If the plumbers cut a pipe too long, they just measure and cut again. (Measure twice, cut one is great in theory but happens very little in reality). If the electricians forget to put in a plug, they take 15 minutes and put in another one.

There is one thing that is very permanent and costs a whole bunch of money to fix if it's done wrong. It's CONCRETE! It's heavy, permanent, and virtually "unfixable". If it is fixed, then most anyone can see it. It has to be ripped out and replaced. The ripped out stuff has to be hauled away. It's a pain in the butt, expensive to do, and costs a lot of time. That is why it is soooooooo important to have a good concrete trade partner and we have the best! The name of the company is C and W Concrete. Ronnie Chambers is the owner. Scott Chambers is his son and runs the crews. Pedro is the foreman.

I don't want to jinx it, but they just don't make mistakes. These guys are great at what they do and we love them for it. Thank you guys! Our customers thank you, also. Garman Homes is honored to have you working with us!

- Dan Morse

Dan's Favorite Thing...

Plain and simple. My favorite thing about company meetings we have is that they are few and far between. Some companies have meetings everyday and sometimes two or three times a day. Why is that? It's because they don't just talk to each other. It is amazing what happens when we just hang out. We call these informal meetings. Informal meetings are common place at Garman Homes. I am amazed at how many things get missed at our formal meetings and get figured out in our informal meetings. You should try it!

- Dan Morse

Whatever you are comfortable in

 So we have a new recruit starting for us in a couple of weeks. We are so excited to have her start! Of course she had many questions about many different things. Some questions included:

How many homes per year does Garman build?
Where will I be building Garman homes?
What makes Garman Homes different?

Etc., etc., etc. Important stuff!

Of course, once we answered those questions among many more, she could not resist coming to work for us.So once she accepted the position, there were more questions. We had more answers.Then a few days later, she called me very excited about starting work and she asked me the simple question, "What do I wear to work?"

The cool thing is I didn't even have to think about it and I answered, "Whatever you are comfortable in."

She said, "Even Jeans?"

And I said, "Even jeans and if it's hot out, you can wear shorts."

She ended the conversation with, "This gets even better."

Of all the important questions that were asked during the interview, the simple question of what to wear to work was not important. But to be able to wear comfortable clothes, especially when we work in an outdoor factory, is very important. There are many companies who tell you what to wear no matter how uncomfortable it may make you while working. We are not one of those companies! We are serious about our work and serious about our customers. We are not serious about what we wear while doing it. If our Build Like a Gilr star can wear a dress to build a house, why can't Gerry?!?! Ha!

- Dan Morse

Culture Book 2011 - Dan Morse

Garman Homes culture is all about flow, momentum, and change.

Flow is just how we roll....
If someone needs help, we help each other.
If someone is having a bad day, we pick them up.
If someone is being treated poorly, we have their back.
If it takes 80% of our time, we stop doing it because it's not worth it.
If someone does something great, we celebrate!

Momentum is just how we roll....
We make decisions very quickly
Too much analyzing can be paralyzing
We finish what we start.
If the path to success changes, we just follow the new path.
We don't slow down because if we do, we just might stop.

Change is just how we roll....
Change is going from Citrix to Citrix and Google Docs to Citrix and Google Docs and Dropbox.
Change is going from Gerry and I and Mike to Gerry and I and Ryan to Gerry and I and Brian.
Change is going from Alaina and Kathie and Randy to Alaina and Jim to Alaina and Laurel to Alaina and Laurel and Kendall

What a great first year! As you can see, we are not afraid of change, because sometimes that is what we need to do to be successful.

Dan Morse
Rock Star since April 20, 2010

Jim & Dan Walk the Site

Nice Hat, Dan!

Our Director of Construction, Dan Morse, showing us how to handle the water main!  Wedgewood is rolling...pipe going in the ground as we speak!

WINNING

(Excerpt from my Build Like a Girl blog)

Contrary to what most people might say, I don't agree with the notion that it is an honor just to be nominated. Ok, so maybe if we're talking Nobel Peace Prize, sure, that's an honor...but short of that, and not to go all Charlie Sheen crazy here but I get my honor kicks from winning. (p.s. if you're ever up against me for an award, you should know I'm probably hoping you lose.)

So it's a good thing we won the MAME Award for Best Blog by a Builder last week, huh? MAME stands for Major Achievements in Marketing Excellence and yes, I know, really odd name for marketing awards. Now back to the winning part.

The night would have been a total downer if we lost. Instead it was one of the best nights of my career thus far. It was the kind of night where you have so much fun that people earn nicknames. Really good nicknames that stick. That's right, I'm talking to you, Skittles.

And it was the kind of night when you realize that you get to work with just the coolest people on earth. People who think it's a great idea to carpool together in the swagger wagon. People who ask if anyone's iphone needs a quick charge before we go in to the event. People who will only tag the good pictures of you on Facebook and oblige your request to delete the ones where your arms look fat. Those are good people. I love those people.

I'd like to say that I would write this blog even if no one was reading but that would be a total lie. I write this blog because it allows me to connect to anyone and everyone that reads it. It gives me a platform to spill my guts, air my grievances, confess my sins and move on. It gives me a platform to be better. At anything. At everything. I write it because it makes me feel good and it gives me an opportunity to make other people feel good, usually at my own expense but whatever. If someone reads this and feels good...that is fan-freaking-tastic.

We won because YOU read this blog.

These words. And you like it. Or not.

And maybe you like us. Or not.

Either way. It's cool.

And just because it might not be an honor for me just being nominated, it is truly an honor that you might actually read these words.

So thanks for that.

You're all winners.

Bridgewater Towns...Dan's Art Project

Dan busted out the scissors and tape to help us visualize how the building would look...
Dan, we were impressed!  Who knew you and Martha Stewart had so much in common?

Btw, we took "the best" and made it even better.  Just you wait...

Did Jim get out of his car?

Mike couldn't believe I bought lots 142 & 143 Bridgewater.  He said to Alaina, "Did Jim get out of his car?  Did he see how these things drop off?"  Tasked with running Garman Homes last spring while I was starting Go Realty, Mike was not so happy to find I left him with two super-steep lots.

Mike's decision was immediate and clear...put these lots on the market and sell them to some other poor smuck.  OK, got it.

When I returned to daily operations last fall, I was as scared as Mike to start these lots.  I had no idea how the grading would work or if we could control our basement costs.  I admit, I was chicken.  And I admit, no, I didn't get out of my car.

Then, the craziest thing happened.  Dan Morse (our new Dir. of Construction) stepped up and said he and Gerry could figure these out.  Boasting 10 years of Toll Brothers experience and hundreds of basements under his belt, Dan appeared confident.  In fact, Dan relished the challenge of proving me wrong.

And boy...wrong I was.  These two homesites turned out to be gorgeous.  The basement foundations went in perfectly.  The house plans that Dan & Gerry chose were just right.  And best of all, both homes were sold before we hung the drywall.  Wow.

I'm lucky to work with people who step up and prove me wrong...on a regular basis.  Thank you Dan & Gerry!

Hi, I'm Dan Morse

aka 'DoorJam Dan'

- Dan is starting lineup on construction and head coach behind the scenes - that all translates to the Director of Construction & Operations.

- Dan's Street Cred: 10 years as the Big Man on Campus for National Builder (literally...he's the big man, he's 6'8", people)

- Garman Homes Theme Song: "I'll be There for You" -The Rembrandts (The Friends Theme)

- Dan loves his wife, Val. They have three great kids- Ally is 9, Abby is 6 and Aiden is 4.

Dan & Gerry talk quality while A$ types...

Gerry: I feel terrible saying this...but there’s not a whole lot we do differently than any other builder in this market.

And thus begins our quality of construction series. I’m sitting in our future Parade home at Holly Glen with Gerry and Dan and I’m trying to coach them thru how to blog, why we should blog and getting them to think about the quality of our construction.

I pounce on Gerry like he's just solved one of the world's greatest mysteries, 'that's exactly how we should start the quality series!'

Gerry is perplexed, 'why would you write that down?'

I was not perplexed, 'because it's true, it's not just about our materials...quality of construction is about more than just the parts you put together so tell me why we still do it better, all other things being equal.'

Dan jumps in now...'building a house is 100% management...individual superintendent management. The coordination of the trades is critical...if your subcontractors aren’t able to get ahold of somebody or the house isn’t ready or the house isn’t open for them to do their work then that trade is gonna be unhappy and be less likely to do a good job.'

Gerry is in complete agreement, 'it doesn't matter how good your materials are if your people that are putting them together don't do a good job. Good management leads to good quality built houses.'

I can tell Gerry's on a roll now...'Our field managers have a policy...every room, every house, everyday.'

This is a new policy to me and I'm excited about it because I know this is the stuff that infuses quality into our homes from start to finish. This is the stuff that makes us different. I know it might seem like a really basic concept but I also know there are very few builders out there committing to a policy like this. Why? Because it takes a lot of time and a lot of discipline. But, it's one of those things that just makes sense-how can you manage or maintain a high quality construction process if you're not in every room of every house everyday? You just can't. At least not as well.

I look up at my two new bloggers and announce, 'cool, that's an entry. I love that policy.'

Dan & Gerry are surprised, 'really that's all you need?'

I assure them, 'yep. that's a great start.'

They're happy. Both are inherently task driven and marking this first entry off their list was important to them. Stay tuned for more from these guys...before you know it they'll be blogging on their own...unprovoked. Maybe. We'll see.

Dan Morse Scores Two Thumbs Up!