The new financial downturn may look different from past recessions, but we can gain insights from construction firms that weathered past storms better than others. In these videos, Stan Halliday, Travelers Chief Underwriting Officer will look at real industry data from the Great Recession to gain insights and identify approaches to help your construction firm get through this latest financial downturn.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize how project risk can change in a Contractors’ backlog over time and what factors can drive this change.
• Identify different procurement types and explain how they may impact the ultimate profitability of a contractor's job performance.
• Analyze and compare the risks and results of trying to maintain revenue growth during a downturn/recession versus the risks of choosing to match your revenue levels to the overall decline in the market.
• Recall that too many "new factors" greatly elevates project risk. Be able to analyze how new geographies, new work types, new owners, and new work teams, alone or in combination, may impact project performance.
• Help your company create a formal go/no go project pursuit process and then assemble a methodology to monitor overall backlog risk.

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Management Services.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

Service contractors face a unique set of challenges and opportunities compared to the rest of the construction industry. In this talk, we'll discuss all of the opportunities in the service industry to leverage machine learning, remote assistance, connectivity to the field, hardware and software automation for service management and how it can all help drive a more profitable service business.

In a volatile Construction industry, service can be the recurring revenue stream that gets many contractors through toughest of times. We'll explore how the use of technology can further enhance this competitive strength.

Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate cutting edge technology that are coming to market in the future that could change how service is delivered
• Explore software and hardware available to service contractors
• Reviews the specific challenges that service contractors have and how technology has helped address them in the past

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Information Technology.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

We are facing increasingly complex demands on our time, attention and bandwidth these days. And staying attuned to others feels especially difficult amid a global pandemic. However, research indicates that meaningful connections - in and out of work - are key to reducing stress, increasing efficiency, and generating higher levels of productivity and happiness for ourselves and others. How can we, as leaders, keep our focus on individuals around us while addressing all that there is to do right now?

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the relationship between a leader’s focus on others and business results.
• Describe strategies for cultivating an others focused mindset.
• Integrate more attention, curiosity, and empathy into your current day-to-day activities.
• Implement one of five simple tools for strengthening relationships, even when we can’t be face to face.
• Identify common hurdles to being attentive to others and strategies for overcoming them.

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Management Services.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

When you can’t raise the bridge, lower the river. From mill to installation, profit pockets live in your supply chain but capturing them can be difficult. This session will focus on the key strategies for realizing hard savings that impact the bottom line. Specifically, we’ll discuss inventory control and shop stock, value-based price negotiation, balanced score-carding, upstream strategic sourcing alignment, integrated supply alternatives and the elimination of rogue/overspend.

Learning Objectives:

• Establish a baseline understanding of what strategic sourcing is and how this is different than ‘procurement.’
• Build a sourcing and supply chain management strategy related best practice and to connect them to the industry.
• Identify the common ‘headwinds’ and challenges leaders must overcome when implementing best practice.

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Production.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

What can you do as a leader to foster a culture of continuous innovation? Some of the answers may surprise you. Come join us for an interactive session.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain why innovation is crucial for the construction industry
• Apply construction performance data as an opportunity to prosper and drive change
• Link innovation to business goals and strategy, thus creating a program to align with organizational communication
• Identify the two most important things managers and leaders can do to create a culture of innovation
• Gain simple tools that you can apply to spur innovation including best practices for measuring progress

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Management Services.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in many markets, construction was deemed essential, providing a level of job security for an industry that has struggled with a shortage of qualified and interested applicants. What opportunities and impact has COVID-19 afforded the construction industry in terms of recruiting and retention? How can CFOs in the construction industry leverage COVID-19 to attract more candidates to the industry? What should companies be planning for in 2021?

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the workforce challenges presented during the COVID pandemic and examine ideas for addressing these challenges
• Apply lessons learned during COVID to strategies for recruiting and retention
• Distinguish key HR/employment priorities for 2021/2022

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Personnel/Human Resources.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

Change orders are one of the greatest sources of margin fade that exists in our industry today. The risk management focus required to minimize the losses in this category are paramount to financial success. During this session, we will discuss best practices around the use of technology and definition to track and manage the process from proposal to collections in order to increase the revenue, and more importantly the margins, in change orders.

Learning Objectives:

• Discover the use of project logs to own and lead the change management process
• Implement proper pricing and proposal techniques to maximize the returns
• Apply best practices around the timing of billing and collections to ensure capture of a greater amount of revenue and margin

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Management Services.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

For Heavy/Highway contractors the cost of equipment and operating their fleet is substantial. Ineffective fleet operations can result in a number of profit leaks. Many of these may not be apparent or seem insignificant, but substantially reduce the contractor’s bottom line. This presentation will expose these leaks and show how current technology can stop them.

Learning Objectives:

• Define key concepts of Equipment Fleet Operations Cost Management
• Identify the most common Equipment Fleet Operations profit leaks
• Describe the technologies are currently available to stop the leaks
• Apply real world examples of the ROI from plugging the leaks with these technologies
• Implement key metrics to monitor these profit leaks

Earn 1.50 CPE credit in the field of Information Technology.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

The tumultuous and foundation-shifting events of the last year intensified stress for individuals and organizations jolted by the impacts of unprecedented change and unrelenting uncertainty. Leaders are now called upon to deepen individual and collective capacity for coping with the unexpected and learn sustaining skills to not only stay afloat but to dare to cultivate ease, balance and to thrive.

There is deep humanity in learning to Cope with the Unexpected.

And an ROI. Research shows companies investing in the resilience and coping strategies of their leaders and teams outpace and out-innovate the competition. These strategies bolster every measure of our personal well-being as well as enhance decision-making, problem-solving, creativity and innovation.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize and transform stress-reactivity
• Recognize the skills and neuroscience behind highly effective and practical mindfulness-based coping strategies
• Unpack the critical role Self-Awareness and Self-Compassion play in courageous leadership (and in parenting, partnering and living)
• Demonstrate how to unhook from limiting beliefs and own our stories when faced with the unexpected

Earn 1.50 CPE credit in the field of Personal Development.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

The global Covid-19 pandemic presents employers with many complications and concerns regarding their legal rights, obligations, and recourse in the event of a Covid-19 related dispute. As companies begin to fully re-open for business, employers should stay informed and follow steps to reduce their potential liabilities, claims, and ensure a safe work environment. This presentation will outline the current CDC and OSHA guidance on returning to work, discuss other current labor and employment issues, summarize potential insurance claims / coverage available to employers, and importantly, discuss force majeure and other legal doctrines that will likely be applicable to a Covid-19 related dispute.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain an understanding of the legal concerns and issues the event of a Covid-19 related dispute.
• Identify about specific practices to potentially reduce their potential liabilities, claims, and ensure a safe work environment.
• Explain the current CDC and OSHA guidance on returning to work, potential insurance claims / coverage available to employers, and and other legal doctrines that will likely be applicable to a Covid-19 related dispute.

Earn 1.50 CPE credit in the field of Business Law.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

This session will explore the fundamental best practices of developing and updating a critical path method (CPM) project schedule and will examine recommended practices and approaches to effectively manage production risks on construction projects using the schedule as the premier data set. This session will also discuss tried-and-true approaches and processes that have been developed through years of analyzing and refining schedule development and schedule progress updates. Finally, the session will introduce some exciting new data analytics and automation that make these tried-and-true approaches and processes more efficient and reduces schedule forecasting risks.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the importance of schedule quality and how to diagnose fatal errors in your CPM schedules - before it is too late.
• Implement proven approaches and methodologies designed to manage project schedule and that lead to project cost risk throughout construction - and what’s at stake if you don’t.
• Explain the importance of accurate, contemporaneous schedule updates of work progress, changes in scope and the statusing of time impacts.
• Discover the technological landscape for schedule analytics and how schedule data will feed the control of time and cost risk management.
• Describe future of CPM scheduling, what’s possible with AI and how AI will change cost and schedule risk.

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Management Services.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

Many project managers (PMs) lack a clear understanding of how their projects are performing financially because they have not been trained on how to forecast properly. Often, contractors struggle with how to build a robust cost projection process that provides consistency and predictability. And, profit fade at 90% complete is no longer an option in today’s market. Teach PMs how to properly set up job budgets, track progress, and accurately forecast. Moreover, learn critical financial indicators that point to problems on projects early so they can be rectified.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify how to manage work-in-progress (WIP) for better profitability
• Describe the relationship between project profitability and processes (budgeting, forecasting, change control, job status reporting, and WIP)
• Apply earned value reporting to projects

Earn 1.50 CPE credit in the field of Accounting.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

From business email compromise (BEC) to ransomware - cybersecurity is top of mind in every organization. The FBI estimates that U.S. businesses have suffered over $2 billion in fraud over the last 4 years in email attacks alone. We will explore current trends of the most common cyber attacks and provide real world solutions that can be applied by any organization.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize how attackers execute business email compromise (BEC)
• Identify the potential risks and direct impact of ransomware on the organization's bottom line
• Implement defenses to help protect your organization from these common attacks

Earn 1.50 CPE credit in the field of Information Technology.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

This seminar teaches how the impact of acute and critical stress on people in combat and law enforcement is similar to its impact on those in business. With this insight, attendees will learn tactics to overcome the effects so they can perform their best and become the more effective leaders.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the physiological impact that acute and critical stress has on the body so they know why people act the way they do in chaotic scenarios. This knowledge will help develop crisis resolution leadership skills.
• Apply and practice specific tactics and drills to continuously increase their ability to overcome the effects of critical stress and perform better and leading more effectively while building a strong culture of production.
• Recognize behavioral cues of effective teams so they can better promote a strong culture of production while also learning how to identify and eradicate behaviors that weaken culture.

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Management Services.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

Construction companies today are dealing with the greatest workforce shortage our industry has ever faced. The investments employers make in hiring smart, training well and building relationships with employees will pay dividends in reduced turnover, stronger workforce to maximize project opportunities, improved safety and productivity. This session will look at ways that companies of all sizes can integrate practices at each phase of the employment cycle to enhance employee engagement and reap the benefits of an engaged workforce.

Learning Objectives:

• Define what employee engagement is and what benefits having truly engaged employees can bring to an organization.
• Discuss how we can engage our employees - the basic fundamentals that each employee requires in order to engage with an organization, and how we can build on the fundamental efforts to take engagement to the next level.
• Examine when during the employment life cycle the opportunities to engage employees exist. Looking beyond the typical milestones to identify ways to continuously engage and re-engage the entire workforce.

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Personnel/Human Resources.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

We have made it through more than a year in the COVID-19 world which has impacted all aspects of our lives. While we are optimistic that we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel, contractors in both the public and private sectors must remain diligent to protect themselves from the continuing impacts of COVID-19 on the construction industry. In this one-hour presentation, we will discuss identifying key contractual provisions to protect your rights, what those provisions cover and do not cover, and best practices for protecting your rights

and documenting your time and cost impacts.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify relevant contractual provisions and describe the scope of those provisions.
• Implement best practices for preserving rights to and protecting yourself from COVID-19 related impacts.
• Implement best practices for documenting COVID-19 related time and costs impacts.

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Business Law.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

Engagement affects everything. How engaged are you? How well do you affect the engagement of people around you? Research shows that we know more about EQ (Emotional Intelligence/Quotient) than ever, yet very few are masters. Jonathan will discuss the demise of EQ in our text-crazy culture and what that means to leaders, parents, teachers, coaches, and you. This program is full of incredibly memorable stories, real-life scenarios, and a four-part process to take your EQ to the next level. Amygdala “hijacks” can tear apart a business or relationship in seconds. Do you have a strategy to master them? Can you teach your strategy to others? After this hilarious and engaging program, your answer will be “Yes!”

Learning Objectives:

• Acquire a powerful strategy to interrupt and master emotional (amygdala) hijacks
• Implement the simple formula that guides emotional responses and allows us to dramatically influence emotional state is self and others
• Discover a practical exercise to help you create a positive emotional contagion

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Personal Development.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

The impact of the ongoing pandemic has varied massively by industry. While some industries have been effectively shuttered, some have been deemed essential. However, even essential status has not been a guarantee of smooth operations. This session will focus on the impacts of the novel coronavirus-induced crisis on heavy/highway contractors. It will also detail what contractors can expect once this public health crisis is over.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the implications of ongoing stimulus on infrastructure spending in America
• Explain the condition of state and local government finances and the likely trajectory of capital expenditures
• Correlate the causes of materials price increases and the likelihood of additional input cost expansions going forward

Earn 1.50 CPE credit in the field of Economics.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

Cash flow is one of the most important issues facing contractors today. Companies are faced with starting new projects, hiring staff, and investing in assets to support the business. More companies go bankrupt due to cash flow issues than due to profitability. Many things can and should be done to improve cash management practices. Practical tools and strategies to improve cash flow will be discussed. In most cases, they are improvements to existing practices that can be quickly implemented to put a focus on cash flow and drive the right organizational behaviors. This presentation will also quantify the impact of slow payment and identifies mitigation strategies to address inequitable payment practices.

Learning Objectives:

• Increase profits with better billings and collections practices, and identify specific, tangible things contractors can do to improve payment cycles
• Apply tools and techniques that optimize cash flow
• Maximize cash flow with process standardization
• Create transparency and accountability with measurement
• Quantify the impact of slow payment
• Identify tangible things contractors can do to improve payment cycles
• Jurisprudence surrounding contract language and enforceability
• Evaluate contractual negotiating points

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Accounting.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

You will learn how Microsoft Power BI can transforms your company data into rich visuals that facilitate new ways of thinking about and organizing your data, so that you can focus on what is important to achieving your goals.

These sessions are designed to be interactive. Our sessions bring CFO, COO, Etc. to the front of the room and experience Building a dashboard in front of the room. We have fun and playfully interact with them.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the data in your reports and draw observations that will help your organization
• Identify the information in the report design phase that is essential to include on the dashboard and layout
• Improve your comfort level and ability to creat basic visualizations with the Power BI tool
• Identify the data structure and data best practices to build better visualizations

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Information Technology.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

Similar to my article of the same title in the September/October 2019 issue of Building Profits, this presentation will provide timely ideas to participants regarding best practices to put in place in order to overcome the next downturn in the economy. Even if a downturn does not occur, other significant events could occur that threaten a construction company’s ability to continue business, such as a significant loss job, transfer of ownership, loss of a key employee, etc.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify best practices for creating a self-sufficient construction company that will withstand a significant downturn in the economy.
• Define necessary financial reports and corresponding internal reporting deadlines in order to properly utilize the valuable information to make adequate and timely course corrections.
• Create a more flexible balance sheet to more easily expand and contrast with the ebbs and flows of construction.
• Identify additional metrics to track regularly so that changes in labor, bidding, equipment acquisition, and operations can be proactive instead of reactive.

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Accounting.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

The last 12 months have ushered risks to health plans the likes of which employers have never seen before. Single Rx prescriptions costing in excess of $1million and large complex claims rising by over 40% in incidence has quietly, but dramatically, increased the risk to contractors. This session will cover these and other risks and emerging trends to mitigate/socialize the costs. Further, we will evaluate popular "solutions" such as Insurance Captives - and debunk the myths/misinterpretation of these vehicles. We will use the lessons learned to help contractors manage their risk and spend.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain risk mitigation strategies to manage the volatility of employer health plans
• Identify and implement coverage/options to limit exposure
• Implement best practices for more complex areas of health plan financing such as stop loss purchasing and large claims management
• Identify pitfalls of wellness programs and how to avoid them. Apply these learnings and build a "winning" program for your organization.

Earn 1.50 CPE credit in the field of Personnel/Human Resources.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

Construction Financial Professionals (CFPs) wear many hats with many difference responsibilities in their companies. Making crisis management a “team sport” is important. In the midst of Critical Incident Responses to major or catastrophic workplace incidents, CFPs frequently are helping coordinate “emergency responses” with Operations, Safety and Human Resources. CFPs are frequently the glue that keeps the team together as coordinators, coaches, and caregivers to their colleague caregivers. This takes a physical and emotional toll on CFPs.

Organizations and the people within them demonstrate widely disparate outcomes in the aftermath of tragedies. Some are permanently impaired and remain victims of the hardship while others operationalize resilience skills and practices that lead to successful bouncing back or even bouncing forward. This presentation will outline the survival tactics and the growth strategies that define those that do it well.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how the body and mind respond in a crisis situation
• Differentiate between psychological safety and psychological first aid
• Explain how an Employee Assistance Program can assist during and after a crisis
• Identify the signs and the effects of grief
• Implement strategies to build readiness and resilience for “the next time"

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Personnel/Human Resources.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

Conflict is natural, healthy and an inevitable part of being human. Navigating conflict offers a rich practice grounds for deepening connection with ourselves and each other when handled skillfully. Our capacity to handle conflict skillfully can be the difference between a highly successful team (see Google's Study "Project Aristotle" on high performing teams) or imploding trust, shared commitment and contribution. Learning practical skills to say what we mean, feel truly heard and listening skillfully to others takes courage and genuine leadership (whether you're leading from the bench or from the top of the org chart). Growing our awareness of our own patterns, stories, strategies can help us recognize when we're in reactivity and (courageously) shift towards a more thoughtful and responsive approach.
Join this active and engaging session to learn or deepen your skills in the (Courageous) Art of Managing Workplace Conflict.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify key causes of workplace conflict
• Apply tools to manage difficult or strong emotions
• Recognize and implement the foundations for successful dialogue
• Demonstrate how to Lean In (with authenticity) to tough conversations
• Practice how to break the cycle of arguing
• Demonstrate when and how to pause a difficult conversation

Earn 1.50 CPE credit in the field of Personnel/Human Resources.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

Whether or not the CFM is directly responsible for the IT function of your company, there are still areas you should know and questions you should ask of your IT personnel (either internal or external). This session will explore those areas and get into the details of a highly functional IT department.

Learning Objectives:

• Detail the most important areas the CFM should know about IT
• Learn what questions to ask of your IT personnel and what the answers should be
• Discover if your IT department is the right fit for your organization or should it be upgraded or are you over-invested in IT “Toys”
• Compare your overall IT investment (software/hardware) to your estimated ROI and learn if the $$$ spent has reached expectations

Earn 1.00 CPE credit in the field of Information Technology.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation

This session examines contractual risk allocation concepts in construction contracts, focusing on certain clauses that have been problematic of late. In today's market, inequitable risk transfer through the use of onerous contract clauses has become more commonplace. Supplementation, delay, indemnification, force majeure and price escalation are just a few of the contractual provisions that put the contractor in an adverse position. Learn more about the impact of these risk allocations from a practical risk, surety underwriting, and legal perspective.

Learning Objectives:

• Apply risk allocation concepts to contract clauses
• Identify key contract clauses that allocate risk
• Develop an awareness of practical considerations when reviewing certain contract clauses

Earn 1.50 CPE credit in the field of Business Law.

Activies Included:
Video Presentation
Final Exam
Program Evaluation