The 2019 Contractor Connection Conference & Expo continues a 20-plus year tradition of being the premier insurance restoration industry event of the year, providing educational, training, and networking opportunities for all attendees.

I was recently chatting with a restorer and trying to explain why his insurance needed to be customized to cover the risks he faced in doing work assigned under master services agreements. 

We all know how hard it is to find good employees. We’ve all heard it: “People don’t want to work.”; “Don’t hire anyone younger than 30.”; “Everyone has an entitlement mentality.” Blah, blah, blah. 

When I first heard the term BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement), I thought to myself, “No way! That’s a polite way of being okay with failure.” But I soon found that, regardless of where I turned to research negotiation strategies and tactics, the concept came up. The more I read about it and the more I let the theory marinate, the more practical applications I found for it.

GC3’s penchant for expertise and innovation expanded in 2019 with the hiring of Dave Bell and Daniel Lewis. Their hires signal a dynamic approach to company growth and enhanced industry expertise.

I hate being backed into a corner. Whether it’s an employee trying to hold you hostage for a raise or an insurance adjuster standing his ground on the payment of a claim, there is a feeling of helplessness and lack of control which is enough to drive most Type A personalities crazy. This can lead to anger, resentment, and more often than not, regrettable actions.

Too many business leaders have been misled by the “accounting mentality” and think paying their people too much (whatever that means) results in uncompetitively high costs. Seriously?