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a Summit Materials company
www.cornejocorp.com 316-522-5100
JULY 2018
HOW TEAMWORK AND TECHNOLOGY PROPEL US FORWARD The Role of a Leader
We’re lucky to have a leader at the top like Georges, whose character sets the standard of excellence in integrity and hard work. He passes that on to each member of our team. As Georges mentioned, we have a robust summer intern program — we keep them active! We train part of the next generation of engineers and construction workers and teach them how to carry out the job right by Cornejo & Sons’ standards. Teaching also keeps our minds fresh and young. With our involvement in the Young Professionals of Wichita, we extend that talent development to our town’s citizens. I’m passionate about helping train the next generation of engineers — I love getting in front of a group of students and sharing what I know about this industry. It’s the reason I’ve volunteered on steering committees for STEM education in schools. It’s not only
had to conduct surveys weeks in advance, and you might drive an hour and a half to get to a site. Now, we can use drones to fly over a site and get a look at it in real time. I can make fact-based decisions even when I’m not physically there. It helps me lead and serve my team better, too. I can see what they’re seeing even when I can’t be there, so I’m able to give them instant support. As a leader, that is my role — to serve my team. I’m responsible for providing our team with what they need to operate at the highest level of efficiency. My job is to put them in the right position for success. For my team to do their jobs at the high standard of operation our company is defined by, they need the right tools, the right team, and the right leadership. Their ability to do their jobs at the highest level depends on me. I take that role very seriously. My focus goes beyond the operational duties and focuses on building relationships within our company and the community.
When I joined Cornejo & Sons four years ago, I saw immediately that the company has a great legacy here in Wichita. They’ve been around for many years, and they set a standard for what’s expected from a construction company. Early on, our president, Georges, and I felt that it was important to continue this legacy and develop its vision to bring us into the next generation of Cornejo & Sons. For us, that meant focusing on teamwork and technology. On the technology side, we’re always trying to stay ahead of the curve. Construction is built on sweat and hard work, and technology doesn’t do the work for us — it just allows us to make better decisions. As enthusiastic techies, our leadership team seeks out technology that will provide better service to our clients. In addition to helping us stay connected to our clients and the community, we use technology to improve the process of mapping sites. In the past, you
a passion of mine but a commitment to having a positive impact on the
community, and it’s a commitment that everyone at Cornejo & Sons upholds. Pat Short
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IS RENTING OR BUYING THE RIGHT CHOICE?
ExpertsWeigh In
You just got the call — your team is being contracted for the big construction project down the road. The only problem? You don’t have the right excavator for the job. So do you rent or buy one? Like a pair of jeans, there’s no “one size fits all” of construction equipment. Both options pose potential upsides and drawbacks, and it’s possible you’ll choose to do both at one time or another. Determining your needs for a specific upcoming project and evaluating your company’s long-term trends in equipment use can help you decide what’s best for your team. HOW OFTEN DO YOU USE IT? To gauge whether purchasing is a smart investment, you’ll want to have a good idea of how often you use that piece of equipment. “The general rule of thumb most folks agree with regarding aerial equipment is one should consider purchasing equipment they use more than 65 percent of the time,” says BigRentz CTO Liam Stannard. WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR THE JOB AT HAND? When purchasing a piece of equipment, you get to choose the model that’s a perfect fit for the job at hand. In addition, you get to know the equipment. “One of the things that contractors give up when they rent is the intelligence that can be gained when you own a machine and are tracking it through telematics,” says Matt McLean, product manager for Volvo Construction Equipment. At the same time, renting gives you the flexibility to not commit to one size or model. McLean points out the efficiency that can come from renting. “When renting, you’re able to select the exact size necessary, which can then allow you to control some costs because you’re not putting more power or fuel into a job that could be tackled by a smaller machine,” McLean explains. IS THE EQUIPMENT KEEPING UP WITH YOUR TEAM? With things moving fast in the tech world, it’s a challenge to keep up with the latest improvements in construction equipment, and renting can be an opportunity to test drive new technology. This could even help you decide which piece of equipment is eventually the right fit for purchase. Derek Betcher, rental marketing manager at Hitachi and John Deere, says, “A contractor who is renting gets exposure to new tech on a new piece of equipment. Excavators with telematics are one example. Several players are figuring out how to utilize the tech when renting out the equipment.” Whether you decide to rent or buy, both options have benefits. As long as the equipment is helping your company provide excellent service to clients and efficiency and ease to your team, it’s probably a good fit.
Communication Made Crystal Clear HOW TRANSPARENCY MAKES YOU A BETTER LEADER Are great leaders born, or are they made? According to Chip Bergh, business leader and chief executive of Levi Strauss & Co., what we should really examine is how someone in leadership communicates. Bergh’s leadership style is all about straightforward and transparent communication from the top down, and considering his success with it, it might be worth learning more about. Here are a few lessons that have taught him the importance of getting straight to the point. BUILD TRUST OVER TIME “You’ve got to be really transparent and straight with people,” Bergh says. He shares a story about one of his early leadership roles at Proctor and Gamble, when he struggled with letting go of a smart but underperforming hire. Bergh carried him through to a promotion, but about four months later, the employee was let go for poor performance. Bergh learned a valuable lesson in the process: “Hold the bar up high, and if it’s not a good fit, call it,” says Bergh. CREATE CULTURE When Bergh started with Levi, he interviewed 60 people from the company’s leadership team and asked them a series of insightful questions, including “What are three things that we have to keep?” and “What are you most afraid I might do?” Bergh gave the leaders a chance to give him feedback and be honest about negative feelings they might’ve had. By being clear about how he operates, he made his expectations known for how employees needed to perform to be part of the team. QUELL TOXICITY When everyone is upfront, there’s no room for backstabbing, and Bergh is quick to quell any signs of toxicity in a work environment. “If you see it, you’ve got to squash it like a bug as soon as it happens and not tolerate it.” By addressing issues head-on and not letting them fester, the whole environment benefits, and morale gets a boost. Instead of focusing on problem areas, you can put more energy toward developing cohesion. “When I’ve led
teams, it’s always been about howwe work together to get the best results,” Bergh says.
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FOSTERING COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
Our Construction Manager Teams Up With Advance Kansas
Young Professionals ofWichita to implement their project. It focuses on relationship- building betweenWichita businesses and college campuses to connect employers to high-performing students. They hope that creating this network will develop local talent and retain students before they graduate. Through his participation, Blasi exemplified Cornejo & Sons’ commitment to our community. We are honored that our team member was part of this initiative and look forward to more opportunities to promote development in our region.
to addressing the human capital challenge around diversity and inclusion in Wichita.
In May, our private construction manager, Blake Blasi, was one of 44 local business and community leaders to graduate fromAdvance Kansas. Over the span of four months, Blasi and other leaders met to build and strengthen relationships and highlight diversity challenges and opportunities for inclusion inWichita. Hosted by Butler Community College, Advance Kansas brings together local leaders from different demographic groups and across different sectors — including business, education, nonprofit, and government — to learn about effective ways to address and engage the pressing diversity issues in our community. Hosted by the president of Diversity Leadership in Action, Juan Johnson, the program gives local leaders the skills and knowledge to strengthen our community. During the four months of classes, participants cover six priorities that have been identified as keys
A big component of Advance Kansas is the community action project that teams present at the end of the program. During the culmination, Blasi’s project team proposed a partnership they’ve named The Career Courtship Program. His team includes Hayley Hobbs, Butler Community College; Stephen Kamunge, Airbus Americas; Stacey Petrie, Hutton Construction; Alicia Sanchez, Wichita State University; and Tim Smith, IMA Financial Group Inc. Theywill partner with
HAVE A LAUGH
Join us on Saturday, August 4, from 1–5 p.m. at Aero Plains Brewing for our first Cornejo Cornhole Championship! 1ST ANNUAL CORNEJO CORNHOLE CHAMPIONSHIP
This will be a 32-team double elimination tournament. Seeding is randomized and brackets will be posted once all team spots have been reserved. First, second, and third places will receive trophies and bragging rights. Registration is $50 per team, and all proceeds benefit Dress for Success Wichita, a not-for-profit that empowers women to achieve economic independence through a network of support. With music by DJ Eddie Hansen and food fromGaGa’s Grub, sit back between rounds with local brew and grub and enjoy the festivities. It’s sure to be a good time!
When: August 4, 1–5 p.m. Where: Aero Plains Brewing, 117 North Handley Street,Wichita Register with JacobWayman at jacob.wayman@cornejocorp.com
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316-522-5100 www.cornejocorp.com
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2060 E. Tulsa St. Wichita, KS 67216
a Summit Materials company
How Teamwork and Technology Propel Us Forward Signs of an Effective Leader A Cost/Benefit Analysis of Renting Versus Buying Community Connections The Cornejo Cornhole Tournament Sync Up Your Teams With Slack INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 2 2 3 3 4
The Messaging Platform for the Modern Marketplace SYNC UP YOUR TEAMS WITH
For instance, everything within Slack is automatically indexed and archived. Whether you’re a team member catching up on a project after a day off or a manager reviewing productivity among your marketing team, with a simple search, you can track down old communications. These archives also index any file that’s uploaded within the system, allowing users to search for keywords not only in the chat, but in any sharedWord or PDF documents throughout the network. It’s just one feature of many that makes life easier. And that’s exactly what Slack does: It simplifies your life. With an attractive and easy-to-use interface, the program gets out of the way, allowing you and your team to interact clearly and rapidly with no obstructions. There’s simply no better way to build a space of transparency and synchronicity throughout teams, whether large or small.
Let’s start with its primary feature: instant chat and messaging. The application connects users in real time, but it also understands that not everyone is needed for every conversation and that every discussion should not necessarily be accessible to the same employees. You can set up open conversations in both one-on-one and sub-group settings while restricting access to keep out unwanted or unneeded parties. If your group has a question for a particular member of your teamwho isn’t in the chat, it’s easy to tag any user across the network with a simple @ mention. Then, they can simply join, talk it out, and leave when their task is complete. So far, these features may seem fairly basic. Aside from the robust and crystal-clear implementation, which makes navigating the program a breeze, online chat has been around for years. But when you account for Slack’s wide array of additional tweaks and features to the common chat formula, it really shines.
In order to survive in the intensely competitive contemporary marketplace, businesses need to be more nimble and collaborative than ever. There’s no time to play telephone around the office, hold unnecessary meetings, or constantly update members of the team about every little detail of a project. What’s more, as companies expand and employees begin working remotely, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep everyone on the same page. Luckily, there’s Slack, a streamlined messaging app that brings every communication across your entire company under a single platform. As many businesses are surely aware by now, Slack is perhaps the most hyped, lauded, and collaborative tool on the market, and for good reason.
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