Nurturing a company’s culture or values as it grows is difficult. Trying to meld the values and practices of two growing companies can make for a doubly difficult task.
That’s the challenge faced by Michael McCutcheon, McCutcheon Construction of Berkeley, Calif. (Big50 1993), who recently absorbed the client list, equipment, and employees of Silver Hammer Construction, Oakland, Calif. (Big50 2001). Silver Hammer owner Jordan Lourie became McCutcheon’s sales vice president.
McCutcheon took on Lourie’s $2 million book of business, adding to his own $5.7 million. The two remodelers discovered, early on, subtle differences in practices. “There are huge similarities,” Lourie says. “They far exceed the disparities, but [the disparities are] there, without a doubt, and they have to do with the personalities of the owners.”
The two men share similar professional standards. They produce the same type of product — high-end design-build projects — and use the same subcontractors and accounting software.
McCutcheon added eight of Lourie’s 10 employees to his 26-employee.
Most practices came under scrutiny, including how job folders, time cards, cost codes, and lead generation systems work. Even the Christmas party had to be re-examined. It doesn’t accommodate the company’s broader cultural base.
The new company is also faced with debunking outside perceptions. Silver Hammer, for instance, is perceived as the cheaper contractor. McCutcheon says that’s not true, but simply a case of Lourie’s superb salesmanship nurturing the perception.
However, McCutcheon wonders if he wants that reputation: “Maybe not. We want people to call us and then we want to tell them we’re over their budget.” Expect more tweaking to follow.
