| Mon, 01/31/2011 - 10:51am | |
| Erica O'Grady | Countryside Investments was the developer for a $500,000 medical office building. They received proposals from several contractors, but had no prior experience with any of them. As part of their evaluation process, Countryside’s CFO had checked references on each contractor. The job was awarded to TNM which had the best price and was the most responsive contractor; the CFO’s broker-friend, Lynn, had given a strong recommendation for TNM. As the job progressed, Countryside found TNM’s performance was marginal at best because of shortcuts TNM had taken which required rework and led to schedule creep. The job concluded with Countryside faced with several quality issues to manage further. Countryside’s CFO is now speaking with Lynn on another matter and in passing Lynn asks: “Say, how did TNM do on that medical office building?” How should the CFO respond? Who are the stakeholders? Will anyone be hurt if the CFO is What duty did Countryside |
| Tue, 02/01/2011 - 8:55pm | #1 |
| Brian Cooney | I agree that references are common occurences in our industry but casual references without a factual background can cause pain as it did for Countryside. I would sugguest that the CFO obtain the facts from the Project team and confirm that the facts were presented to TNM before discussing with Lynn the poor performance of TNM but I would definitely relate the facts to Lynn so another client has facts or a specific reference. |
| Tue, 02/01/2011 - 11:44am | #2 |
| William Miranda | The CFO should be honest with Lynn. In addition, the CFO should try to set a meeting with TNM to discuss the issues with this project. This may not be possible as many contractors don't care about the feedback. This attitude seems to change as the need for business changes. Many of the successful contractors are truly interested in the feedback and look at it as an opportunity to make improvements in their business'. It also is an opportunity for Contryside to learn from the contractor and perhaps improve future projects. More communication is helpful. |
| Mon, 01/31/2011 - 8:43pm | #3 |
| Chris Budris | This is definitely a common occurance in our industry where "everyone seems to know everyone". I think our code of ethics is clear that the CFO needs to be honest and forthright when he is questioned. Most important in this situation may be Countryside's evaluation and feedback directly to TNM. Contractors want to know how they (especially their employees) perform on a project. I believe being honest with the contractor will make being honest with Lynn a lot easier! |