This year, Dow Smith Company celebrated being in business for 30 years. The milestone has us thinking about who we are and what our future looks like.
A few years ago, we started a journey by adopting the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). EOS has helped us clarify our company’s vision and continue our progress towards achieving our goals. In doing so, we have discovered the core values that have been guiding us all along.
At Dow Smith Company, we’re a well-trained team that plans out and executes every step of the design-build process. But our company is about even more than that. Many of the tools we bring to a project aren’t the kind you can fit in the drawer of a workbench or in the bed of a pickup truck.
There are four core values at the heart of everything we do. These values help shape our work and they set us apart as a company.
Passion:
• A deep desire to get it right and we will not be happy if it’s not done right
• Healthy anger with gentleness and respect about things that are not right
• Enthusiastic about our job
• Apathy is not tolerated; we don’t just “check the box”
Caring:
• Engaged with what is going on around us
• Elevate an environment that is productive and healthy
• Develop personal relationships and connections
• Team and family oriented
• Compassion for ourselves and each other
Hustle:
• Urgency and appropriate intensity in performing our work
• Grit and determination when circumstances get challenging
• Find solutions when problems are encountered
• Go the extra mile
• Effort can overcome many mistakes
Detail:
• Small things matter and will make the difference
• Careful attention to the minute parts
• The punch list is just as important as the batter boards and sawhorses
These are values that we cannot teach or train. They are just part of how we were made by our Maker and Creator. These are the values that will guide us in our decisions for the next 30 years.
There are three unique ways Dow Smith Company is different from other general contractors:
Servant Culture
The culture at Dow Smith starts with service. Listening to our clients and responding to their needs for a new or renovated building “lights our fire.” Pouring concrete, framing walls, hanging doors, and installing toilet paper holders are much more than just building activities. They are our ways to serve the needs of our clients.
Streamlined Process
From the moment we get hired, we immediately start a plan of action that we have crafted for more than 30 years. Imagine a flow chart that begins with assembling the design team and then moves to vision collaboration, schematic design, design development, construction drawings, construction, punch list, and move-in. And, along with those steps, a real-world estimate is updated and shared with our client.
Transparent Communication
We show you everything! We believe in developing strong relationships with our clients, but we can’t read their minds. The estimates we provide during the pre-construction phase and construction phase will show true and actual numbers. The fee we charge will be transparent. The wage we pay everyone is seen. Our labor burden is true. We will show you all the quotes we receive from all of our subcontractors and vendors. And, when we have drawings sufficient to get quotes from subcontractors and vendors, we will get at least three estimates in each category. We make sure that our clients pay fair market value.
We also believe in consistent communication. We text. We email. We make telephone calls. And then we communicate what we anticipate happening next. We communicate what we need to keep the project moving forward.
It is such a joy and privilege to serve our employees, associates, and customers. We have never been more excited about our future.
If you have a project in mind—even if it’s jotted on the back of a cocktail napkin—give us a call. We will be happy to review your ideas, explain the design-build process, guide you through your next steps, and help make your ideas a reality.
