In the August 2017 issue of Metal Construction News, Chuck Howard, PE, owner of Metal Roof Consultants, penned a guest column – “Why Metal Roofing? A 44-Year Perspective.” Here is an excerpt.
A few years ago, I read the book “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek. The premise of the book was that an organization should take time to determine Why they are in business and Why their customers should buy their product. Sinek indicated that this Why should be communicated to all employees in order for everything from administrative, production, manufacturing, sales and installation to be performed in a manner that their company’s Why is evident to their customers. Without their Why identified, employees go about their tasks in an undisciplined and random manner, leading to inconsistent results.
Old-fashioned thinking and excessively worded advertising and selling concerning What the company produces, How the company operates, the Benefits of the company’s product and the Features of their product do not motivate today’s customers to buy products. As I related my understanding of Sinek’s book to the metal roofing industry, I concluded that the roofing industry, and me as a participant in this industry, need to concentrate on Why we manufacture, engineer and install metal roof systems, including all of the many components related to this market, and-more importantly-Why our customers should buy them. \So, I asked myself:
- Why did I get into the roof market in 1973 as it related to metal buildings?
- Why did I get into retrofit metal roofing in the late 70s?
- Why am I so passionate about the metal roof market and its limitless possibilities for the future?
The answer to these Whys, I believe, defines Why the metal roof market has been, and still is, a vibrant part of the overall construction industry, with tremendous growth possibilities. Let me explain.
