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This is a book of short essays and notations based on the author's life experiences, and the insight gained from these experiences. The author hopes to share these stories with family and friends, as well as those interested in the life experiences of a well-traveled man.

I remember hearing my father give his opinion about a neighbor who lived near us. It was across the back forty, but we could see his house from our back door. He said, "Belcher is a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none." I never understood if this was a compliment or an insult. Maybe it was both. When I think of a general manager, that statement often comes to mind. A good general manager must have a lot of tools in his toolbox. But he doesn't have to be an expert at anything. For example, I can install a residential generator, complete with the automatic transfer switch, but I have to Google the formula for converting volts to amps. An expert would know this, and many other technical details. But, when the power goes out, my generator comes on.The very best general managers don't have any blind spots. They might not see everything clearly, but they do see everything.

This book is not about management by objectives. And, although I made more than 50 acquisitions for Dunn Construction, you won't read much about financial analysis. I hardly mention discounted cash flow or return on investment (ROI). That doesn't mean these issues aren't important. But there are thousands of books on the market that very effectively address these topics. This book is not that specific. This book is a general treatment of general construction management. You will certainly see a little theory in practice. You might recognize the Peter Principle. You might even see an example of McGregor's theory X and theory Y. But most of what you will read is how I managed a regional highway construction company in the real world. You will see where I made some really good decisions, and you will, no doubt, see where I really messed up. Fortunately, like every good manager, I had a lot more of the former than the latter. If the reader pays particularly close attention, it can be seen that there were times when everything went great against terrible odds. In these cases, I was able to make chicken salad out of a less than appetizing ingredient. Which reminds me that I have tried to keep the profanity to a minimum, as in the previous sentence. However, there are times when words like "bullshit" are so appropriate that they simply can't be avoided. So, I didn't always avoid them. Caveat emptor.If you are a construction manager, I think you will recognize yourself throughout the book. I am not the only one to have had these experiences. If you are new to business management, you might get some ideas about how to handle difficult people and situations. You will almost certainly learn from my mistakes.There is one thing I want to state here because I don't address it in the book. I strongly advise every top manager, particularly company officers, to stay out of the gray area. I don't think it's possible to avoid this no-mans-land altogether. But do not live there. It isn't worth the risk. Of course, as a top manager, you must also keep your people out this danger zone. Fortunately, if they see you consistently taking the high road, they will almost always follow suit. So, stay on the high road. You will sleep better. And you will be sleeping at home, in your own bed.