Leadership
Connect the dots
How Ken Jones links his employees to goals to get the best out of the Turner Construction Co.
By Meredyth McKenzie
Smart Business Cincinnati | September 2008
Page 1 of 4
Ken Jones deals with a new challenge every day in the construction industry.
It’s highly competitive and relatively easy for new companies to
enter into, and his company constructs buildings pretty much the
same way it has done for years.
As the head of the Cincinnati Division of Turner Construction
Co., Jones has to deal with things ranging from individual projects
where there could be tight schedules or budgets to the economy
pinch that could bring rising costs to clients who employ the company to solve their individual construction challenges.
“It’s juggling all those balls to try to not make short-term mistakes that would affect us long term,” Jones says.
And if those challenges are not enough to deal with, he also
faces the challenge of leveraging the organization, which
reached 2007 revenue of $263.7 million, and getting everyone to
work together on a common goal.
“I can have all the ideas I want, but if they can’t be implemented
or executed at the front-line level, then they’re of no value,” he
says. “Or if they’re not viewed as important by those people, they
are of no value. Or if I’m not getting the creativity and energy from
those people on the front lines to trickle up to me, then they’re of
no value.”
Here’s how Jones faces these challenges head on to leverage
the company and make the best decisions possible.
