Back in school…

Back in school…

By Mike Novakoski -October 23, 2018 Each fall when my kids go back to school, I find myself traveling back in time to reminisce about when I started high school, as my daughter Faith did this year. It was a big change for me. I remember the excitement and anxiety of...
Back in school…

A summer celebration of safety

By Mike Novakoski – June 27, 2017 Our construction firm had an opportunity earlier this summer to celebrate a significant milestone in our company’s history: We achieved 3,653 consecutive days without a lost-time accident on a job site. Yes, that’s 10...
Back in school…

Will they survive without me?

By Mike Novakoski – May 24, 2017 There are times in our lives we can’t seem to see that we need to take a formal break from our work lives. We think we are somehow indispensable, and the show can’t go on without us (or at least not nearly as...
Back in school…

You’re not the boss of me!

By Mike Novakoski – March 8, 2017 Over the years, I have had times when I questioned the titles chosen to label people in specific roles. A couple of years ago, our construction company discovered the value of referring to the external firms we hire as “trade...
Back in school…

Inspiration from 964 miles away

By Mike Novakoski – November 30, 2016 Construction workers confer at a West Michigan job site. Courtesy Elzinga & Volkers On a recent business trip to Mobile, Alabama, I dined with some associates at a restaurant named Wintzell’s Oyster...