M.P. Lundy is a relationships-based construction company. This essentially means that we deeply care not just about what quality of building we are delivering as an end product, but also about how our clients experience the building process. In fact, we have a mantra in our company: Relationships Over Bricks.
This is all well and good but our clients are really just trying to get their project done. How does this have anything to do with reaching this goal? This also extends to Lundy employees. They all have heard me talk about our “relationship first” approach – but what does this really mean?
To tackle this incredibly important aspect of Lundy, I studied Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle Model – describing how companies communicate with their customers.
Sinek says that the majority of companies start by describing themselves to customers based on What they do and then How they do it. Most can’t go beyond this and describe their higher purpose – their Why. Sinek goes on to say that inspired companies do the opposite, starting from the inside of the circle and communicate outwards. They start by communicating their Why, and then their How, and What.
By articulating the company’s deepest purpose first and foremost, there is a much greater opportunity for connectedness with our clients and engagement from our employees. Our Why is the real reason every one of our employees gets out of bed in the morning. By having a collective understanding of this Why, it brings us to the place where the relationships and connection with our clients really happens.
To be able to describe in simple terms our Why, I looked very closely at the basic truths around the work we do. I asked myself: What is the one thing that we can say with confidence that virtually every one of our clients share?
The answer: They are all in a state of major change when we are called upon. In fact, we are the ones making this change a reality! Expansion, rejuvenation, refurbishment, new directions, big capital investments. We have never met a customer who wasn’t hugely preoccupied by the impact of all this change and potential risk. Embarking on a construction project is a huge point of inflection for the companies we work with and the individuals who lead them. Our company lives and operates squarely in this place of risk, change, and leaps of confidence.
I believe that we play a critically influential role in the business lives of our clients at a time of great risk and great opportunity. More importantly, I believe that we exist to safeguard our client’s businesses at this time of dramatic inflection. This is our deepest purpose, our Why. I’ll say one more time:
My name is Sean Lundy. I’m the President and CEO of M.P. Lundy Construction. Our company exists to safeguard our clients and their companies during the execution of complex construction projects – a time of great risk, vulnerability, and opportunity.