Waiting for a title is a slow way to lead. Authority can make people comply, but it can’t make them care. A leadership mindset shows up as choices: taking responsibility, staying calm, and acting with integrity when no one is watching.

Start by treating your role as a platform to serve the mission. Clarify the outcome, take initiative on the next step, and communicate your intent so others can align. Keep promises, ask for feedback, and fix problems at the root instead of blaming people. Influence grows when your actions reduce confusion and increase confidence.

Make it repeatable: create small rituals that prove your standards, weekly priorities, short retros, and clear decision owners. Mentor someone, share what you’ve learned, and give credit outward. When your behavior becomes consistent, people stop waiting for permission and start matching the level you model.

Model one leadership behavior daily and track it for 14 days to build trust without a title.

McKenzie Design Build builds high-performance custom homes that prioritize durability, healthy indoor air, and deep comfort. Instead of chasing only finishes, the firm focuses on what sits behind them: how walls seal, how fresh air moves, and how energy is used over decades. The result is a home treated like a system, not a collection of parts.

Its process is structured to reduce surprises. Preconstruction aligns design goals with performance targets through planning, modeling, and coordination. During construction, the team verifies installation and airtight detailing, measuring quality rather than assuming it. Postconstruction adds performance testing and a homeowner orientation, so comfort, durability, and efficiency show up in daily living.

Founder Zac McKenzie built the company after seeing attractive homes that underperformed. He leads a team of project managers, site supervisors, architects, and designers committed to quality, integrity, and communication. The philosophy centers on longevity, moisture management, clean air, balanced temperatures, and smart systems that deliver verified efficiency without sacrificing craftsmanship.

High-performance homes come from airtight details, testing, and systems thinking.

In December 2025, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded an $86.347 million contract to restore Sargent Beach by pairing maintenance dredging at the Mouth of the Colorado River with beneficial placement of about 1.07 million cubic yards of sand. The work also includes shoreline protection features and a roughly 2,600-foot terminal groin near Mitchell’s Cut, with completion targeted for summer 2027.

For marine contractors, the risk sits in production and compliance. Pay quantities hinge on pre- and post-surveys, weather windows, and turbidity limits; haul distances and placement methods drive fuel burn and cycle time; and every idle day can strand specialized equipment. A disciplined plan for pipeline routes, booster pumps, and beach grading often separates a clean margin from a season of standby costs.

The bigger business move is treating dredged material as an engineered input. Owners who lock grain size criteria, acceptance surveys, and decision dates for shoreline features cut late changes and keep crews moving. Contractors who run nourishment like a production line, with QA on every load and rapid feedback from survey crews, will deliver faster and defend performance when the next storm hits.

Treat dredged sediment as a planned resource, not waste.

Congress’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act quietly rewrote a key cash-flow rule for builders. For contracts entered into for tax years beginning after July 4, 2025, many large residential projects can qualify for the completed contract method, letting income be recognized at substantial completion instead of being pulled forward under percentage-of-completion.

That matters in 2026 because financing is still tight, and carry costs stay high. Deferring tax on in-progress work can free cash to keep crews booked, prebuy long-lead items, and avoid expensive stop-start sequencing. It can also simplify reporting for firms that used to track complicated percent complete calculations on multifamily and condo jobs.

The winners will treat the benefit like working capital, not profit. Map which bids and signed agreements qualify, update draw schedules and cash forecasts, and tighten job-cost systems so the final true-up is clean. Use the extra liquidity to protect schedule certainty, secure alternates, and reduce change orders, then bank the rest for the next cycle.

Use tax deferral to stabilize schedules and liquidity, not options.

Good morning, crew. Before we start, set up one charging spot for all tool batteries. Use only the approved charger for each pack, plug into a safe outlet, and keep the area clear of rags, sawdust, fuel, and solvents. If a pack is hot, swollen, cracked, leaking, or making noise, do not charge it. Tag it and tell your lead. If you smell burning or see smoke, stop work and clear the area.

These packs store a lot of energy, and failures can lead to thermal runaway with fire, explosion, and toxic smoke. Damage from drops, crushing, water, or heat can set up a failure later, especially during charging. Cold weather matters too, because charging a frozen pack can increase failure risk. The safest approach is a designated charging area, correct chargers, room temperature charging, and early removal of any pack that looks or feels wrong.

Today we will treat battery charging like hot work: controlled location, clear combustibles, and constant awareness. If the setup is not right, we fix it before production. If a pack shows warning signs, we pull it out of service immediately. Taking two minutes to charge safely prevents a fire that can shut down the job and hurt people. Speak up early and we will reset the plan.

Charge smart, store safely, and stop early so our tools and crew stay ready every day.

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