A Road Map to Success

S. M. Wilson maps its plans for the next 25 years and beyond

By Craig Workman

S. M. Wilson & Co. has come a long way in the past 25 years — from a struggling local company to a major construction industry force in St. Louis, Kansas City, and across the country. The past decade alone has seen the company grow from $104 million in revenue and 62 full-time employees to $450 million in revenue and 240 employees. Along the way, the company has developed a successful formula for doing business that fosters overall success and repeat customer business through relationship building among all internal and external audiences.

Now the company has developed a comprehensive, long-range plan to empower it to continue this formula for next 25 years. And because of its size, geographic reach, and priority on input from all employees, S. M. Wilson debuted a long-range planning document that is bringing everyone together.

The “Road Map” was introduced to employees in 2006, rolled out in 2007, and updated again in 2008. It is a tool designed to:

communicate the company’s long-term strategic goals
involve employees in the planning process
record and track yearly goals and achievements at every level of the company
increase profitability

The Road Map combines corporate strategy, leadership transition, staff development, and business development into a quantifiable, measurable, and manageable program with specific and cumulative goals to achieve up through the year 2032. It is focused on upholding quality and maintaining S. M. Wilson’s unique company culture. In short, it allows everyone to understand where S. M. Wilson is headed and how the company is going to get there.

The Road Map is built on two fundamental cornerstones, which reflect the foundation of S. M. Wilson’s business:

Core Purpose: “To build great value, relationships, and careers while having fun in the process.”
Core Values: “Honesty and integrity, customer service, passion for excellence, balanced life, and building relationships.”

“The core purpose and core values are much more than just simple words,” said Amy Berg, vice president of business development at S. M. Wilson. “They encompass the essence of our company. Our employees live and work by these ideals, so we empowered our employees to develop and vote on them. They must uphold our culture on a daily basis, and by doing so, the company is well on its way to achieving the goals of the Road Map.”

The Road Map identifies the key factors crucial to success over the next 25 years and provides for ways to measure and report progress toward that success. It also features long-term factors, called map coordinates, including:

talent
structure
systems and processes
profitability
repeat customers

These map coordinates provide a framework for identifying and measuring specific goals, both company-wide and departmentally, that will impact every employee, every decision, and every plan made at all levels of the organization. These coordinates also provide a focus on the long-term commitment to the success of the Road Map plan.

Putting these coordinates into action is accomplished through market sector and departmental plans,
which are developed, implemented, and evaluated on an annual basis by employees. These are the shorter-term operational goals and objectives that create the measuring and reporting structure toward overall progress of the Road Map’s goals. Groups of employees meet periodically throughout the year to evaluate and fine tune the market sector and department plans to ensure they are consistent with the “big picture” vision of the company. All employees are strongly encouraged to add their ideas along the way and contribute toward the company’s overall success.

A central part of the success of this plan is strong and consistent communications, both internally and externally. The company put together a campaign of visual imagery and strong messaging to “brand” and reinforce the importance of the Road Map, core purpose, and core values to all audiences on an ongoing basis.

A series of graphic images was designed to reflect each of the plan’s core values. These images will appear on posters, collateral materials, the company’s Web site, proposals, and other printed materials. They speak as constant communicators of the 25-year plan and serve as reminders of S. M. Wilson’s strong culture and work ethic.

Posters depicting the core values have been created and placed in all employee offices, training rooms, break rooms, and other public places within the company’s facilities.

Articles about the Road Map and its progress toward the 25-year goals will be written and published
on an ongoing basis, both internally and externally.

The Road Map is truly a “living document.” As such, it is regularly measured, reviewed, and monitored
throughout the year by teams of employees. A report on the plan’s progress and goals for the coming year will be prepared and provided to all employees annually.

“The Road Map and its report will cover every area of S. M. Wilson’s business,” Berg said. “We will use the Road Map as a tool to keep us on track, so we can make our firm stronger and continue to provide the best possible product to our customers.”