Business Management
The Insulator • August 2026 
24
24
You Can’t Win Where You 
Haven’t Decided to Play
E
very fall, construction companies 
across the country sit down to plan 
for the year ahead. They review 
last year’s revenue, debate which markets 
to grow, and set targets for the year 
ahead. They do this with conviction—
and, far too often, without evidence. 
The markets they choose tend to be the 
ones they’ve always been in, the ones 
a senior leader is excited about, or the 
ones that look attractive from the outside. 
The value proposition they bring to those 
markets tends to sound like everyone 
else’s: experienced team, client-focused, 
committed to quality. And then they 
wonder why their hit rate is stuck. Here’s 
the uncomfortable truth: most A/E/C 
companies don’t have a market strategy. 
They have a revenue target 
and a list of markets they 
hope will get them there. The 
difference matters more than 
most leaders realize.
The Planning Error Hidden in Plain Sight
When I work with companies on strategic 
planning, I often ask a simple question early 
in the process: “Why do clients choose you 
over a competitor?” The answers are almost 
always some variation of the same theme: 
relationships, reliability, technical expertise, or 
responsive communication. Those things may 
be true. But they’re not differentiating. Every 
competitor in the room would say the same 
thing—and probably does, on their website, 
in their SOQs, and in their interviews. When 
Julie Witecki, 
Principal, FMI Consulting
Dedicated to keeping its members at the forefront in their industry

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