Joe's old line sounds practiced and insincere. Rod Stoneworth has built his construction company from scratch. Twenty years earlier he was a new, bungling carpenter without a tool belt to hang his hammer on.

Today, All Square Construction company builds residential and commercial properties and sells over $15 million of properties a year. But their real revenue comes from their ongoing real estate ventures. The profits from their annual leases are twice that from the construction side.

If Joe had asked he would have learned that Rod recently bought one of the largest local real estate companies in the city. Joe never asked. Rod did not build a successful company by overreacting. He judges people on what they show him, not what they say. And at this rate Joe has two strikes against him. Strike one - no communication after his call on Friday. Strike two - no apology. He'll give Joe one more chance to redeem himself.

Rod inquires, "Joe, I thought the machine for my Valley location was going to be delivered on Friday at 2:00. What happened?" "Rod, I never got the call from the warehouse until today and uh, you got it, though today, right?" Strike three. Joe did not take ownership of the problem or worse he had just lied. "Joe, just keep in touch with Julie my administrative assistant will you? I've got to go. Thanks for everything." And with that Rod said good-bye for the last time. Rod has been around long enough to realize when someone is trying to cover himself from blame.

Boy, that wasn't too difficult thinks Joe. That Rod is a nice guy. I'll surprise him in a couple of weeks and see if he wants to go to lunch, my treat. Wow, it's already 3:00.

I guess I could go back to my house and return some calls. Where does the day go! I'm so busy, but I never get anything done. "What do I need to do to be more productive?" Joe thinks out loud.