In a startup business the entrepreneur is likely to be the person answering the phones and taking out the trash. Whether you’re in that stage or have grown beyond, it’s up to you to be sure this machine you’ve created doesn’t veer outside your established parameters. You do this by staying in touch to the appropriate degree with every aspect of your business, even as you grow larger.

This doesn’t mean that you micromanage. If you’ve put the right people in place, that’s counterproductive. But if you frequently drop by one of your project manager’s office and sit down with him for a few minutes you’ll get a sense of how things are going on his projects. When you stop at a jobsite, look around, and chat with your superintendent and subcontractors, you’ll know more. (For instance, a disorganized, unkempt jobsite always raises a caution flag to me.) If something doesn’t feel quite right to you, it probably isn’t, so delve into it until you know why. Compare what you observe on your own with the reports you get back at the office. If they differ very much, take steps to correct the situation.

Take a break in your bookkeeper’s office. Do you get a sense that the financial paper flow is running smoothly? Can he explain to your satisfaction what’s behind the numbers on the reports? Ask probing questions about your financial statements until they make sense to you.

Author and businessman Pat Croce talks about his “Five-Fifteen” management tool. On Fridays, he says, each of his employees spends fifteen minutes writing a progress report on his own goals and successes for the week and emails them up the line to the next supervisory level. Eventually the reports trickle up to Croce, who spends five minutes reading each one and perhaps sending it back down the line with an appreciative comment (thus the “five-fifteen” terminology.) He says the writers see it not as a chore but as an opportunity to showcase their achievements. And to Croce, it is a way to stay in close touch with his people and to know what’s going on.

Through communication you can create an open and cooperative environment in your firm. Letting your employees know your goals for the company and giving them feedback on a regular basis creates excitement, promotes teamwork, and allows your people to make your goals their goals.

The author of this article, Nick Ganaway, was a successful general contractor for 25 years. He is a consultant in Atlanta, Georgia for contractors and other small business owners. Nick has described how to set up and manage a construction business that is profitable, enjoyable, and enduring in his book, Construction Business Management: What Every Construction Contractor, Builder & Subcontractor Needs to Know.