Collaborate, Trust, Repeat

Another cornerstone of Beck's culture is building trust-based, collaborative relationships with subcontractors, clients and its own staff. Eighty percent of the firm's work is repeat business.

"Culture will eat strategy," says Perpall. "Culture is about people, and the only way to get cultural affinity is to have experiences together, like a family. You start to anticipate what each other needs."

Beck chooses its subcontractors carefully because it hopes to keep them for many years. The firm has worked with mechanical and electrical contractor Brandt Cos. of Dallas for decades on projects ranging from Fountain Place in the 1980s to the recent LEED-Platinum renovation of the Hipolito Garcia Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse in San Antonio. Brandt, a $300-million company, also helped Beck develop DProfiler.

Mark Zilbermann, Brandt CEO, says, "I've been around my company about 36 years, and we've worked with [Beck] as long as I've been here. We have similar values. We try to do the right thing; we try to take care of our customers. We like to make a profit, but we do what we say we're going to do and treat people with respect."

Blake Combs started Prism Electric Inc. in Garland, Texas, 18 years ago and wanted to work with Beck because of its strong work ethic.

"We only chase about five general contractors. We bid the larger contractors, people we know will get the job done," says Combs, the firm's president. "We've been selective, and it's worked for us."

Beck is selective about the work it takes on as well. During the recession, when many other contractors used a scattered approach to finding work, Beck employed a targeted strategy. It focused even more intently on more plentiful work such as federal government, higher education, religious and health care facilities.

"In some cases, the recession was not as harsh for us because after 9/11 we saw the need to move into markets that are recession resistant," says Paul Higgins, Beck's chief operations officer. "The church market did well. People seek out God when they have a crisis. The federal government spends a lot when the private sector is down."

The Beck Group's business has rebounded—with an increasing backlog and more hiring. But with more opportunity comes more challenges. "We're seeing an incredible construction market in Texas but also incredible competition," says Higgins.

There's risk in growth, but Beck seems prepared. "Many times, coming out of downturns is when companies fail because they take on too much work too fast," says Perpall. "We're bullish on the next two years, but we're being disciplined about how fast we grow."