ENR MidAtlantic's 2014 Legacy Award: John R. Lawson II

Over nearly four decades, John R. Lawson II has made a lasting impression on mid-Atlantic construction—through his accomplishments at the helm of contractor W.M. Jordan Co. and his long-standing philanthropic efforts and advocacy for education.

Since purchasing the Newport News, Va.-based general contractor with his father in 1985, Lawson, now W.M. Jordan's president and chief executive officer, has seen its annual revenue rise to $400 million, from $25 million. The company, which focuses mostly on the buildings sector, ranked 19th on ENR MidAtlantic's 2014 Top Contractors list and No. 174 among ENR's 2014 Top 400 Contractors.

In addition to his corporate duties, he has served on more than 15 other organizations' boards; is a past recipient of the nonprofit group Volunteer Hampton Roads Lenora Mathews Lifetime Achievement Award; and is a past United Way Volunteer of the Year.

Lawson, 63, also has made his mark in higher education, as co-founder of the Myers-Lawson School of Construction at his alma mater, Virginia Tech.

In recognition of his achievements and contributions to the construction industry, ENR's team of regional editors has selected Lawson as the recipient of ENR MidAtlantic's first Legacy Award.

Coming Home

The son of Robert T. Lawson, who helped establish W.M. Jordan Co. in 1958, John Lawson's career path may have seemed obvious, but it almost went in a different direction. In 1975, as he was nearing the end of his senior year at Virginia Tech, Lawson was prepared to take a job with oil company Atlantic Richfield in Dallas. But days before graduation, he surprised his father by asking if he could work at W.M. Jordan instead.

Cautioned by his father that he'd be starting at the bottom and earn only one-third of what he'd make in the petroleum business, Lawson asked if he could just live at home. "Dad said yes, and that was that," he says.

He advanced from working on crews in the field to overseeing jobsites as a superintendent. Later he moved to an office, where he began preparing submittals and bids. Lawson says he found he had a knack for estimating, which led to assignments managing increasingly larger projects.

"I got an appreciation of what people in both the field and the office do to be productive in the face of challenges, whether it's coping with weather or having to address a long list of design changes from a client," he says. "You can't be a complete leader without having experienced it yourself."

In 1985, Lawson had to get up to speed quickly for another level of leadership when he and his father bought out company founder William Jordan, who had decided to retire.

"The timing was right, as business was picking up after the recession of the early 1980s," Lawson recalls. "Dad would continue running field operations while I would run the office."

Over the years, Lawson developed a management approach that, at times, differed from that of his peers. For example, when other firms retrenched in the most recent recession, W.M. Jordan added offices and expanded its marketing, human resources and IT staff. It also was among the first contractors to provide employees with perks such as onsite gyms, wellness programs and interoffice competitions and events that raise money for charity.

"I gave up on traditional strategic planning 25 years ago because the objectives seemed too focused on profit," Lawson says. "I'd rather focus on continually improving our processes and empowering our people at all levels to feel comfortable about doing things and exploring new ideas. When you do that, you get a lot of good things in return—hard work, good ideas, support for colleagues and the community, and so much more."

Lawson looks for ways to do things differently within his company and in serving clients, says Samuel E. "Bo" Waddill III, whose firm has handled insurance bonds for W.M. Jordan Co. for more than 50 years. "He always says, 'We have to reinvent ourselves all the time,'" Waddill adds. "The difference is that when he says he's going to do something, he does it."

Lawson also stays in the loop on projects. Bruce Thompson, CEO of Gold Key/PHR Hotels and Resorts, which has worked with W.M. Jordan on hospitality projects over the past 12 years, says, "There's never been a time when I called him, during the day or night, that he wasn't up on the details of my job."

The results include award-winning work. ENR MidAtlantic named the company's Asymmetric Warfare Group training complex project at the Army's Fort A.P. Hill, Va., the Best Project in the government/public buildings category in 2014. ENR MidAtlantic cited W.M. Jordan's Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing in Disputanta, Va., as Best Project in the manufacturing category in 2013.

One initiative that mirrors Lawson's philosophy, and a bit of his own past, is W.M. Jordan's paid internship program, which includes as many as 30 college students a year.

"The internship is structured so that they're thinking like responsible business people," Lawson says, noting that interns have the unusual opportunity to assume significant project responsibility at an early age.

Many W.M. Jordan interns have gone on to become what Lawson calls "all-star" company employees. They and other young professionals also move W.M. Jordan further along the learning curve for leading-edge construction technologies such as building information modeling and augmented reality. "They eat it up," he says. "And what's more, they're eager to teach the benefits to our older employees."

Emphasis on Education

Perhaps the pinnacle of Lawson's commitment to construction's future generations is Virginia Tech's Myers-Lawson School of Construction, which he co-founded with Virginia Tech fraternity brother A. Ross Myers, CEO of American Infrastructure Inc., Worcester, Pa.

The school aims to enhance students' business acumen and entrepreneurial and leadership skills through courses from the university's architecture, engineering and business schools.

Although Lawson helped launch the school, he hasn't imposed his views on it. "Obviously, kick-starting something the way John has makes a difference in the path of any new program," says Yvan J. Beliveau, head of Virginia Tech's building construction department. "But while John will share what he's seeing in the industry and offer ideas, he leaves it up to us to make decisions, which is rare in a benefactor to a university."

Beliveau adds, "He believes the program should be built around what we want, not what he wants. He's involved, but he wants it to evolve naturally."

Lawson feels that understanding and embracing change is critical to the growth of his company and the construction industry. "When I was growing up, people did things the way they'd always been done," he says. "Sometimes that works, but it doesn't let you take full advantage of what's out there."

Lawson says he's also a believer that "education should never stop." In that spirit, the company established its Learning and Development Center. The facility, which hosts employees as well as industry groups, is used for teaching construction-related topics as well as providing opportunities for personal development. Classes range from personal finance and gardening tips to industry-specific topics, such as BIM or green construction.

Beyond being a construction company leader, Lawson also dedicates much of his energy to community and philanthropic causes. For example, he has volunteered his time to benefit Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk and a $42-million fundraising campaign at Christopher Newport University. He also chairs the board of the Fort Monroe Authority, which is overseeing the transition of a historic former Army installation to other uses.

Lawson is the past rector of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors and past chairman of the Mariners' Museum in Newport News and of the Virginia Economic Development Council. In addition, he co-chaired a $1-billion campaign for Virginia Tech.

He says, "You can't experience true success and happiness without giving back to your community."