(In early 2025, I had the opportunity to interview Mark Urso, the owner and president of Bear Contracting, a heavy civil contractor out of Bridgeport, WV. The interview was part of an event hosted by the Contractors Association of West Virginia. Bear Contracting is my longest-served client, and I consider Mark, his wife Angie, and the rest of the team to be friends. This is the first of a series of posts based on that interview.)
Me: Mark, you’ve shared your story with me. You’ve built Bear Contracting from the ground up. You’re successful by any standard. You should be proud of that, and I know that sense of accomplishment resonates throughout the company. What led you to reach out for help?
Mark: “[We hit a very bad rough patch.] We had some key players who did some things that really hurt us, and some who just weren’t doing their job. Our revenue dropped to half of what it had been. I heard about EOS from some other contractors at a YPO Construction Roundtable event. I did some exploring and started working with you. Now, we’re doing about twice the revenue with fewer people, at higher margins, all because of EOS.”
HITTING THE CEILING
Sometimes, even well-established companies hit a rough patch. We call it “Hitting the Ceiling.” Companies may not experience the kind of rough patch that Bear Contracting did, but every company inevitably hits a period where they stagnate.
The Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®) has The Five Leadership Abilities baked into it. They help Leadership Teams (LT) FOCUS their energy to enable them to break through that ceiling every time they hit it.
SIMPLIFY: Complexity is the enemy at the gate. It’s a LT’s job to root out complexity and simplify everything in the company as much as possible. Processes, communication, etc.
DELEGATE: There are only so many hours in a week. You can’t be chief cook and bottle washer forever. Your time is too valuable. Delegate the stuff you’re doing that doesn’t bring real value for the company.
PREDICT: What if you became extremely confident that you could actually PREDICT what your LT and the company could get done in a week, a month, or a quarter? Or even a year. EOS does that.
SYSTEMIZE: Get all the most important stuff done the right and best way every time. No more waking up at 2 a.m. in a cold sweat wondering if your people remembered to do something important.
STRUCTURE: Creating a dynamic structure that clarifies roles, fosters positive accountability, and adapts to the ever-changing needs of the company. Then using that structure as a TOOL to help you execute toward your Vision.
About 3 years ago, Mark Urso and his team made the mental commitment to themselves that they were going to run their company with more discipline and accountability, using EOS to drive that initiative. A few names and faces have changed, but by-and-large, they’ve turned themselves into a team that executes well, day in, day out.
If you would like to sample the experience EOS, you can get in touch with me HERE or email me at will.karbach@eosworldwide.com
Will Karbach is a Certified EOS Implementer, serving VA, WV, NC, DC, and Western MD.
