When margins tighten, slashing overhead feels smart, until it stalls backlog, bids, and cash. In episode 2 of The Cost Codes Show, profitability expert Steve Coughran explains why blanket cuts are “super dangerous” and shares a safer sequence: read your WIP, close the job-cost loop, protect revenue engines, and model reality.

When margins get tight, cutting overhead feels like the quickest fix. Fewer salaries, lower monthly burn, problem solved. Except it often creates a bigger hole in the business. In episode 02 of The Cost Codes Show, Steve Coughran, construction profitability expert and founder of Coltivar, warns that looking at the income statement and slicing overhead without context is “super dangerous.”

Here’s a practical way to reduce overhead risks in construction without hurting backlog, sales, or delivery.

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