Embracing Resilience: Strengthening the Foundation of Continental’s Culture

Continental Contractors has had the good fortune of being in business – surviving, growing, and thriving – for more than 20 years. While good fortune always has something to do with success, we won’t let it take all of the credit in ours. Continental was initially founded on Pete Welch’s gut instinct, internal drive, and industry knowledge and relationships, but we wouldn’t be where we are today without the determination, teamwork, and collaboration of the Continental team, our partners within the industry, and the clients who trust us to build their visions into reality. We also wouldn’t be here without adhering to our company’s core values: humility, integrity, and respect. And, while our industry as a whole has seen and experienced so much change, both good and seemingly insurmountable, over the last two decades, we are proud to say that our values have remained constant.

If the Continental family is the heart of our organization, then our values are the spine. It is the structure on which we stand and, when faced with challenges, our core values are what help guide leadership to make the hard decisions by striving to do the right thing. While the last few years have brought their fair share of challenges; the pandemic, supply-chain disruptions, and labor shortages have all contributed to rising costs and economic frustration across the country. In turn, we’ve had to have more tough conversations with clients and vendors, and within our own organization. We’ve drawn lines in the sand about how we’ll do business, and we’ve had to be more creative and collaborative than ever. When headwinds do appear, we steer toward the next right decision and move forward.

All of this, coupled with the fierce determination and loyalty of our team members, has inspired us to dive even deeper into the core values that have guided us and to take another look. In doing so we realized that there’s one vital word that was missing from the list – one that we realized is very much present in the day-to-day operations of our business. Resilience.

Resilience is defined as “the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.”  It is the grit we need as a company to weather the difficult times, coupled with the individual grace to keep showing up, every day, with humility, integrity, and respect.  Resilience is the piece that ties the rest together when our patience, stamina, and loyalty are tested. It gets us to the next milestone and allows us to celebrate our achievements as a team.

We’re so proud of the mark we have made in our industry and even more proud of the individuals who make up our Continental family. It is with a renewed appreciation for our partners in the hospitality industry and our own team that we look to the next 20 years of striving to be the best – at what we do, and to each other – along the way.