Thomas C. Schleifer, PhD, has operated a general contracting company, served as a consultant to the surety industry and been a professor at the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University. He is currently a consultant and author, most recently, of "Managing the Profitable Construction Business." ENR Deputy Editor Richard Korman interviewed Schleifer in New York City about the risk management aspects of late payments, how contractors can get paid faster and what he learned in his early days as a young contractor in New Jersey.