The USACE Goes All In On Partnering
Dear Construction Nation, In 1982 I was asked to be a part of the President’s Council for Productivity Improvement for the construction industry. At the time Congress was afraid that our poor productivity levels in construction were going to prevent the U.S. from competing in the new global marketplace that was emerging. So, there were […]
Mega Project Success Factors 2022
Hello Construction Nation, Here is some food for thought…. 65% of mega projects fail according to a 2015 study done by the Construction Industry Institute (CII). 70% of construction projects fail according to a 2020 mega project study by University College London (UCL). I’ve seen and heard about how mega projects keep failing for decades. […]
Work Your Assets Off
Dear Construction Nation, I sometimes feel like I am on a hamster wheel. It is hard to stop. It seems endless. It can be tiring, and overwhelming. I think many people feel that way these days. This is probably the main reason so many people are rethinking their work lives right now. According to a […]
Immy & Lisa: The Pyramid of Trust
Dear Construction Nation, This week I had the opportunity to interview Immy Tariq and Lisa Fei, the Wall Street Journal bestselling co-authors of The Pyramid of Trust: How to Create Certainty in an Uncertainty World. Both are serial entrepreneurs, and focus mostly on teaching people to build trust in yourself, your employees, and your customers. Most contractors […]
SOS! We Need Trust Now!
Dear Construction Nation, You likely know that I have been studying TRUST for the past 35+ years. One of my dearest friends, Marilynn Mobley, was the SVP for a company called Edelman, until she passed away. But Marilynn introduced me to the Edelman Trust Barometer. Each year Edelman does extensive research on the level of trust […]
Three Steps to Drive Out Fear and Create Trusted Leadership
Dear Construction Nation, I just kicked-off partnering on a project where the team gave me their list of “risks.” Then, I got an email from the construction executive asking me NOT to use this list. They were afraid to share with the owner’s team their frustration and fear. This is not an unusual situation. Of […]
How To Deal With Increasing Materials Prices: Alex Barthet, The Barthet Firm and the Lien Zone Podcast
Dear Construction Nation, I met Alex Barthet a few years back, when he was on my first podcast, Construction Dream Team, and I was on his, The Lien Zone. Alex is a construction attorney in South Florida and I was very excited when I saw that Alex was gathering a group of industry folks to offer advice on how […]
Does Excellence Cost More?
Dear Construction Nation, Have you ever been baffled by what makes one project team unmistakably high performing, and another team, with a similar caliber of members, fall short of success? This has been a question I’ve studied for over 35 years. I wanted to know; how can we ensure our projects succeed? The good news […]
The Anatomy of a Dispute
Dear Construction Nation, I once did partnering for a water district project. This was a $50 million project, and it was six months behind schedule and 30% complete when I was called. The contractor and owner had their trailers side by side on the site, but the team did not talk to each other. They […]
The Seven Keys to Building a Strong Coalition
Dear Construction Nation, I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with Emily Cohen, EVP of the United Contractors Association (UCON). Emily has a reputation for being able to make “magic happen” when it comes to pulling together groups of people and organizations into a strong coalition. You need a coalition in your business so that […]
