Handful of Cant's
When I was in 3rd grade, my principal came up with a novel idea. He had all of us bring in to school an aluminum can and set them on our desks. “Can’t”, as he told us, was not to be used in any circumstances. If we uttered the word “can’t” we would have to carry our can around with us for one hour. He then went desk to desk attempting to coerce the word from our mouths. Well the inevitable happened, the dreaded word crossed my lips. What happened after that I am not proud of, there were tears, short uncontrollable breaths, basically a meltdown. I am not sure if this was his intended result, but consequently it seared the memory into my mind.
Today, I run into many who say the word can’t. It seems so effortless, so quick to be spoken. From subcontracts to home owners, business owners to everyday people that word is overused. Here is why I don’t like the word can’t.
1. The ugly memory of 3rd grade. 
2. Can’t creates a dead end mentally.
3. More than naught the individual means won’t but isn’t brave enough to say it.
4. The word eliminates a future.
I love to live in the world of possibility. It is on the edge of ability that we find our creative soul and our most inventive of minds. Every great invention comes from ignoring the word can’t. Think about the many advances that an ignorance of that word yielded fresh growth.
The same can be said for advancements in building. How can we as builders and subs find ways to ignore the word can’t. Can we push forward with new building techniques that save energy, material, and finances? Can we give the client a spa experience? Can we have our cake and eat it too. Perhaps perfection can be pushed aside for a bit and we can focus on ideas and techniques that will enable us to excel. I want to bring the art back into the act of building, to see respect and hope built into youth who want to be framers, masons. This can happen.
Here are a few things in the building industry where I want to see can’t disappear.
1. That time line can’t be met.
2. We don’t have to look/be professional.
3. I can’t keep my jobsite clean.
4. I can’t build that way.
5. I can’t communicate to my client, they won’t understand.
6. I can’t be on the cutting edge.
7. I can’t require an educated work force.
The can’t mentality has achieved its goal, its complacent nature has allowed the building profession to slide into the current state. Without guidelines and a target, all companies slide. Amazingly if clientele reinforce the behavior of hiring strictly on the basis of being cheap, I can see continued problems. Perhaps if we hire based on professionalism, expediency, customer experience, that will be expected of all. Instead of being a rarity only found among the most expensive, it will be found everywhere.
What are your ways of leaving can’t behind?
by chriscrimmins on December 9, 2008
in Philosophy
As my mother would say “Your father might be the head of this house, but I am the neck, the hands, and the feet.”
Without those below the head, nothing would get done. One man is not enough. That is why it is vitally important to have a team that works for and with you to accomplish your goals. Your team is one of the most, if not the most important aspect to your success.
Though I would not consider myself an extrovert, I do feed off of peoples ideas and energy.
As a company leader, it is important to surround myself with a team who gives me energy rather than drains it. I think it is important to clarify my broader sense of team:
1. My immediate staff and project manager(s)
2. My clients
3. My sub-contractors
4. My vendors
5. Other company leaders, authors, industry innovators etc
How then do I build into myself a sense of “team”, and gain the energy I need to be at my best individually and as a team?
1.First, I stay in contact with my “team” every day.
Being part of the active team on a jobsite helps stay connected and address issues before they present problems. Even if it is for only 15 minutes, that time allows me to stay informed with the subs on the site, take the temperature of the project, and instill my own energy into the team.
2. Second, I read energizing books and articles.
It is interesting how I derive much energy out of the ideas presented not only from my immediate team, but from the extended team. Blogs, books, and pictures present a wealth of knowledge that is helpful to regain energy and to present fresh ways of looking at the construction process. I subscribe to a handful of construction magazines, read blogs from leaders I respect, and read books that not only inspire me in business, but also teach.
3. Third, I organize and plan my week in order to make myself and the team more effective and productive.
There is no worse feeling then being out of control and reactive. Your team and those around you will pick up on that, and it will effect their productivity. I carry a planner with me that helps define my responsibility and keeps important items from falling out of my memory. I carry the Franklin Covey classic planner with me. Perhaps the most important part of being organized is that it allows you to appropriately delegate responsibilities to your team. Remember, people want direction and need leadership.
4.Fourth, I provide a daily/weekly general schedule for myself and also for my team in order to keep the momentum rolling and eliminate the “standing around”
Here is my personal daily schedule:
- 7:00-7:30am: Visit one if not a few of the jobsites. Meet positively with my manager or superintendent and give them their schedule and expectations for the day. I make sure to speak positively and encourage them in their work.
- 8:00-10:00 Organize myself, and schedule for the day. Next, I read or write appropriate trade articles, books etc that will get me energized for the day.
- 10:00-12:00 Update timeline and work on current projects. Bid new projects, and respond to messages on my phone or email.
- 1:00-4:00 Plan meetings with new clients, work on special projects to further grow and improve the company.These last hours will fill quickly due to the amount of energy you have instilled in yourself and your team by following a simple schedule.
A team is a direct extension of yourself. If you are not operating at your best with clarity and organization, your team cannot do the same. In later posts, I will explore the importance of setting goals, and communicating your vision and direction to your team.
Labels: construction, energy, Franklin Covey, team
by chriscrimmins on October 19, 2007
in Philosophy
In business, there is no need to compete with mediocrity, there will always be an abundance of that. Good business, the business I want to be in is the business of magnificence.
I have always believed that the way to a successful business is do what everyone else is doing but better. That is true, but I am wanting to go a step beyond that.
To those filled with fear that they won’t be able to get cheap and meaningless work if everyone focuses on magnificence.
Mediocrity in the construction field is a pandemic. We will not be rid of that anytime soon. Your fears are safe.
For the rest of us, what is that step beyond? Am I perfect? Is magnificence perfect? I do not think that magnificence has to be perfect, but it must be pointed towards that direction. Not arriving, but the journey towards. So perhaps the step beyond is just that, one step ahead of us.
We must remember that if we are not moving forward, we are moving backwards. So the drift is either upstream or down. Its easy to be mediocre, incredibly difficult to be the other.
Magnificence is not multi million dollar homes, although it could be. Magnificence is doing what is right, not only in building standards, but in dealing with the customer. Contracting is very much like a dance.
If we lead, and we should, the dance can be beautiful. This can happen changing out light bulbs, or restoring Victorian homes.
So this is my call, for you and me. Lets lead our team, and our subs into excellence. Always striving.
