Aligning Projects and People

The business of building is largely about aligning projects and people. Contractors exist to build projects. People design and build the projects. The management team, structure, and systems bring it all together.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

 

 

Delivering projects to customers is the foundation all contractors are built upon. This is the Project Value Stream (PVS) and a critical part of both strategic decisions and the contractor business model

People design, build, and maintain those projects. People provide all the critical support functions that allow a contractor to grow profitably and sustainably. This is the Talent Value Stream (TVS)

Holding all this together starting with the Foremen, Superintendents, and PMs are the managers. Management requires discipline to align people and projects, deliver consistent outcomes given inconsistent inputs, and develop people. 


 

Digging Deeper:

 

 

 



Related Training

Headcount, Stages of Contractor Growth, and Growth Inflection Points
Every contractor will navigate very predictable stages of growth. Each of these represents about a tripling of headcount and requires different leadership focus, strategies, structures, and systems. Stress and failure points are also very predictable.
Alignment from Strategy to Execution
Misalignment between how projects are estimated and how they are built creates subpar outcomes at best and sometimes results in catastrophic failure. Alignment is not a task to be completed. It is an ongoing process starting at the top.
Resource - Stratified Systems Theory (SST) and Timespan 101
All contractors navigate through very predictable stages of growth, delivering larger and more complex projects. Business complexity evolves requiring different capabilities at all levels. Tom Foster lays out some of these key differences very clearly.