Early Identification as a Trainable Skill

The ability to identify potential changes early is a skill that can be tested, trained, and managed just like a craft skill.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
D. Brown Management
April 15, 2019 2 minute read
change management foreman training project management talent development
Share

Early identification of changes and conflicts is the first key to success. 

Change Management: Early Identification is a Trainable Skill.
  • Find a set of drawings and specifications that have some obvious and not so obvious conflicts or missing information on them. Develop a test and scoring system out of this. Rank your own team then consider which positions to use this for when hiring. 
     
  • Observe the people taking the test and watch for best practices used by the top performers, such as methodically going through the documents, how they mark things, etc. Watch for worst practices by the bottom performers, such as skipping around or not being organized. Use these specific examples for training.  

  • Develop a set of questions that can be asked to guide people toward finding all the issues.  Organize these into checklists and use them to help manage the project.
      
  • Force yourself into deliberate practice on early identification, leveraging best-practices in learning. 

“Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.”  ― Zig Ziglar

Change Orders
Change orders are a fact of life in construction. Improve profitability, cash flow and customer satisfaction by effectively managing changes. Build a foundation for success with 12 steps to improve pricing and 11 negotiating strategies for the whole project team....
Previous Next Go To Series
Related Insights Series
Related Training
Change Orders
Change orders are a fact of life in construction. Improve profitability, cash flow and customer satisfaction by effectively managing changes. Build a foundation for success with 12 steps to improve pricing and 11 negotiating strategies for the whole project team....
Previous Next Go To Series
Related Insights Series
Lean Principle - People First (Then Process and Tools)
To optimize productivity, a contractor must focus on their people first, then processes and tools including technology as an integrated management system with a hierarchy. This is not a linear process: S.M.A.R.T. Experiments + Continuous Improvement.
Related Article
Diffusion of Innovations Curve - Leading Change
The contractors that dominate tomorrow’s market will be those that have built strong capabilities for identifying opportunities or problems and then rapidly making lasting changes throughout the organization.
Related Article
Management Accountabilities: Two Foundational Basics
Managers have two basic foundational accountabilities. The first is delivering consistent outcomes given the inconsistencies of the inputs, people, and environment. The second is developing people at all levels into their fullest potential along the way.
Related Article