General Mattis - Operations Occur at the Speed of Trust

Cooperation, too, occurs at the speed of trust.

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D. Brown Management
April 19, 2020 3 minute read
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Retired General Jim Mattis uses the word trust 65+ times in his autobiography Call Sign Chaos:  Learning to Lead.  

Leadership Tools: General Mattis operations occur at the speed of trust.

General Mattis ties trust together with building speed into operations to provide an advantage. This was cited multiple times by Michael Valenti, Major in the US Marine Corps, in a study he did on General Mattis's leadership style and the results: The Mattis Way of War: An Examination of Operational Art in Task Force 58 and 1st Marine Division

Construction projects are often chaotic and require a high degree of trust between parties from the initial business development following through to the design and construction phases. Contractors that focus on building trust at all levels move quicker and more profitably than their peers. This is especially true in uncertain conditions like COVID-19 and the likely post-COVID recession.   

Patrick Lencioni defines trust as the foundation of effective teams delivering results.  

  1. Trust in Each Other
  2. Constructive Conflict
  3. True Commitment
  4. Holding Each Other Accountable
  5. Focus on Results

Brené Brown has studied trust deeply and digs into what trust really is, including how to build and maintain it: The Anatomy of Trust. She uses the acronym BRAVING to break trust down into individual components.  

  • Boundaries
  • Reliability
  • Accountability
  • Vault
  • Integrity
  • Non-Judgment
  • Generosity

Additional Book Resources

 

Using a Vision to Create Desire and Context for Tasks
There is a whole lot of work involved in building projects and building a construction company. It is easy to get mired down in endless to-do lists, processes, and problems. The thing that holds this all together and accelerates performance is the vision.
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Winston Churchill - Success, Failure and Enthusiasm
When there are no clear answers, it is critical to experiment, learn, and rapidly scale up those things that work. "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
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Management Team Development Phases Within Each Stage of Growth
The management team leading a contractor through the different stages of growth will typically navigate three phases at each stage - Emerging, Hollow, and Ready. Understanding these phases guides growth planning, recruitment, development, and succession.
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