Two Restaurants on Saturday Night

Leaders of construction companies have to make many decisions with less than perfect information.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

On one hand you never want to make a decision without good information.  On the other hand there is value in the timeliness of a decision and many times there will be imperfect information regardless of how much time you wait.

Leadership Tools: 2 Restaurants On a Saturday Night

The best leaders have a complex 5D Model in their heads at all times.  They have mental models of the market with the competition, their projects and their business as a whole. This “Situational Awareness” along with the ability to act decisively is crucial.  

Many times we are looking for perfectly formatted data in some sort of a report but there are indicators all over the place.  Consider two restaurants; Saturday evening; similar locations; similar food. One is packed consistently with a wait and the other is nearly empty serving a couple tables at a time.  

You don’t need detailed financial information to know there are problems and begin the troubleshooting process.  There are many similar indicators on projects and within contracting businesses. The more you train yourself and your team to “see” these then act upon them the better your team will operate.  

Part of the learning process is to see the indicators then to dig rapidly for supporting data to better evaluate.  

What are your main proxy indicators for productivity, safety, quality, morale, etc.?




Advanced Business Development for General Contractors
Finally, a resource designed specifically for Senior Management in the construction industry. This workshop will help explain the “Art and Science of Business Development” and what you can do to maximize the processes you already have.
The Sales Funnel (Scope and Key Roles Involved)
Each stage of the sales funnel requires different work to be completed and involvement from different key job roles. These evolve over time with growth and changing markets.
Management System Improvements (4 Interlinked Phases)
Many improvements fall short of expectations because steps are skipped in the earlier phases. Following these four phases will result in faster overall adoption of the changes, better outcomes, and most importantly, development of the team.