Zero to One - Advice From Peter Thiel

Construction as craft and as a business has been around for thousands of years.

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Contractors build and maintain the infrastructure that enables society to grow.  That history comes a lot of pride. It also brings a lot of difficult to change habits.

Leadership Tools: Advice from Peter Thiel. 10 Years vs 6 Months. Book: Zero to One by Peter Thiel.

With the rate that technology is changing the industry leaders in construction companies should learn a little more about how technologists think.  It will make you think differently about your strategy; especially around talent development and technology adoption.  

Peter Thiel challenges some assumptions about how long things should take to innovate in the book Zero to One.  

"If you go back 20 or 25 years, I wish I would have known that there was no need to wait."

“You should take your 10-year life plan and ask:  Why can't I do this in six months?”

"Sometimes, you have to actually go through the complex, 10-year trajectory; but it's at least worth asking whether that's the  story you're telling yourself, or whether that's the reality? "




Problem-Resolution Cost Pyramid - Earlier is Always Better
An easy way to visualize the cost of problem resolution at different stages of construction is with this pyramid. The cost of the problem is the cost of the problem (1X). Finding it ahead of time minimizes the costs and maximizes customer satisfaction.
Succession and the 2024 Olympics as an Example
Succession in any job role should be looked at like the USA Team in the Mixed 4x400 Relay Race at the 2024 Olympics. This is especially true for ownership transitions for construction contractors. Learn more about this 4-step process.
Observe, Hypothesize, and Experiment
Contractors would run much better, including improved field productivity, if they applied the simple lesson we all learned around middle-school science class: Stop debating and start experimenting.