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? "




Changes - Impacts Beyond the Direct Costs
Contractors don't typically see the full negative impact of changes and, therefore, don’t put the right level of resources into their management.
The Productivity-Talent Bonus
Contractors will receive a major talent bonus when they put a relentless focus on field productivity. They will become “Talent Magnets” for the best in the industry making them unstoppable even in the face of major talent shortages.
Integrating Constraints and Strategic Targets
Available talent, capital, and work in the market are the basic constraints every contractor must work within. Understanding and managing all three better each year is the foundation of sustainable growth.