Insights from D. Brown Management
Growth and Common Leadership Error Traps
D. Brown Management
May 3, 2026
Error traps are conditions that set people up to fail, not the failure themselves. This terminology is most frequently used around safety but applies to doing any activity effectively - including leadership. Learn three very common GAPs and mitigation.
business management leadership
Building an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) Grand Slam
D. Brown Management
April 12, 2026
Defining consistently achievable standards for outcomes is tough. Defining and managing standards for how to achieve those outcomes is a home run. Integrating safety, quality, productivity, and talent development is the grand slam.
field management management productivity project management standards
Functional Time Horizons
D. Brown Management
April 12, 2026
Starting out, the time horizons for strategy, winning work, and doing work are similar. As a contractor grows from 150 people to 500 people and beyond, those time horizons must stretch further apart while remaining integrated.
growth leadership management
Good Growth vs. Bad Growth
David Brown
April 5, 2026
Why grow? This is a question we get asked frequently. It's a great question because good growth is incredibly hard. Good growth sometimes feels like bad growth. Looking at good growth versus bad growth can help answer that question.
development growth leadership management Succession
The Apprentice Who Knows Everything – A Look Inside AI
Steve Jost
March 30, 2026
AI tools are powerful, but what's happening inside them? This article opens the hood on how large language models work, using construction analogies to explain why clear direction and good specs matter just as much with AI as they do on a jobsite.
artificial-intelligence problem solving technology
AI as a Tool and as an Enabler
Steve Jost
March 22, 2026
Construction was built on innovations that were met with skepticism first. From the batch plant to the pneumatic nailer, tools that became industry standards started out as unproven ideas that only a few early adopters were willing to bet on.
artificial-intelligence history team building technology
Customer Ranking and Selection: Your First Strategic Decision
D. Brown Management
January 17, 2026
The first thing a contractor needs is a customer. With growth, the need to better define an "Ideal Customer" grows in importance - as does the need to say "NO" to bad customers.
business development business management business planning market strategy
Definition - Normalization of Deviance
D. Brown Management
November 23, 2025
Normalization of deviance happens when shortcuts become the standard. At best, it slows capability growth. At worst, it creates catastrophic safety risks. In between is wasted money, time, and people.
Definitions
Levels of Preconstruction Value-Add
D. Brown Management
November 23, 2025
Preconstruction services translate design intent into a constructable plan that defines scope, schedule, and budget for the actual conditions and risks. Contractor value-add occurs across five levels based on when they are brought into the process.
CMAR Preconstruction
The IKEA Effect for Contractors
D. Brown Management
October 12, 2025
The IKEA Effect goes far beyond kitting, prefab, and modularization in construction. The IKEA Effect is a cognitive bias that impacts how teams align and execute, from market strategy and business plans to processes, projects, and even succession.
leadership management productivity