Bruce Lee - "Be Like Water"

Be like water - an amazingly simple and powerful piece of wisdom from Bruce Lee.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share
Quote: You must be shapeless, formless, like water ... become like water my friend. Bruce Lee.

As the construction industry continues to get more complicated sometimes it is important to back up and look at simplicity.  Here is what “Being Like Water” means at the professional level:

  • Utilize every ounce of talent you have to add the maximum amount of value to the customer that you can every single day.
  • Be proactive in aggressively learning new skills that will allow you to add even more value.  
  • Always be looking for opportunities to help those around around you including teaching them new skills and helping them see what winning looks like.  
  • You can’t ignore your immediate job responsibilities and job description but NEVER let those constrain you.  It’s a life-long journey; not a day.  
  • Before you get into an argument or heated discussion over something ask yourself whether it really matters.  Will it really matter tomorrow? In a few weeks? In a few months?    

Are you being a rock or water?  There are times for both but most of the time being water and focusing on what you can control is the best path.




Four Levels of Integration and Optimization
Operational excellence must be a major component of every contractor’s strategy and baked into their daily behaviors. Optimizing at each of the four major layers requires different levels of thinking, technology, and time span.
What Are You Optimizing For?
Prioritizing is about sequencing. Optimizing is about balance. Both are defined by your values, strategies, and objectives. Both are constrained by your finite resources including talent and capital. Start by knowing what you are optimizing for.
Balancing Modes of Prioritization and Career Progression
If your workload prioritization seems impossible, try looking at it from a higher-level of prioritization. We all must prioritize in life and at work. Our outcomes are heavily impacted by how effective we are at prioritization.