Can't Read the Label From Inside the Jar

By definition it is impossible for any of us to know what we don’t know.

D. Brown Management

July 2, 2018 2 minute read

Quote: You can't read the label from inside the jar.

We could be in the top 5% inside our domain and better off spending time scaling the machine rather than perfecting it.
We could be missing something major and not be able to see it.
We could be in a very high-leverage position where even a small improvement could have a huge impact.
We could be missing so much context for the model that we have difficulty seeing how new information fits in thereby limiting our Situational Awareness.

Who are the top 5 people inside your organization that help each other refine your models of projects, your company and the industry?

Who are the top 5 people you are mentoring and coaching to help them refine their models?

Who do you turn to on the outside of your organization that is experienced and unbiased to help give you perspective?

Lessons from the 9th Grade

At the beginning our our lives, careers and businesses we can get into an extremely comfortable position with someone else taking nearly 100% of the responsibility. Someone else tells us what to do, how to do it and when it needs to be done by.

Changes and Cash Flow Improvement

Construction is a cash-intensive business and change orders are often one of the root causes of poor cash flow. A 30-day improvement to change management workflow can generate over $400K in additional cash flow for a $50M contractor.

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Job Instruction (JI): A 1940s Solution to the Craft Labor Shortage

The shortage of qualified craft labor, crew leaders, and supervisors has been solved before - just not in our lifetimes. The lessons from the Training Within Industry (TWI) and specifically the Job Instruction (JI) training can be used by any contractor.

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