Failure is a Potent Teacher

Failure is a very potent teacher for construction contractors if:

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Leadership Tools: Failure is a Potent Teacher.
  • You don’t define failure just as CATASTROPHIC events that seriously damage your business.  
  • You define failure broadly as ANYTHING that is not adding value to the customer or slowing your progress.  
  • You embrace failure as part of the learning process diving deeply into the Root Cause Analysis (RCA). 
  • You develop a culture and systems so that everyone on the team thinks about the business as a series of interrelated cycles.  Consider all the interrelated cycles from the installation of a light fixture in the field to to the monthly project review meetings to the annual business planning process.  
  • Your whole team views each cycle as an opportunity to improve (PDCA)
  • You have developed structured processes for continuously updating your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as your team learns then rolling them out across the company improving the whole team’s capabilities.  

Book Resources:

The Five Elements of Effective Thinking

Thinking in Bets

Related LinkedIn Posts:  

Churchill - Failure is NOT Fatal

Fail 9 Times to Succeed




Cash Flow Tip 4 - Delighting Your Customers
Delight Your Customers - Both Direct and Indirect. All other things being equal your cash flow will be better if your customer is delighted with the work you have done. They are more likely to:
Incentive Compensation for Contractors - Audience Question: Loss of Trust?
There will be times when your incentive program causes a loss of trust within the team. Here are a few steps toward rebuilding that trust.
Work Observations and Time Studies (Basic Overview)
Work observations and time studies are related but distinctly different. Both are incredibly powerful tools for management, process improvement, and talent development. Starter resources and use cases below.