Managing Dependencies and Grow Profitably

As projects and contractors grow in complexity it becomes increasingly more difficult to manage all the dependencies between tasks.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

 It is those connections between tasks and people that are often the culprit of delays rather than the actual speed of task completion itself. 

Quote: Unacknowledged dependencies remain the number one cause for project slippage. John Doerr.
  • When a business or project is simpler it can be easily managed using a task list.  
  • As it grows in complexity tools like Gantt Charts and the Critical Path Method are required for sequencing.
  • Relatively quickly you get to the point where a project or process becomes so complex that not all the dependencies can be seen by the person doing the planning and management.  
  • Even if all those dependencies could be seen by the person managing the overall project or process it is very important for the critical front-line supervisory level to deeply understand these dependencies.  

Additional tools and operating rhythms are required to develop the people that are necessary to develop the project and the company.  

Project:  The Last Planner System

Company:  Objectives & Key Results (OKR)


Learn more about how we help contractors develop the management systems required to grow their businesses profitably.




Evolving Focus with Growth and Leadership Levels
All contractors are built on the same foundation, which starts with the amazing crafts people. With growth in the business, project size, and your level of leadership, the time you allocate to different layers of the pyramid must evolve.
The Right People - Jim Collins
What differentiates contractors is their ability to execute basic strategies consistently. Effective execution comes down to people, process and tools - in that order.
Retirement Onboarding and Ownership Transitions
The onboarding and integration of a new team member is something the best contractors rigorously manage as one of the 9 critical talent processes. What we don’t always pay as close attention to is what Sue Weiler-Doke frames as “Retirement Onboarding."