Rockefeller and Dealing With People

“Hard Skills” including the technical ability to design and build a project are the foundation of the construction industry.

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The “Soft Skills” such as the ability to deal with people is the glue that holds complex projects and contracting businesses together.  

Quote: The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun. John D Rockefeller

These are the skills that connect teams from different companies together effectively for the more collaborative project delivery we are seeing across all sectors of the construction market.  

These are the skills that both hold teams together and attract new people to that team.  This is exceptionally critical considering the shortages of talent in the industry that will continue to get worse.  

Combining soft and hard skills together is what makes effective teachers, coaches and mentors that develop others.  

These “Soft Skills” are purchasable as Rockefeller describes but they can also be developed.  In the current and future construction environment the contractors that master the development of talent will dominate.  


Schedule a call with us to learn more about how we help contractors accelerate talent development




Levels of the Value Stream
For contractors to unlock maximum value during business development, preconstruction and project execution it is critical to understand the broader value stream of the project beyond their scope. 10 levels of granularity in the construction value stream:
Diffusion of Innovations Curve - Leading Change
The contractors that dominate tomorrow’s market will be those that have built strong capabilities for identifying opportunities or problems and then rapidly making lasting changes throughout the organization.
From More Generalized to More Specialized with Growth
Job roles, tools, and equipment progressively get more specialized as projects and contractors grow. These changes must be balanced with versatility and talent development.