Elevate Construction

EPISODE 699

Jason breaks down why so many schedules lack a real path to finish, walking through the math formula, status today plus path to finish plus float plus end date, and why skipping closeout items like commissioning, testing, and certifications quietly wrecks your float and end date.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why a missing path to finish throws off your entire float calculation
• The simple math formula every real schedule must satisfy
• Commonly forgotten closeout items like commissioning and final testing
• Why knowing your real, contracted end date is non-negotiable
• How to test whether your schedule actually qualifies as a schedule

Does your schedule actually have a real path to finish, or just an assumed one?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

EPISODE 698

Jason shares over 20 practical ways to recover a late item in the supply chain, from expediting submittals and swarming reviews to visiting suppliers, using RFI alternates, or even borrowing from another job, challenging teams to stop settling for "it is what it is" when procurement runs late.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why accepting a late delivery is rarely the only option
• Concrete ways to expedite submittals, reviews, and approvals
• How to speed up fabrication and shipment when time is tight
• Creative fixes like RFI alternates, borrowing, or new vendors
• Why 20 to 30 recovery options should exist for any delayed item

The next time something runs late, how many of these 20 options will you actually try?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason answers a listener request on how to prepare for a performance review, walking through peer, technical, and supervisor feedback, why perception matters as much as intent, and how to tell yourself a better story when criticism stings before it even happens.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why reviews should balance peer feedback, hard data, and supervisor input
• A simple exercise to predict feedback before you ever walk into the room
• Why your mind almost always lies to you the first time it reacts
• The three key questions: can you change, do you want to, are you a cultural fit
• Why growth mindset means knowing your faults without being wrecked by them

Before your next review, could you predict the feedback you're about to receive?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

EPISODE 696

Jason shares a short but powerful message: everything in your organization is a reflection of you as the leader. Drawing on a comparison between missionaries and the investigators they work with, plus Jocko Willink's take on extreme ownership, he challenges listeners to trace every organizational weakness back to their own habits.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why your organization mirrors your own strengths and weaknesses
• How missionaries' energy directly shapes the people they work with
• Why extreme ownership means changing yourself first, not your team
• A simple exercise for tracing organizational problems back to yourself
• Why whatever the leader visibly cares about is what actually gets done

What's one thing on your list that traces straight back to you?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason reads his blog post mapping every one of the 14 principles from Jeffrey Liker's The Toyota Way directly onto the Takt production system, making the case that Takt, paired with Last Planner and Scrum, is the true Lean construction scheduling system.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why Takt schedules predict real project duration far better than CPM
• How Takt creates continuous flow that brings problems to the surface
• Why Takt pairs pull systems through Last Planner and Scrum to avoid overproduction
• How visual, one-page Takt plans expose problems instead of hiding them
• Why decisions made slowly by consensus in Takt beat CPM's guesswork fixes

If Takt aligns with all 14 Toyota Way principles, what's holding your team back from starting the journey?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

EPISODE 694

Jason shares two stories, C.S. Lewis's reflection on the hidden potential in every person, and the story of Cassie the wounded hunting dog, to make the case that workers and foremen who seem to be underperforming are often simply wounded and lacking what they need to thrive.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why C.S. Lewis's "no ordinary people" idea reframes how we see workers
• The story of Cassie the injured dog and what it reveals about judgment
• Why untrained, unsupported workers get blamed instead of helped
• The real list of what every foreman needs to succeed on the job
• Why investing in the people who make the money changes an industry

Are you seeing wounds in your team, or just blaming the behavior?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

EPISODE 693

Jason continues his walk through Sun Tzu's Art of War, covering Chapter 8, Variation of Tactics, and the five faults that can bring down any leader: recklessness, cowardice, a hasty temper, excessive pride, and false compassion.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why reckless, solo decisions lead a leader toward destruction
• How cowardice and fear quietly let waste and variation take over a project
• Why a hasty temper costs a superintendent credibility and influence
• How excessive pride makes a leader susceptible to shame or flattery
• Why false compassion can be more damaging than real accountability

Which of these five faults shows up most in your own decision making?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

EPISODE 692

Jason covers two chapters of Sun Tzu's Art of War, Weak Points and Strong, and Maneuvering, showing why appearing open and even vulnerable as a leader surfaces hidden dissension faster than ruling through fear, and why maneuvering a crew requires clear purpose, practiced follow through, and small teams working together.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why appearing approachable exposes dissension instead of hiding it
• A real story of turning a boot camp confrontation into a team win
• Why pushing people too hard always costs you in the long run
• How following through on consequences earns real credibility
• Why small, focused crews outperform scattered individual workers

Does your team air problems openly, or hide them because they fear you?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason reads "The Apology" from Keith Cunningham's The Road Less Stupid, a powerful leadership speech that takes full ownership for a toxic culture and lays out three simple rules to rebuild it: do the right thing, do your best, and show others you care.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why a toxic culture is always a reflection of what leadership tolerated
• The apology speech that owns past mistakes before demanding change
• Why high performance teams need dashboards, not hand crank tricycles
• The three rules of the game: right action, best effort, real care
• Why a worthy mission justifies no longer tolerating poor behavior

Would you have the courage to give this apology to your own team?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Continuing the Art of War series just before Thanksgiving, Jason explores Chapter Five, "The Use of Energy," and connects it directly to the philosophy behind morning worker huddles and how construction teams stay unified even when spread across a job site. He walks through Sun Tzu's pyramid of command, showing how fractal layers of leadership, from foreman to superintendent to field director, create clarity and alignment without needing constant communication, and identifies five essential ingredients for building strong teams: connection, complementary skills, right sizing, clear communication, and accountability. The core message: a more organized, unified team can outpace the natural entropy that constantly threatens to pull a project into disorder.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why huddle systems and visual plans are what keep a spread-out workforce moving in the same direction, even without constant communication
• Sun Tzu's pyramid of command, and how it maps onto the layers of construction leadership (foreman, superintendent, general superintendent, field director)
• Five essential ingredients for building strong teams: connection, complementary skills, the right size, clear communication, and accountability
• Why a more organized, unified team can outpace and "control" the natural chaos (entropy) that threatens every project
• How limitless team arrangements, like Sun Tzu's five notes or five colors, can be built from just a few key organizational principles

Is your team more unified and organized than the natural entropy trying to pull your project into disorder, or is chaos currently winning?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw