Elevate Construction

Companies outgrow key people who were loyal and crucial in early days. Circle analogy shows original leaders covered all oversight needs but as company grows their circles no longer encompass the black circle of business needs. Multiplier leaders scale by developing direct reports whose circles together cover the business. Over 80 percent of companies visited have this problem.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Circle analogy: person's capacity is a big circle around a small one, at startup those circles cover all business needs
• As company grows: black circle of business needs triples but original leadership circles stay the same size
• Multiplier leader: uses influence to develop direct reports whose combined circles cover the business needs
• Leader three failure: no accountability, fixed mindset, tiny circles from direct reports, huge gap in oversight
• Jim Collins metric: number one metric is key seats filled with right person, must be above 90 to 95 percent

The worst thing you can do is be in denial about it because as long as that person is in that seat you will be constantly losing money.

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

Is command and control really the enemy in lean construction. Back in the day projects finished on time and only one or two crashed. Now only one or two actually succeed. The problem is lack of training, retiring generals, untrained builders, and wimpy supers without a plan. Best is a master builder with integrated control and full team input.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Projects cratered around 2007-2010: training stopped, seasoned generals retired, development paused
• Good better best: command and control with plan is good, team input adds better, master builder with integrated control is best
• Real enemy: lack of training, untrained builders, wimpy supers without a plan
• Lean systems need stable base: last planner falls flat without a clean safe organized respected project
• Never tolerate no plan: a super without a plan and without control is as useless as it gets

We spend so much time criticizing good better and best and criticizing the good that we are not demonizing and attacking the bad.

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

Final section of Elevating Construction Surveyors with Brandon Monteiro. Party chief threw his radio into bushes instead of training the new hire. Train others, mentor, weigh in on costs, determine your sweet spot, manage multiple teams, build a cohesive department. Your career will be so much better if you care about it.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Train effectively: skip hour explanations, use sketches or five-minute videos, match learning style
• Interpret and write scopes: know who receives your work and how they will use it before starting
• Consider costs: flag additional level of effort before doing it, only you know what changed
• Lead the crew: conductor metaphor, your pace sets their pace, your name is on their work
• GC and surveyor: check in and check out daily, share control plan, communicate conflicts with logistics plan

Your career will be so much better if you care about it and are willing to put your name on everything that you do.

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

It is not in Procore! Procore has a submittal register. It does not manage the supply chain. You need a buyout log, material procurement log, and design action log aligned to your Takt rhythm. About 25 percent of what you think is in Procore is actually in Procore.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Buyout log: trades ready with scope, contract, bonds, insurance, safety plans before Takt window opens
• Procurement log: submittals, approvals, PO release, fabrication, shipping, customs, buffer receipt on site
• Financial projections: fee, labor gains, exposures, contingency, owner budget buckets, gross margin target
• Procore gap: manages submittals only, does not map supply chain, does not manage buffers or supermarkets
• Project 101: buyout log, procurement log, permit log are basics we forgot or never knew in the first place

If somebody says it is all in Procore what I really hear is we are missing the fundamental logs needed to run a remarkable project

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

Too many PMs and PEs just focus on tools and check the box. Hospital analogy where every doctor checks machines, says tools are fine, and leaves while the patient is dying. Tools working does not mean the project is healthy. Treat the patient, not the equipment. Master the scopes, not just the skills.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Spectrum of done: nothing done, something done, done, done to not get in trouble, done well enough to win
• Hospital analogy: IV works, heart monitor works, all machines fine, but patient still dying, tools are not the patient
• DPR boot camp: project engineers manage scopes start to finish, not RFI monkeys or submittal monkeys
• Treat the patient: trade partner losing money, materials late, production failing, do not just show me your log
• Quote: don't just master the skills, master the scopes

If I'm a patient telling you I am going into shock and you tell me the IV and heart monitor are working, I would either die or throw a fit because you are not listening.

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

Production comparison is the missing tool for self-perform crews. Map every 10-minute interval against every station for every micro crew throughout the day. Compare planned versus actual production at each interval. Find deviations, name the causes, fix them in tomorrow's morning huddle. Civil utilities and self-perform contractors must do this to make money.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Production matrix: Excel grid, stations on left, every 10 minutes across top, track every micro crew position
• Micro crews: break full crew into sub-crews by area and task so no one is stacked or waiting
• Compare planned vs actual: if 8:20 task started at 8:40 and took twice as long, find out exactly why
• Morning huddle fixes: porta potty on site, lasers set up before excavator moves, materials pre-positioned, meeting timer set
• Self-perform truth: if crews are not making production and foremen are not doing this, we are losing money daily

Every time you look at your targeted production you have to figure out what actually happened, where were the deviations, and come up with corrective items for the next day.

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

Played Monopoly with kids over the holidays and saw construction in the game. Kids had money clumped up, could not see properties, made no strategic decisions. Jason spread money out, tracked every position, planned two to three rolls ahead. Great PMs and supers play the game the same way with data and metrics.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Spread the money out: always know cash on hand, financials, what properties owned, same as knowing project position
• Plan ahead: look two to three rolls ahead for risks and opportunities, not just current position
• Takt plan is everything: no procurement log, buyout log, or financial projections without it, use it four times a day
• Required metrics: Takt plan, buyout log, procurement log, risk and opportunity register, financial projections
• Kids vs Jason: kids went bankrupt making unstrategic moves, same as PMs without data playing blind

If you do not have a risk and opportunity register and accurate financial projections you are not playing the game to win.

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

Things said in construction mean different things than they appear. Fixed fee GMP incentivizes more people there longer and cost transfers out of self-perform. Adding manpower slows productivity and wastes trade partner profit. Systems thinking reveals real consequences behind innocent phrases. Assume positive intent but watch for negative consequences.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Fixed fee GMP: incentivizes longer schedules, larger teams, and cost transfers from self-perform to project budget
• Shared float: means owner and designer will absorb your float and push delays onto contractor
• Competitively bid: drives race to bottom, eliminates partnerships, creates adversarial culture from day one
• Add more manpower: actually slows productivity, creates blame loop, wastes trade partner profit until pushed beyond capacity
• Thinking in systems: every phrase has a feedback loop, identify destructive consequences and remove them

Everything has a true meaning and we need to understand these, identify the destructive ones, and remove them if we are ever going to get better.

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

Recording the fifth section of Elevating Construction Surveyors with Brandon Montero. Ten segments covering aesthetics, interpreting work orders, considering cost, and leading the crew. Chainman stood at end of every staked line and plumbed every stake so the product looked precise before anyone checked accuracy. Effective training creates efficiency.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Aesthetics matter: product appearance communicates professionalism, care, and clarity before quality is reviewed
• Interpret work orders: never accept at face value, ask who receives the work and how they will use it
• Consider cost: flag scope additions before doing them, only you know the level of effort involved
• Lead the crew: conductor metaphor, your pace sets their pace, your name is on their work
• Clear communication: leaders become what they want to see, passion and deliberateness carry through to the crew

Are you leading the crew to the level at which you would put your name on everything that they accomplished.

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 reviews the responses to his LinkedIn poll asking whether stress is good for you, a post that drew 834 votes, 72 comments, and 35,000 views. He walks through the strongest answers from the community, including the eustress vs. distress distinction, the Yerkes-Dodson law on arousal and performance, and the wisdom from Hans Selye that complete freedom from stress is actually death. He also lands on the most important nuance: there is a wide spectrum between fabricated self imposed stress and real trauma, chronic disease, or mental illness, and the right mindset starts with telling them apart.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why most of the stress people experience is fabricated, self imposed, and addressable with resources

• The Yerkes-Dodson law on how arousal increases performance up to a point and then decreases it

• Eustress vs. distress: cortisol with oxytocin builds connection, cortisol without it can cause harm

• Why allowing the body to release cortisol naturally during trauma can reduce PTSD outcomes

• Why "have faith" and "go on vacation" can both be true responses to different kinds of stress

• The challenge: reframe fabricated stress, honor real distress, and remove abuse, trauma, and torture from any environment we can influence

Don't run away from the stress that helps you grow. Don't dismiss the stress that requires help. Knowing the difference is the work.

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