Elevate Construction

Jason shares a short, punchy episode built around a quote he heard from a trade partner during a coordination meeting: if you want to, you'll find a way, and if you don't want to, you'll find an excuse. He uses the story of his son Reno mastering Logic Pro and Libsyn from scratch in three weeks because he wanted to, contrasted with not being able to send a fifty dollar payment because he didn't, to show how leverage on yourself is the real currency of progress. The episode lands with a self coaching invitation to recognize where you're inventing excuses and where you can build enough leverage to actually want to.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The quote that captures it all: if you want to, you'll find a way; if you don't, you'll find an excuse

• Why Reno could engineer the podcast workflow in three weeks but not send a fifty dollar payment

• The difference between coach mode and learner mode when applying this filter to yourself

• Eric Thomas's line: want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe, and you will

• How to build enough leverage on yourself to actually want to in the first place

Excuses are easy when leverage is low. Build the leverage, and the way appears.

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 prepares for an upcoming presentation by riffing through the topic of psychological safety on construction job sites. He opens with the personal story of being suspended once for not standing up for someone being harassed, and how that defining moment shaped a permanently higher standard for inclusion and respect in his work. He then reframes stress through The Upside of Stress, walks through the four stages of psychological safety from Amy Edmondson and Timothy Clark by way of Cabri Lehrman-Schmidt's article, and connects it to the hard reality that construction's suicide rate is nearly four times the national average.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why the measure of harassment is impact, not intent, and why the bar must stay high regardless of intent

• The difference between healthy stress and survival stress, and why hard work itself isn't the problem

• The two by two of standards and psychological safety: high performance lives in high and high

• The four stages: inclusion safety, learner safety, contributor safety, and challenger safety

• How psychological safety enables the healthy conflict required by the five behaviors of a team

Psychological safety isn't softness. It's the foundation that lets people work hard, take stress in stride, and stay connected enough to deliver remarkable work together.

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 takes a quick podcast to fully endorse WhatsApp as the best communication app for scaling teams, cultures, and project sites. He walks through his personal journey from text chains at the BSRL research lab, to GroupMe with Carlos, to being one of the early Microsoft Teams adopters at DPR with Spencer Easton in Oakland, all the way to his current standard: WhatsApp for everything from construction project teams to international clients to church leadership groups. He also connects this to Paul Akers's principle that you can't scale a lean culture without easily sharing pictures and videos of what bugs you, and what's working.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why WhatsApp beats GroupMe, Teams chat, and text strings for daily project communication

• How WhatsApp lets new members join a chat and see the full history without losing anything

• Why the rest of the world already uses WhatsApp at infrastructure scale

• How pictures, videos, voice notes, and polls inside one app accelerate culture building

• Why Paul Akers's "see and fix what bugs you" requires a media first communication tool

Get the app, run the experiment, and start scaling pictures and videos through your teams. That's how culture actually moves.

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 takes on a hard topic in this episode and calls out the mindset that's silently killing project leadership: playing tennis instead of football. He shares the story of a project engineer who likened his job to tennis, and a project director who would show up to a site, open his laptop, answer emails, and leave without ever leading a single thing. The episode breaks down the real difference between a project engineer who supports and organizes and a project manager who leads and is accountable. Then Jason layers in the productivity laws from his Scrum training with Felipe Engineer-Manriquez to explain why context switching and project hopping destroy real leadership.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The tennis vs. football analogy and why construction is a team sport, not a back and forth

• Why "hot potatoing" emails and tasks is just organized avoidance

• The clear distinction between a project engineer (supports and organizes) and a project manager (leads and is accountable)

• Why context switching, transferring between teams, and managing too many projects exponentially destroys productivity

• What a real project manager looks like: owns cost, schedule, customer satisfaction, and the entire project scope

Stop hitting the ball back into someone else's court and calling it done. Real project managers run with the ball, lead the team down the field, and spike it in the end zone.

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 stories for Elevating Construction Surveyors book with Brandon Montero. Sections on resection, planning daily tasks, applied leveling, level loops, and layout basics. Resection means shoot known points throughout day for QC. Three-wire closed level loops provide double QC methods built right into it. Layout basics means turn 90s manually, flop instrument, see equipment capabilities.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Resection: shoot known points throughout day to verify, solve to ground point, multi-angular resection downtown Los Angeles
• Plan daily tasks: not just work order, entire day from arriving to leaving, extends past work to family time personal goals
• Applied leveling: understand leveling math and QC process, bucking in same principles apply, close loops to ensure no error
• Three-wire level loops: seems like double QC methods built in, distances available, get faster at intelligent concept that cannot steer you wrong
• Layout basics: turn 90s and 270s manually, flop instrument turn reverse create average, see capabilities not just accept robotic accuracy

Rampant elevation problems throughout projects based on fact that they were not using good leveling techniques, incorrect trigonometric leveling, improper instruments, not applying basics.

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

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O'Shea Builders shares lean journey results with Harry Schmidt and Tyler Cormany. Mike O'Shea hired organizational development professionals when company had 35 employees. Doubled staff from 30 to 60 FTEs and got 10x revenue growth. Five people dedicated to overhead: two for people development, three for business strategy.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Flywheel concept: overnight success 10-15 years in making, discipline people then discipline thought then discipline action creates breakthrough
• Build people first: Mike O'Shea vision that leadership matters, hired Tess for organizational development with 35 employees, rare investment
• Sequence matters: build people, create stable environment, reduce variation and waste, then flow, then continuous improvement, earn it
• Controlled chaos to calm predictability: spend time on front end planning, get input, stable environment lets you see waste and focus on flow
• New team members: even if quarter of team is new go back and onboard them, pick them up, bring them along journey

Tools are just tools, if you don't have the people and the leadership and the culture you are never going to get full advantage of the tool because you will just use it the same way you used it before.

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

Petty Coach Schmidt Micro Mondays presented Ten Commandments of Construction Change Orders. Know thy contract. Do not give away thy leverage. Never perform change work without written signed authorized change order. Ryan Young tracked everything with PCO number in CMIC. Thy job is not finished until the money be collected.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Ten Commandments: know contract, do not give away leverage, never perform without written signed authorized change order, depend not on attorneys, if ask not receive not
• Time is money: have pricing down, get money and time for changes, read the rules
• Surprise not thy owner: advanced notice regarding potential cost increases, team tried to absorb then surprised owner at end, didn't get work again
• Be persistent: persistence gets results, bargaining power equal unless don't know rules or throw away leverage
• Ryan Young system: nothing done without PCO number tracked in CMIC, never started work without financial approval, finished right on time

Are you stomping ants while elephants run wild, are you straining at gnats and swallowing camels when it comes to managing change orders properly.

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

The Upside of Stress book came into Jason's life after praying about enjoying the journey. Stress is only harmful to your health if you believe it is. Stress paradox says happy lives include stress. Japanese life expectancy is longer despite more stressful lives. Channel stress into energy that boosts performance instead of trying to calm down.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Three lessons: stress harmful only if believe it is, stress paradox says happiness and stress belong together, channel stress into energy
• Japanese culture: longer life expectancy despite more stress, 52 times more expensive workers than China, resource deficient competing with superpower
• Study results: high stress increased premature death 43 percent only for those who believed stress harmful, others had lowest death rate
• Truck analogy: stuck in sand, put load on tailgate for traction to move forward, humans same need load to get unstuck
• PTSD research: less cortisol stress hormone predicted more PTSD, body naturally deals with stress when not running away

Stagnation and ease never was happiness, and when people say go do something you love they are not saying go do something easy but go do something you can be passionate about.

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 stories for Elevating Construction Surveyors book sections six through ten. Math is fundamental pillar, property corners set wrong because party chief did not know doubled angle math. Work is done when math checks out not when finished performing task. Surveyor's client is draftsperson not civil engineer. It's on the cap is not good enough for professional surveyor.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Learn the math: property corners wrong, party chief did not know doubled angle math, just writing random numbers
• Work done when math checks: not done when finished task, level loops that don't check completed for nothing
• Learn equipment: know capabilities and QC methods for each piece, perfect basics like instrument setup hard sites
• Learn AutoCAD: surveyor's client is draftsperson, think how will he draw this, take own work home create exhibit
• Overcoming error: it's on the cap not good measurement, target right measurement not just good enough

If we don't know the math we will not be able to check the math and things performed incorrectly will just slip by us constantly through the course of our career.

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 stories for Elevating Construction Surveyors book with Brandon Montero. Sections one through five covering Rodman technician through learning to read plans. Joe the chainman cut line in wrong direction because head was down working. Plan set is gospel but must QC everything. Don't trust anybody like Indiana Jones Last Crusade.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Rodman technician: Joe cut line wrong direction, absorb environment around you, ask questions, know big picture
• Preparing for work: means you know what the work is, ask for work order, think ahead what needs might come up
• Accomplish in mind first: accomplish task in your mind in office before step foot on site, envision obstacles
• Learn to read plans: plan set is official version, QC everything by others, don't trust anybody
• Grid lines example: check AutoCAD matches architectural matches structural, send RFI to verify coordinates

Always absorb the environment around you and take the opportunity to learn instead of just getting lost in the process of your 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