Elevate Construction

Jason returns to a theme he feels strongly about, that construction's results are about the system and not the people, and makes the case with a sobering example: the 2000 crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, where a chain of maintenance intervals, approvals, and design choices set up a crew doing its best for a failure it couldn't prevent. He then applies the "rider, elephant, and path" idea to the job site, looking at motivation, knowledge, and circumstances. A paper cup folding exercise shows why people fail when the instructions aren't visual, and he explains why a 76-page schedule is no way to tell trades what to do. He closes by laying out the circumstances great leaders build for their teams, from bathrooms and lunch areas to Takt, huddles, zero tolerance, and accountability systems.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• What the Alaska Airlines Flight 261 investigation shows about how systems, not individuals, shape outcomes
• How the rider, elephant, and path model applies on a job site: knowledge, motivation, and circumstances
• Why a paper cup exercise proves people succeed with visual instructions and fail with written ones, and what that says about 76-page schedules
• The circumstances people need to succeed: right contracts, a schedule that flows, the right number of zones, clean and safe conditions, good huddles, and accountability systems
• How great leaders manage the project environment first, instead of blaming the people working in it

On your project, which part of the system is the most likely to fail someone who is doing their best?

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 shares a practical idea he picked up from a job site visit just the day before: instead of asking trade partners a quick "any roadblocks?" at the end of a meeting, give them five to ten quiet minutes with the six-week make-ready look-ahead and a real assignment: find what will go wrong. He lays out what "I'm ready" truly means for an activity, covering expectations, materials, labor, information, space, layout, equipment, permissions, and contracts. He then suggests printing the lists of roadblocks and constraints big enough to hang on the wall in the trade partner weekly tactical and the afternoon foreman huddle so people can check their own work against them.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• What "I'm ready" has to mean for an activity: clear expectations, correct materials, trained labor, information, space, layout, equipment, permissions, and contracts and insurance
• Why a general "any roadblocks?" question rarely surfaces real problems, and how a timed, hands-on assignment does
• How to run the exercise: give foremen five to ten minutes with the six-week look-ahead to hunt for what will stop their work
• Why printing the roadblocks and constraints lists and posting them on the wall helps trade partners spot problems earlier
• How to visualize an area in 2D, in 3D, and by walking it so your "ready" answer rests on more than a thought

At your next weekly tactical, what would happen if you gave every foreman ten quiet minutes to find what will go wrong?

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 explains a core Lean concept, optimizing the whole, and why it matters when individual teams focus on making themselves efficient instead of the entire project. Using a story from a jobsite conversation about implementing Takt, where the first question was how much extra work it would add for the scheduling team, he draws the line between resource efficiency (keeping each person or trade busy and comfortable) and flow efficiency (a train of trades moving the same speed, the same distance apart). His answer to "how hard will this be for me?" is one sentence: do your job, which is to enable the workers, foremen, and trades who put the work in place. He also makes the case that owners and contractors should look for scheduling leaders who know Takt, Last Planner, and Scrum, because the systems we put in place shape what happens in the field.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• What optimizing the whole means, and how it differs from optimizing individual trades, teams, or offices
• The difference between resource efficiency and flow efficiency, and why flow wins
• Why the question "how much more work will this add for me?" misses the point of a leader's role
• How leaders can enable the field first through better schedules, visuals, tools, bathrooms, lunchrooms, and daily huddles
• Why the scheduling systems we choose matter so much for productivity in the field

When you're weighing a change on your project, are you asking what it costs you, or what it does for the whole?

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 tackles one of the hardest parts of leadership: deciding when it's time to let someone go. He starts with Packard's Law, which says no company can grow faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to carry that growth. He then walks through three practical tools for getting clear on whether the right people are in the right seats: the Keeper Test from No Rules Rules, Jim Collins' key seats evaluation, and the People Analyzer from Traction. Jason also shares a personal reflection on the weight of these decisions, and why he sees them as repositioning someone to a place where they can fit and thrive, handled with respect.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• What Packard's Law says about the link between company growth and having the right people
• How the Keeper Test works: if this person were leaving, would you fight to keep them?
• Jim Collins' key seats metric, and why filling fewer than 90% of key seats with the right people makes it your number one priority
• The questions that separate a values problem, a will problem, and a skills problem, including a person's relationship to the window and the mirror
• How the People Analyzer scores someone against your core values, and why these decisions should come from respect and care for everyone involved

If one of your team members told you tomorrow that they were leaving, would you fight to keep them?

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 shares a simple, practical list for nurturing a growth mindset, adapted from a post he spotted online and tied to life on the job site. He walks through ten habits: commit to self-improvement, seek personal challenges, know your learning style, treat problems as opportunities, be patient, find inspiration, believe in yourself, welcome feedback for improvement, focus on process over results, and keep a sense of purpose. Along the way he shares what that looks like for him, from the awkward-feeling stretch moments Brandon Monteiro calls opportunities to the Tony Robbins events that recharge him.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Ten specific habits for nurturing a growth mindset, so it's something you practice instead of just a phrase
• How to use the uncomfortable "this feels awkward and hard" feeling as a signal that you've found a growth opportunity, while staying out of the panic zone
• Why mistakes and failures are often more powerful for growth than success, and how reframing "problems" as "opportunities" changes the way you respond
• Why growth takes time, and how patience with yourself keeps frustration from stopping you
• How a clear sense of purpose pulls you toward improvement and gives you the drive to push through challenges

Of the ten habits, which one are you going to practice this week?

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 makes the case that most of the problems in construction aren't people problems, they're system problems, and no one will make real progress until the systems change. Using the Arizona prison system and a mock-parole study as examples, he shows how a system can be perfectly designed to produce the results it's getting. He then connects it to a real project where locked-in sequences, a single critical path, no buffers, and forced trade stacking left no one set up to win. Along the way, he challenges every leader to invest in their own training, because the world pays in proportion to the value you give it.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why "it's not the people, it's the system" is a practical truth, not a slogan, and why systems are perfectly designed to get the results they're getting
• How a locked-in schedule, a single critical path, and the absence of buffers and flow set trade partners up to struggle before they start
• Why each component of the Integrated Production Control System has to be in place, including Takt, pre-construction, onboarding, procurement, and zero tolerance
• How Little's Law shows that going from two or three zones to five can cut a 70-day phase to 42 days, and why no amount of pushing can beat the math
• Why investing in your own training is a leadership requirement, and how to grow that investment year over year

If the results on your project are exactly what your system was designed to produce, what part of the design are you willing to change first?

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 opens with a candid admission that he's frazzled and in survival mode, then takes on something he's heard far too often this week: leaders blaming workers, foremen, and trade partners for the industry's problems. He argues that most problems are system problems, from schedules that don't create flow to contracts that trap people to sites that aren't set up for anyone to succeed. Through an analogy about a family member who's been through repeated hardship, he asks what happens to anyone who works in conditions like that for years. He closes by asking a direct set of questions: whose job was it to train the workforce, set up a clean site, build a schedule that works, and write a contract people can actually live with?

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why blaming workers, foremen, and trade partners keeps the industry stuck, and why a system-first view is what triggers real action
• Why Jason believes a Takt plan is the way out of the mess, not just one more scheduling method
• How schedules, contracts, late procurement, and trade stacking set trade partners up to struggle before they ever step on site
• The questions every leader should answer: who trains the workers, who sets up the site, who provides a schedule people can win with
• What has to change first: owners, general contractors learning the full job of scheduling and site safety, then trade partners having the room to develop their workforce

When the work on your project goes wrong, do you first look at the people, or at the system you handed them?

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 shares a simple but powerful idea he picked up from superintendents and project managers at a Super PM boot camp: speed comes from stability, not from pushing. He explains why adding labor, materials, and money to a struggling project usually backfires, creating batching, context switching, overtime, and chaos. He then answers the question every superintendent asks next, "so what do I do instead?" The answer is to stabilize the project's direction, sequence, work packaging, zone effort, speed, and spacing, while removing the eight wastes and watching for unevenness and overburden.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why speed comes from stability, and why pushing creates more chaos and variation
• How throwing manpower, materials, and money at a project leads to batching, context switching, overtime, and rework
• The conditions that overburden crews, including too many areas, too much zone density, and a lack of breaks or buffers
• What to stabilize instead: direction, sequence, value per trade, effort per zone, speed, and distance apart
• How cleanliness, organization, safety, standard systems, and zone control set up a project to go fast

What is one thing you can stabilize on your project tomorrow instead of pushing harder?

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

Inspired by a Super PM boot camp, Jason tackles a question that comes up whenever people are asked to step out of their comfort zone: "But is that authentic for me?" He explains why leaders can't rely on individual authenticity the way individual contributors can, since signing up to lead means doing the things that authentically motivate your team, even when they feel uncomfortable. Along the way he shares the "win $50 million" exercise, the focus, physiology, and language approach to getting into state, and two simple formulas for happiness and habit-building. This one is a challenge to measure your leadership by what moves your people forward, not by what feels natural to you.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why individuals do what motivates themselves, while leaders do what authentically motivates the team
• How focus, physiology, and language help you get into state when you have to give a speech, hold someone accountable, or have a hard conversation
• Why stretch exercises like "winning $50 million" build the muscle leaders need for high-stakes moments
• Jason's formulas for happiness (reality minus expectations) and for habit-building (trigger, habit loop, reward, and 60 days)
• Where authenticity still draws a line: anything harassing, illegal, or inappropriate is never part of the ask

When was the last time you skipped something your team needed from you because it didn't feel authentic 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 makes a distinction between constraints and roadblocks using a train analogy. Constraints are part of the design of the train and the tracks (zones, Takt time, work packaging, sequence, crew composition, number of zones), and they are adjusted. Roadblocks are temporary obstacles on the tracks (unanswered RFIs, layout not ready, missing materials, areas not made ready), and they are removed. He explains why the Takt Production System lets you see the train while the Last Planner System lets you see the tracks ahead. If you only manage roadblocks, a poorly designed train can't go any faster. He also shares an update on the Elevating Construction Foreman book.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The difference between constraints (adjusted, part of the system design) and roadblocks (removed, temporary obstacles on the tracks)
• Why the language matters: constraints and roadblocks call for different actions from the project team
• The main constraints to inspect, including zones, Takt time, work packaging, sequence, crew composition, number of zones, and site configuration
• Common roadblocks to clear ahead of the train, such as unanswered RFIs, layout not ready, missing materials, and work areas not made ready
• How Takt lets you see and tune the train, while Last Planner and the six-week look ahead let you see far down the tracks

When you review your project today, are you spending your time on the train, the tracks, or just the five feet in front of 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