To ensure a better outcome in your projects, building trust between the owner, contractor, and designer is crucial. Aligning your goals and continuous communication are vital. But when problems in the project arise, what can contractors do to resolve them without compromising the trust of their clients?

In this week’s podcast episode, I talk with Pete Caputo of Truebeck Construction. He gives us the differing points of view of both the owner and contractor. We talk about what trust and transparency looks like and how this plays out in a construction project. Pete also shares some frameworks for contractor-owner meetings that have been successful in the past. We also touch base on encouraging your team to be more involved in problem-solving and the role of young minds in the industry.

Tune in to this episode today! 

Discussion Points:

0:00 Introduction
3:10 What’s most broken about the way construction projects are built
4:35 The owner is responsible for the alignment of parties
5:33 Focus on the experience of the work
7:00 What the owners want is value
9:09 Building trust between contractors and architects
10:48 Meaning of trust
12:48 How to get the perfect three: cost, quality, schedule
13:56 Benefits of setting daily alignment meetings
17:09 Who is part of the meeting
18:40 Dispute alignment meeting
20:33 Clear group meeting
24:40 Prevent wasted time in resolving issues
26:23 Why owners and contractors struggle with building strong relationships
29:03 What is transparency?
34:54 Accountability
37:04 Psychological safety
42:27 Top soft skills for construction leaders
44:55 Involving naive thinkers in solving problems
49:51 Summary of how to get a better outcome in projects

About the Guest: 

Pete Caputo is Vice President of Operations at Truebeck Construction. He is a full-service commercial general contractor focused on technical building, complex projects, and interiors in the Western US. With over 25 years of experience in construction, Pete has served on both the builder and owner sides in the healthcare and commercial office markets. Pete led a statewide development group of projects, including over $4 billion in total project portfolio. His clients include national healthcare providers such as Kaiser, Sutter Health, and UCSF. Some of the notable healthcare facilities include Sutter Health’s Van Ness and Geary Campus and the CPMC Mission Bernal Campus, and the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital at Mission Bay.

Resources: 

• Do Your Project Executives Need to Become Better Leaders? Book a 10-minute call with Eric Anderton (https://10minutes.youcanbook.me/) 

• Connect with Pete Caputo on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-caputo-1612bb7/)

Recommended restaurant: 

• The Kitchen (https://thekitchenrestaurant.com/)

Connect with me on LinkedIn. For more podcast episodes, you may also visit my website. Tune in and subscribe to the Construction Genius: A Leadership Master-Class Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.

Thank you for tuning in!