Whew! We’re this close to getting our new 1871 3.0 build-out project done where we’re expanding our Chicago facility by more than 50% to create more space for startups, schools and sponsors. It’s typically a mixed bag of relief and euphoria when you bring one of these big budget babies in on time and on the money. And right now, before the next wave of activity and the next crisis rolls around, I’m just happy to take a breath once in a while, push out my blog posts, and wait for the fresh paint to dry.
Growing your business is always a challenge regardless of what stage you’re in and it can be a blessing and a curse all at the same time because one thing’s for sure — more isn’t always better by a long shot. And not all motion or commotion moves your enterprise forward. I believe that construction projects (they’re virtually unavoidable at some point in your business) are among the most painful parts of the company growth process. They’re all non-stop, on the fly, mission-critical streams of big and small decisions — all of which are time- and money-sensitive — and most of which are harrowing and tough cases of “either-or” choices where you’re usually trying to build the Taj Mahal on a Taco Bell budget. It’s the old sad story of “Pick Any Two”: your project can be (1) done well, (2) done on time or (3) done on budget — totally up to you. Of course, if you’re a good entrepreneur and you’re like me, you simply say that you don’t have to make these false choices and bad decisions — you would simply like to have it all. Not easy, but essential.
And — regardless of the pain in the middle of the project — when the drywall dust finally settles and the last of the painters packs it in, you’ll discover that the whole adventure has taught you some very important and basic lessons that you will put to use in building your business for many years to come. Everyone learns (and earns/deserves) their lessons in their own way (and in their own time) and everyone’s lessons are a little bit different based on their circumstances, but after building out more than a quarter of a million square feet of new space over the last few years with some very important help at my side, here are a few hard-earned notes that I’m happy to share with my fellow entrepreneurs.
1. Nobody cares as much as you do.
Entrepreneurs need to take this stuff — every last bit of it — personally and to heart. I always say that the one who cares the most wins. That will never change and the people who tell you "it's just business" are the ones who always end up eating dust and watching the doers fly by. Caring enough and being willing to show it — without apology or embarrassment — and insisting that there's always a right and best way to do even the hardest things without compromising is hard, every day work. It's easy to get down at times and worn out as you keep pushing those big ugly rocks up the hill, but it's the perspiration and the perseverance that separates the great ones from the also-rans and the people who are willing to settle for second best. If you continue to consistently insist on the best, you'll be amazed what you end up with. In the end, people commit to other people and sign up for their dreams — not only because they want to be a part of something great and bigger than themselves — but also because dedication, enthusiasm and caring are the most contagious things around. You’ll also find that you can’t do this all by yourself and so it’s absolutely crucial to have people on your team and at your side whose “take no prisoners” attitudes are the same as yours. But they’re not gonna be the most popular people in the place and so another part of your job is to run interference for them and have their backs when they go to bat for you and the project because a whole boatload of folks will have it in for them from the beginning. You want people who soar, not people who settle, at your side.
2. No one pays attention like you do
It turns out that — if you're out of sight, you're out of mind. Being there — in the moment and in the thick of things — is always better. Paying attention is an art and you can't phone this stuff in. As the Chinese say: All things flourish where you turn your eyes. It not only shows that you care a lot — it shows that you're also willing to roll up your sleeves and do whatever it takes to get the job done. Most architects don't get this concept and — as a result — instead of nipping things in the bud and in the moment because they're on the site and on the job — their attitude is that — if something is done wrong, we'll just waste precious time, a lot of energy, and someone else's money on finger-pointing, extensive CYA documentation, and then they order "do-overs" instead of concentrating on "do-rights" the first time around. It’s a disgusting and wasteful approach and it makes the guys who matter — the client and the contractors — very unhappy. Enough “do-overs” can suck the contractor’s profit and enthusiasm right out of the project and then you — the owner-client — are really screwed because no one wants to be working for nothing. If you want people to care and try to do their best, your best bet is always to be there right beside them and — at the same time — to do whatever you can to keep the “professionals” from messing up the program. Very often, in the end, that means that you have to do their job (or rather the job they should be doing) for them.
3. No one sweats the small stuff like you
If you always sweat the small stuff, the big things tend to take care of themselves because they're built on a solid foundation where the details make all the difference. Compromise is a crafty beast and shamelessly sneaks up on you whenever you take your eyes off the ball — even for an instant. It's a very slippery slope and it's easy to lose your way because the first cut turns out to be the easiest not the deepest and then it's all downhill from there. The people who complain about micro-managing have never built anything special in their shabby and second-rate careers and their shortcuts always show in the end. It turns out that it's easier to be 100% on the program than it is to settle even slightly for less than the best. And you will be totally amazed at how easy it is to make the right calls and decisions — however many there may be — when you stick to your guns and your values throughout the process.
4. No one is a bigger noodge than you
People certainly need instruction from time to time, but what they really need is to be reminded constantly of the central goals, the key directions and the main chance because — in today's short attention span world — even the people who are listening aren't necessarily hearing what you're saying or remembering what's most important when the chips are down and the going gets rough. It’s your job to make sure the messages are getting through and that means being obsessive, being overly and redundantly communicative, being omnipresent, backstopping everything, and always being attentive. And, of course, doing it that way every day.
In service businesses today (and, by the way, every business is a service business today or it won’t be a business for long), you don’t get a chance to consult the manual or a second chance to make a first impression. Your people are on the firing line from the get-go and the idea of a rule book and standard operating procedures is a joke because nothing’s standard any more. Trying to set up rules and responses for every case is a crazy waste of time and doesn't remotely relate to the pace and the extent of the disruption that every business is facing every day. The days when you could “set it and forget it” or let anything run unattended for any period of time are long gone. And your people have to react right now wherever they are and whenever the client or customer wants answers and doesn’t want to wait. This isn’t an easy environment for anyone and mistakes are bound to be made. No one hates mistakes more than I do, but what you learn over time is that it’s more important to be a constant and constructive coach for your people than to constantly be a judge or an umpire.
PS: “You Get What You Work for, Not What You Wish for”
