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Encouragement of Enthusiasm and Learning

The Importance of Encouraging Enthusiasm In traveling the US and Canada performing speaking and training engagements, I run across a common theme shared with many up and coming construction leaders.  That theme seems to be that the concepts are a great idea, but their companies would likely not adopt them.  Or, that they wish their companies could implement large, meaningful change.  I wish I could say that I only hear these quotes occasionally.  I hear them EVERY SINGLE COURSE I've ever taught.  So, what does that say? It says that there is an intrinsic resistance to change, and a culture that could likely use some improvement.  Either way, it's lost opportunity and, frankly, lost profitability. The enthusiasm that comes from learning is palpable.  It is easy to see if you're looking and listening.  Nothing fuels a trainer's passion for their craft more than watching the light bulb go off or seeing people get excited about concepts that are n...
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The Forest For The Trees

Sometimes in our efforts to be super detailed and impactful, we become part of our own challenge.  We become an obstacle that we, ourselves, place in the path of our own success.  Many people who are seriously driven are motivated by doing "as much work" as we possibly can.  That motivation, however, prevents us from doing one very important thing to maintain perspective:  Breathe. When a challenge arises, especially in the construction industry, we rush to solve.  This is generally a good thing, as problems in this business escalate exponentially with time, it would seem.  The conflict  arises when we are too close to the problem and too close to the emotions, anxiety, and overall state of being busy that we have lost our perspective. Today, I'm going to discuss the first option to being able to effectively solve.  That is simply to BREATHE.  We must take a pause in our busy work day, stop, and take a step back from the situation in ord...
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Culture And Its Effect on Progressive Behaviors

I'd like to take a moment in this first post to introduce myself.  I'm a lover of people, and a student in the lessons of human interaction and effectiveness.  My career in the electrical construction industry began in the field from apprentice to superintendent, then moving inside working through each operational chair from estimating, project management, branch management, and executive leadership.  Seven years ago, I was blessed with the opportunity to become a consultant, spending over half of my time in speaking and training engagements, with the balance of time spent in improving the culture and processes inside of construction firms.  Though much of my professional work centered around operations, I found that the effectiveness of an operation relies solely on the effectiveness of its people.  During my life, I have experienced examples of tremendously positive company culture, as well as the exact opposite, and everything in between.  What I fin...
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