Month: March 2026

Psychological Safety, Feat. Kabri & Kaitlin

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 33 min

The Superintendent Who Asked About Suicide and Watched Almost Every Hand Go Up

There is a superintendent on a jobsite with three hundred skilled workers. She decides to hold small group sessions. About ten workers per session. She has never talked about suicide on a jobsite before. And neither has anyone else she knows. But she has seen the statistics. Construction has the second-worst suicide rate in the United States. And she cannot ignore that anymore. So she gathers the first group. Explains why they are meeting. Shows the statistics. Some workers grumble. Why are we talking about this? This is uncomfortable. She does not back down. And then she asks one question: how many of you in this room know somebody who died by suicide? Almost every hand goes up. In every single group. Almost every hand. And suddenly the room changes. Workers start talking. About friends. Coworkers. Family members. About the pressure. The seasonal work. The inability to get therapy because of work hours. The production-driven mentality that promotes foremen who are producers instead of leaders. And the unwillingness to talk about needing help because construction culture says asking for help is weak. Just by saying the word suicide in a jobsite meeting, she normalized it. She did not solve every problem. But she opened the door. And workers who had been carrying these burdens alone realized they were not alone. That is psychological safety. Not the absence of problems. But the freedom to talk about them without fear of judgment or consequence.

Here is what happens when psychological safety does not exist on jobsites. A superintendent runs morning worker huddles. Every day at seven-thirty, workers gather. The superintendent explains the plan. Asks if anyone has questions. And nobody speaks. Because they do not feel safe. The last time someone asked a question, the superintendent made them feel stupid. The last time someone pointed out a problem, they got blamed for it. So workers stay quiet. They nod. They pretend to understand. And then they go to work confused. They make mistakes because they did not understand the plan. They create safety hazards because they were afraid to ask about the sequence. And they resent the superintendent because the huddle felt like a lecture instead of a collaboration. The superintendent wonders why productivity is low. Why quality issues keep appearing. Why workers seem checked out. The answer is simple. Without psychological safety, morning huddles are just theater. An extension of dictatorship instead of an opportunity for connection. Workers bring their bodies but not their minds. And projects suffer.

The real pain is fear preventing total participation. Paul Akers teaches that lean requires continuous improvement and waste elimination. But he emphasizes one concept above all others: total participation. Not just management participating. Not just foremen participating. Everybody. When workers feel psychologically safe, they speak up. They identify problems. They suggest improvements. They ask questions when they do not understand. And teams perform at levels impossible to achieve when people are afraid. But when fear dominates a jobsite, participation drops to maybe twenty percent. Workers show up. Do what they are told. Keep their heads down. And go home. The superintendent gets compliance but not engagement. The project gets bodies but not brains. And everyone loses. Because the workers have solutions. They see waste every day. They know which sequences do not work. But they will not share those insights if they fear being embarrassed or blamed or ignored.

The failure pattern is predictable. A company hires a diverse workforce. Women. Minorities. Different cultures and backgrounds. They check the diversity box. And then they do nothing to create a culture that supports those people. New hires arrive on jobsites where the existing crew makes comments about their gender. Their nationality. Their religion. Foremen assign them the worst tasks without training. Superintendents do not address the harassment because they do not want to make waves. And the new hires either quit or shut down emotionally. They stop participating. They stop suggesting improvements. They become hazards because they are distracted by fear instead of focused on their work. The company wonders why retention is terrible. Why diversity initiatives fail. The answer is brutal. Hiring diverse people without creating psychological safety is worse than not hiring them at all. Because you signal that you do not actually care. You just wanted to check a box. And everyone sees through that.

Kaybree explains it perfectly: “If that person is distracted by something that’s going on outside of work, or they’re distracted by the fear that they’re the apprentice that’s getting comments all day long about their gender or their nationality or their religion, then they are not able to focus on the task. And they are a hazard for the entire crew.” This is not soft skills. This is production strategy. When workers feel safe, they focus on their work. They ask questions when they do not understand. They report problems before they become disasters. And they go home at the end of the day instead of working late to fix mistakes caused by fear. Psychological safety improves schedule performance. It improves budget performance. It improves physical safety. Because people operating at one hundred percent awareness are safer and more productive than people operating at sixty percent because thirty percent of their brain is managing fear. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

What Psychological Safety Actually Means

Psychological safety is freedom from fear to ask questions, make mistakes, and speak up without embarrassment or punishment. It is not creating a perfect environment where everyone is happy all the time. It is creating an environment where people feel free to bring their challenges. Personal or professional. Where they can say they do not understand without being made to feel stupid. Where they can point out problems without being blamed for those problems. And where they can ask for help without being labeled weak. This matters because construction culture has historically been macho. Asking for help is weakness. Admitting you do not know something is failure. Talking about feelings is unacceptable. And that culture kills people.

Construction has the second-worst suicide rate in the United States. Not because construction workers are weaker than other professionals. But because the industry has risk factors other industries do not have. Seasonal work that creates financial instability. Work hours that make accessing therapy impossible. A production-driven mentality that promotes people because they produce instead of because they can lead. And a culture that says if you are struggling, you should handle it alone. Workers feel like burdens on their families and coworkers. They believe people would be better off without them. And they see no way out. Just talking about suicide in a jobsite meeting normalizes it. Saying the words out loud gives people permission to acknowledge the problem exists. And that creates space for people to ask for help before it is too late.

How Fear Destroys Projects

Watch for these patterns that signal psychological safety does not exist on your jobsite:

  • Workers sit in meetings with arms crossed looking grumpy and refuse to participate or ask questions even when confused about the plan
  • One-on-one conversations reveal workers understand less than they pretended to understand in group settings because they were afraid to ask
  • Quality issues and safety incidents happen repeatedly because workers were afraid to point out sequence problems or missing information before execution
  • New hires quit within months especially women and minorities because harassment goes unaddressed and they feel unwelcome
  • Foremen promoted for production skills struggle to lead because they were never taught how to support people or manage pressure
  • Workers maintain personal spreadsheets and trackers because they do not trust the official plan or feel ownership of coordination
  • Superintendents spend days fighting fires and solving problems workers could have prevented if they felt safe speaking up earlier

These are not people problems. These are culture problems. And they get fixed by managers intentionally creating environments where fear does not dominate.

Words Matter More Than You Think

Language shapes culture. The words managers use either create safety or reinforce fear. Kaybree challenges: “Stop saying committed suicide. It perpetuates a false understanding that the person was weak or chose to do something they shouldn’t have done.” Say died by suicide instead. This sounds small. But it matters. Because committed suicide implies guilt or weakness. Like the person made a selfish choice. But people who die by suicide believe they are burdens. They believe others would be better off without them. They are making what feels like the only choice available. Changing language from committed to died removes judgment. And that opens space for conversation.

The same principle applies everywhere. Stop calling them subcontractors. They are trade partners. Because partners collaborate. Subcontractors get pushed around. Stop saying workers are the problem. The system failed them. Because blaming people destroys psychological safety while diagnosing system failures creates opportunities for improvement. Stop saying someone is being dramatic when they raise concerns. They are identifying risks the superintendent missed. Because dismissing concerns as drama teaches people to stay quiet. And quiet people do not prevent disasters. Managers who want psychological safety must audit their language. What words reinforce fear? What words create space for honesty? And what changes cost nothing but produce massive returns?

Connection before Correction

Before correcting someone, connect with them first. Control your own emotions. Understand their perspective. And then coach instead of criticizing. This comes from parenting research but applies perfectly to construction. When a worker makes a mistake, the superintendent has choices. Option one: publicly criticize them. Make them feel stupid. And ensure they never speak up again. Option two: connect first. Pull them aside. Ask what happened. Listen to their answer. Understand the system failures that set them up for that mistake. And then coach them on how to prevent it next time. The first option destroys psychological safety. The second builds it.

Caitlin models this perfectly: “I say good morning to every single person that I walk by. I want them to be seen. I want them to know that they’re heard. When I ask them how they’re doing, how their weekend was, I’m not asking just to be polite. I actually care.” This is not soft skills. This is leadership. Because workers who feel seen and heard give discretionary effort. They suggest improvements. They identify problems early. And they care about the project’s success because the superintendent cares about them. Connection creates trust. Trust creates participation. And participation creates results impossible to achieve through fear and control.

The Manager’s Responsibility to Get Educated

It costs nothing to be kind and inclusive. But kindness without knowledge creates incomplete safety. Managers must actively educate themselves on what impacts their people. What is racism? What is sexism? How would that person feel? What is trans phobia? What is homophobia? Why should you spend time thinking about this? Because your people belong to these groups. And anything you can do to support your people pays back in their performance. This is not optional. Superintendents scan jobsites for physical risks every morning. They should also scan for psychological risks. Are workers being harassed? Are they distracted by home pressures? Are they afraid to ask questions? And managers cannot identify those risks without understanding what creates them.

Kaybree is blunt: “As a manager, I think it is your first responsibility to understand what impacts your people.” Do not ask someone from a marginalized group to educate you. That is insulting. It puts the burden on them to do your work. Go do your own research. Learn about the experiences of women in construction. Minorities in construction. LGBTQ workers. And people struggling with mental health. Read articles. Watch documentaries. Attend trainings. And then use that knowledge to create environments where everyone can focus on their work instead of managing discrimination or harassment or fear. This is production strategy disguised as empathy. Because diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams when psychological safety exists. And they fail when it does not.

Actionable Steps to Build Psychological Safety

Start with small concrete actions that create immediate impact:

Check your healthcare coverage for Employee Assistance Programs. Many companies offer EAP benefits that provide free counseling and mental health resources. Find out what exists. And then tell your crews those resources are available. Normalize using them. Visit preventconstructionsuicide.com. Download a toolbox talk. And add it to your next safety meeting. Just saying the word suicide in a jobsite context normalizes the conversation. You do not need to become a therapist. You just need to acknowledge the problem exists and resources are available.

Address mental health in your safety plans. Not just physical safety. COVID created anxiety for everyone. Some workers worry about family members. Some face financial pressure. Some struggle with isolation. Ask how people are doing. And mean it. Not just as politeness. Actually care. Listen to their answers. And when someone shares a struggle, connect them with resources instead of dismissing their concerns. Add mental health to your toolbox talks. To your JHAs. To your weekly safety topics. Because distracted workers create physical hazards. And psychological safety prevents distraction.

Put yourself out there for difficult conversations. The first conversation about suicide will be rough. The first time you address harassment will be uncomfortable. But the more you practice these conversations, the easier they become. And this is how culture changes. Not through posters or training videos. Through repeated real conversations where managers demonstrate that it is safe to speak up. Visit pre-apprenticeship programs. Talk to high school students. Show them construction is a viable career path. Especially women and minorities who may not know construction is an option. Because representation matters. When young women see female superintendents, they realize they can do it too. When minorities see diverse crews, they know they will be welcomed.

Create multiple information transfer points. Takt plans for flow. Weekly work planning for commitments. Afternoon foreman huddles for daily coordination. Morning worker huddles where the plan gets communicated directly to everyone on site. Not just foremen. Everyone. Because workers who understand the plan can execute it safely and efficiently. Workers who do not understand but are afraid to ask create chaos. And hold people accountable for connection. Not just production. Ask superintendents: do your workers feel safe asking questions? Do your foremen know how to support people under pressure? Do you address harassment immediately? Because production without safety is failure. And safety includes psychological safety.

How Diverse Teams Win When Safety Exists

Intentional hiring of women and minorities makes sense. Diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams in studies across industries. In hospitals. In tech companies. And in construction. Teams with different perspectives identify problems others miss. They innovate solutions homogeneous groups never consider. And they serve diverse clients better. But intentional hiring fails without cultural support. You cannot hire a woman onto a crew that makes sexist comments and expect her to succeed. You cannot hire a minority worker onto a jobsite where harassment goes unchallenged and expect retention. Intentional hiring requires intentional culture change. And that starts with psychological safety.

Kaybree clarifies: “Intentional hiring will fail if it does not come from an organization that intends to change and support a culture that will support those people. It will fail if it’s communicated as checking a box.” Hire diverse people because they bring value. Different skill sets. Different perspectives. Different experiences that make projects better. Then create environments where those people can thrive. Address harassment immediately. Provide mentorship. Give opportunities for growth. And hold managers accountable for retention not just hiring. Because checking diversity boxes without creating safety is worse than not hiring at all. It signals you do not actually care. And everyone sees through that.

The Challenge

Walk into your next safety meeting and add one topic: mental health. Print a toolbox talk from preventconstructionsuicide.com. Spend ten minutes talking about it. Ask how many people know someone who died by suicide. And watch what happens. You will not solve every problem. But you will normalize the conversation. And that creates space for workers to ask for help before it is too late. Check your language. Are you saying committed suicide or died by suicide? Are you calling them subcontractors or trade partners? Are you blaming people or diagnosing system failures? Make the changes. They cost nothing.

Say good morning to every person you pass. And mean it. Ask how they are doing. Actually listen to the answer. Connect before you correct. Control your emotions before coaching someone on a mistake. Get educated on what impacts your people. Racism. Sexism. Trans phobia. Homophobia. Mental health stigma. Because you cannot create safety for people whose experiences you do not understand. Put yourself out there for difficult conversations. They will be uncomfortable at first. But they get easier. And this is how construction changes. Not through policies. Through repeated real conversations where people feel safe being honest.

As Caitlin said: “Even though we’ve seen the industry grow and change in the last five years and become much more inclusive, we’re still not there. We’re still always going to have to work at this.” So keep working. Keep learning. Keep creating environments where people feel safe asking questions, making mistakes, and bringing their whole selves to work. Because psychological safety is not soft. It is a production strategy that protects people, improves performance, and allows families to see their loved ones come home safe. Challenge yourself. Educate yourself. And lead the change construction desperately needs. On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is psychological safety and why does it matter in construction?

Psychological safety is freedom from fear to ask questions, make mistakes, and speak up without embarrassment or punishment. It matters because fear prevents participation, impacts focus, and creates both physical and psychological hazards on jobsites.

How does lack of psychological safety create physical safety hazards?

Workers distracted by fear or harassment cannot focus fully on tasks, creating hazards for entire crews. Workers afraid to ask questions make mistakes and unsafe decisions because they pretend to understand plans they do not actually understand.

What is the correct way to talk about suicide?

Say “died by suicide” instead of “committed suicide.” The word committed implies guilt or weakness, while died removes judgment and opens space for honest conversation about mental health.

How can superintendents address mental health on jobsites?

Check healthcare coverage for Employee Assistance Programs, visit preventconstructionsuicide.com for toolbox talks, address mental health in safety plans and meetings, and normalize conversations about pressure and struggles workers face.

Why do diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams only when psychological safety exists? Diverse teams bring different perspectives that identify problems and create solutions homogeneous groups miss. But diversity fails without psychological safety because harassment and fear prevent people from contributing their unique insights and experiences.

If you want to learn more we have:

-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our Youtube channel for more info: (Click here) 
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here) 
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.

On we go

Applied Scheduling Systems, Feat. Franco w/ IPSUM

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 26 min

The Superintendent Who Clicked Twelve Times to Record One Safety Observation

There is a superintendent who uses project management software that costs his company over one million dollars per year. Every morning he walks the jobsite checking quality and safety. He sees an issue. He pulls out his tablet. And he starts clicking. Click to open the app. Click to navigate to safety. Click to select the checklist. Click to find the right category. Click to add a new item. Click to describe it. Click to assign responsibility. Click to set a deadline. Click to attach a photo. Click to confirm. Click to save. Click to sync. Twelve clicks later, he has logged one observation. And it took three minutes. Meanwhile the worker who caused the issue has moved to a different floor. The foreman who needs to address it is coordinating another trade. And the safety manager who should be notified will not see the report until tomorrow because the system does not send real-time alerts. The superintendent wonders why nobody uses the software. The answer is simple. It was not designed for the field. It was designed by people who have never built anything. And it serves corporate reporting instead of project execution. So workers ignore it. Foremen avoid it. And superintendents suffer through it because they have no choice.

Here is what happens when scheduling and planning tools do not serve the field. A project manager builds a CPM schedule in Primavera P6. It has 5,000 activities. It shows critical path. It calculates float. And it means absolutely nothing to the trades actually building the project. When the superintendent asks a foreman what they are working on this week, the foreman pulls out a spreadsheet. Not the CPM schedule. A personal spreadsheet tracking their crew’s work. Because the CPM schedule is incomprehensible. It shows activities in codes trades do not recognize. It uses durations trades cannot commit to. And it changes every week based on logic ties that have nothing to do with field reality. So trades build their own systems. Superintendents maintain separate trackers. And the official schedule becomes theater for owners while the real coordination happens in hallway conversations and text messages. This is waste. Massive waste. Of time, energy, and money. And it happens because scheduling tools serve executives and owners instead of the people actually building.

The real pain is the gap between master schedules and workers. The old system worked like this: CPM network schedule at the top. Three-week look-ahead in Excel. And workers in the field. Between the master schedule and the workers, there was nothing. Just a superintendent running around pointing fingers and fighting fires. Last Planner System improved this dramatically. Master schedule with milestones. Phase planning using pull planning to reach those milestones. Make-ready look-ahead to align materials, information, and manpower. Weekly work planning where trades commit. And workers executing. But even with Last Planner, there is still a gap. Between the weekly work plan and the worker, teams rely on foremen to transfer information. And when foremen are overwhelmed or communication breaks down, workers show up not knowing what they are supposed to do. This creates chaos. Wasted motion. Rework. And families suffering because projects that should finish on time drag on for months.

The failure pattern is predictable. A company invests in expensive project management software. They train people how to use it. And nobody adopts it. Because the software requires twelve clicks to do what should take one. Because it generates reports executives want instead of information workers need. Because it was designed by developers who never spent a day on a jobsite. So workers create workarounds. Spreadsheets. Text chains. Sticky notes. And the official system becomes a compliance exercise instead of a coordination tool. The company wonders why their million-dollar investment produces zero value. The answer is brutally simple. The software does not serve the people building the project. It serves the people selling the software. And until that changes, construction will keep wasting money on tools nobody uses.

Franco Giacuinto understands this problem completely. He founded Epsom to build scheduling software that actually serves the field. Not corporate reporting. Not owner dashboards. The field. And his philosophy is simple: if software is not as easy to use as YouTube, Facebook, or texting, field workers will not adopt it. So Epsom focuses on making scheduling visual, collaborative, and simple. Master schedules that create flow using Takt planning instead of CPM. Look-ahead that integrate with weekly work planning. Mobile apps where workers can update progress without clicking through endless menus. And analytics that show teams what is actually happening instead of generating useless reports. Franco spent a year on jobsites learning how construction actually works before building anything. And that discipline of listening before building separates companies that create value from companies that create expensive theater.

This matters because construction cannot afford to keep using broken scheduling systems. CPM does not work. Ninety percent of projects finish late. Not because teams are incompetent. But because the scheduling methodology pushes work based on predetermined dates without regard for whether trades are ready. This creates chaos. Superintendents spend their days fighting fires instead of leading. Workers wait for direction instead of executing. And families suffer because projects that should finish in twelve months drag to eighteen while everyone works sixty-hour weeks trying to recover schedules that were broken from day one. The system is immoral. Schedulers and consultants making six figures know CPM does not work. But they keep selling it because it pays their bills. And projects, workers, and families pay the price. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

What Integrated Control Actually Looks Like

The integrated control system starts with Takt planning. Not CPM. Takt creates flow and rhythm across the entire project. It stabilizes supply chains. It staggers work so trades are not stacked on top of each other. And it produces better overall durations than CPM while keeping schedules high-level enough that they do not become obsolete the moment conditions change. From the Takt plan, teams identify milestones. Then they use phase planning to coordinate work between those milestones. For complex coordination where handoffs are unclear, teams use pull planning. For standardized work where sequences are known, teams use simple coordination instead of wasting time on pull planning theater.

Next comes make-ready planning. Six-week look-ahead where teams identify constraints and remove roadblocks before they delay work. This feeds into weekly work planning where trades commit to what they will accomplish. But here is where most systems fail. They stop at the weekly work plan. And they rely on foremen to transfer information to workers. The integrated control system does not stop there. It adds afternoon foreman huddles where foremen plan the next day together. This gives them overnight to prepare. To order materials. To coordinate access. And it creates time for thinking instead of forcing foremen to plan reactively in the moment. Then it adds morning worker huddles where every person on site gathers for ten to fifteen minutes. The superintendent or foreman explains the plan for the day. Workers ask questions. And everyone starts work knowing exactly what they are supposed to do and why it matters.

This creates multiple information transfer points. Takt plan stabilizes supply chains. Phase planning coordinates milestones. Look-ahead remove constraints. Weekly work planning creates commitments. Afternoon foreman huddles coordinate daily execution. Morning worker huddles communicate plans directly to workers. And suddenly the gap between master schedule and worker disappears. Workers are not waiting for direction. Foremen are not scrambling reactively. Superintendents are not fighting fires. And projects finish on time because information flows all the way from strategic planning to tactical execution without breaking down.

Signs Your Scheduling Software Does Not Serve the Field

Watch for these patterns that signal your tools create waste instead of value:

  • Workers maintain personal trackers and spreadsheets instead of using the official scheduling system because it is too complicated
  • Superintendents spend hours updating schedules that nobody reads instead of leading coordination and removing constraints
  • Software requires multiple clicks to perform simple tasks like logging observations or updating progress creating friction instead of flow
  • Trades cannot understand the master schedule so they coordinate through text messages and hallway conversations instead
  • Project managers waste time generating reports for executives instead of solving problems that prevent workers from executing
  • The official schedule shows work starting but trades are not ready so chaos follows because the system pushes instead of pulls

These are not adoption problems. These are design failures. And they get fixed by building tools that serve the people actually building instead of the people buying software licenses.

Why CPM Must Be Dethroned

CPM is a push system. It schedules work based on predetermined dates without regard for whether downstream trades are ready to receive it. This creates chaos. Mechanical gets pushed into a space before electrical finishes rough-in. Drywall gets pushed onto a floor before MEP inspections pass. And finishes get pushed before the building is watertight. The result is rework, delays, and workers standing idle while superintendents scramble to coordinate what should have been coordinated during planning. CPM consultants know this. But they keep selling it because analyzing float trends and generating variance reports pays six figures. And they do not care that their tools destroy projects and harm families. This is immoral. And it must stop.

Franco Giacuinto is blunt about this: “If the industry hasn’t improved and ninety percent of projects are still behind, why do you keep thinking that CPM is the way to go?” The answer is inertia. Companies have always used CPM. Consultants have always sold CPM analysis. And nobody wants to admit that the emperor has no clothes. But the truth is brutal. CPM does not work. It never worked. And the only reason it persists is because the people profiting from it do not suffer the consequences. Superintendents suffer. Workers suffer. Families suffer. While schedulers and consultants cash checks.

The alternative is flow. Takt planning creates predetermined sequences and staggers. But unlike CPM, Takt does not predetermine when work happens months in advance. It predetermines how work flows. What follows what? At what rhythm. And it manages supply chains so materials, information, and manpower arrive when needed instead of whenever procurement feels like delivering. Then pull planning coordinates complex handoffs. Make-ready planning removes constraints. And weekly work planning creates commitments. This is how projects finish on time. Not through CPM analysis. Through flow, coordination, and commitment. And software that serves this workflow instead of fighting it.

What Great Scheduling Software Actually Does

Great scheduling software makes the process easier, not harder. It connects master schedules to look-ahead to weekly work plans without requiring workers to maintain separate trackers. It visualizes information so trades can see what is happening instead of decoding activity codes. It allows mobile updates so workers can report progress without clicking through twelve menus. And it generates analytics that show what actually matters: Are constraints being removed? Are commitments being kept? Is work flowing? Not float trends. Not variance reports. Real metrics that drive real improvement.

Franco explains Epsom’s philosophy: combine scheduling and planning into one vertical instead of treating them as separate worlds. Build high-level schedules that create flow. Generate look-ahead from those schedules automatically. Allow teams to collaborate on weekly work plans within the same tool. Track constraints and commitments. And produce analytics that show executives how projects are actually performing instead of how they should be performing according to baseline schedules nobody believes. This eliminates waste. Engineers stop wasting hours updating spreadsheets and P6 files. Superintendents stop maintaining parallel systems. And trades get information they can actually use to execute instead of reports designed for owner dashboards.

The key is listening. Franco spent a year on jobsites before building anything. He watched how people actually work. He identified where systems break down. And he designed tools that solve those problems instead of forcing field teams to adapt to software designed for executives. This discipline separates companies that create value from companies that create expensive theater. Because software that does not serve the people using it is waste. Regardless of how impressive the features sound in sales presentations.

The Challenge

Walk into your next scheduling meeting and ask one question: does this tool serve the people building the project or the people selling the tool? If your software requires twelve clicks to log one observation, it does not serve the field. If your master schedule is incomprehensible to trades, it does not serve the field. If your system generates reports executives want instead of information workers need, it does not serve the field. And if it does not serve the field, stop using it. Find tools built by people who actually understand construction. Who spent time on jobsites? Who listened before building? And who design for flow instead of compliance.

As Franco said: “Challenge yourself. Don’t think that because it’s been done for years or because the company works that way, that’s the only way of working. Be open to collaborating differently, working differently, changing the process.” CPM has failed for decades. Last Planner improved coordination but still leaves gaps. And integrated control systems that combine Takt planning, make-ready coordination, and worker huddles deliver what construction actually needs: stable projects where people go home on time and families are protected. Stop tolerating broken systems because they are familiar. Start demanding tools that actually work. Because construction deserves better. Workers deserve better. And families counting on paychecks and parents coming home deserve better. Challenge the process. Demand change. And build projects that flow. On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does CPM scheduling not work for construction projects?

CPM pushes work based on predetermined dates without regard for whether trades are ready, creating chaos when mechanical gets pushed before electrical finishes or finishes start before buildings are watertight.

What is the integrated control system?

Takt planning for flow and milestones, phase planning for coordination, make-ready look-ahead for constraints, weekly work planning for commitments, afternoon foreman huddles for daily coordination, and morning worker huddles communicating plans directly.

Why do workers maintain separate trackers instead of using official scheduling tools?

Official tools are too complicated, require too many clicks for simple tasks, and generate reports for executives instead of providing information workers need to execute their work.

What makes great scheduling software different from typical project management tools?

Great software serves people building the project instead of people buying licenses, making coordination as easy as texting while eliminating waste instead of creating compliance exercises.

How do you close the gap between master schedules and workers?

Create multiple information transfer points from Takt plans through look-ahead, weekly work planning, foreman huddles, and worker huddles so information flows from strategic planning to tactical execution.

If you want to learn more we have:

-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our Youtube channel for more info: (Click here) 
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here) 
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.

On we go

Pull Planning

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 29 min

The Team That Debated MEP Coordination for Three Weeks Instead of Pull Planning It in One Day

There is a project with complex MEP rough-in on twelve floors. The superintendent knows coordination is critical. So he schedules meetings. Mechanical shows up with their plan. Plumbing has a different sequence. Electrical wants access first. Fire protection needs specific areas clear. And for three weeks they debate. Who goes first? Who follows whom? What are the handoffs? Nobody commits to anything because nobody trusts anyone else’s timeline. So work stalls. Trades sit idle. The schedule slips. And after three weeks of meetings that produce nothing, the superintendent finally makes unilateral decisions and pushes everyone into the space. Chaos follows. Mechanical blocks plumbing. Electrical cannot access what they need. Fire protection gets delayed. And rework piles up because nobody coordinated handoffs. Meanwhile another project faced the same challenge. But instead of debating, they ran a one-day pull planning session. Every trade showed up. They worked backward from the milestone. They identified handoffs. They committed to durations. And they left with a coordinated sequence everyone agreed to. That project started MEP rough-in immediately while the first project was still debating. Same problem. Different approach. One team used pull planning. The other drowned in meetings. And the gap was not resources or complexity. It was understanding when and how to use the right planning technique.

Here is what happens when teams confuse planning techniques. A superintendent hears about pull planning and thinks it is the same as phase planning. So he schedules a pull planning session for standard repetitive work that everyone already knows how to sequence. Carpenters show up confused. We have been framing walls for twenty years. Why are we putting stickies on a board? Electricians are frustrated. This is wasting time. We know what to do. And the session becomes theater. People go through the motions. They put up stickies. But nobody commits because the work did not need pull planning. It needed simple coordination. Three hours wasted. Trust damaged. And the team leaves thinking pull planning is bureaucratic nonsense. The superintendent wonders why lean techniques do not work. The answer is simple. He used the wrong tool for the job. Pull planning is brilliant for complex coordination where handoffs are unclear. It is wasteful for standardized work everyone already understands. And teams that do not know the difference burn credibility trying techniques that do not fit the problem.

The real pain is the lost coordination. Pull planning done correctly forces trades to identify handoffs explicitly. Mechanical commits: we need structural complete, sprinkler drops installed, and electrical conduit roughed in before we can hang duct. Plumbing commits: we need walls framed and mechanical overhead complete before we can run drain lines. Electrical commits: we need structural open and mechanical coordination complete before we can pull wire. Every handoff gets documented. Every constraint gets addressed. And when someone says they need something, the responsible party either commits to providing it or flags that they cannot. This creates clarity. Everyone knows what they are giving and what they are receiving. And when work starts, it flows because handoffs were negotiated up front instead of discovered mid-execution.

The failure pattern is predictable. A team hears about pull planning at a conference. It sounds great. Collaboration. Commitment. Visual management. So they schedule a session. But they skip preparation. Nobody does homework. Nobody understands the rules. And when people show up, the facilitator tries to explain pull planning while simultaneously running the session. Chaos follows. People do not understand the backward pass. They put up activities in random order. Nobody identifies constraints. Handoffs get missed. And after four hours, the team has a wall full of stickies that mean nothing because nobody committed to anything. The facilitator wonders why pull planning failed. It did not fail. The preparation failed. Pull planning requires homework, facilitation, and trust. Without those elements, it is just expensive theater that wastes time and burns credibility.

I learned pull planning at the cancer center with Last Planner System. Then at DPR on the Bioscience Research Laboratory. And I have done it backwards from milestones, forward, on physical boards, in Excel, in vPlanner, in Smartsheet, with stickies, dry erase, slats, cards, and laminated cards. I have run sessions in person and virtually during COVID. And here is what I know. Pull planning works brilliantly when you need it. And it wastes time when you do not. The key is knowing when each planning technique fits. Master schedules with milestones work best as Takt plans because Takt manages flow and staggers. Phase planning between milestones can use pull planning when coordination is complex and handoffs are unclear. Weekly work plans and daily plans use make-ready and constraint removal. And you choose the technique that fits the problem. Not the technique that sounds impressive.

This matters because construction cannot afford to waste time on planning theater. Projects need real coordination. Real commitments. Real handoffs. And pull planning delivers that when used correctly. But when teams confuse techniques or skip preparation, they get theater instead of coordination. Trades sitting in rooms putting stickies on walls without understanding why. Leaders facilitating sessions without preparation. And projects that leave with pretty boards but no actual commitments. This destroys credibility for lean methods. Because when pull planning fails due to poor execution, teams conclude that lean does not work. When the truth is simpler. The tool was either wrong for the job or implemented poorly. And both problems are fixable. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

What Pull Planning Actually Is

Pull planning is a technique for phase planning where trades work backward from a milestone identifying handoffs and committing to durations. It is not the same as phase planning. Phase planning is what you do. Planning phases of work up to milestones. Pull planning is how you do it when coordination is complex. You can phase plan with flow using Takt. You can phase plan with pull planning when handoffs are unclear. You can phase plan with traditional methods. The technique changes based on the problem. But the goal remains constant: plan the phase between milestones so work flows without delays.

The key to pull planning is working backward. Start with the milestone on the right. What is the last activity before we reach this milestone? Mechanical says: final connections and testing. What do you need before you can do that? We need all equipment installed, all duct hung, all controls wired. Who provides that? Our crew handles equipment and duct. Electrical handles controls. So electrical puts up a sticky: wire mechanical controls. What do you need before you can do that? We need mechanical equipment locations finalized and conduit roughed in. Who provides that? Mechanical provides locations. We rough our own conduit. And the backward pass continues. Each activity identifies what it needs. Each need becomes a predecessor activity. And the chain builds backward until you reach the phase start.

David Amstot and Dan Fauchier explain in Lean Project Delivery: “It is far better to discover the issues in planning than during work execution.” That is the power of the backward pass. When mechanical says we need sprinkler drops installed before we can hang duct, and fire protection says we cannot install drops until structure is complete, and structure says we will not be complete for three more weeks, you discover the problem now. On stickies. Where fixing it costs nothing. Instead of discovering it in the field when mechanical shows up ready to hang duct and realizes sprinkler drops are missing. Now the problem costs money and schedule. Pull planning shifts problem discovery left into planning where solutions are cheap.

How to Run Pull Planning Correctly

Preparation is everything. Before the session, every participant must do homework. Use a pull planning worksheet that asks: What are your major activities for this phase? What is the approximate duration of each activity? What do you need before each activity can start? Who provides what you need? Participants fill this out before the session. They think through their workflow. They identify constraints. And they show up ready to negotiate instead of discovering their needs live during the session. This cuts session time in half and doubles quality because people have already thought through their sequences.

Setup requires clear rules. Choose your medium: physical board with stickies, Bluebeam session, Concept Board, or vPlanner. Create swim lanes. Common options include geographical lanes showing different floors or areas, discipline lanes showing each trade, or package lanes showing design or procurement packages. Assign colors to each discipline. Mechanical gets blue. Plumbing gets green. Electrical gets yellow. Fire protection gets red. And create a milestone card on the right side of the board showing the phase end date and conditions of satisfaction. Everything works backward from this milestone.

The backward pass follows specific steps. Start with the milestone. Ask: what is the last activity before we reach this milestone? The responsible party creates a sticky with: activity name, crew size, duration in days, and ID number. Then ask: what do you need before this activity can start? List constraints on the sticky. Then ask: who provides what you need? That party creates predecessor stickies. Continue backward until the phase start. Every sticky must have: organization doing the work, activity description, duration, ID number linking to downstream activities it enables, and constraints that must be resolved before work starts. Activities longer than ten days get broken into smaller subtasks. This creates accountability and enables flow.

After the backward pass comes the forward pass. Work left to right verifying logical sequence. Check for opportunities to compress schedule by reallocating resources to critical path activities. Verify handoffs are clear and achievable. And confirm everyone commits to their durations assuming they receive what they need. This is where trust matters. People must believe others will deliver what they promise. Without trust, commitments are hollow. So if trust is low, take time to build it before running pull planning. Because pull planning without trust produces pretty boards but no actual coordination.

Signs You Need Pull Planning vs Other Techniques

Use pull planning when coordination is complex and handoffs between multiple disciplines are unclear:

  • Major MEP rough-in on complex buildings where mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and fire protection must coordinate sequences tightly
  • Design phases where architects, engineers, and consultants must hand off deliverables in specific sequences to meet milestones
  • Site logistics on tight urban sites where multiple trades share limited laydown and access requiring precise sequencing
  • Complex architectural finishes where multiple specialty trades must coordinate in specific sequences to avoid rework
  • MRI or clean room installations where sequencing and contamination control require extremely tight coordination between trades
  • Any work where asking “what do you need before you can start” produces answers that require negotiation between multiple parties

Do not use pull planning for standardized repetitive work where everyone already knows the sequence and handoffs are clear. Framing standard floors does not need pull planning. The sequence is known. Use simple coordination instead.

Common Pull Planning Mistakes That Kill Results

Watch for these patterns that turn pull planning into wasteful theater instead of productive coordination:

  • Skipping homework so participants show up unprepared and discover their workflow live during the session wasting hours
  • Facilitating sessions without clear rules so people put activities in random order instead of working backward systematically
  • Using pull planning for simple work that does not need it and burning credibility when people see it as bureaucracy
  • Creating beautiful boards but never using them afterward so commitments evaporate and coordination fails anyway
  • Running sessions without trust so commitments are hollow and people do not actually believe others will deliver
  • Confusing pull planning with phase planning and thinking they are the same thing instead of understanding pull planning is one technique for phase planning

These mistakes are fixable. Send homework templates before sessions. Train facilitators on the backward pass. Use pull planning only when coordination complexity justifies it. Hold teams accountable to use the plans they create. Build trust before running sessions. And understand that pull planning is a tool in the toolbox, not the only way to plan.

The Virtual Pull Planning Method

Virtual pull planning works when setup is correct. Create a shared digital workspace: Bluebeam session, Concept Board, or vPlanner. Send pull planning worksheets before the session asking participants to list activities, durations, and needs. Set up swim lanes showing disciplines, areas, or packages. Create a color legend. And establish ground rules: work backward from the milestone, identify constraints explicitly, commit to durations assuming needs are met, and negotiate handoffs until everyone agrees.

During the session, start with the milestone. Have the final trade create their last activity. Ask what they need. Have responsible parties create predecessor activities. Continue backward systematically. Use ID numbers linking activities so you can track which predecessors enable which downstream work. And after the backward pass, run the forward pass left to right checking logic and identifying schedule compression opportunities. Then export the plan into your scheduling tool or use it directly for make-ready planning.

The advantage of virtual pull planning is documentation. Physical boards with stickies disappear. Virtual boards persist. You can update them. Share them. And reference them during execution. The disadvantage is engagement. People zone out on video calls. So facilitate actively. Call on people. Ask questions. Keep energy high. And limit sessions to three hours maximum. Brains cannot handle longer virtual coordination sessions productively.

When to Flow, Pull, or Push

The hierarchy is simple: flow where you can, pull when you cannot, and push when you must. Flow is best. Takt planning creates predetermined sequences and staggers that manage supply chains and enable continuous workflow. Use flow for standardized repetitive work where the sequence is known and stable. Pull is second best. Use pull planning for complex coordination where handoffs are unclear and need negotiation. Pull creates commitments that enable flow once sequences are established. Push is last resort. CPM schedules that push work based on predetermined dates without regard for downstream readiness create chaos. Use push only when flow and pull are impossible.

Most projects need all three. Master schedules work best as Takt plans managing flow and milestones. Phase planning between milestones uses pull planning when coordination is complex. Weekly work plans use make-ready and constraint removal. Daily plans use huddles and real-time coordination. And you choose the right tool for each level. Not the tool that sounds impressive. The tool that fits the problem. That is how championship teams plan. They know when each technique works. And they use techniques appropriately instead of forcing every problem into one solution.

The Challenge

Walk into your next coordination challenge and ask: does this need pull planning? If handoffs are complex and unclear, schedule a session. Send homework worksheets asking participants to identify activities, durations, and needs. Set up the board with swim lanes and color coding. Facilitate the backward pass systematically working from milestone to phase start. Run the forward pass checking logic. And then use the plan. Hold people accountable to commitments. Update it when conditions change. And reference it during execution. Because pull planning only works if you actually use what you create.

As Amstot and Fauchier said, “It is far better to discover the issues in planning than during work execution.” So discover them. Run pull planning when you need it. Skip it when you do not. And remember the hierarchy: flow where you can, pull when you cannot, and push when you must. Because construction rewards teams that choose the right tool for the job. Not teams that force every problem into one technique regardless of fit. Know your tools. Use them appropriately. And build projects that flow instead of fighting. On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between pull planning and phase planning?

Phase planning is planning work between milestones. Pull planning is one technique for doing phase planning when coordination is complex and handoffs need negotiation between multiple parties.

When should you use pull planning vs Takt planning?

Use Takt for standardized repetitive work where sequences are known and stable. Use pull planning for complex coordination where handoffs are unclear and need negotiation.

How does the backward pass work in pull planning?

Start with the milestone, identify the last activity, ask what it needs, have responsible parties create predecessor activities, and continue backward systematically until reaching the phase start.

What information goes on each pull planning sticky or tag?

Organization doing the work, activity description, crew size, duration in days, ID number linking to downstream activities, and constraints that must be resolved before starting.

Why do pull planning sessions fail?

Most failures come from skipping homework preparation, facilitating without clear rules, using pull planning for work that does not need it, or creating plans that never get used afterward.

If you want to learn more we have:

-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our Youtube channel for more info: (Click here) 
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here) 
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.

On we go

Fail Forward Faster

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 28 min

The Team That Debated for Three Weeks What Could Have Been Tested in Three Days

There is a project team deciding where to locate temporary bathrooms. The superintendent suggests one location. The project manager thinks another spot is better. The foreman has a third opinion. And for three weeks they debate. They draw diagrams. They run scenarios. They discuss traffic patterns and worker convenience and material delivery conflicts. And nobody makes a decision because nobody wants to be wrong. So the bathrooms do not get ordered. Workers use facilities two buildings away. Productivity drops. Morale tanks. And after three weeks of endless discussion, they finally pick a location. It works fine. But it could have been tested in three days. They could have placed temporary fencing, walked the routes, asked workers for feedback, and made the decision in seventy-two hours. Instead they spent three weeks paralyzed by fear of failure. Meanwhile another project tested three bathroom locations in one week, picked the best one, and moved on. Same problem. Different approach. One team failed forward fast. The other team drowned in analysis paralysis. And the difference was not intelligence or resources. It was willingness to test, learn, and adapt instead of debating endlessly hoping for perfect certainty that never comes.

Here is what happens when teams fear failure more than they value speed. A superintendent sees a forming problem. The drawings show a conflict. He knows it needs to be resolved. But instead of gathering the team and making a decision, he waits. He emails engineering. He calls the architect. He schedules a meeting for next week. And while he waits for perfect information, the forming continues. By the time the decision finally happens, the conflict is built into the structure. Now it requires expensive rework instead of a simple adjustment. The delay cost ten times more than making the wrong decision would have. Because even if the superintendent had guessed wrong initially, catching it during forming would have been cheap. But waiting for certainty meant the mistake got locked in concrete. This happens on every project. Teams delay decisions hoping for more information. But construction does not wait. Work continues. And delays turn small problems into expensive disasters.

The real pain is the opportunity cost. Every day spent debating is a day not spent building. Every meeting spent rehashing the same options is coordination that did not happen. Every decision delayed because nobody wants to be wrong is progress lost forever. And this compounds. One delayed decision creates bottlenecks. Bottlenecks create more delays. And suddenly the entire schedule slips because the team was too afraid to fail forward fast. This does not just affect timelines. It affects people. Workers standing idle waiting for decisions get frustrated. Foremen trying to coordinate without clarity burn out. And families suffer because projects that should finish in twelve months drag to eighteen because teams spent six months debating instead of testing.

The failure pattern is predictable. A team faces a decision. Should we use this hoist location or that one? Should we stage materials here or there? Should we pour this concrete now or wait for better weather? And instead of testing the decision quickly, they debate endlessly. They cover the same ground ten times. They second-guess every option. And nobody commits because committing means accepting responsibility if it goes wrong. So they stay in analysis paralysis. Hoping that if they debate long enough, perfect certainty will emerge. But it never does. Construction is full of variables that cannot be predicted. Weather changes. Deliveries get delayed. Trades run behind. And teams that wait for perfect information before acting never act at all. The system failed them by never teaching that speed matters more than perfection. And that testing beats debating every single time.

I run a training exercise called opposing lines. Two teams face each other in a grid. Everyone must move to the opposite end. But you can only move forward or jump around someone facing you. Not around teammates. And if two people from the same team end up side by side ahead of their start position, the game resets. Kids solve this in ten minutes. They fail fast. They try something. It breaks. They reset and try again. Adults take forty minutes. Because they overthink it. They strategize. They debate. They second-guess. And I have to go into drill instructor mode yelling at them to just try something and learn from failure instead of standing there brain-fogging themselves into paralysis. The lesson is brutal but necessary. Teams that fail forward fast win. Teams that debate endlessly lose. And the gap between success and failure is not intelligence. It is willingness to act, learn, and adapt.

This matters because construction cannot afford paralysis. Projects have deadlines. Budgets have limits. And teams that spend weeks debating what could be tested in days lose to teams that move fast, fail safely, and adapt quickly. This is not about reckless decision-making. This is about understanding when speed matters more than certainty. And on most construction decisions, speed wins. Because the cost of being wrong is lower than the cost of delay. If you test a bathroom location and it does not work, you move it. Cost: minimal. Time: days. But if you debate for three weeks, you lose three weeks of productivity that you can never recover. The teams that understand this principle finish projects on time under budget with high morale. The teams that fear failure finish late over budget with burned out workers. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

When to Fail Forward Fast

Here is where failing forward fast creates massive value. Mockups. Build it. See if it works. Adjust. Do not debate for weeks whether the mockup will be perfect. Build it imperfectly and learn. Job hazard analyses. Brainstorm risks as a team. Write them down. Revise them. Do not wait for perfect safety plans. Draft them and improve through feedback. Takt plans. Put the schedule on one sheet of paper. Make it visible. Get input from multiple people. Iterate quickly. Do not lock yourself in a room for weeks trying to perfect it. Draft schedules and budgets. Get them out to the team early. Even if they are rough. Because rough drafts invite collaboration. Perfect drafts invite silence. And collaboration catches problems that perfection hides.

Preconstruction is where fail forward fast pays the biggest dividends. Test layouts. Try different logistics plans. Model coordination conflicts. And do it all on paper where mistakes are cheap. This is safe failure. You are not pouring concrete. You are testing ideas. And ideas that fail on paper save disasters in the field. Too many teams treat preconstruction like it needs to be perfect. So they delay. They overthink. They polish plans that should be tested rough. And they lose the opportunity to fail forward fast when failure costs nothing. Then they get to the field and discover problems they could have caught with quick tests during planning. Now failure costs thousands. This is backwards. Fail fast during planning when it is safe. Execute confidently in the field because you already tested everything.

But here is the critical disclaimer. Do not fail with safety. Do not fail with high-risk items. Fail on paper. Fail in planning. Fail in draft form. Fail in collaboration. Fail in meetings. Do not fail by pouring bad concrete. Do not fail by installing unsafe scaffolding. Do not fail by skipping fall protection. The whole point of failing forward fast is catching problems before they become disasters. So you fail in lift drawings. You fail in forming plans. You fail in coordination reviews. And by the time you pour concrete, you have already caught every mistake on paper where fixing it costs nothing. Teams that confuse fail forward fast with reckless execution miss the point entirely. This is about speed in planning so you can have confidence in execution.

The Risk Profile Framework for Decisions

Research shows that fast decisions are not always better than slow decisions. And slow decisions are not always better than fast decisions. What matters is matching decision speed to risk profile. Here is how it works. Every decision has a window. At the beginning of that window, you can debate safely. Gather input. Consider options. But at some point, the risk profile changes. The cost of waiting exceeds the cost of being wrong. And when that happens, you must decide immediately. The mistake most teams make is missing when the risk profile changes. So they keep debating long after delay became more expensive than error.

Example. A wall was formed incorrectly. You can ask engineering to redesign it. Or you can tear it out and rebuild it right. At the beginning, you have time to explore both options. But at some point, the schedule impact of waiting makes tearing it out the obvious choice. Even if engineering could fix it, the delay costs more than the rework. That is when the risk profile changed. And teams that miss that moment lose massive value. Because they keep debating when they should be acting. The framework is simple. Take the time to make the decision slowly up until the point when your risk profile changes and it becomes riskier to wait any longer. Then decide immediately based on the best information available.

Jim Collins teaches that team unity after decisions matters more than perfect consensus before decisions. Meaning you can have two or three dissenting votes. People who preferred a different option. But if everyone leaves the meeting violently and radically willing to support the decision even though it was not their first choice, the team will succeed. If people leave the meeting quietly resenting the decision and planning to undermine it, the team will fail. So the goal is not unanimous agreement before the decision. The goal is unanimous commitment after the decision. And leaders must check for this. Before you leave the meeting, ask: Can everyone support this decision even if it was not your first choice? If the answer is yes, execute with confidence. If the answer is no, you have people who need to select themselves off the bus. Because teams cannot succeed when members sabotage decisions they did not vote for.

Signs You Are Stuck in Analysis Paralysis

Watch for these patterns that signal your team fears failure more than they value speed:

  • Decisions that should take days stretch into weeks because nobody wants to commit without perfect information
  • The same topics get rehashed in multiple meetings with no progress toward resolution or action
  • Draft plans never get released because teams keep polishing instead of testing and iterating
  • Workers sit idle waiting for decisions while leaders debate endlessly in conference rooms
  • Small problems become expensive disasters because delays allowed them to get built into the work
  • Team members second-guess decisions after they are made instead of unifying to execute them

These are not signs of thorough planning. These are signs of paralysis. And they get fixed by building cultures that value speed and testing over perfection and certainty.

The Culver’s vs In-N-Out Lesson

Here is a perfect analogy for how batching creates waste while flow creates value. Culver’s drive-through works like this. You order at the speaker. You pay at the window. Then they tell you to pull forward and someone walks your food out later. This looks fast. The line moves quickly. But it is theater. Because while you are sitting in the parking lot waiting, someone is walking in and out bringing food, forgetting napkins, going back for sauce. The process is detached. And detaching order from payment from delivery adds massive waste. Extra walking. Extra motion. Defects. Over-processing. And by the time you get your food, it is cold. Because the system optimized for the appearance of speed instead of actual throughput.

In-N-Out works differently. You order. You pay. You get your food. All at the same window. One piece flow. The line looks longer. But that is the true rate of throughput. And when you get your food, it is warm. Because the process stayed connected. This is the difference between batching and flow. Culver’s batches. Take orders fast. Process payments fast. Deliver food slow. In-N-Out flows. Complete each transaction fully before starting the next. And flow wins every time. Because disconnecting steps creates waste that batching can never eliminate.

Construction makes the Culver’s mistake constantly. Go frame this area fast. Come back later to finish it. This creates waste. Workers travel back and forth. They forget materials. They cannot complete tasks efficiently because the process is detached. The better approach is the In-N-Out method. Plan first. Gather everything needed. Complete the work fully before moving to the next area. One piece flow. Finish as you go. This looks slower at first. But it eliminates the waste of returning to incomplete work. And it produces warm food instead of cold food. Meaning when workers finish, it is actually done. Not partially done waiting for someone to walk back and forth fixing defects.

The Challenge

General George Patton said: “A good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan next week.” That is the challenge. Stop waiting for perfect certainty. Start testing imperfect plans. Because construction rewards speed more than perfection. And teams that fail forward fast beat teams that debate endlessly every single time. So walk into your next decision and ask yourself: Has the risk profile changed? Is waiting now more expensive than being wrong? If the answer is yes, decide immediately. Get diverse opinions. Have healthy conflict. Make the decision clear. And then unify. Even if some people preferred different options, everyone must leave committed to executing violently.

Build mockups quickly. Draft JHAs and iterate. Release rough Takt plans and improve them through collaboration. Test logistics in preconstruction when mistakes cost nothing. And fail forward fast on paper so you can execute confidently in the field. Because the teams that win are not the teams that never make mistakes. They are the teams that make mistakes quickly, learn from them cheaply, and adapt faster than everyone else. Stop debating bathroom locations for three weeks. Test them in three days. Stop polishing plans that should be tested rough. Stop second-guessing decisions after they are made. And stop letting fear of failure kill momentum.

As the principle states: Master builders are always flexible and nimble. Make decisions slowly with the consensus of the team but act quickly when a decision is made. No plan will long sustain engagement with the enemy. So build alternatives. Stay adaptive. And move fast. Because in construction, a good plan violently executed today beats a perfect plan next week. Every single time. On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does fail forward fast mean in construction?

Test decisions quickly in safe ways like mockups, draft plans, and preconstruction coordination where mistakes are cheap instead of debating endlessly hoping for perfect certainty that never comes.

When should teams make decisions slowly vs quickly?

Make decisions slowly until the risk profile changes and waiting becomes more expensive than being wrong, then decide immediately based on best available information.

How do you prevent reckless decision-making while moving fast?

Fail forward fast on paper and in planning where mistakes cost nothing, then execute confidently in the field because you already caught problems during safe testing.

What is the difference between batching and flow?

Batching disconnects process steps creating waste like Culver’s separating order/payment/delivery, while flow completes each transaction fully like In-N-Out producing better results faster.

How do you unify teams after decisions are made?

Check that everyone can support the decision even if it was not their first choice, requiring violent and radical commitment to execute instead of quiet resentment and sabotage.

If you want to learn more we have:

-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our Youtube channel for more info: (Click here) 
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here) 
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.

On we go

The Enemy! Waste & Variation

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 26 min

The Team That Fought Each Other Instead of the Enemy

There is a project where the superintendent blames the foreman. The foreman blames the trades. The trades blame engineering. Engineering blames the owner. And the owner blames the superintendent. Everyone spends their energy fighting each other. Meetings turn into blame sessions. Coordination calls become arguments about whose fault the delay is. And nobody stops to ask the real question. Who benefits from all this infighting? The answer is waste. Because while the team fights each other, waste runs unchecked. Schedules slip because nobody planned properly. Quality suffers because coordination never happened. Safety incidents occur because hazards were not addressed. And budgets explode because rework keeps piling up. The team spends so much energy attacking each other that they never identify the real enemy. And the real enemy destroys the project while everyone is distracted. This is not a construction problem. This is a war strategy problem. Armies that fight themselves lose to enemies that fight together. And construction teams that blame each other lose to waste and variation every single time.

Here is what happens when teams fight the wrong enemy. A superintendent walks the jobsite and sees problems everywhere. The concrete pour had honeycombing. The steel is out of plumb. The MEP rough-in conflicts with structure. And his first instinct is to find someone to blame. He calls the foreman. What happened here? The foreman blames the crew. The crew blames engineering. Engineering blames the trades. And everyone spends an hour arguing about fault instead of fixing the problem. Meanwhile, the waste compounds. The honeycombing requires expensive repair. The steel gets corrected after other trades have already built around it. And the MEP conflict becomes a costly change order. All of this was preventable. But the team was too busy fighting each other to fight the real enemy. Which is the system that allowed bad concrete, unchecked steel, and uncoordinated drawings to reach the field in the first place.

The real pain is the human cost. When teams fight each other, people suffer. Workers go home exhausted from navigating politics instead of building things. Foremen burn out from constant blame instead of support. Engineers quit because collaboration feels like warfare. And families pay the price. Spouses get the stressed version of their partner. Kids get the tired parent who has no energy left. And marriages struggle because work drains everything. This is not just about project performance. This is about protecting the people who make construction happen. And when leaders let teams fight each other instead of fighting waste, they fail at the most fundamental responsibility. Which is protecting the humans who show up every day trusting that leaders will create environments where they can succeed.

The failure pattern is predictable. A project starts with good intentions. Everyone commits to collaboration. But then the first problem hits. And instead of diagnosing the system failure that caused it, someone looks for a person to blame. That person defends themselves by blaming someone else. And the cycle begins. Blame becomes the default response to problems. People stop volunteering information because sharing problems gets you attacked. Coordination breaks down because nobody trusts each other. And the project spirals because the team spends more energy on internal warfare than external execution. The system failed them by never teaching that the enemy is waste and variation. Not each other. And until teams learn to identify the real enemy, they will keep losing battles they should win easily.

The Roman Empire understood this principle completely. Roman legions conquered the known world not because they had superior weapons but because they fought as cohesive units. They used a sword called the gladius. It was only thirty inches long. Most enemies had longer swords. In a one-on-one fight, a Roman soldier would lose. But Romans did not fight one-on-one. They fought shoulder to shoulder in formation. Shields locked. Moving in rhythm. And the short sword became deadly because they wielded it together. Each soldier stayed in his lane. Held his position. Protected the soldier next to him. And advanced as a unit. They did not fight each other. They fought the enemy together. And that discipline conquered empires.

Construction teams must learn the same lesson. Waste and variation are the enemy. Not the foreman who missed something. Not the engineer who made a mistake. Not the trade who installed it wrong. Those are symptoms of system failures. And symptoms get addressed by fixing systems, not blaming people. When a concrete pour has honeycombing, the enemy is not the concrete crew. The enemy is the system that did not verify mix design, inspect formwork, and train workers properly. When steel is out of plumb, the enemy is not the ironworkers. The enemy is the system that did not provide accurate layout, verify as-built, and catch errors before trades built around them. When MEP conflicts with structure, the enemy is not the trades. The enemy is the system that did not coordinate drawings, run clash detection, and resolve conflicts before installation. Fight the system failures. Not the people caught in them.

This matters because construction cannot afford to waste energy on internal warfare. Projects are hard enough when teams fight together against waste. They are impossible when teams fight each other while waste runs unchecked. Every hour spent blaming someone is an hour not spent preventing the next problem. Every meeting turned into an argument is coordination that did not happen. Every relationship damaged by blame is trust that will not exist when the next crisis hits. And families suffer because workers go home carrying the weight of a toxic culture instead of the satisfaction of building something great. Leaders who let teams fight each other are failing. Not just at project delivery. But at the fundamental responsibility of protecting people. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

What Fighting the Real Enemy Looks Like?

Gray Childs taught a lesson about the Roman legions that captures this perfectly. The Romans embraced organization, technology, and leadership. They worked together as cohesive units. They knew their charges. They held the line. And they stayed at their stations. When they advanced, they moved in rhythm. Shields up. Swords ready. As a team. Because individually they would lose. But together they were unstoppable. Construction teams must operate the same way. Superintendents, foremen, engineers, and trades are not opponents. They are legionnaires standing shoulder to shoulder fighting waste and variation. And when one person breaks formation to blame another, the entire line weakens.

The Roman military also understood something most construction teams forget. Soldiers who conquered empires were also the builders who constructed roads, walls, and monuments that still stand today. They did not separate warrior from builder. They were both. And construction workers are the same. They are builders. But they are also warriors fighting every day against systems that try to kill them, disrespect them, and destroy their families. Everything on a jobsite left uncontrolled is trying to cause harm. Unsafe conditions. Poor planning. Toxic cultures. Unrealistic schedules. All of it attacks workers and their families. And leaders who do not fight against those things are losing the war.

The Romans had an elite force called the triari. These were the oldest, most experienced, wealthiest soldiers. They wore the heaviest armor. They carried the best weapons. And they held the third line. In most battles, the triari never engaged. The lighter troops defeated the enemy first. But when battles turned desperate, the Romans had a saying: “It comes down to the triari.” Which meant the fight was going to the bitter end. And only the most elite warriors could save the day. Construction has triari too. General Superintendents. Senior superintendents. Master builders who know how to build and know how to lead. When projects struggle, it comes down to them. When people are disrespected, it comes down to them. When hard decisions must be made, it comes down to them. And they cannot be wimpy or weak. They must fight.

Signs Your Team Is Fighting the Wrong Enemy

Watch for these patterns that signal your team is attacking each other instead of waste:

  • Meetings turn into blame sessions where people defend themselves instead of solving problems together
  • Coordination calls become arguments about fault instead of collaboration on solutions
  • Workers withhold information because sharing problems gets them attacked rather than supported
  • Trust breaks down across roles and teams spend energy on internal politics instead of external execution
  • People go home exhausted from navigating dysfunction rather than building things
  • Families suffer because toxic work culture drains workers of energy needed for relationships at home

These are not people problems. These are leadership failures. And they get fixed by reorienting the entire team to fight the real enemy.

How to Unite Teams against Waste and Variation

Start by naming the enemy clearly. Waste and variation are killing your project. Not the foreman who made a mistake. Not the engineer who missed something. Not the trade who installed it wrong. When problems occur, diagnose the system failure that allowed them. What process broke down? What communication did not happen? What training was missing? And fix the system instead of blaming the person. This does not mean tolerating poor performance. It means addressing poor performance by fixing the conditions that created it. Train people. Clarify expectations. Provide resources. And hold people accountable to standards while also supporting them in meeting those standards.

Next, raise your set point against waste. Most construction teams tolerate waste they should eliminate. Messy jobsites. Disorganized laydown areas. Missing tools. Poor planning. Late deliveries. All of it is waste. And teams that tolerate it signal that waste is acceptable. It is not. Leaders must have zero tolerance for waste. Not because they are harsh. But because waste kills projects and hurts families. So when you see waste, call it out. Fix it. Prevent it from happening again. And build cultures where everyone fights waste together instead of tolerating it quietly.

Then make hard decisions to protect people. Gray Childs tells a story about someone being unsafe repeatedly. Multiple people wanted that person gone. But nobody acted. Until someone said if that person is still here Monday, you are not anything like me. Because leaders who have authority and refuse to use it to protect people are failing. If someone is unsafe, remove them. If someone is toxic, remove them. If someone creates environments where others cannot succeed, remove them. This is not cruelty. This is leadership. Because families are counting on you to make sure their loved ones come home safely. And that requires making hard decisions even when they feel uncomfortable.

Finally, build teams that fight together. Roman legions worked because soldiers stayed in formation. Shields locked. Moving together. Protecting each other. Construction teams must do the same. Superintendents protect foremen. Foremen protect workers. Engineers protect trades. And everyone protects each other from the systems that try to harm them. This requires trust. Communication. Clarity on roles. And commitment to staying in your lane while supporting everyone else in theirs. When teams operate this way, waste and variation lose. Because organized, disciplined, unified teams are unstoppable.

The Cost of Fighting Each Other

Here is what teams lose when they fight each other instead of waste. Projects slip because coordination never happens. Budgets explode because rework compounds. Quality suffers because problems do not get caught early. Safety incidents occur because hazards are not addressed. And people burn out because navigating internal warfare is exhausting. All of this is preventable. But it requires leadership. Leaders who identify the real enemy. Who unite teams against waste instead of letting them attack each other? And who make hard decisions to protect people even when those decisions feel uncomfortable.

Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System, said: “All we are doing is looking at the timeline from the moment the customer gives us an order to the point when we collect the cash. And we are reducing that timeline by removing the non-value-added wastes.” That is the war. Removing waste. Reducing variation. Protecting people. And building great things together. Not fighting each other. Not blaming individuals for system failures. But standing shoulder to shoulder like Roman legions and conquering the enemy that actually threatens us. Which is waste. And variation. And systems that harm people.

The Challenge

Walk onto your jobsite tomorrow and ask yourself one question. Is my team fighting each other or fighting waste? If you see blame instead of problem-solving, you are fighting the wrong enemy. If you see internal politics instead of external execution, you are fighting the wrong enemy. If you see people protecting themselves instead of protecting each other, you are fighting the wrong enemy. So stop. Name the enemy clearly. Waste and variation. Then unite your team to fight it. Fix systems instead of blaming people. Raise your set point against waste. Make hard decisions to protect people. And build cultures where everyone stands shoulder to shoulder like Roman legions conquering enemies together.

As the Romans said, “It comes down to the triari.” When projects struggle, it comes down to the most experienced leaders. The ones who know how to build and know how to lead. The ones who refuse to let waste destroy projects and harm families. The ones who make hard decisions even when they are uncomfortable. So be a triarius. Stand in the third line. Hold the standard. And fight the real enemy with everything you have. Because at the end of the day, men and women and children are sending their loved ones to work. And they are looking straight at you counting on you to make sure they come home safely and that they are protected for generations to come. Do not let them down. On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are waste and variation in construction?

Waste is any activity that does not add value: rework, waiting, excess motion, defects, and overproduction. Variation is inconsistency in processes that creates unpredictable results and prevents flow.

Why do teams fight each other instead of waste?

Blame becomes the default response to problems, people defend themselves by blaming others, and the cycle continues because no one taught them the real enemy is system failures not people.

What does it mean to fight waste and variation together?

Unite teams to diagnose system failures instead of blaming individuals, fix processes that allow problems, and build cultures where everyone protects each other from conditions that harm people.

How do you make hard decisions to protect people?

Remove unsafe workers immediately, eliminate toxic team members who create hostile environments, and use authority to ensure everyone goes home safely instead of tolerating conditions that harm families.

What were the triari in the Roman military?

Elite third-line soldiers who were oldest, most experienced, and best equipped. The saying “it comes down to the triari” meant the fight was going to the bitter end and only the best could win.

If you want to learn more we have:

-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our Youtube channel for more info: (Click here) 
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here) 
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.

On we go

Empathy & Connection

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 27 min

The Superintendent Who Never Asked How Anyone Was Doing

There is a superintendent who knows his job. He understands schedules, systems, and sequences. Every morning he walks the jobsite with a clipboard. He checks progress. He identifies problems. He gives orders. And he never once asks how anyone is doing. Workers see him coming and tense up. Foremen avoid eye contact. Trade partners give him the minimum information required and nothing more. And the superintendent wonders why his projects always feel like battles. Why coordination is always a fight. Why people never volunteer information about problems until it is too late to fix them easily. The answer is simple. He treats people like tools instead of humans. He barks orders instead of building relationships. And he never stops to ask how you are doing and actually care about the answer. So people give him compliance but never commitment. They do what he says but never go the extra mile. And the project suffers because the superintendent never learned that construction is a people business disguised as a building business.

Here is what happens when leaders lack empathy. A foreman comes to work stressed. His kid is sick. His wife is overwhelmed. He is running on three hours of sleep. The superintendent sees him and immediately starts giving orders. The schedule is tight. Work is falling behind. The foreman needs to push his crew harder. And the foreman nods and walks away. But inside he is thinking this guy does not care about me at all. I am just a tool to him. So when the superintendent asks for help later, when he needs the foreman to stay late or solve a problem creatively, the foreman does the minimum. Because people do not go the extra mile for leaders who treat them like machinery. The superintendent gets compliance. But he never gets commitment. And the gap between compliance and commitment is the difference between a project that limps to completion and a project that exceeds expectations.

The real pain is the lost potential. Every worker, foreman, trade partner, and inspector on your project has knowledge that could prevent problems. They see conflicts before they get built. They notice quality issues before they become rework. They understand constraints that affect schedules. But they only share that knowledge with leaders they trust. And trust comes from connection. From empathy. From leaders who stop to ask how are you doing and actually listen to the answer. When superintendents skip that step, they lose access to the collective intelligence of their teams. Problems that could have been caught early get built into the project. Conflicts that could have been resolved through conversation become expensive change orders. And morale tanks because people feel like disposable resources instead of valued team members.

The failure pattern is predictable. A superintendent gets promoted because he is technically competent. He understands construction. He can read drawings. He knows schedules. But nobody taught him that technical competence is only half the job. The other half is people. So he shows up every day focused on tasks. He walks the site looking for problems. He gives orders. He checks boxes. And he never invests time in building relationships. He treats every interaction as transactional. What do you need? Here is what I need. Now get back to work. And over time the team stops volunteering information. They give him what he asks for and nothing more. Because why would they give extra effort to someone who does not care about them as humans? The system failed him by promoting technical competence without teaching relational competence. And the project pays the price.

Brent Elliott understands this completely. When he walks onto a jobsite, the first thing he does is ask how you are doing. Not as a formality. As a genuine question. He stops. He makes eye contact. He listens to the answer. And he tailors his communication based on what he learns. If a foreman is having a bad day, Brent does not pile on. He asks what is wrong. He listens. And he adjusts his approach. If a worker is stressed, Brent does not bark orders. He offers support. This is not weakness. This is strategy. Because Brent knows that people perform best when they feel cared for. When leaders invest in understanding workers as humans, workers invest in helping leaders succeed. That is empathy. And it maximizes potential in ways that barking orders never can.

Jake Smalley takes a similar approach but focuses on connection. When Jake meets someone new, he shuts his mouth and listens. He asks questions. He finds common ground. Maybe it is motorcycles. Maybe it is softball. Maybe it is fishing. Whatever it is, Jake finds it. And that shared interest becomes the foundation for trust. Not because the shared interest matters for the work. But because it signals that Jake sees the person as a human, not just a worker. And once that trust exists, communication flows. Trade partners tell Jake about problems before they escalate. Inspectors give him feedback early when issues are easy to fix. Workers volunteer information that prevents mistakes. All because Jake invested time in building real connections instead of treating every interaction as transactional.

This matters because construction projects succeed or fail based on the quality of relationships between the people building them. Technical plans are important. Schedules matter. Budgets are real. But none of it works if the people executing the work do not trust each other. And trust comes from empathy. From leaders who care about workers as humans. From superintendents who stop to ask how are you doing and mean it. From project managers who invest time learning what matters to the people around them. When those relationships exist, teams perform at levels that no amount of technical competence can achieve alone. Problems get solved before they become crises. Conflicts get resolved through conversation instead of escalating. And people go the extra mile because they are working for leaders who care about them. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

What Empathy Actually Looks Like in Construction

Empathy in construction is not soft. It is strategic. Brent Elliott demonstrated this when he explained that he reads people every day. Not just once when they start the job. Every single day. Because people change. A foreman who was upbeat yesterday might be stressed today. A worker who was confident last week might be struggling now. And effective leaders adjust their approach based on what they observe. This does not mean lowering standards. It means communicating standards in ways people can actually receive them. When someone is having a hard day, piling on criticism makes them defensive. But offering support and then addressing the issue creates space for improvement. That is empathy. And it gets better results than barking orders ever will.

Empathy also means tailoring communication to individuals. Not everyone responds the same way to the same message. Some people need direct feedback. Others need encouragement first. Some respond well to public recognition. Others prefer private conversations. Leaders with empathy learn these preferences and adapt. They do not treat everyone the same. They treat everyone as individuals with unique needs, strengths, and circumstances. And that investment pays off. Because when people feel understood, they perform better. They bring their best instead of their minimum. And projects benefit from the full capacity of every person on the team.

Here is what empathy does not mean. It does not mean avoiding hard conversations. It does not mean lowering expectations. It does not mean tolerating poor performance. Empathy means understanding people well enough to deliver hard messages in ways they can receive them. It means holding high standards while also supporting people in meeting those standards. And it means building relationships strong enough to have difficult conversations without destroying trust. Leaders who confuse empathy with softness miss the point. Empathy is strength. It is the ability to connect with people deeply enough that they want to perform for you instead of just complying because they have to.

Signs You Are Leading Without Empathy

Watch for these patterns that signal you are treating people like tools instead of humans:

  • Workers and foremen avoid you, and people tense up when they see you coming instead of approaching you with problems
  • You get minimal information from your team and people only tell you what you specifically ask instead of volunteering insights
  • Trade partners comply with your requests but never go the extra mile or offer creative solutions to challenges
  • You do not know anything personal about the people you work with beyond their job titles and responsibilities
  • Hard conversations always escalate into arguments because you have not built the trust that allows for honest feedback
  • People come to the jobsite asking for other leaders by name and walking past you to find them

These are not signs of bad workers. These are signs of relational gaps. And they get fixed by investing in empathy and connection.

How to Build Empathy and Connection into Your Leadership

Start by asking how are you doing and meaning it. Not as a formality. As a real question. Stop walking. Make eye contact. Listen to the answer. And respond based on what you hear. If someone says they are fine but you can tell they are not, follow up. Ask what is wrong. Show that you care. This takes thirty seconds. But those thirty seconds build trust that pays dividends for months. Because when people know you care about them as humans, they trust you with information. They tell you about problems early. They bring you solutions instead of just complaints. And they give you their best effort because they are working for someone who sees them as more than tools.

Next, shut your mouth and listen. Jake Smalley’s advice is brilliant in its simplicity. When you meet someone new, let them talk. Ask questions. Find out what they care about. What they did over the weekend. What hobbies they have. What matters to their families? And then listen. Do not interrupt with your own stories. Do not redirect the conversation back to work. Just listen. And find the common ground. Maybe you both ride motorcycles. Maybe you both have daughters playing softball. Maybe you both love fishing. Whatever it is, that shared interest becomes the foundation for trust. Not because it matters for the work. But because it signals that you see them as complete humans instead of just workers.

Then tailor your approach to individuals. Brent Elliott taught this. You cannot approach two people the same way and get the same result. Some foremen need direct communication. Others need time to process. Some workers thrive on public recognition. Others prefer quiet acknowledgment. Learn these preferences. Adapt your style. And watch what happens when people feel understood. They perform better. They communicate more openly. And they bring their full capacity to the work instead of just their compliance.

Finally, invest time in building real connections. Not fake ones. Jake Smalley warned against reaching too far. Do not pretend to care about things you do not care about. Do not fake common interests. Be genuine. Find real points of connection. And build from there. People can tell when you are faking it. And fake connection is worse than no connection because it signals that you see them as targets to manipulate instead of humans to know. Real connection requires investment. Time spent talking about things that are not work. Effort spent learning what matters to people. And consistency in showing up as someone who genuinely cares. That investment pays off in trust. And trust enables everything else.

What Happens When Leaders Build Empathy

At BSRL, people would walk past Jason Schroeder’s desk asking where Brent is or where is Jake. Not because Jason was incompetent. But because Brent and Jake had invested in relationships. They knew people. They cared about people. And people trusted them. That trust showed up in performance. Trade partners communicated openly. Inspectors gave feedback early. Workers volunteered information that prevented problems. And the project succeeded because the relationships were strong. This is what empathy creates. Not just nice feelings. But measurable performance improvements. Better communication. Earlier problem detection. Higher trust. And teams that perform at levels compliance-based leadership never achieves.

The challenge Brent Elliott gave is this. At the end of the day, if you tear people down and do not treat them like people while reaching your goal, what does that mean? You cannot build much with a jackhammer. You can only tear things down. The same is true with people. If you do not stop to know them, you cannot do much more than tear them down or use them. You have to add value. And adding value requires empathy. It requires seeing people as humans with dignity, worth, and potential. Not just as tools to accomplish tasks. Who we build is as important as what we build. And teams that embrace that principle build better projects and better lives.

The Challenge

Walk onto your jobsite tomorrow and ask the first person you see how they are doing. Then stop. Make eye contact. Listen to the answer. And respond based on what you hear. If they say they are fine, follow up. Ask about their weekend. Ask about their family. Find something real to connect on. And do this every day for a week. Then watch what happens. People will start volunteering information. They will bring you problems earlier. They will offer solutions instead of just complaints. Because you will have signaled that you see them as humans, not tools. And that shift changes everything.

As Brent Elliott said, we are dealing with people. The end goal is great. But if we tear people down and do not treat them like people while reaching that goal, what does it mean at the end of the day? So build people, not just buildings. Ask how they are doing. Listen to the answer. Find common ground. And invest in real connections. Because construction is a people business disguised as a building business. And leaders who understand that principle build projects and teams that exceed every expectation. On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is empathy in construction leadership?

Empathy is understanding people well enough to tailor communication to their needs, deliver hard messages they can receive, and maximize their potential by showing you care about them as humans.

How do you build trust with trade partners and workers?

Ask how they are doing and mean it, listen more than you talk, find common ground through shared interests, and invest time showing you care about them beyond just work tasks.

Why do some superintendents struggle to connect with people?

They focus exclusively on tasks and technical competence while treating every interaction as transactional instead of investing time in building relationships through empathy and genuine interest.

What does it mean to tailor communication to individuals?

Recognize that different people respond differently to feedback, adapt your approach based on their preferences and current state, and deliver messages in ways they can receive them.

How does empathy improve project performance?

When people feel cared for, they volunteer information early, communicate openly, offer creative solutions, and give their best effort instead of minimum compliance.

If you want to learn more we have:

-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our Youtube channel for more info: (Click here) 
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here) 
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.

On we go

Your 6 Seconds, Feat. Nelson Atagi

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 26 min

The Superintendent Who Hesitated for Four Seconds

There is a superintendent who sees a worker step onto scaffolding that looks unstable. Something is wrong. The planks are not secured properly. The guardrails are incomplete. And the worker is about to climb three stories up. The superintendent knows he should say something. He starts to open his mouth. But then his brain kicks in. I am too busy. I do not want to upset the foreman. It is probably fine. Someone else will catch it. Four seconds pass. The superintendent walks away. And thirty minutes later the scaffolding collapses. The worker falls. Broken bones. Concussion. Weeks in the hospital. Months of recovery. And a family that almost lost a husband and father. The superintendent replays that moment over and over. He saw the hazard. He knew what to do. But he hesitated for four seconds. And four seconds was enough time for his brain to talk him out of doing the right thing. The injury was completely preventable. All it would have taken was six seconds to speak up.

Here is what happens when people hesitate instead of act. A foreman sees a coworker struggling. Depression. Exhaustion. Signs of burnout. And he thinks I should check on him. But then the brain starts. He probably does not want to talk. I do not know what to say. I have too much on my plate. Four seconds pass. And the foreman moves on. Days later that coworker quits. Or worse, has a breakdown. Or goes home and takes his frustration out on his family. And the foreman wonders why he did not just take six seconds to say how are you doing and actually listen to the answer. A project manager sees his kid dancing in the living room. He thinks I should join her. But then the brain intervenes. I am tired. I have emails to answer. She will be fine playing by herself. Four seconds pass. And he walks to his office. Years later his daughter is grown and he realizes he missed thousands of six-second moments because he let his brain talk him out of being present.

The real pain is the compounding loss. Every time you see someone who needs help and walk away, you lose an opportunity to make a difference. Every time you notice a hazard and stay silent, you risk someone getting hurt. Every time your spouse reaches out and you are too busy, you damage your marriage. Every time your kid wants attention and you choose work instead, you miss a moment you can never get back. These are not dramatic failures. These are quiet tragedies. Six seconds to call someone. Six seconds to say hello and mean it. Six seconds to speak up about safety. Six seconds to hug your kid. Six seconds to tell your spouse you love them. Six seconds to check on a coworker. But your brain will talk you out of all of it in four seconds if you let it. And the cumulative effect of letting those six-second opportunities pass is a life filled with regret and relationships that never reached their potential.

The failure pattern is predictable. Someone sees an opportunity to do the right thing. Their gut tells them to act. But then the rational brain kicks in with excuses. I am too busy. It is not my responsibility. Someone else will handle it. I do not have time. They probably do not want help. Four seconds pass. And the moment is gone. This happens dozens of times every day. Opportunities to serve others. Opportunities to prevent harm. Opportunities to build relationships. All lost because people hesitate long enough for their brain to talk them out of action. The system failed them by never teaching that the decision must be made before the moment arrives. Because if you wait until the moment to decide, your brain will always find a reason not to act.

Nelson Otagi tells a story about two Marines who understood this principle completely. In Ramadi in 2008, two Marines named Jonathan Yale and Jordan Herder were guarding a gate. Behind them slept one hundred Iraqi soldiers and fifty U.S. Marines. A truck appeared at the end of the alley and started barreling toward the gate. The Marines knew immediately what was happening. They did not hesitate. They did not debate. They raised their weapons and started firing. The Iraqi soldiers fired for two seconds and then ran. But Yale and Herder stood their ground. They kept firing. Alone. For six seconds total from the moment the truck appeared until it exploded. Those six seconds saved one hundred fifty lives. But it cost them theirs. General Kelly analyzed the footage frame by frame. First second: they raised weapons and fired. Seconds two and three: they continued firing while Iraqi soldiers fled. Seconds four and five: they stood alone still firing. Sixth second: explosion. They did not think. They did not debate. They acted. Because their decision was already made before the truck appeared.

This matters because construction needs people who act in six seconds instead of hesitating for four. Workers need leaders who speak up about hazards immediately instead of walking away. Families need parents who choose presence over distraction. Teams need coworkers who check on each other instead of assuming someone else will. And all of it requires pre-deciding. The Marines who saved one hundred fifty lives did not make their decision in the moment. They made it during training. They made it when they took the oath. They made it every day they put on the uniform. So when the truck appeared, there was no debate. There was only action. That is what construction leaders must do. Pre-decide that you will speak up about safety. Pre-decide that you will check on struggling coworkers. Pre-decide that you will be present with your family. Because if you wait until the moment to decide, your brain will talk you out of it in four seconds. But if you decide now, you can act in six seconds and change someone’s life.

Signs You Are Letting Six Seconds Pass

Watch for these patterns that signal you are hesitating when you should be acting:

  • You see safety hazards but walk away because speaking up feels uncomfortable or you assume someone else will handle it
  • Coworkers show signs of burnout or struggle but you do not check on them because you do not know what to say
  • Your spouse tries to connect but you choose screens or work because you are tired and tell yourself later will be fine
  • Your kids want attention but you defer because you have important tasks that seem more urgent than play
  • You notice quality problems but stay silent because you do not want to slow down the schedule or upset the team
  • You think about calling someone but talk yourself out of it because they are probably busy or do not want to be bothered

These are not character flaws. These are decision gaps. And they get fixed by pre-deciding instead of deciding in the moment.

What Pre-Deciding Actually Looks Like

The Marines who stood their ground for six seconds did not make a heroic decision in the moment. They made it during training. Every drill. Every exercise. Every briefing reinforced one message: your duty is to protect the people behind you regardless of cost. So when the truck appeared, their bodies acted before their brains could intervene. This is what construction leaders must learn. You cannot rely on willpower in the moment. You must pre-decide how you will act before the moment arrives. Then when your kid is dancing, your body moves before your brain can say you are too tired. When you see a hazard, your mouth opens before your brain can say it is not your problem. When a coworker is struggling, you walk over before your brain can say you do not know what to say.

Pre-deciding starts with identifying the six-second opportunities that matter most. What are the things you know you should do but consistently fail to do because your brain talks you out of them? Speaking up about safety? Checking on coworkers? Being present with family? Calling friends? Once you identify the opportunities, make the decision now. I will always speak up about hazards within six seconds of seeing them. I will always check on coworkers who seem off within six seconds of noticing. I will always stop what I am doing when my kid asks for attention within six seconds of being asked. Write it down. Say it out loud. Commit to it. Because pre-deciding removes the debate. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

Then practice. The Marines train constantly so their bodies know what to do when their brains do not have time to think. Construction leaders need the same muscle memory. When you see a hazard, speak up immediately. When you think about calling someone, do it within six seconds before your brain intervenes. When your spouse reaches out, respond within six seconds. The first few times will feel awkward. Your brain will scream that you are too busy or it is not important. But if you act anyway, the muscle memory builds. And eventually six-second action becomes automatic. You see the opportunity. You act. No debate. Just like the Marines who saved one hundred fifty lives by doing what they were trained to do.

Six-Second Opportunities Happening Right Now

Every single day you encounter dozens of six-second opportunities to make someone’s life better. Here are the ones construction leaders miss most often:

  • Seeing a safety hazard and speaking up immediately instead of walking away and assuming someone else will notice
  • Noticing a coworker seems off and asking how are you doing and actually listening instead of assuming they are fine
  • Your kid asking you to play and stopping what you are doing to engage instead of saying later and never following through
  • Your spouse trying to connect and putting down your phone to be present instead of half-listening while scrolling
  • Thinking about calling a friend and doing it immediately instead of adding it to your mental to-do list where it dies
  • Seeing excellent work and acknowledging it within six seconds instead of taking it for granted and moving on

None of these require planning. None require resources. They just require six seconds and a pre-decided commitment to act before your brain talks you out of it.

The Four-Second Problem

Here is the science behind hesitation. Your brain will talk you out of action in approximately four seconds. You see something that needs to be done. Your gut says act. But then the rational brain kicks in. It starts generating excuses. Reasons why acting is inconvenient or uncomfortable or unnecessary. And if you let that process run for four seconds, you will talk yourself out of doing the right thing. This is why good intentions fail. People genuinely want to be better spouses, parents, coworkers, and leaders. But they wait until the moment to decide. And in that moment, their brain generates four seconds worth of excuses. And the opportunity passes.

The solution is not trying harder. The solution is eliminating the decision point. The Marines did not debate whether to stand their ground. They stood their ground because that was what Marines do. Construction leaders must adopt the same mindset. You do not debate whether to speak up about hazards. You speak up because that is what leaders do. You do not debate whether to check on struggling coworkers. You check because that is who you are. You do not debate whether to be present with family. You are present because you pre-decided that family comes first. When you eliminate the decision point, you eliminate the four seconds where your brain talks you out of action. And you free yourself to act in six seconds and change lives.

The Challenge

There is no reason to not live a remarkable life. And there is no reason not to use every six seconds you have to serve others. Jonathan Yale and Jordan Herder had six seconds. They used them to save one hundred fifty lives. You have six seconds dozens of times every day. The question is whether you will use them or let them pass. Will you speak up about the hazard or walk away? Will you check on the coworker or assume they are fine? Will you dance with your kid or choose email? Will you be present with your spouse or scroll your phone? Your brain will give you excuses. It will talk you out of action in four seconds if you let it. So do not let it. Pre-decide now who you want to be and how you want to act. Then when the moment comes, act in six seconds before your brain intervenes.

The buildings you build mean nothing if you do not take care of the people you work with and the people you love. So take the six seconds. Make the phone call. Say hello and mean it. Speak up about safety. Check on your coworker. Hug your kid. Tell your spouse you love them. Because six seconds is not a long time. But it is long enough to change everything. For you. For the people around you. And for the families who depend on you coming home whole. As Jason Schroeder said, “There’s no reason to not live a remarkable life.” So live it. Six seconds at a time. On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the brain talk people out of action in four seconds?

The rational brain generates excuses and reasons why acting is inconvenient or uncomfortable, and if you let that process run, it overrides your gut instinct to do the right thing.

What does it mean to pre-decide instead of deciding in the moment?

Pre-deciding means committing now to how you will act in future situations, eliminating the decision point so your body acts automatically before your brain can generate excuses.

How did the two Marines save 150 lives in six seconds?

Jonathan Yale and Jordan Herder stood their ground firing at a truck bomb for six seconds while Iraqi soldiers fled, stopping the truck before it reached the sleeping soldiers behind them.

What are common six-second opportunities people miss?

Speaking up about safety hazards, checking on struggling coworkers, being present when family reaches out, calling friends, and acknowledging good work all take six seconds but get skipped due to hesitation.

How do you build six-second action into muscle memory?

Practice acting immediately when you see opportunities—speak up about hazards, respond to family, check on coworkers—until the action becomes automatic before your brain can intervene with excuses.

If you want to learn more we have:

-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our Youtube channel for more info: (Click here) 
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here) 
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.

On we go

Pornography

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 25 min

The Leader Who Lost Everything Because He Could Not Ask for Help

There is a construction professional who is brilliant. He understands finances, technology, and how projects work. He is about to get married. His career is thriving. And he is hiding an addiction that is about to destroy his entire life. He started viewing pornography casually. Then it became a habit. Then it became a compulsion he could not control. He spent money he did not have. He embezzled from his company to pay for it. He sent inappropriate messages to people in his life. And when his fiancée discovered the truth, everything collapsed. He lost his job. He lost his relationship. He lost his reputation. He faced criminal charges. And years later, after getting a second chance, he relapsed and lost everything again. This is not a story about moral failure. This is a story about addiction. And it is happening to construction workers, leaders, and families right now while we pretend it does not exist. Because we cannot talk about it. Because shame keeps people silent. And silence kills.

Here is what happens when addiction lives in the dark. A young construction worker discovers pornography as a teenager. It becomes a stress relief mechanism. Then it becomes a daily habit. Then it becomes something he cannot stop even when he wants to. His brain chemistry changes. He needs progressively more extreme content to get the same effect. He starts comparing real relationships to pornographic images. His marriage suffers because intimacy feels less satisfying than fantasy. He isolates. He lies about where he spends time and money. And he tells himself he can stop anytime. But he cannot. Because addiction is not a willpower problem. It is a brain chemistry problem. And like alcoholism or drug addiction, it requires professional help and support systems to overcome. But construction culture does not talk about this. So he suffers in silence. His marriage deteriorates. His work performance drops. And eventually everything crashes because he never asked for help.

The real pain is the waste of human potential. Bright young leaders whose careers get destroyed. Marriages that collapse after years together. Kids who grow up in broken homes. Workers who lose jobs, face legal consequences, and carry shame for the rest of their lives. All because an addiction that started casually escalated into something they could not control. And all of it happens in silence because talking about pornography addiction feels taboo. But here is the truth. Eighty-seven percent of young men from six universities have viewed pornography in the last year. Twenty percent view it daily or nearly every day. And a significant portion of those men develop addictions that destroy relationships, careers, and mental health. This is not a fringe problem. This is a mainstream crisis that construction culture refuses to acknowledge. And the refusal to talk about it is killing families.

The failure pattern is predictable. Someone views pornography casually at first. It provides temporary pleasure and stress relief. The brain releases dopamine. Over time, the brain adapts and requires more stimulation to get the same effect. Tolerance builds. The person seeks progressively more explicit content. They spend more time and money. They start hiding their behavior. Guilt and shame drive them deeper into secrecy. They tell themselves they can stop anytime. But they cannot. Because their brain chemistry has changed. The addiction follows a cycle: preoccupation, ritualization, acting out, and despair. The person withdraws from loved ones. They position themselves to act out. They engage in the behavior. And then they feel crushing shame that drives them back into secrecy. The cycle repeats. And each time it gets harder to break because the brain craves what it can never fully satisfy. The system failed them by treating addiction as a moral failure instead of a medical condition requiring professional treatment.

I am talking about this because Elevate Construction’s mission is to respect workers, train leaders, and preserve families. And pornography addiction destroys families. I have personally worked with at least ten to twelve people whose marriages were severely damaged or destroyed by this. I know people with legal restrictions. People who are registered sex offenders. People who lost careers, relationships, and futures because an addiction that started small escalated into illegal behavior. These are not bad people. These are people who needed help and did not know how to ask for it. Or tried to ask and were met with judgment instead of support. Construction culture emphasizes physical safety. We track injuries. We investigate incidents. We train people to prevent harm. But we ignore mental health. We ignore addiction. And we lose good people to preventable crises because we refuse to talk about what is destroying them.

This matters because silence enables addiction. When people cannot talk about struggles openly, they suffer alone. They tell themselves they are uniquely broken. They believe they can overcome addiction through willpower alone. And they fail. Because addiction does not work that way. Alcoholics do not overcome alcoholism by praying harder and trying harder. They overcome it through Alcoholics Anonymous, therapy, medication, and support systems. Pornography addiction requires the same approach. Twelve-step programs. Professional counseling. Disclosure to trusted people. Ongoing accountability. And a recognition that recovery is a process, not a one-time decision. But construction workers do not seek help because asking for help feels like admitting weakness. So they hide. They lie. They isolate. And they lose everything because they could not say out loud that they needed support.

Why Addiction Is Not a Willpower Problem

Addiction represents a pathological yet powerful form of learning and memory. When someone views pornography, their brain releases dopamine. Over time, the brain adapts to expect that dopamine hit. It builds tolerance. And it craves progressively more stimulation to achieve the same effect. This is not a moral failure. This is brain chemistry. Dr. Donald Hilton, a neuroscientist who studies pornography addiction, explains that the chemically altered brain is left to crave what can never be fully satisfied. The addiction cycle escalates. People seek progressively harder content. They become desensitized to normal sexual relationships. And eventually they act out fantasies that lead to illegal behavior, affairs, or other destructive actions. This is why willpower alone cannot overcome addiction. The brain has been rewired. And rewiring it back requires professional intervention.

The addiction cycle has four stages. First, preoccupation. The person begins withdrawing and isolating from loved ones. They think about pornography constantly. Second, ritualization. The person positions themselves to act out. They clear their schedule. They ensure privacy. They prepare to engage. Third, acting out. The person views pornography or engages in related behaviors. Fourth, despair. The person feels crushing shame and guilt. These emotions drive them deeper into secrecy and deception. And the cycle repeats. Each time it gets harder to break because the brain craves the dopamine hit more intensely. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

Escalation is the most dangerous part of addiction. What starts as casual viewing progresses to compulsive viewing? Then desensitization sets in. The person needs progressively more explicit material to get the same effect. And eventually they seek to act out the fantasies they have been viewing. This can lead to prostitution, affairs, or illegal acts. Young men who become hooked on pornography often report that they crave it but do not like it. They find themselves increasingly unable to be aroused by real partners even though they still find them objectively attractive. Their brains have been trained to respond to fantasy instead of reality. And natural sexual relationships feel unsatisfying compared to the dopamine flood pornography provides. This destroys marriages. Ruins intimacy. And leaves people isolated in shame.

Signs Someone May Be Struggling With Addiction

Watch for these patterns that may signal someone is caught in addiction’s grip:

  • Withdrawal from family, friends, or social activities combined with increased time alone and unexplained absences
  • Sudden financial problems, unexplained expenses, or secretive behavior around money and online activity
  • Decreased interest in previously enjoyed activities including hobbies, work, or time with spouse
  • Mood swings, irritability when unable to access devices, or defensive reactions when questioned about screen time
  • Performance problems at work including missed deadlines, distraction, or using work devices inappropriately
  • Relationship deterioration with spouse reporting emotional distance, decreased intimacy, or trust issues developing suddenly

These are not proof of addiction. But they are warning signs that someone may need support and should not be ignored.

How to Create Environments Where People Can Get Help

The enemy here is silence. Shame keeps people trapped in addiction because they believe they are uniquely broken. They think they can overcome it alone. And they fail repeatedly because addiction requires support systems to overcome. So the first step is creating cultures where people can talk about struggles openly without fear of judgment. This means leaders need to acknowledge that addiction exists. That it affects construction workers at the same rates it affects everyone else. And that getting help is a sign of strength, not weakness. When leaders create safe environments for disclosure, people stop suffering in silence and start seeking the support they need.

Second, provide resources. Just as companies provide safety training and equipment, they should provide mental health resources. Employee assistance programs. Access to therapists who specialize in addiction. Information about twelve-step programs like Sex Addicts Anonymous. And support for spouses who are navigating the trauma of discovering a partner’s addiction. Nobody would tell an alcoholic to pray, repent, and move forward without sending them to Alcoholics Anonymous. The same principle applies here. Pornography addiction has recidivism rates as high as or higher than substance abuse. It requires the same level of professional intervention and ongoing support.

Third, recognize that recovery is possible. People who get help can recover. They can rebuild their lives. They can repair their marriages. And they can break free from the addiction that has been controlling them. But it requires honesty. Disclosure to trusted people. Professional treatment. Accountability systems. And time. Recovery is not a one-time decision. It is a process. And it works when people have the support systems they need to sustain it. Companies that invest in helping people recover are protecting families, preserving careers, and demonstrating that they care about workers as whole human beings instead of just productive units.

The Cost of Continued Silence

Dr. Hilton uses a powerful analogy. In Africa, lions hide in tall grass along riverbanks waiting for animals to come drink. The lions grab them by the throat and strangle them until they die. Then they devour the carcasses. Pornography works the same way. It hides in darkness. It waits for unsuspecting victims. It grabs them by the spiritual throat and strangles the life out of happiness, joy, companionship, learning, love, and reason. It provides the false promise of an exciting double life where someone can have the best of both worlds. But in the end, people trapped in addiction find that the double life brings joy to neither world. Even their sexual self gets ruined as their chemically altered brain craves what can never be fully satisfied. The only way to escape the lion is light. Bringing addiction out of darkness into environments where people can get help.

William Shakespeare wrote: “What when I gain the thing I seek, a dream of breath, a froth of fleeting joy. Who buys a minute’s mirth to wail a week, or sells eternity to get a toy. For one sweet grape who will the vine destroy, or what fond beggar but to touch the crown would with the scepter straight be stricken down.” That captures the trade-off of addiction. Temporary pleasure for permanent consequences. And the tragedy is that people make this trade believing they can stop anytime. But addiction removes that choice. When cravings begin, reasoning ends. And people need help to break free.

The Challenge

Wake up. Apathy will kill you here. If pornography has not touched your life already, it is going to rip huge gaping holes in it. You better get active real quick. Especially within your family. This is not judgment. This is a warning. Because I have seen too many bright young leaders lose everything. Too many marriages destroyed. Too many kids growing up in broken homes. And all of it happens in silence because we refuse to talk about what is destroying people. So here is the challenge. If you are struggling with addiction, ask yourself one question. Can you stop? If the answer is no, you need help. Not judgment. Not shame. Help. Professional treatment. Twelve-step programs. Disclosure to trusted people. And ongoing accountability.

If you are a leader, create environments where people can get help without fear of judgment. Provide resources. Talk openly about mental health. And recognize that supporting people through recovery protects families and preserves careers. If you are a spouse, know that your partner’s addiction is not your fault. And recovery requires professional support for both of you. This is a medical condition, not a moral failure. And the only way forward is light. Bringing addiction out of secrecy into environments where healing can happen. As Ralph Yarrow said, if pornography has not touched your life already, it is going to. So get active. Protect your family. Support people who are struggling. And refuse to let silence enable the destruction of one more life. On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is pornography addiction a real medical condition?

Yes. Addiction represents pathological learning and memory where brain chemistry changes create tolerance, cravings, and escalation patterns identical to substance abuse requiring professional treatment.

How do you know if casual viewing has become addiction?

Ask yourself if you can stop. If you cannot stop despite wanting to, if you need progressively more explicit content, or if it affects relationships or work, those are signs of addiction.

What should someone do if they are struggling with pornography addiction?

Disclose to a trusted person, seek professional therapy specializing in addiction, attend twelve-step programs like Sex Addicts Anonymous, and build ongoing accountability systems.

How can leaders create safe environments for people to get help?

Acknowledge addiction exists, provide mental health resources through employee assistance programs, normalize seeking help, and treat recovery as a medical process not a moral failure.

Can people recover from pornography addiction?

Yes. Recovery is possible with professional treatment, twelve-step support, disclosure, accountability, and time. Recidivism rates are high, but sustained recovery happens when people have proper support systems.

If you want to learn more we have:

-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our Youtube channel for more info: (Click here) 
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here) 
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.

On we go

Effective Communication

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 27 min

The Superintendent Who Hoarded the Plan

There is a superintendent who knows every detail of the project schedule. He knows which trades are working where. He knows the critical path. He knows the owner’s priorities. And he keeps all of it locked in his head. When the project manager asks about the schedule, he gives vague answers. When trade foremen ask what is coming next, he tells them to wait for instructions. When the team tries to plan ahead, he says he will let them know when they need to know. And he loves it. Because keeping the plan in his head makes him important. It makes him needed. It gives him power. So he hoards information like a dragon hoards gold. And the project suffers. Trades sit idle waiting for direction. Rework happens because nobody understood the plan. Schedule slips because coordination did not happen. And workers go home frustrated because they spent the day reacting to chaos instead of executing a clear plan. The superintendent wonders why his team cannot perform. The answer is simple. You cannot execute a plan that lives in one person’s head. Teams need communication. And this superintendent refuses to give it.

Here is what happens when teams do not communicate enough. A project team gathers for the weekly meeting. The superintendent reports that everything is on schedule. The project manager nods. The trade foremen sit quietly. And nobody mentions the problem everyone knows exists. The concrete pour scheduled for tomorrow has conflicting details in the drawings. The formwork does not match the structural plans. The MEP embedment are in the wrong locations. And seven people sitting in that room know the pour will fail. But nobody speaks up. Because this team does not communicate. They do not trust each other enough to have hard conversations. They do not have a culture where speaking up is safe. So they sit in silence. And the next day they pour concrete that has to be removed. The fix costs $60,000. The schedule loses two weeks. And the superintendent blames the trades for not telling him. But the system failed them. Because communication was at 20 percent when it needed to be at 100 percent.

The real pain is the waste. Waste of time. Waste of money. Waste of energy. Projects fail not because teams lack skill but because teams lack communication. Superintendents hoard information instead of sharing it. Project managers keep the owner’s priorities secret instead of broadcasting them. Foremen work in silos instead of coordinating. And workers execute tasks without understanding why they matter or how they fit the bigger plan. This creates chaos. Rework happens because nobody communicated conflicts. Schedule slips happen because nobody communicated constraints. Safety incidents happen because nobody communicated hazards. And morale tanks because people feel like cogs in a machine instead of valued members of a team. All of this is preventable. But it requires leaders to stop hoarding information and start scaling communication.

The failure pattern is predictable. A superintendent thinks his job is to do tasks. So he spends his day solving problems, making decisions, and giving orders. He works 60 hours a week. He is always busy. And the project struggles because nobody except him knows what is happening. When he reads The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni and learns that his real job is to scale communication, everything changes. He stops doing tasks and starts communicating. He sends audio messages explaining why decisions were made. He posts the schedule everywhere. He holds morning huddles where he repeats key information seven times. And suddenly the project runs smoothly. Not because the superintendent is working harder. But because the team finally knows what they are supposed to do. The system failed them by never teaching that a leader’s primary job is communication, not execution.

I experienced this shift when I was a project superintendent at DPR Construction. I read The Advantage and realized my job was not to know and lead and point. My job was to communicate. So I went into full communication mode. I explained the schedule constantly. I shared the owner’s priorities repeatedly. I told teams why we made decisions instead of just giving orders. And I sent audio messages to the team explaining context. That was the genesis of this podcast. Because I realized effective leadership is about scaling communication. When I switched from a superintendent who did tasks to a superintendent who communicated as his primary job, the project transformed. The team executed faster. Mistakes dropped. And people went home on time because they knew the plan instead of waiting for me to tell them what to do next.

This matters because construction projects are team sports. And teams cannot perform without communication. When the superintendent hoards the plan, trades cannot coordinate. When the project manager keeps owner priorities secret, the team optimizes for the wrong things. When foremen do not talk to each other, conflicts get built into the work. And when workers do not understand why their tasks matter, they cannot catch mistakes before they happen. Communication is the foundation of everything. It creates trust. Trust creates safety. Safety creates honest feedback. And honest feedback prevents $60,000 concrete removals. Projects that communicate well finish on time, under budget, and with high morale. Projects that do not communicate struggle with every single metric. The difference is not talent or resources. The difference is whether leaders treat communication as their primary job.

Why Most Teams Communicate at 20 Percent

I once worked on a project with major quality problems. We had to remove large concrete components that were placed incorrectly. The cost was significant. The schedule impact was worse. And when I investigated, I found that seven people knew the concrete was wrong before we poured it. But nobody spoke up. So I gathered the team and drew a thermometer on the whiteboard. I said right now we are communicating at 20 percent. We need to get this thermometer up to 100 percent as quickly as possible. Because if we do not communicate, we will keep making $60,000 mistakes. And the team got it. We worked on building trust. We created safe environments for hard conversations. We practiced speaking up even when it felt uncomfortable. And as the communication thermometer rose, the team started performing in remarkable ways. Because communication is the spiritual form of the action a team is about to take. And actions bring results.

The problem is that most teams think they communicate enough. A superintendent sends an email and thinks the message landed. A project manager mentions something in a meeting and assumes everyone understood. A foreman gives instructions once and expects perfect execution. But here is the truth. If you double your communication, it is not enough. If you quadruple it, it is still not enough. If you multiply it by seven, you are getting close. People need to hear important messages seven times before they internalize them. And they need to hear them in different ways. Because 38 percent of people are visual learners. 28 percent are auditory learners. And 34 percent are kinesthetic learners. If you only communicate verbally, you lose 72 percent of your audience. So effective communication requires visual aids, verbal explanations, and hands-on interaction.

Here is what happens when teams do not communicate enough. The plan lives in the superintendent’s head. So when the superintendent is unavailable, the project stops. Trade foremen work in silos. So conflicts get built into the work instead of resolved in planning. Workers do not understand the schedule. So they cannot help identify problems before they become crises. And the owner does not know what is happening. So they lose trust in the team. All of this creates waste. Rework. Delays. Frustration. And burnout. Because teams that do not communicate spend their energy fighting fires instead of executing plans. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

Signs Your Team Is Not Communicating Enough

Watch for these patterns that signal communication breakdown on your project:

  • Only one person knows the plan and everyone waits for that person to give instructions before they can work
  • Meetings end without clear calls to action and nobody knows what they are supposed to do next
  • Problems get discovered late in construction because nobody spoke up when they first noticed the conflict
  • Trades work in silos and coordination happens reactively instead of proactively during planning
  • The team avoids hard conversations and lets issues fester instead of addressing them directly
  • Workers execute tasks without understanding why they matter or how they connect to project goals

These are not personality problems. These are system failures. And they get fixed by building communication systems that scale information across the entire team.

What Great Communication Actually Looks Like

Let me walk you through what a project with excellent visual communication looks like. When you arrive at the site, the curbs are swept clean. Traffic control is pristine because damaged signs get replaced immediately. Fence panels are level and cut evenly. Wayfinding signage is everywhere with no graffiti. Parking stalls are clearly marked with stencils. The trailer has skirting and a welcoming deck. You walk inside and smell pleasant scents. Light music plays. The team is chatty and positive. A project administrator welcomes you. The kitchen is spotless with snacks. Conference rooms have whiteboards and plan tables under project dashboards. Elevated desks allow people to sit or stand. Lean principles hang from the ceiling. Trade partners sit in organized desks. A war room has planning boards on rollers with Legos, clay, and markers for modeling. A family wall displays happy moments from the job.

You walk through the lunch room with microwaves, tables, condiments, and fridges. Signage shows respect for workers. You go outside to the deck and see a 25-foot banner that says the best indicator of project health is cleanliness, organization, and right-sized inventory buffers. Worker bathrooms have signs saying these are for you, you are our most important asset, please keep them clean. Inside the bathrooms are well-lit with white epoxy paint, Febreze candles, lean signage, Chuck Norris jokes, plungers, brushes, and cleaning supplies. No graffiti. Clean floors. You walk onto the site and see zero trash. The entrance is pristine. The hoist operator works from a schedule and prioritizes deliveries. You go to the floors and it looks like a manufacturing plant, not a construction site. Clean everywhere. People are happy. They wear PPE. Huddle boards and lean boards on every floor tell people where to go. Wayfinding markers on the floor show material access ways. This is what visual communication creates. Clarity. Order. Pride.

How to Build Communication Systems That Scale

Start by recognizing that your job as a leader is to communicate. Not to do tasks. Not to solve every problem. But to scale information across the team so everyone sees as a group, knows as a group, and acts as a group. This requires repeating key messages seven times in different formats. Put the schedule on Takt plans in every conference room. Post it in the huddle area. Give every person a copy. Communicate the end date repeatedly. Talk about intermediate milestones in every meeting. Use visual boards at the hoist. Give teams cue cards. Celebrate milestone achievements with barbecues. Make sure information reaches people through multiple channels. Because if you only say it once, nobody heard it.

Next, build rapport with your team. Rapport is the state where people are most responsive to you. Without rapport, no communication technique works. And rapport gets built through matching and mirroring. When a worker passionately complains about bathrooms, you respond with equal energy and say we will fix this today. When someone timidly raises a concern, you respond gently and say we can take care of that right away. You match their body language. You mirror their voice tone. You pace their communication style. This creates safety. And safety creates honest feedback. And honest feedback prevents disasters.

Then create communication rhythms. Morning worker huddles with the entire team build social groups and culture. These huddles are not optional. They are essential. Because 80 percent of relationship terminations in business and personal life come from inability to get along, follow direction, or delegate effectively. Morning huddles solve this. You teach. You communicate. You listen. You direct. You remind. You explain how to work safely. And you build the rapport that makes everything else possible. Teams that skip morning huddles never reach their potential. Because they never build the trust that enables communication.

Finally, create visual systems everywhere. Use Takt plans instead of CPM schedules because Takt plans are visual and CPM schedules are hidden. Put huddle boards on every floor. Mark material access ways on the ground. Post milestone dates at every entrance. Create communication thermometers that show the team where they are and where they need to be. And make information accessible to everyone. Because when information is locked in one person’s head, the team cannot execute. But when information is everywhere, the team performs like a manufacturing plant instead of a chaotic construction site.

The Communication Thermometer Challenge

Here is the challenge. Those leaders who do not have power over the story of their project, the power to retell it, rethink it, deconstruct it, joke about it, and change it as times change, truly are powerless because they cannot perform effectively. Because teams that do not see as a group, know as a group, and act as a group cannot win. Communication is the key. When communication increases, teams start winning. When everyone knows the plan, execution accelerates. When information flows freely, trust builds. And when trust exists, teams solve problems before they become crises.

So evaluate your team honestly. Are you communicating enough? Do you repeat important messages seven times? Do you communicate visually, audibly, and kinesthetically? Do you build rapport through morning huddles? Do you create safe environments for hard conversations? If the answer to any of these is no, your communication thermometer is too low. And you are leaving performance on the table. Multiply your communication by seven. Post information everywhere. Repeat key messages constantly. And stop hoarding information like it gives you power. Because the only power that matters is the power of a team that sees together, knows together, and acts together. That power comes from communication. Scale it. Repeat it. Make it visual. And watch what happens when everyone finally knows the plan. On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do teams need to hear messages seven times before they internalize them?

People process information differently and miss messages in busy environments, so repetition across multiple formats ensures everyone receives and understands critical information.

What is the communication thermometer and how does it work?

A visual tool showing team communication percentage from 0-100%, used to rally teams around increasing transparency and information sharing after problems reveal communication gaps.

Why are morning worker huddles essential for project success?

Huddles build rapport, create social groups, establish safety culture, and ensure everyone knows the daily plan, preventing 80% of relationship terminations caused by poor communication.

How do you communicate to visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners?

Use Takt plans and signage for visual learners, verbal explanations for auditory learners, and hands-on modeling with Legos or physical mockups for kinesthetic learners.

What does it mean to see as a group, know as a group, and act as a group?

Total participation where every team member has access to the same information, understands the plan, and coordinates actions toward shared goals instead of working in silos.

If you want to learn more we have:

-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our Youtube channel for more info: (Click here) 
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here) 
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.

On we go

The Trade Partner Preparation Process

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 28 min

Trade Partner Preparation Process (How to Enable Trades to Succeed from Buyout to Final Inspection)

Before we get started, I want to anchor us back to what we’ve been covering. We covered in the overall system the team, the plan, the supply chain and the culture. The point there is your logistics plan, the budget, the trailer and signage design, and a master builder and an experienced team. Everything before you begin work.

The Truth: Projects Don’t Go Wrong, They Start Wrong

Statistically, if you don’t plan the project before it begins, you have a 48% chance of being on budget. You have an 8% chance of being on budget on time and half a percent chance of being on budget on time the way the owner wanted. So, you cannot design a project or plan a project on the fly, the design bid build way. You have to be in pre-construction if you want the numbers in your favor.

Now, do you have projects that are sometimes design bid build? Does your business need to design bid build projects? Probably, but that’s where you have to swarm. That’s where you might have to hire a Lean Takt to help you. That’s where you might need to know, “Hey, we’re going to do our best, but we can’t hold people’s backsides to the fire because you can’t hold somebody accountable for a project, they didn’t have time to plan.”

So, this is the truth. Projects don’t typically go wrong, they start wrong.

First: Plan Your MEP and Commissioning Systems

Before we get into the trade partner preparation process, we need to make sure our production plan is complete and that our MEP and commissioning is tied in 100% as well. In this template, we have mapped out the most common MEP construction items that must be tied in your production plan and then therefore must be triggers for your trade partner preparation process.

If you don’t have any of these in your production plan, we need to make sure we get them. So, elevators have to be tied properly. Fire command room, your service entry section, your SES for your electrical systems and your electrical rooms, your entry level mechanical rooms and MDF and IDF rooms. Those rooms and the construction of what houses and enables those systems must be some of the first things you plan in your production plan and in pre-construction as a part of your first planner system.

Every default commissioning effort is already at least six weeks too late. Your owner is going to trigger commissioning too late. Your commissioning agent is going to trigger commissioning too late. Your MEP folks are going to trigger it too late. The best thing that you and I can do is plan it from the beginning, start commissioning day one and move the actual steps of the commissioning process forward because it’s always like this last minute thing and it needs to stop.

Visualize the Commissioning Sequence

The best builders will visualize these commissioning steps in a sequence. It’s site utilities. Then we have to have our entry rooms like our service entry section, our lower-level mechanical rooms, our MDF, our IDF, our fire pump room. Then we’re going vertically up through the chases and room by room. Then we’re focused on power and controls and internet. Then we get the roof up and running and the air handler installed. Then we get the building temporary condition where that could be heat or cool. Then we’re enabled to put in casework, flooring and finishing. Finishes, do our final work, startup, balancing the network, commissioning work, temporary certificate of occupancy.

For those of you who are image minded, the way we think about projects is you have your utilities likely in the street. And then what we need to do is get the site work to the building, your entry rooms, which is your MDFs, IDFs, entry level mechanical rooms, your service entry section, your fire pump room, anything that enables the utilities and your systems to come into the building. Then you’re running up your chases, which means that we want to have electrical rooms and IDF rooms built as one of your priority rooms up through the building. And you want to get all of your systems up to the roof air handlers so that you can blow hot or cool air so you can start to perform your finishes and your commissioning so that you can finish everything in the building.

The Ultimate End: Installation Work Packages at the Gemba

The ultimate end of the trade partner preparation process is not just Procore meeting minutes or an executed contract or approved submittals. I believe that if throughout the process of buyout and executed contract, pre-mobilization meeting, pre-construction meeting, the preparation that the foreman does, your look ahead plan, weekly work plan, and day planning, that the ultimate end of that is that the crew has something to install in the field that gives clear expectations.

If you’re already having these meetings, which you should, you’re already buying out trades, you’re already trying to execute a contract, you’re already telling them what they need to prepare for before they hit the site, you’re already three weeks before the work package starts having a meeting with the foreman, the foreman are already doing planning, you’re already doing look ahead planning, you’re already doing weekly work planning, why not just pull this file up from the start and add anything pertinent as you go as your main source of meeting minutes?

Let AI take your meeting minutes for Procore, but whoever your project engineer PM is that’s really driving this process, why not just pull up the file and add pertinent items to the things that the crew will see?

The Six Steps of Trade Partner Preparation Process

The steps that I like, and you can do it however you want, is the plan it first, build it right, finish as you go. I like to do it where when you’re doing your teaming, you’re contracting. Two weeks after at the max, you’re having a pre-mobilization meeting. This can be an email, it can be an actual meeting, but you’re telling the trade partner, “Hey, this is what we want you to show up with on site.”

And then I like to have the pre-construction meeting two to three weeks before the actual work package starts in their first zone. I like to do three, and I don’t like to let trade partners fail, but if after all of our preparation, they still come with the foreman and the superintendent not having read the plans and specs and ready, if I do it three weeks ahead, I can at least reschedule the meeting for the next week for two weeks ahead to where they are there ready to discuss this work package.

And so that pre-con meeting, the purpose is to collect and explain the deliverables and enable the foreman and the superintendent to do their work. A pre-con meeting for every trade before they start is the single biggest driver of excellence that I know of from an administrative standpoint. That’s the single most important thing.

And then when you get out to the field, you do your initial inspection or your first in place, mock-up or whatever you want to call it, where you then use that same visual that you created in the pre-con meeting to make sure that the crew is off to the right start. And in their work package, in their end zone cycle time, properly executing work. Then you can do your follow-up inspections and your final inspections and make sure you’re closing out the trade before they demobilize.

Here’s the trade partner preparation process:

  • Buyout meeting: verify proper scope – The contractor has the proper scope. You probably have a great process for it.
  • Pre-mobilization meeting (2 weeks max after buyout): explain deliverable needs – Can be email or actual meeting. Tell trade partner what we want them to show up with on site. Explain deliverable needs before they mobilize what’s expected and what we need. Commit contractor to deliver by pre-construction meeting.
  • Pre-construction meeting (2-3 weeks before work package starts): collect and explain deliverables, enable foreman – Single biggest driver of excellence from administrative standpoint. Purpose: collect and explain deliverables in visual manner and enable foreman and superintendent to go build the work. If they’re not ready, reschedule for next week (two weeks ahead) so they are there ready to discuss work package.
  • First in place inspection: get crews off on right foot – Use same visual created in pre-con meeting. Make sure crew off to right start. In their work package, in their end zone cycle time, properly executing work. Visually review requirements with them as they go.
  • Follow-up inspections: zone control walks with visual standards – Question: how do you want what is expected communicated to people at place of work, especially if foreman’s not there all the time? Visual standards at a glance inside zone where they’re doing work. Only walk key handoffs for a day. Isolate to one area or one building. Probably only one to seven handoff checks per day. Very manageable.
  • Final inspection: don’t let crew demobilize until signed off – Getting them back is going to be absolute gut-wrenching nightmare. Close out trade before they demobilize.

If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

The Key: Enable the Foreman and Workers to Have Clear Expectations

The key here is that we’ve got to enable the foreman and the workers to have clear expectations. Quality is simple, it’s two things. What are the expectations and do the crew know about them and are they implementing them? That’s it, that’s quality. A quality process, we have these 85 page manuals on quality process. It’s this simple. Do we know the expectations and are we implementing them?

And if you go out to a crew, I don’t care what you use, if you use a physical board or if you use an iPad or Procore, whatever you use. But if the workers don’t know the expectations when you walk up and talk to them, then it’s not getting to the workers, that’s the goal.

Project Engineers: Your Job Is to Help Trades Plan, Build, Finish

We have a misconception from the Project Management Institute and from PMP certifications and from the industry at large that we think project engineers do RFIs or submittals or subcontractor pay applications. No, it’s not. Our job, especially for a project engineer is to help trades plan their work, build their work and finish their work.

And RFIs and submittals and everything else are just tools that help you do that. So, if I’m a PE or if I’m training a PE and they’re like, “Okay, so my job, I write RFIs, right?” No, no, no, no, no, no. You help trade partners plan their work, build their work and finish their work as they go.

There’s no such thing as “I told you” or “it’s there” or “the information’s on the server.” It is our job to help them win. We don’t win unless they win. They’re the kings, they’re the queens. Everybody supports the kings and the queens on the job site.

We’ve got to get them the information, not just the information, but the information clear. We’ve got to help them understand the requirements, not just as an “I told you so,” but as an understanding part of the meeting. And we’ve got to help them shoulder to shoulder as they’re starting in their zones, one by one as they enter the project site.

The Civil Contractor Story: Visual Standards Plummeted Rework

Let me tell a story here. It is not simple and nobody knows what they’re doing. Nobody, including me in this industry, knows what they’re doing. We can’t assume people know what they’re doing. We must rely on checklists. We must rely on leader standard work.

I’ll give you an example of a civil contractor. We were talking about leader standard work and we got the typical pushback of, “You know, they have the information, we’re fine, we got everything.” And we went through an idea of possibly having all of this visual for the crews to actually see out in the field. And the crews kind of rebelled a little bit and said, “Hey, we know how to do our work. All we’re doing is installing pipe.”

And when we actually went to start looking at it, even just for something as simple as a water line, they weren’t putting the tracer wire in the right location. They weren’t labeling the joints. They weren’t getting full purchase between the pipes all the way up to the indicator line to make sure that we had full penetration in the male end of the pipe. They were not backfilling it properly, like the simplest of things.

And so now what Petty Coach Schmidt does is they have these binders out there in the field that the crews can reference whether the foreman’s there or not. The crew sees this visually every single day. And they have larger boards and visual boards out there and their huddle boards that make it visual. Their rework plummeted. Their quality is outstanding. Every crew every day reviews the visual checklist, the standard work for their work every day in the morning in addition to their safety prep.

And they have probably 70 crews and it’s all consistent. You cannot surprise these people. You walk up there, every crew is reviewing these every single day. Every crew is doing their survey checklist. Every crew is reviewing their pretest plans and doing it right every day. You cannot catch them.

A Challenge for Construction Leaders

Here’s what I want you to do this week. Plan your MEP and commissioning systems from the beginning. Start commissioning day one. Visualize the commissioning sequence: site utilities, entry rooms, chases, power and controls, roof air handlers, temporary condition, finishes, startup, balancing, commissioning, TCO.

Implement the six-step trade partner preparation process: buyout, pre-mobilization (2 weeks max after buyout), pre-con meeting (2-3 weeks before work package starts), first in place, follow-up inspections, final inspection. Don’t let crew demobilize until signed off.

Enable the foreman and workers to have clear expectations. Quality is simple: do we know the expectations and are we implementing them? Make it visual at the place of work. You help trade partners plan their work, build their work, and finish their work as they go. That’s your job. As we say at Elevate, trade partner preparation process: buyout, pre-mobilization, pre-con meeting, first in place, follow-up, final inspection. Visual standards at place of work.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the six steps of the trade partner preparation process?

Buyout meeting (verify proper scope), pre-mobilization meeting (2 weeks max after buyout, explain deliverable needs), pre-con meeting (2-3 weeks before work package starts, collect and explain deliverables), first in place inspection, follow-up inspections, final inspection (don’t let crew demobilize until signed off).

Why is the pre-con meeting the single biggest driver of excellence?

Because purpose is to collect and explain deliverables in visual manner and enable foreman and superintendent to go build the work. If held 2-3 weeks before work package starts and they’re not ready, can reschedule for next week so they are there ready.

What is the job of a project engineer?

To help trade partners plan their work, build their work, and finish their work as they go. RFIs, submittals, pay applications are just tools to accomplish the mission. Not “I told you” Or “it’s on the server.” Your job is to help them win.

Why must MEP and commissioning be planned from the beginning?

Because every default commissioning effort is already at least six weeks too late. Owner, commissioning agent, MEP folks trigger it too late. Best thing: plan from beginning, start commissioning day one, move steps forward.

What happened when the civil contractor made visual standards?

Crews weren’t putting tracer wire in right location, weren’t labeling joints, weren’t getting full purchase, weren’t backfilling properly. Now have binders and boards in field. Rework plummeted. Quality outstanding. 70 crews, all consistent.

If you want to learn more we have:

-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our Youtube channel for more info: (Click here) 
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here) 
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.

On we go

    faq

    General Training Overview

    What construction leadership training programs does LeanTakt offer?
    LeanTakt offers Superintendent/PM Boot Camps, Virtual Takt Production System® Training, Onsite Takt Simulations, and Foreman & Field Engineer Training. Each program is tailored to different leadership levels in construction.
    Who should attend LeanTakt’s training programs?
    Superintendents, Project Managers, Foremen, Field Engineers, and trade partners who want to improve planning, communication, and execution on projects.
    How do these training programs improve project performance?
    They provide proven Lean and Takt systems that reduce chaos, improve reliability, strengthen collaboration, and accelerate project delivery.
    What makes LeanTakt’s training different from other construction courses?
    Our programs are hands-on, field-tested, and focused on practical application—not just classroom theory.
    Do I need prior Lean or takt planning experience to attend?
    No. Our programs cover foundational principles before moving into advanced applications.
    How quickly can I apply what I learn on real projects?
    Most participants begin applying new skills immediately, often the same week they complete the program.
    Are these trainings designed for both office and field leaders?
    Yes. We equip both project managers and superintendents with tools that connect field and office operations.
    What industries benefit most from LeanTakt training?
    Commercial, multifamily, residential, industrial, and infrastructure projects all benefit from flow-based planning.
    Do participants receive certificates after completing training?
    Yes. Every participant receives a LeanTakt Certificate of Completion.
    Is LeanTakt training recognized in the construction industry?
    Yes. Our programs are widely respected among leading GCs, subcontractors, and construction professionals.

    Superintendent / PM Boot Camp

    What is the Superintendent & Project Manager Boot Camp?
    It’s a 5-day immersive training for superintendents and PMs to master Lean leadership, takt planning, and project flow.
    How long does the Superintendent/PM Boot Camp last?
    Five full days of hands-on training.
    What topics are covered in the Boot Camp curriculum?
    Lean leadership, Takt Planning, logistics, daily planning, field-office communication, and team health.
    How does the Boot Camp improve leadership and scheduling skills?
    Yes. You’ll learn how to run day huddles, team meetings, worker huddles, and Lean coordination processes.
    Who is the Boot Camp best suited for?
    Construction leaders responsible for delivering projects, including Superintendents, PMs, and Field Leaders.
    What real-world challenges are simulated during the Boot Camp?
    Schedule breakdowns, trade conflicts, logistics issues, and communication gaps.
    Will I learn Takt Planning at the Boot Camp?
    Yes. Takt Planning is a core focus of the Boot Camp.
    How does this Boot Camp compare to traditional PM certification?
    It’s practical and execution-based rather than exam-based. You learn by doing, not just studying theory.
    Can my entire project team attend the Boot Camp together?
    Yes. Teams attending together often see the greatest results.
    What kind of real-world challenges do we simulate?
    Improved project flow, fewer delays, better team communication, and stronger leadership confidence.

    Takt Production System® Virtual Training

    What is the Virtual Takt Production System® Training?
    It’s an expert-led online program that teaches Lean construction teams how to implement takt planning.
    How does virtual takt training work?
    Delivered online via live sessions, interactive discussions, and digital tools.
    What are the benefits of online takt planning training?
    Convenience, global accessibility, real-time learning, and immediate application.
    Can I access the virtual training from anywhere?
    Yes. It’s fully web-based and accessible worldwide.
    Can I access the virtual training from anywhere?
    Yes. It’s fully web-based and accessible worldwide.
    What skills will I gain from the Virtual TPS® Training?
    Macro and micro Takt planning, weekly updates, flow management, and CPM integration.
    How long does the virtual training program take?
    The program is typically completed in multiple live sessions across several days.
    Can I watch recordings if I miss a session?
    Yes. Recordings are available to all participants.
    Do you offer group access or company licenses for the virtual training?
    Yes. Teams and companies can enroll together at discounted rates.
    How does the Virtual TPS® Training integrate with CPM tools?
    We show how to align Takt with CPM schedules like Primavera P6 or MS Project.

    Onsite Takt Simulation

    What is a Takt Simulation in construction training?
    It’s a live, interactive workshop that demonstrates takt planning on-site.
    How does the Takt Simulation workshop work?
    Teams participate in hands-on exercises to learn the flow and rhythm of a Takt-based project.
    Can I choose between a 1-day or 2-day Takt Simulation?
    Yes. We offer flexible formats to fit your team’s schedule and needs.
    Who should participate in the Takt Simulation workshop?
    Superintendents, PMs, site supervisors, contractors, and engineers.
    How does a Takt Simulation improve project planning?
    It shows teams how to structure zones, manage flow, and coordinate trades in real time.
    What will my team learn from the onsite simulation?
    How to build and maintain takt plans, manage buffers, and align trade partners.
    Is the simulation tailored to my specific project type?
    Yes. Scenarios can be customized to match your project.
    How do Takt Simulations improve trade partner coordination?
    They strengthen collaboration by making handoffs visible and predictable.
    What results can I expect from an onsite Takt Simulation?
    Improved schedule reliability, better trade collaboration, and reduced rework.
    How many people can join a Takt Simulation session?
    Group sizes are flexible, but typically 15–30 participants per session.

    Foreman & Field Engineer Training

    What is Foreman & Field Engineer Training?
    It’s an on-demand, practical program that equips foremen and engineers with leadership and planning skills.
    How does this training prepare emerging leaders?
    By teaching communication, crew management, and execution strategies.
    Is the training on-demand or scheduled?
    On-demand, tailored to your team’s timing and needs.
    What skills do foremen and engineers gain from this training?
    Planning, safety leadership, coordination, and communication.
    How does the training improve communication between field and office?
    It builds shared systems that align superintendents, engineers, and managers.
    Can the training be customized for my team’s needs?
    Yes. Programs are tailored for your project or company.
    What makes this program different from generic leadership courses?
    It’s construction-specific, field-tested, and focused on real project application.
    How do foremen and field engineers apply this training immediately?
    They can use new systems for planning, coordination, and daily crew management right away.
    Is the training suitable for small construction companies?
    Yes. Small and large teams alike benefit from building flow-based leadership skills.

    Testimonials

    Testimonials

    "The bootcamp I was apart of was amazing. Its was great while it was happening but also had a very profound long-term motivation that is still pushing me to do more, be more. It sounds a little strange to say that a construction bootcamp changed my life, but it has. It has opened my eyes to many possibilities on how a project can be successfully run. It’s also provided some very positive ideas on how people can and should be treated in construction.

    I am a hungry person by nature, so it doesn’t take a lot to get to participate. I loved the way it was not just about participating, it was also about doing it with conviction, passion, humility and if it wasn’t portrayed that way you had to do it again."

    "It's great to be a part of a company that has similar values to my own, especially regarding how we treat our trade partners. The idea of "you gotta make them feel worse to make them do better" has been preached at me for years. I struggled with this as you will not find a single psychology textbook stating these beliefs. In fact it is quite the opposite, and causing conflict is a recipe for disaster. I'm still honestly in shock I have found a company that has based its values on scientific facts based on human nature. That along with the Takt scheduling system makes everything even better. I am happy to be a part of a change that has been long overdue in our industry!"

    "Wicked team building, so valuable for the forehumans of the sub trades to know the how and why. Great tools and resources. Even though I am involved and use the tools every day, I feel like everything is fresh and at the forefront to use"

    "Jason and his team did an incredible job passing on the overall theory of what they do. After 3 days of running through the course I cannot see any holes in their concept. It works. it's proven to work and I am on board!"

    "Loved the pull planning, Takt planning, and logistic model planning. Well thought out and professional"

    "The Super/PM Boot Camp was an excellent experience that furthered my understanding of Lean Practices. The collaboration, group involvement, passion about real project site experiences, and POSITIVE ENERGY. There are no dull moments when you head into this training. Jason and Mr. Montero were always on point and available to help in the break outs sessions. Easily approachable to talk too during breaks and YES, it was fun. I recommend this training for any PM or Superintendent that wants to further their career."

    agenda

    Day 1

    Foundations & Macro Planning

    • Introduction to Takt Production System® principles
    • CPM vs TAKT comparison
    • Macro planning, zoning, and density analysis
    • Quantities and production rates
    • Hands-on application to participants’ projects with LeanTakt PM experts

    day2

    Norm Planning & Flow Optimization

    • Review and refinement of Day 1 work
    • Pull planning and sequence optimization
    • Work packaging for balanced flow
    • Project integration session with LeanTakt PM coaching

    day3

    Advanced Tools & Comparisons

    • Macro work packaging and example walkthrough
    • Calculator Norm for production optimization
    • Stacking comparison to avoid trade conflicts
    • Hands-on application to participants’ own schedules

    day4

    Buffers, Controls & Finalization

    • Review of Day 3 implementation
    • Buffer management strategies and placement
    • Takt control principles and steering methods
    • Project plan finalization with expert guidance

    day5

    Control Systems & Presentations

    • Takt steering, control systems, and real project examples
    • Participant project presentations with LeanTakt PM feedback
    • Wrap-up, feedback, and action planning for post-training implementation

    faq

    UNDERSTANDING THE TRAINING

    What is the Virtual Takt Production System® Training by LeanTakt?
    It’s an expert-led online program designed to teach construction professionals how to implement Takt Planning to create flow, eliminate chaos, and align teams across the project lifecycle.
    Who should take the LeanTakt virtual training?
    This training is ideal for Superintendents, Project Managers, Engineers, Schedulers, Trade Partners, and Lean Champions looking to improve planning and execution.
    What topics are covered in the online Takt Production System® course?
    The course covers macro and micro Takt planning, zone creation, buffers, weekly updates, flow management, trade coordination, and integration with CPM tools.
    What makes LeanTakt’s virtual training different from other Lean construction courses?
    Unlike theory-based courses, this training is hands-on, practical, field-tested, and includes live coaching tailored to your actual projects.
    Do I get a certificate after completing the online training?
    Yes. Upon successful completion, participants receive a LeanTakt Certificate of Completion, which validates your knowledge and readiness to implement Takt.

    VALUE AND RESULTS

    What are the benefits of Takt Production System® training for my team?
    It helps teams eliminate bottlenecks, improve planning reliability, align trades, and reduce the chaos typically seen in traditional construction schedules.
    How much time and money can I save with Takt Planning?
    Many projects using Takt see 15–30% reductions in time and cost due to better coordination, fewer delays, and increased team accountability.
    What’s the ROI of virtual Takt training for construction teams?
    The ROI comes from faster project delivery, reduced rework, improved communication, and better resource utilization — often 10x the investment.
    Will this training reduce project delays or rework?
    Yes. By visualizing flow and aligning trades, Takt Planning reduces miscommunication and late handoffs — major causes of delay and rework.
    How soon can I expect to see results on my projects?
    Most teams report seeing improvement in coordination and productivity within the first 2–4 weeks of implementation.

    PLANNING AND SCHEDULING TOPICS

    What is Takt Planning and how is it used in construction?
    Takt Planning is a Lean scheduling method that creates flow by aligning work with time and space, using rhythm-based planning to coordinate teams and reduce waste.
    What’s the difference between macro and micro Takt plans?
    Macro Takt plans focus on the overall project flow and phase durations, while micro Takt plans break down detailed weekly tasks by zone and crew.
    Will I learn how to build a complete Takt plan from scratch?
    Yes. The training teaches you how to build both macro and micro Takt plans tailored to your project, including workflows, buffers, and sequencing.
    How do I update and maintain a Takt schedule each week?
    You’ll learn how to conduct weekly updates using lookaheads, trade feedback, zone progress, and digital tools to maintain schedule reliability.
    Can I integrate Takt Planning with CPM or Primavera P6?
    Yes. The training includes guidance on aligning Takt plans with CPM logic, showing how both systems can work together effectively.
    Will I have access to the instructors during the training?
    Yes. You’ll have opportunities to ask questions, share challenges, and get real-time feedback from LeanTakt coaches.
    Can I ask questions specific to my current project?
    Absolutely. In fact, we encourage it — the training is designed to help you apply Takt to your active jobs.
    Is support available after the training ends?
    Yes. You can access follow-up support, coaching, and community forums to help reinforce implementation.
    Can your tools be customized to my project or team?
    Yes. We offer customizable templates and implementation options to fit different project types, teams, and tech stacks.
    When is the best time in a project lifecycle to take this training?
    Ideally before or during preconstruction, but teams have seen success implementing it mid-project as well.

    APPLICATION & TEAM ADOPTION

    What changes does my team need to adopt Takt Planning?
    Teams must shift from reactive scheduling to proactive, flow-based planning with clear commitments, reliable handoffs, and a visual management mindset.
    Do I need any prior Lean or scheduling experience?
    No prior Lean experience is required. The course is structured to take you from foundational principles to advanced application.
    How long does it take for teams to adapt to Takt Planning?
    Most teams adapt within 2–6 weeks, depending on project size and how fully the system is adopted across roles.
    Can this training work for smaller companies or projects?
    Absolutely. Takt is scalable and especially powerful for small teams seeking better structure and predictability.
    What role do trade partners play in using Takt successfully?
    Trade partners are key collaborators. They help shape realistic flow, manage buffers, and provide feedback during weekly updates.

    VIRTUAL FORMAT & ACCESSIBILITY

    Can I access the virtual training from anywhere?
    Yes. The training is fully accessible online, making it ideal for distributed teams across regions or countries.
    Is this training available internationally?
    Yes. LeanTakt trains teams around the world and supports global implementations.
    Can I watch recordings if I miss a session?
    Yes. All sessions are recorded and made available for later viewing through your training portal.
    Do you offer group access or company licenses?
    Yes. Teams can enroll together at discounted rates, and we offer licenses for enterprise rollouts.
    What technology or setup do I need to join the virtual training?
    A reliable internet connection, webcam, Miro, Spreadsheets, and access to Zoom.

    faq

    GENERAL FAQS

    What is the Superintendent / PM Boot Camp?
    It’s a hands-on leadership training for Superintendents and Project Managers in the construction industry focused on Lean systems, planning, and communication.
    Who is this Boot Camp for?
    Construction professionals including Superintendents, Project Managers, Field Engineers, and Foremen looking to improve planning, leadership, and project flow.
    What makes this construction boot camp different?
    Real-world project simulations, expert coaching, Lean principles, team-based learning, and post-camp support — all built for field leaders.
    Is this just a seminar or classroom training?
    No. It’s a hands-on, immersive experience. You’ll plan, simulate, collaborate, and get feedback — not sit through lectures.
    What is the focus of the training?
    Leadership, project planning, communication, Lean systems, and integrating office-field coordination.

    CURRICULUM & OUTCOMES

    What topics are covered in the Boot Camp?
    Takt planning, day planning, logistics, pre-construction, team health, communication systems, and more.
    What is Takt Planning and why is it taught?
    Takt is a Lean planning method that creates flow and removes chaos. It helps teams deliver projects on time with less stress.
    Will I learn how to lead field teams more effectively?
    Yes. This boot camp focuses on real leadership challenges and gives you systems and strategies to lead high-performing teams.
    Do you cover daily huddles and meeting systems?
    Yes. You’ll learn how to run day huddles, team meetings, worker huddles, and Lean coordination processes.
    What kind of real-world challenges do we simulate?
    You’ll work through real project schedules, logistical constraints, leadership decisions, and field-office communication breakdowns.

    LOGISTICS & FORMAT

    Is the training in-person or virtual?
    It’s 100% in-person to maximize learning, feedback, and team-based interaction.
    How long is the Boot Camp?
    It runs for 5 full days.
    Where is the Boot Camp held?
    Locations vary — typically hosted in a professional training center or project setting. Contact us for the next available city/date.
    Do you offer follow-up coaching after the Boot Camp?
    Yes. Post-camp support is included so you can apply what you’ve learned on your projects.
    Can I ask questions about my actual project?
    Absolutely. That’s encouraged — bring your current challenges.

    PRICING & VALUE

    How much does the Boot Camp cost?
    $5,000 per person.
    Are there any group discounts?
    Yes — get 10% off when 4 or more people from the same company attend.
    What’s the ROI for sending my team?
    Better planning = fewer delays, smoother coordination, and higher team morale — all of which boost productivity and reduce costs.
    Will I see results immediately?
    Most participants apply what they’ve learned as soon as they return to the jobsite — especially with follow-up support.
    Can this replace other leadership training?
    In many cases, yes. This Boot Camp is tailored to construction professionals, unlike generic leadership seminars.

    SEO-BASED / HIGH-INTENT SEARCH QUESTIONS

    What is the best leadership training for construction Superintendents?
    Our Boot Camp offers real-world, field-focused leadership training tailored for construction leaders.
    What’s included in a Superintendent Boot Camp?
    Takt planning, day planning, logistics, pre-construction systems, huddles, simulations, and more.
    Where can I find Lean construction training near me?
    Check our upcoming in-person sessions or request a private boot camp in your city.
    How can I improve field and office communication on a project?
    This Boot Camp teaches you tools and systems to connect field and office workflows seamlessly.
    Is there a training to help reduce chaos on construction sites?
    Yes — this program is built specifically to turn project chaos into flow through structured leadership.

    agenda

    Day 1

    Agenda

    • Intro to Camp
    • Set Expectations
    • Morning Routine
    • Plan Day
    • Explain "Why"
    • Teams Intros + Yells + Expectation
    • Focus, Physiology, Words + Yells
    • Blocks to Leadership
    • 50 Million
    • Biggest Thing
    • Choose Your Word
    • Marketing Exercise
    • Interview for the Project
    • PO Homework and Close the Day

    Outcomes

    • Understand how to get into a proper state to lead
    • Understand how to dig deep to find the confidence to lead
    • Team work and collaboration
    • Understand marketing
    • Understand how to interview for and win a project

    Day 2

    Agenda

    • Morning Routine
    • Day Planner
    • Plus & Delta
    • Macro Takt planning
    • Setup jobs + Signs + Logistics
    • Explain the IPCS™
    • Detailed logistics training
    • Team balance & health training

    Outcomes

    • Learn the IPCS™ understand how to integrate the entire project from start to finish with First Planners™ and Last Planners® through the Takt Production System®
    • Learn how to review a project
    • Learn advanced logistics
    • Learn team balance and health

    Day 3

    Agenda

    • Morning Routine
    • Day Planner
    • Plus & Delta
    • Review How Big Things Get Done
    • Review IPCSTM
    • Fix (Schedule, zone, logistics, trailer, org & procurement)
    • Fresh Eyes Meeting
    • Pre-Con Overview
    • TAKT SIMULATION
    • Recap and Review

    Outcomes

    • Understand why and how to plan
    • Understand the benefits of using a Takt production plan
    • Learn the steps to proper pre-con that sets the project up for success
    • Learn how to review a project in a Fresh Eyes Meeting
    • Learn flow from Takt planning

    Day 4

    Agenda

    • Morning Routine
    • Day Planner
    • Plus & Delta
    • Opposing Squares
    • Pull Plan
    • Takt Remaining
    • Norm Update
    • Re Zoning
    • Risks & Pre-Con Align
    • Meeting System
    • Problems
    • Recap

    Outcomes

    • Understand the Norm level Takt plan for weekly/daily planning
    • Benefits and outcomes of rezoning strategies
    • Using meetings to feed information through the system and to the Foremen

    Day 5

    Agenda

    • Morning Routine
    • Day Planner
    • Plus & Delta
    • Huddle I.D.S
    • Day Plan
    • Worker Huddle
    • Norm Update
    • Team Huddle
    • Lean Systems Recap
    • Feedback Exercise
    • Final & Close

    Outcomes

    • Know what information is needed and how to get it to the Workers
    • Better understand how to give feedback and why it’s crucial for everyone
    • How to problem solve as a team
    • Understand how all systems tie together
    • Know how the information gets all the way to the worker
    • Have perfect clarity on the individual’s personal organization planner