Production, not Administration!

The Difference between Administration and Production

In construction, there’s a clear divide between two types of people, those who administer and those who get things done.
The difference between these two mindsets is the difference between projects that stall and projects that soar.

Administration vs Production

The construction industry today is filled with administrator’s people who thrive on paperwork, reports, and meetings but rarely produce anything of value. It’s a system rooted in the teachings of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the PMP certification process, which, as stated in its own guide, focuses heavily on administration rather than production.

When I read the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), I realized it had nothing to do with actually building things. It doesn’t even claim to cover production systems or production management. It’s all about managing from a desk not leading from the field.

I gave it several tries, even invested $1,500 in test prep, and still couldn’t stomach it. It wasn’t reality. Construction isn’t about endless reviews, risk registers, or document trails it’s about building things and moving the ball down the field.

The “Administrators” vs the “Doers”

I’ve seen this play out too many times.
There’s an individual I’ve had to work with brilliant on paper, completely ineffective in action. Endless meetings, endless opinions, endless analysis and zero implementation. Every session turned into a three-hour cycle of “discuss, re-discuss, and return to square one.”

This person represents what I call the era of administration people obsessed with managing, not doing. They believe their job is to create reports, send emails, give opinions, and “monitor progress,” yet they never move a single thing forward.

Then there are the doers the builders, the honey badgers of construction. They don’t wait for meetings or reports; they take ownership, make decisions, clear roadblocks, and execute. They are the ones who actually get things done.

The Real Product

Progress, Not Paperwork

Construction is not about administration it’s about production.
It’s about physically creating something of value. But we’ve reached a point where many “project managers” think their product is the email, not the building.

I’ve seen PMs spend their entire day sending updates, making decisions without consulting the field, and producing reports nobody reads all while the project stands still. They’ve been trained to believe that managing information is equivalent to leading production. It’s not.

A true leader doesn’t hide behind credentials or certifications. They lead crews, train teams, make real-time calls, walk the job site, and ensure that work flows smoothly.

As I often say, you can either be a commentator or a player.
Commentators talk about the game.
Players move the ball down the field.

And right now, in too many places, we’ve sent our players to commentator school and we wonder why no one’s scoring.

Time to Get Back on the Field

If you’re tired of waste, meetings, and meaningless paperwork, it’s time to shift your focus.
If it doesn’t help build something, it’s not adding value. The reports might look nice, the meetings might feel important, but if they don’t advance the work they’re waste.

We need fewer administrators and more builders.
Fewer talkers and more doers.
Less management and more movement.

Construction is about getting things done so stop talking about it and start building.

Key Takeaway

The future of construction belongs to the builders the ones who lead from the field, take action, and move work forward. Administration doesn’t build projects people who get things done do.