10X

10 Times Greater: We’ve Barely Scratched the Surface of Lean

Here’s something that might sound like bragging, but I promise you it’s not. It’s meant to be connecting and hopeful. Whatever you think Lean implementation looks like, it’s probably ten times greater than what you’re picturing right now. And I’m not saying this to discourage you. I’m saying this because you’re just as good, if not better than me. And if we can go further, you can too.

Don’t settle for good when great is possible. We’ve barely scratched the surface of what Lean can do in construction.

The Pain of Settling for Good Enough

Clients, people that we’re working with, companies that use our work, companies that are already Lean, they’re clean, safe, and organized. They have a stable environment. They have a happy team. They have visual workplaces. They’re doing some great things and that’s great.

But what we were doing at the Bioscience Research Laboratory with pre-construction scheduling, Takt planning, pre-fabrication, advanced training, morning worker huddles, visual systems, designing for the end user, enabling logistics it’s three times what I’m seeing anybody else do right now. It’s not bragging. I’m just telling you we can’t settle and have good be the enemy of great. We can’t do that.

And the reason I’m saying this is we’ve got to keep going. For instance, I tease LCI a lot, but LCI has done a great job of getting people to come showcase the awesome things that they’re doing. So, I love what they’re doing. But it kind of always stays at one point zero. It’s always at beginner level, which annoys me a bit. I’m not that way. I think we can go farther.

Here’s what I mean. Companies think they’ve implemented Lean because they have five S in the trailer. They have visual boards in the conference room. They do daily huddles. And those are great. Those are foundational. But that’s one point zero. That’s beginner level. And if we stop there, we’re settling for good when great is ten times further down the road.

We Didn’t Say Good Enough in World War II

For instance, I was thinking about it. If people are like, “Yeah, Jason is good enough,” we didn’t say it was good enough in World War II. We didn’t say it was good enough when we were producing Liberty ships. We didn’t say it was good enough when we were sending convoys to Europe. We didn’t say it was good enough when we dispatched Patton after the Battle of Kasserine Pass. We didn’t say it was good enough when it came to doing all these excellent things.

It was only when the lawyers and the diplomats got involved that we stopped. It’s time to stop being mediocre. We’re better than this. We can take it to the next level.

Here’s the truth. When the stakes are high, we don’t settle. When we’re building Liberty ships, we don’t stop at one ship a day and say, “That’s good enough.” We figure out how to build one ship every day, then one every twelve hours, then faster. When we’re sending convoys to Europe, we don’t stop at safe delivery. We figure out how to deliver faster, with less loss, with more efficiency. When Patton is dispatched after Kasserine Pass, he doesn’t accept the status quo. He transforms the entire operation.

Construction has high stakes too. We’re building hospitals, data centers, schools, homes. Lives depend on it. Families depend on it. And yet we settle for good enough. We implement Lean at one point zero and stop. That’s not acceptable. We’re better than this.

What Ten Times Greater Actually Looks Like

If I was doing a project today, we would have advanced dojos. We would have example areas. We would have three-D models in the middle of the conference room, just like you see in World War II movies where it’s three-D printed and we’re moving pieces around. We would have advanced boards and projectors that projected down the wall. We would have queuing areas for logistics, packaging, and getting rid of waste right there. We would have ID tracking for materials. We would have sensors that sense where crews are. We would have drone deployment to help us have visuals every day in our huddles. We would have three-sixty cameras. We’d have the whole thing, all of it.

Then times ten, whatever you think I’m talking about when it comes to Lean implementation, I’m talking times ten. So, if you think, “Oh my gosh, we’ve implemented what Jason’s talking about, we’re done,” we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of Lean.

Here’s what I mean practically:

• Until every truck is three-S’d like Paul Akers’ shop, we’re not done
• Until every Connex box and gang box is three-S’d like Paul Akers would want us to have it, we’re not done
• Until we have visual systems that look like an advanced manufacturing facility, we’re not done
• Until we have tools that reduce the motion and friction on human bodies, we’re not done
• Until we have queuing areas and advanced logistics systems, we’re not done

We’ve got so far to go. The reason we don’t go there is because it takes training and working through humans to do it. And so, I’m telling you, I’m not trying to demotivate anybody and I’m not trying to have people give up and say, “I can’t do it.” I’m telling you, get started now. In the next twenty years, you’ll get there. Do training. Go to Super PM Bootcamp. Go to Japan with Paul Akers. Read books. Implement. Grind. There’s no reason to not live a remarkable life.

The Mass Production Challenge: Humans and Data Centers

You know, I had an idea for you. We get contacted a lot, like I’m sure everybody does, for massive data centers. And whenever I talk to these folks and we help them with scheduling and stuff, the problem is they either need electricity, water, or people. Electricity, water, or people. And it depends on which one’s at the lowest availability, which one’s the biggest constraint. But these massive data centers that we’re building, this is what I’m talking about when it comes to building a desert training center.

If, and I’m just going to say this right now to Google, to Facebook, to ChatGPT, to SpaceX, to Microsoft, all of them: You put me in, put me in coach. I’ll mass produce. I’ll mass produce a thousand. I’ll mass produce a thousand humans, construction professionals, a year for your programs. They’ll be completely trained in the system. They’ll know everything in and out. It will all be muscle memory. We will mass produce humans. We’ll start a desert training camp with wonderful accommodations. Give me the funding. We’ll get out there on the property. We’ll have really nice pods for housing. We’ll supplement with hotels in the meantime, or like something like an extended stay. And then we’ll just start mass producing humans. And I’ll take them through field engineering, project engineering, project management, and superintendent courses. And they will know how to do everything, muscle memory.

Come on, people. We can’t mass produce at the scale we’re mass producing in the United States with these data centers without mass producing humans as well. So we’ve got to get going. Let’s go. Let’s go.

Here’s why this matters. The industry is building faster than we’re training people. Data centers are going up at record pace. And the constraint isn’t electricity. It isn’t water. It’s people. Trained people. People who know how to plan, schedule, coordinate, and lead. And if we don’t mass produce training at the same scale, we’re mass-producing buildings, we’re going to bottleneck the entire industry.

The Second Half Will Be Better Than the First

I’ll admit freely, and I’m not proud of it, that as I started to get, I’ve lost twenty pounds and feeling really good, feeling really good with my health. I’m trying to get to two hundred five. At my heaviest, I was at two forty-eight. And I was starting to feel like a decline and like loss of some mental cognition and some things like that. And I was like, “I’m forty-four. I guess I’ll spend the next forty years dying.”

And I was kind of just not feeling at my top. And going to Paul Akers’ facility in Japan, I feel like the second part of my life, I’m going to be so much better than I was in the first. I’m not giving up. I’m going to do even better on this second half. And I hope you feel that way too.

In five years, people think I’m crazy. People think I’m crazy, man. I am so freaking excited about all this. So, I just wanted to share that with you. I cannot express how excited I am.

Here’s the message. Don’t settle. Don’t look at where you are and say, “This is good enough.” Look at where you could be and say, “I’m going to get there.” The second half of your career can be better than the first. The next twenty years of your company can be greater than the last twenty. The next project can be ten times more Lean than the last. But only if you keep going. Only if you refuse to settle. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

A Challenge for Builders

Here’s what I want you to do this week. Look at your project or your company and ask yourself: Am I at one point zero, or am I pushing toward ten times greater? Do I have clean trailers, or do I have three-S’d gang boxes, queuing areas, drone visuals, advanced dojos, and logistics systems that rival manufacturing?

If you’re at one point zero, that’s great. You’ve started. Now keep going. Read books. Go to training. Visit Paul Akers in Japan. Implement. Grind. Don’t settle for good when great is possible. Don’t stop at beginner level when advanced is ten times further down the road.

As we say at Elevate, whatever you think Lean looks like, multiply it by ten. That’s where we’re going. And you’re coming with us.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ten times greater actually mean?

It means whatever you think Lean implementation looks like five S, visual boards, daily huddle multiply it by ten. Advanced dojos, three-D printed models, drone visuals, sensor tracking, queuing areas, three-S’d gang boxes, logistics systems that rival manufacturing. That’s ten times greater.

How do I know if I’m at one point zero or pushing toward ten times greater?

If you have clean trailers and visual boards but nothing else, you’re at one point zero. If you have advanced training, queuing areas, three-S’d equipment, drone deployment, sensor tracking, and logistics systems, you’re pushing toward ten times greater.

Why does it take twenty years to get there?

Because it takes training and working through humans. You can’t skip the grind. You read books, go to training, visit advanced facilities, implement, learn, iterate, and improve year after year. That’s how you get to ten times greater.

What’s the biggest constraint for mass-producing data centers?

People. Trained people. The industry is building faster than it’s training field engineers, project managers, and superintendents. We need to mass-produce training at the same scale we’re mass-producing buildings or we’ll bottleneck the entire industry.

How do I avoid settling for good enough?

Refuse to stop at beginner level. When you implement five S, push for three-S’d gang boxes. When you have visual boards, push for advanced dojos. When you have daily huddles, push for drone visuals and sensor tracking. Keep going. Don’t settle.