Construction Is War!

Pick Up a Weapon and Stand a Post: Why Construction Is Exactly Like War

Some people don’t like the war analogies in construction. Jason has heard it a few times. They think it’s cheesy. Not sure. Maybe people think it’s some kind of cliche thing or branding gimmick to make it more popular. But here’s Jason’s passion and opinion: we really need to consider this concept.

Construction is exactly like war. And people who don’t get that construction is like war don’t get the following things. They don’t get that we’re fighting against an enemy. They don’t get that we’re here protecting the innocent. They don’t get that we are here building and the workers are out building at a sacrifice. They don’t get that construction teams must be disciplined like a trained regimented group of people, like they have to be in a troop or platoon or regiment. They don’t get that construction is all about strategy, tactics, and logistics. And they don’t understand the passion. Let’s cover each of these one by one. Because if you think construction is just a day job, you’re missing what makes this industry worth fighting for.

We’re Fighting Against an Enemy: Waste and Variation

In construction, just like war, we’re fighting against an enemy. We’re not actually fighting against human beings. We’re not fighting against countries. We’re not fighting against dictators. But we are fighting against waste and variation.

If we don’t look at it like it’s war, we run the risk of not understanding who the enemy is and why we have to fight against it. We are fighting against waste and variation. That is the enemy. We have to stop it. We have to fight against them to create flow and to gain access because waste and variation cause all of the fallout of everything else that we have.

It causes the waste, the unevenness, the overburden. It causes starts and stops. It causes overproduction. It causes too many flow units. It causes all of the bad things, all of the bad things. And we need to get really clear about where we’re headed. Jason remembers in Paul Aker’s book, there was a guy who was learning lean. He put on a helmet and said “We’re at war. We’re fighting against waste.” In construction, it’s waste and variation. And we have to fight against it.

Think about what waste and variation actually do to your people. They create chaos that forces overtime. They create rework that steals pride in craft. They create unpredictability that destroys family time. They create unsafe conditions that put lives at risk. They create dysfunction that burns out your best workers.

When you understand that waste and variation are the enemy, you stop tolerating them. You stop saying “That’s just how construction is.” You start fighting. You start systematically eliminating every source of waste and variation you can find. You weaponize Takt planning. You deploy Last Planner. You attack with flow systems. You fight like your people’s lives depend on it. Because they do.

We’re Protecting the Innocent: Workers and Families

In war, when people go to war, they protect the innocent. They protect our freedom. They protect the people back here in the States. They protect their families. We are protecting people: men, women, and children, anybody, the elderly, those who might be of lesser circumstances, those within our protected borders. People fight for something. They think of their husbands. They think of their wives. They think of their children. They think of the people that they left at home. We are protecting the innocent.

And people who don’t get that construction is like war don’t get that we are protecting workers and that we are protecting families. We absolutely have to get that. We have to get our minds wrapped around that or else we’re not going to have the passion to go out there and lead these projects the way that we really want to.

Construction is like war because we protect the innocent by creating flow, by creating stability, by creating good work balance, by having good project teams, by having good overall project durations. We really are protecting people. And if we keep that in focus, we’ll do a better job.

Because at the end of the day, if a superintendent says “Well, I’ve been doing this for years, why would I change?” Here’s why you would change: because for the people that actually have to work on your job, it sucks. They have nasty bathrooms, no lunchrooms, it’s all garbage. There’s very little safety and they’re rushed and you’re making them work six, twelve hour days and they’re burnt out and you’re ruining their families. People say “We’ve always finished on time. Why would I improve?” You would improve because you’re protecting people and you’re protecting families. That’s the bottom line.

Our Workers Are Sacrificing Themselves

If we don’t think that our workers are sacrificing themselves, their lives, hanging off a 10 story building on the side of a column, being in very dangerous, cold, and hot circumstances and giving us their best years, then we don’t respect people enough yet. And we can get there. But we in construction sacrifice a considerable amount of time, effort, health. We put our lives on the line.

That sacrifice must come with a life of meaning and purpose and companies and projects and owners that respect that and value that sacrifice. We’ll take away anything that is unneeded by way of variation or danger and make the most safe, enjoyable, happy place to work that anybody could possibly imagine so that the sacrifice can be reduced while those workers and the people on those project management teams live a life of purpose and value as they sacrifice their time and sometimes put themselves in dangerous situations.

Construction is a very dangerous industry. The least we can do is honor that sacrifice by fighting the enemy that makes it more dangerous than it needs to be. Waste and variation kill people. Not always directly. But they create the chaos that leads to shortcuts, the rushing that leads to accidents, the fatigue that leads to mistakes. When you understand your workers are sacrificing, you stop accepting marginal. You demand excellent. You fight for systems that protect them. You go to war against anything that puts them at unnecessary risk.

We Must Be Disciplined Like Soldiers

People who don’t get that construction is like war don’t get that we must be disciplined. When Patton took over in World War II, when he went from Morocco to Tunisia, fixing the problems the United States had with lack of discipline, he started to have them salute. He had them get up on time, go to breakfast and lunch and dinner on time, dress sharply, wear their helmets, train over and over. The language they use, he was very disciplined.

The American forces started to whip butt on everybody because they were disciplined. Jason tells people on construction sites: we’re not going to win if you don’t look like a construction worker, train like a construction worker, act like a construction worker. Just like Patton said, you don’t look like soldiers, you don’t act like soldiers, you don’t train like soldiers. Discipline and rigorous training, just like they do in the military, is the key to success. And people who don’t think that construction is like war don’t get that.

Here’s what discipline looks like in construction:

• Show up on time every day because your team depends on you and delays cascade through the entire system creating waste.
• Follow the quality checklist every single time because shortcuts create rework that steals profit and pride from everyone.
• Attend the morning huddle prepared because coordination prevents the chaos that burns people out and destroys flow.
• Maintain your tools and equipment because professionals respect their craft and sloppy work reflects sloppy thinking.
• Study the drawings daily because you cannot lead what you don’t understand and ignorance creates dangerous conditions.
• Complete your daily reports accurately because documentation protects the team and creates the learning that prevents future problems.

Discipline isn’t about being rigid or militaristic for its own sake. Discipline is about creating the reliability and predictability that makes flow possible. Undisciplined teams create variation. Variation creates waste. Waste destroys people and families.

Strategy, Tactics, and Logistics Apply Perfectly

The same kinds of strategy, tactics, and logistics that you find in war apply to construction, every one of them. The only things that don’t transfer over are like espionage, spying, dishonesty, things like that. However, if you could apply any of those things against waste and variation, non-human things or non-entity type things, Jason is totally on board with it.

If you take a book like The 33 Strategies of War or The Art of War, it ties to construction perfectly. And people who don’t think that construction is like war don’t get that. Here’s how the parallels work:

• Strategy is your master plan, your Takt plan that creates flow and protects your people by designing stable work from the beginning.
• Tactics are your daily execution, your morning huddles and afternoon foreman meetings that coordinate the team and eliminate roadblocks.
• Logistics are your material management, your just-in-time deliveries and inventory buffers that keep crews working without delays.

Amateurs study tactics. Armchair generals study strategy. But professionals study logistics. That’s a military quote that applies perfectly to construction. Most builders focus on tactics, on putting out fires daily. Some think about strategy, about the overall plan. But the professionals understand that logistics wins wars.

In construction, your logistics are your supply chain management, your material procurement, your labor planning, your equipment coordination. Get logistics right and tactics become easy. Get logistics wrong and no amount of tactical brilliance will save you.

The Passion That Makes It All Worth Fighting For

When you watch a movie like We Were Soldiers or Braveheart or Saving Private Ryan, you feel something. There are these battle scenes where they’re coming over the hill and beating the enemy. You’re like “Yes! I love this. I feel the passion. I want to be a part of something like this.” Well, you can in construction. And people who don’t think that construction is like war don’t get the passion. We have to get that.

There’s an interesting thing Katie sent Jason. A YouTube link talking about how back in the day, historical figures like Greeks and Romans wouldn’t ever write about the color blue. People asked, did they have the color blue back in the day? Scientists determined they had the color blue, but they didn’t have a word to describe it. As soon as you have a word to describe it, your mind is more likely to pick up on it.

Here’s the word: marginal. The definition of marginal is when something is minimal or barely enough. Literally, the word comes from the Latin word meaning edge. Marginal means it’s barely good enough. And most projects are marginal. Most behaviors are marginal. Most discipline is marginal. Most training is marginal, meaning it’s just barely right on the edge. It’s mediocre. It’s not good enough. It’s milquetoast.

Marginal. We have to get away from marginal schedules, marginal project teams, marginal training, marginal approaches, marginal operational control, marginal everything. We have to get to excellent. We need to set our set point to excellent.

The Challenge: Pick Up a Weapon and Stand a Post

The current condition is we are way too passive in this industry about things. It’s just because we’re not paying attention. We don’t have that passion. We’re like “Oh, I’m going to work. It’s my day job.” No. Get out of the industry if this is your day job. Go to work. We are at war. We are conquering the enemy. We are protecting the innocent. We are here to sacrifice in a disciplined way using strategy, tactics, and logistics with full passion, full on, just like Braveheart, like We Were Soldiers, like any of these movies.

We have to find that feeling, find that passion. The challenge is we need to pick up a weapon and fight. Like A Few Good Men: “I suggest you pick up a weapon and you stand a post.” That’s exactly how Jason feels about it. If somebody doesn’t think construction is like war, he suggests you pick up a weapon and you stand a post. Either way, he doesn’t give a damn what you think you’re entitled to because you are here 100% to protect the innocent and to protect our customers and to protect people’s families and to protect these workers. That is why you’re here.

If it’s just a day job, you’re invited to leave because we are here and we are a part of our own remarkable story with our own remarkable speeches with our own remarkable moments. We live a life of meaning according to a code. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

FAQ

Q: Why does it matter if I view construction as war or just as a job?

Because your mindset determines your actions. If it’s just a job, you tolerate marginal. You accept waste and variation as “how construction is.” You don’t fight for your people because you’re just collecting a check. But if it’s war, you fight the enemy (waste and variation), you protect the innocent (workers and families), you demand discipline, you deploy strategy and logistics, and you bring passion. The difference between marginal projects and excellent projects is whether the leader views it as war or as a day job.

Q: Who is the enemy in construction if we’re not fighting other people?

The enemy is waste and variation. Waste and variation cause all the bad things: unevenness, overburden, starts and stops, overproduction, too many flow units, chaos, rework, unsafe conditions, overtime, burnout, and destroyed families. When you understand waste and variation are the enemy, you stop tolerating them. You weaponize Takt planning, deploy Last Planner, attack with flow systems. You fight like your people’s lives depend on it. Because they do.

Q: How are we protecting the innocent in construction?

We protect workers and families by creating flow, stability, good work balance, good project teams, and reasonable project durations. Workers sacrifice themselves hanging off buildings, in dangerous conditions, giving us their best years. If we make them work in nasty bathrooms with no lunchrooms, rush them into unsafe situations, and force six-twelve hour days that ruin their families, we’re not protecting them. We’re abusing them. Fighting waste and variation protects people by removing unnecessary danger and creating environments worthy of their sacrifice.

Q: What does discipline look like in construction?

Show up on time because your team depends on you. Follow quality checklists every time because shortcuts create rework. Attend huddles prepared because coordination prevents chaos. Maintain your tools because professionals respect their craft. Study drawings daily because you cannot lead what you don’t understand. Complete reports accurately because documentation protects the team. Discipline isn’t rigid militarism. Discipline is creating the reliability and predictability that makes flow possible. Undisciplined teams create variation. Variation creates waste. Waste destroys people.

Q: How do I move from marginal to excellent?

First, understand what marginal means: minimal, barely enough, right on the edge, mediocre, not good enough. Most projects, behaviors, discipline, training, and approaches are marginal. Then reject it. Stop accepting marginal schedules, marginal teams, marginal training, marginal operational control. Set your set point to excellent. Pick up a weapon and fight. Bring passion. Deploy strategy, tactics, and logistics. Protect the innocent. Live a life of meaning according to a code. Stop treating construction like a day job and start treating it like the war it is.

On we go.