Contracts or Continuous Improvement?
As I sat in the car reflecting on a recent conversation with industry leaders and my own experiences, I could not stop thinking about how our construction industry leans so heavily on contracts, litigation, and risk shedding instead of true continuous improvement. Somewhere along the way, we stopped solving problems and became professional blamers.
Contracts as Weapons
I have seen this play out firsthand. On one jobsite, a trade partner needed a letter of intent just to keep talking about collaboration. It was nothing more than a piece of paper that made the higher-ups feel safe, yet it did nothing to actually build trust. On another project, I reviewed plans filled with disclaimers. Every mistake or gap in design was pushed onto the contractor. Instead of fixing errors and creating accountability, we just shifted the blame downstream.
The deeper I looked, the clearer it became. Our contracts have become weapons. Division 1 specifications, CPM schedules tied to damages, endless provisions—all designed to protect one side and punish another. This obsession with covering ourselves does not solve root problems. It only drives us into cycles of paperwork, wasted hours, and distrust.
The True Purpose of Contracts
To be fair, contracts do serve a purpose. We need them to assign responsibility and share risk appropriately. But the way we often use them is flawed. A piece of paper does not prevent mistakes any more than a signed agreement keeps a spouse from cheating. What prevents problems is behavior, trust, collaboration, and doing the right thing when it matters most.
Choosing a Better Path
We would be far better off if we shifted our focus away from legal armor and toward building integrated teams, nurturing relationships, and solving problems at their source. Continuous improvement is about prevention and progress, not finger-pointing and litigation. The more we lean on trust and collaboration, the fewer problems we will need to fight over in the first place.
Key Takeaway
Contracts can clarify responsibilities, but they cannot prevent problems. Real protection comes from trust, integration, and continuous improvement, not from endless paperwork designed to shift blame.
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