Cutting Resources

Where Do I Start? Helping Projects Succeed When Systems Are Missing

Not long ago, I received a powerful message from a superintendent in Brazil. He’s leading a $1 million façade restoration project and reached out for help not with tools or tech but with something far deeper: Where do I even begin when no one around me believes in planning?

His company had taken on more complex work but hadn’t built the systems to support it. The project is riddled with delays, waste, and rework. The PM who also happens to be the owner doesn’t believe in methodology. His strategy? “Just depend on the goodwill of the people.”

Meanwhile, this superintendent is trying to bring structure, flow, and improvement to the job but feels stuck. He doesn’t know where to begin.

Here’s what I told him:
You don’t need expensive software or a big team to make progress. You just need intention and a few foundational practices that reduce friction and bring people together.

Goodwill alone won’t carry a team through chaos.

Here’s where I recommended he start:

1. Weekly Visual Plans
   If full-scale pull planning feels too much, grab a marker and sketch out a weekly plan. Just one page. Draw the façade, mark which trades are working where, and review it with your foremen. These visual plans build clarity and shared focus.
2. Daily Huddles
   Each morning, check in. Ask: “What are you working on?” and more importantly, “Do you have everything you need to finish?” One-piece flow is better than starting everything and fixing it later.
3. Clear Roadblocks
   Our job as leaders is to remove friction. Find constraints, remove overburden, and create smooth handoffs. That’s how we show respect: by not wasting people’s time.
4. Stop Starting, Start Finishing
   Flow doesn’t come from action it comes from completion. Don’t allow trades to start something that can’t be finished properly. Begin creating rhythm by focusing only on what can be done well.

I remember a superintendent at Hensel Phelps who came in to turn around a failing project. His first move? Stop everything. Pause the chaos. He only brought trades in when their work could truly flow. And it worked.

But then I heard back from the superintendent in Braziland the story took a turn. The PM had doubled down: cut planning altogether, reduce staff, and “just solve problems as they come.”

And I have to be honest that’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.

This isn’t lean. It’s not even leadership. It’s just irresponsible. That kind of thinking pushes the pain of poor planning onto the workers. It’s dressed up as efficiency, but it’s really just a refusal to be accountable.

Planning is not optional. Not if we care about our people.

So if you’re overwhelmed, I want you to hear this:

• You don’t need fancy systems.
• You don’t need a perfect plan.
• But you do need to care enough to start.

Draw something. Talk to your team. Stop what can’t be finished. Protect your people. That’s leadership.

Key Takeaway:
You don’t need complexity to lead well. Just respect your team, plan their work, and remove their roadblocks. Leadership isn’t about getting by it’s about building up.