Pride and Craftsmanship in the Work Itself
In this blog, I want to talk about the concept of truly taking pride in our work and how it ties directly to construction. This reflection comes from my trip with Paul Akers to Japan. It was absolutely phenomenal. This concept is game-changing at every level, and I’ll share practical ways we can live it out, along with a few stories that bring it to life.
Monozukuri – Pride and Craftsmanship
Monozukuri means pride and craftsmanship but it also includes a love for the customer and pride in everything we do. I love this concept.
Brandon Montero, a professional surveyor and leadership development coach who runs Super PM Bootcamps with me, lives this out daily. He once stamped inspirational words onto metal washers for our Bootcamp participants. People were amazed, they asked, “Was this machined?” because the quality was so precise.
That’s Brandon. His truck, his tools, his work, everything reflects pride. One-piece flow. Precision. Care.
When I went to Japan, I was blown away by how deeply this concept runs through their culture. Let me tell you a story.
The Seven-Minute Miracle
In Japan, there’s a bullet train called the Shinkansen. It’s an engineering masterpiece, smooth, fast, and efficient beyond belief. What amazed me even more, though, was what happens when it reaches the end of the line.
They have exactly 12 minutes between trips:
- 2 minutes to unload passengers.
- 7 minutes to clean.
- 3 minutes to reload passengers.
And that cleaning? It’s not a quick tidy-up. Every surface, seat, and window shines. They call it The Seven-Minute Miracle.
The leader behind this system, Mr. Yabe, shared a philosophy that stuck with me:
“If Lean or TPS is the seed, and people are the soil, then Kaizen is the water that helps it grow.”
Kaizen, continuous improvement has three components:
- Love of the customer.
- Pride in the work.
- Employee acknowledgment.
That combination is what makes people extraordinary.
The Angel Report
At TESSEI, the company behind the Shinkansen cleaning team, leaders began celebrating acts of kindness and service through what they called The Angel Report.
Every time a worker helped a passenger, returned a lost phone, carried luggage, guided a mother with a baby, their supervisor would report it. Those reports were compiled into stories and presentations shared company-wide.
Imagine that: instead of just tracking mistakes, they spotlighted excellence.
The result? Workers felt proud. Connected. Valued. Even temporary staff understood that they weren’t “just cleaners”, they were essential to Japan’s identity and customer experience.
What Construction Can Learn
This is where it hits home.
In construction, we often hear things like, “They’re just workers,” or “Tradespeople don’t care.” That mindset destroys pride.
When we stop seeing craftworkers as heroes, the people who actually build, we lose the soul of our industry.
If we want craftsmanship to thrive, we need the same three things Japan built into Kaizen:
- Love for the customer: Care deeply about the people we’re serving.
- Pride in the work: Take ownership and honor in every task.
- Employee acknowledgment: Celebrate and thank the people who make it happen.
The Power of Being Seen
There’s a principle called the Hawthorne Effect, when people know their work is being noticed, they perform better. Not because they’re being monitored, but because they feel proud.
That’s exactly what happens with The Seven-Minute Miracle teams. They clean with excellence because they know they’ll bow to the passengers afterward, not out of obligation, but as a symbol of respect.
Their head, hands, and heart are united in their work.
A Call to Construction Leaders
Can we do the same?
Can we build a culture where every worker and foreman is respected, acknowledged, and celebrated for their craft?
Because pride in the work doesn’t happen by chance, it’s cultivated through leadership, recognition, and love for the people we serve.
That’s how we elevate craftsmanship. That’s how we elevate construction.
If you want to learn more we have:
-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our Youtube channel for more info: (Click here)
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here)
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)
Discover Jason’s Expertise:
Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.
On we go