No School Supers

No School Supers: The Most Destructive Force in Construction

Here’s a concept I hate but need to address: no school supers. Not old school supers. No school supers. The ones who say, “I don’t read books. I don’t go to trainings. I just go out and figure it out. I wing it.” And I want to be clear about something: you cannot know anything without education. You cannot go to the school of hard knocks out in the field and learn what you need to know. You cannot just go out there and figure it out.

And no school supers are some of the most destructive individuals in construction. Bar none.

The Pain of Winging It Without Education

I don’t mean this to be insulting. I hate the concept and love the people, and that is possible. Here’s the deal. We hear a lot about old school, the old school supers. We hear a lot about old dogs. We hear a lot about the old school. And I don’t have a problem with old school. I don’t have a problem with old people. I love old people.

In fact, this is a weird thing about me. Ever since I was little, I loved old people. And I’ll tell you a funny story. Lee, my daughter, I think she should be a comedian. She was really young when she said this, but she just out of nowhere one day was like, “I love old people. They smell nice.” I think she was talking about at church or something. Anyway, I’ve always gravitated towards learning from the older group in our society. I just love it. And I’m kind of protective about that.

So, when Adam Hoots creates the Old Dogs program, I love that. When we talk about the old school, I love that. I love it. But there’s this other group of people that aren’t the old school. They’re the no school. They’re the ones that are like, “I don’t read books. I don’t go to trainings. I just go out and figure it out. I wing it.”

I got banana peels hanging out of my truck. My voice inbox is full and can’t take messages. They got desktop icons all over their desktop. Their desks are messy. Their jobs are messy. Their lives are messy. That’s what I call no school supers.

Here’s what happens. The no school super shows up to the job site. They don’t have a plan. They don’t have a system. They don’t have training. They just wing it. And they think that because they’ve been in the field for twenty years, they know what they’re doing. But they don’t. They’ve just been repeating the same mistakes for twenty years. They learned push. They learned panic. They learned rushing. They learned disrespect for people. And they call it experience.

But experience without education is just repetition. And repetition without learning is just chaos.

You Cannot Learn True Principles by Winging It

And I just want to be clear about something. You cannot know anything without education. You cannot go to the school of hard knocks out in the field and know what you need to know. You cannot just go out there and figure it out. I have never in my life seen somebody go out in the field and just wing it and learn true principles.

I’ll give you an example. I tried to do that and I was trying to be a field engineer at Hensel Phelps. Almost got fired. You know what I learned? I believed stuff like, “Oh, I shouldn’t double-check that because it’s supposed to be different. I need to boss other people around.” I figured out toxic leadership. I was disrespectful. I was rushing, pushing, panicking all the time. And I was about to get fired.

And then I pick up Wes Crawford’s book, Construction Surveying and Layout. I’m like, “Oh damn, somebody’s already figured this out. This is what I’ll implement.” And then I start a career based on learning, reading, training. And I become the best of the best, which sounds arrogant, but we have the largest field library for construction in the history of the world.

There are two very different trajectories. Let me tell you what you’re going to learn if you go wing it. You’re going to learn from United States construction industry, which I love the US. You’re going to learn push. You’re going to learn panic. You’re going to learn rushing. You’re going to learn disrespect for people. You’re going to learn profits over people. You’re going to learn disorganization. You’re going to learn all kinds of negative stuff. You’re going to learn distraction. You’re going to learn not finishing things.

You’re not going to go out there and figure it out on your own without education. You’ve got to be learning from the lessons of history.

Here’s the truth. The field teaches you habits. But it doesn’t teach you principles. The field teaches you how to survive. But it doesn’t teach you how to thrive. The field teaches you how to react. But it doesn’t teach you how to plan. And if you don’t supplement field experience with education books, podcasts, trainings, mentors, consultants you’re just learning the broken habits of a broken industry.

Why No School Supers Are Destructive

So, no school supers are dangerous. No school supers are going to be anti-production. No school supers are going to be anti-safety. No school supers are going to not know how to run a quality program. No school supers are going to not know how to plan a project. No school supers are not going to understand Takt and production principles. No school supers are not going to know how to deal with people.

No school supers are some of the most destructive individuals in construction. Bar none. It is so horrifically destructive to our industry. And it’s got to be fixed.

Here’s why they’re destructive. They don’t know what they don’t know. They think winging it is a badge of honor. They pride themselves on not reading, not training, not learning. And they spread that culture to everyone around them. The young field engineers watch them and think, “I guess this is how it’s done.” The foremen follow their lead and think, “I guess we just wing it.” And the entire project suffers because the leader never invested in learning.

No school supers create chaos. They create rework. They create safety incidents. They create coordination failures. They create crew burnout. And they blame everyone else. They say, “The trades didn’t show up.” “The materials were late.” “The design was wrong.” But the real problem is they never learned how to plan, coordinate, or lead. They just winged it. And winging it doesn’t work.

Old School Supers Versus No School Supers

So old school supers, old dogs, do I love them? Yes. Because if you look at Adam Hoots and their group, they’re learning. They are yes-to-school supers or all-school supers. They are learning all the time. But no school supers are destructive.

Here’s the difference. Old school supers have field experience and they supplement it with education. They read books. They go to trainings. They listen to podcasts. They learn from mentors. They attend boot camps. They use consultants. They’re constantly improving. That’s old school in the best sense. They respect the craft. They respect the history. And they respect the need to keep learning.

No school supers have field experience and they stop there. They think experience is enough. They don’t read. They don’t train. They don’t learn. They wing it. And they call it being practical. But it’s not practical. It’s lazy. And it’s destructive.

Old school supers are builders who never stop learning. No school supers are just repeating mistakes.

The Non-Negotiable Truth: You Must Educate Yourself

Let me just say this one more time in this short podcast. You cannot go out in the field, get experience, and learn just from figuring it out, and become good at anything. I don’t care how long you’ve been out there. You have to read. You have to listen to podcasts. You have to learn from mentors. You have to go to trainings. You have to get help. You have to use consultants.

That’s just how it works. And so, if somebody’s like, “I figured this all out on my own,” no, you didn’t. And that’s nothing to be proud of.

So, the great old school supers are the ones that learn. The no school supers, most destructive influence in the industry. And it’s disgusting behavior. And they have no place in construction. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

Here’s the challenge. If you’re in the field and you’re not reading, not training, not learning, you’re a no school super. And you’re hurting your project, your team, and your career. Stop winging it. Start learning. Read books. Listen to podcasts. Go to trainings. Learn from mentors. Use consultants. Supplement your field experience with education. That’s how you become a great superintendent. Not by winging it. By learning continuously.

A Challenge for Superintendents

Here’s what I want you to do this week. If you’ve been winging it, stop. Pick up a book. Listen to a podcast. Go to a training. Learn from a mentor. Reach out to a consultant. Invest in your education. Because field experience without education is just repetition. And repetition without learning is just chaos.

And if you know a no school super, challenge them. Don’t let them wing it. Don’t let them spread the culture of not learning. Give them a book. Invite them to a training. Show them a better way. Because no school supers are destructive. And if we don’t fix this, the industry suffers. As we say at Elevate, you cannot figure it out on your own. Education is non-negotiable. Old school supers who learn are great. No school supers who wing it are destructive. Read. Train. Learn. Improve.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between old school supers and no school supers?

Old school supers have field experience and supplement it with education. They read, train, and learn continuously. No school supers have field experience and stop there. They wing it, don’t read, don’t train, and pride themselves on not learning. Old school supers are builders. No school supers are destructive.

Why can’t you just learn from field experience alone?

Because the field teaches you habits, not principles. It teaches you how to survive, not how to thrive. If you don’t supplement field experience with education books, podcasts, trainings, mentors you’re just learning the broken habits of a broken industry. Experience without education is just repetition. And repetition without learning is chaos.

What do no school supers learn by winging it?

They learn push, panic, rushing, disrespect for people, profits over people, disorganization, distraction, and not finishing things. They learn the toxic habits of the US construction industry. And they think it’s experience. But it’s just bad habits repeated for twenty years.

Why are no school supers destructive?

Because they don’t know what they don’t know. They wing it, create chaos, rework, safety incidents, coordination failures, and crew burnout. And they spread that culture to everyone around them. The young engineers watch them and think, “I guess we just wing it.” And the project suffers.

How do you become a great superintendent instead of a no school super?

Read books. Listen to podcasts. Go to trainings. Learn from mentors. Use consultants. Supplement your field experience with continuous education. That’s how you become great. Not by winging it. By learning continuously and applying what you learn.