Pushing is the Alternative to Good Thinking

Pushing Is the Alternative to Good Thinking

In this blog, I’m going to cover pushing is the alternative to good thinking. Let me talk about what good thinking is. Paul Akers had a moment where he said he personally doesn’t like the word discipline, but really people do well when they have good thinking.

And good thinking on a project is pre-planning, preparing, doing pull planning, doing pre-construction meetings, aligning supply chains, doing lookahead planning, implementing the Last Planner System, pre-preparing work packages with the trade partners, taking trades properly through their trade partner preparation process, making sure we have a healthy team, that we have a great plan that’s scaled all the way to workers, that we have a great supply chain that’s well managed and a solid culture with perfect cleanliness, safety, and organization.

This is good thinking.

The Pain of Pushing (The Alternative to Good Thinking)

And I was at Super PM Boot Camp and talking about what bad thinking is and saying basically that bringing in extra people last minute, extra crews, working overtime, staging all of the materials in bulk throughout the building in the zones before it’s needed, rushing, pushing, panicking, and throwing money at the problem were all things that we quote-unquote should not do. And that’s not good thinking.

And it hit me that pushing is the alternative to good thinking. Pushing those things that I just mentioned and creating variation as a field leader is what people do when they don’t know the right way, or when they don’t take the time to think about it the right way, or when they don’t have the skills to do it right.

Pushing is something you will always see when somebody doesn’t know what they’re doing. Pushing, running, rushing, and panicking is the alternative to good thinking. And it can happen because somebody doesn’t know what to do or because they are not taking the time to do it. Another reason is because they might be a firefighter arsonist that gets significance and certainty out of pushing, rushing, or panicking, because that’s what we’ve incentivized people to do.

Here’s what pushing looks like:

• Bringing in Extra People Last Minute: You didn’t plan crew sizes. Now you’re behind. So you bring in extra people. They’re not trained. They’re not onboarded. They create chaos.
• Extra Crews: You didn’t prepare work packages. Now you’re stacking crews. They’re in each other’s way. Trade flow breaks.
• Working Overtime: You didn’t plan the duration correctly. Now you’re rushing. So you add overtime. People burn out. Quality suffers.
• Staging Materials in Bulk: You didn’t plan just-in-time delivery. Now you stage everything early. Materials are in the way. Double handling. Waste.
• Rushing, Pushing, Panicking: You didn’t pre-plan. Now you’re reacting. Rushing creates rework. Pushing creates injuries. Panicking creates chaos.
• Throwing Money at the Problem: You didn’t think. Now you’re spending. Extra labor. Extra materials. Extra equipment. Extra cost. This is pushing. And pushing is the alternative to good thinking.

What Is Good Thinking?

Let me talk about what good thinking is. In fact, an interesting little fact, I asked ChatGPT to go through our constraints and roadblocks lists and come up with the five top reasons that constraints and roadblocks happen on a job site. And it said, number one, not having an effective pull plan. Number two, not hosting pre-con meetings properly. And number three, not having the meeting and huddle system. Number four, it was not doing lookahead planning. And then five, not holding stability and pre-planning as pivotal on a construction project site.

That’s good thinking.

Here’s what good thinking looks like:

• Pre-planning: Plan the project in pre-construction. Macro-level Takt plan. Pull plans. Pre-con meetings. Supply chain alignment. That’s good thinking.
• Preparing work packages: Pre-prepare work packages with trade partners. Full kit. Everything ready before the crew mobilizes. That’s good thinking.
• Trade partner preparation process: Take trades properly through orientation, onboarding, training, and preparation. That’s good thinking.
• Healthy team: Make sure we have a healthy team. Rest. Wellness. High physical condition. That’s good thinking.
• Plan scaled to workers: Have a great plan that’s scaled all the way to workers. Not just foremen. Workers. That’s good thinking.
• Well-managed supply chain: Have a great supply chain that’s well managed. Procurement log. Weekly monitoring. Just-in-time delivery. That’s good thinking.
• Solid culture: Perfect cleanliness, safety, and organization. Clean bathrooms. Clean site. Safe environment. That’s good thinking.

Good thinking is preparation. Good thinking is pre-planning. Good thinking is stability. And good thinking prevents pushing, rushing, and panicking.

Why People Push (Three Reasons)

Pushing, running, rushing, and panicking is the alternative to good thinking. And it can happen because somebody doesn’t know what to do or because they are not taking the time to do it. Another reason is because they might be a firefighter arsonist that gets significance and certainty out of pushing, rushing, or panicking, because that’s what we’ve incentivized people to do.

Here are the three reasons people push:

Reason One: They Don’t Know What to Do

They weren’t trained. They don’t know pull planning. They don’t know Takt. They don’t know pre-con meetings. They don’t know lookahead planning. They don’t know the right way. So, they push. They react. They fight fires. And they burn out.

Reason Two: They Don’t Take the Time to Do It

They know the right way. But they don’t take the time. They skip pre-planning. They skip pull planning. They skip pre-con meetings. They skip lookahead planning. And then they’re behind. So, they push. They rush. They panic.

Reason Three: They’re a Firefighter Arsonist

They get significance and certainty out of pushing, rushing, or panicking. They create chaos so they can be the hero who saves the day. They’re incentivized to push because that’s how they get recognized. That’s how they get promoted. That’s how they feel important. And that’s toxic.

Pushing happens for three reasons: they don’t know, they don’t take the time, or they’re incentivized to create chaos. And all three are fixable. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

A Challenge for Leaders

Here’s what I want you to do this week. When you see pushing, rushing, or panicking on the job site, ask: “Why are we pushing? Did we skip pre-planning? Did we skip pull planning? Did we skip pre-con meetings? Did we skip lookahead planning?”

And then fix the root cause. Don’t just push harder. Don’t just add more people. Don’t just work more overtime. Fix the thinking. Pre-plan. Prepare. Stabilize. That’s how you stop pushing.

So, I wanted to make this point, not to shame anybody, but to make it clear what’s actually happening so that hopefully we can stop it.

As we say at Elevate, pushing is the alternative to good thinking. Rushing, overtime, staging materials early, and panicking happen when you skip pre-planning. Good thinking is pre-planning, preparation, and stability. That’s how you stop pushing.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is good thinking in construction?

Pre-planning, pull planning, pre-con meetings, supply chain alignment, lookahead planning, Last Planner System, pre-preparing work packages, trade partner preparation process, healthy team, plan scaled to workers, well-managed supply chain, and solid culture with cleanliness, safety, and organization.

What is pushing (the alternative to good thinking)?

Bringing in extra people last minute, extra crews, working overtime, staging materials in bulk early, rushing, panicking, and throwing money at the problem. Pushing happens when you skip pre-planning and react instead of prepare.

What are the three reasons people push?

They don’t know what to do (weren’t trained in Lean/Takt), they don’t take the time to do it (skip pre-planning), or they’re a firefighter arsonist (get significance from creating and solving chaos).

What are the top five reasons constraints and roadblocks happen?

Not having an effective pull plan, not hosting pre-con meetings properly, not having the meeting and huddle system, not doing lookahead planning, and not holding stability and pre-planning as pivotal.

How do you stop pushing on a project?

Fix the thinking. Pre-plan. Prepare. Stabilize. Don’t just add more people or work more overtime. Fix the root cause. Do pull planning, pre-con meetings, lookahead planning, and trade partner preparation.