Segment Your Forces – War Series #1

Segment Your Forces: How Nimble Teams and Plan A-F Protect Schedule and Performance

Most projects start with one big plan. Everyone’s aligned, everything looks coordinated, and the schedule seems achievable. But then reality shows up. Weather hits. Concrete trucks are delayed. An inspection gets pushed. The “one big plan” starts to bend, and because there’s no flexibility built in, the whole system starts to break. The field begins reacting instead of leading.

Jason Schroeder teaches a better way: segment your forces. It’s not a war metaphor for ego, it’s a leadership principle for flow. When you segment your teams, you stay nimble. You give each group clear goals and the freedom to accomplish them. You design multiple options Plan A through Plan F so when the job changes, you adapt instead of panic. That’s how leaders stay in control without micromanaging. Because, as Jason says, “We need to give our units clear goals…then let them accomplish those goals.”

The Trap of One Big Plan: Why “Staying Together” Can Slow You Down

The construction industry often idolizes unity “one team, one mission.” It sounds noble, but if that unity turns into uniformity, it can kill speed. When everyone’s tied to one giant plan, any problem affects everyone. A delay in one area halts progress everywhere. One trade running behind pulls all others off rhythm. The project becomes fragile.

Jason calls this the “single-plan trap.” Big plans look efficient on paper, but they often collapse under field reality because they lack flexibility. The tighter the control, the slower the response. Real control is adaptability, not rigidity. Segmenting your forces builds resilience into the system so work keeps flowing, even when one zone or task hits a snag.

What “Segment Your Forces” Means in Construction (Not War, Not Ego)

Segmenting doesn’t mean creating silos. It means dividing the work into logical, self-contained units that can make progress independently while still connected to the overall mission. Each crew or zone has a clear goal, an area, and a leader. Each foreman knows exactly what “done” looks like and has the authority to manage their work. This structure mirrors how LeanTakt and Takt planning work: divide the project into zones, assign resources rhythmically, and protect flow. Every unit moves in cadence, passing clean handoffs to the next. It’s not chao it’s controlled autonomy. Each segment understands its role in the bigger system. When you lead this way, you don’t need to control every move. You set direction and trust the system.

Plan A–F: Why Options Beat Hope When the Job Gets Tight

Jason teaches a powerful lesson here: the best leaders don’t have one plan, they have six. Plan A is what you want. Plan B through F are what you need when reality happens. This mindset isn’t pessimism. It’s preparation. When a contingency exists before the crisis, decisions are calm, not chaotic. When projects rely on “hope plans,” the first disruption turns into a scramble. But when options exist, the team stays composed. Flow continues. The system adapts. That’s leadership. You don’t predict the future, you design flexibility into it.

The Slab-on-Grade Decision: The Contingency That Saved the Concrete Schedule

Jason shares a field story about a project that needed to place a large slab-on-grade section on a tight timeline. There were too many dependencies to risk a single critical path. So the team built a bypass plan: an alternate sequence that could work if the main pour got delayed.

Sure enough, the first path hit a roadblock. Instead of panic, the team shifted to the contingency. Concrete kept flowing, crews stayed productive, and the schedule held. That’s what segmenting your forces looks like in real life, not multiple meetings, but multiple moves ready to go. Contingencies don’t slow you down. They’re what make speed sustainable.

The Superstructure Pivot: Splitting the Long-Span Deck to Protect Critical Work

Another story from Jason drives the lesson deeper. The team faced a complex superstructure with large spans, multiple trades, and heavy coordination. Rather than treat it as one massive, risky push, they segmented it. They split the deck into manageable areas, set priorities by critical path, and aligned foremen by section.

That decision protected the schedule twice: once by allowing early completion of key sections, and again by isolating issues when delays arose. Each segment moved at its own optimized pace, supported by clear direction and feedback. The project didn’t just survive change it thrived because of it.

Huddles by Area: How Smaller Groups Increased Speed and Focus

Jason notes that when you segment work, you must also segment communication. A single jobwide huddle might sound efficient, but it usually becomes too broad to be useful. When teams meet by area or function, communication sharpens. The right people talk about the right work. Smaller huddles let foremen and workers plan for their actual reality, not generalities. They see their zone’s readiness, roadblocks, and targets. Then, through foreman meetings and visual planning boards, those smaller discussions tie back into the overall system. That’s decentralization without disconnect.

Signs You’re Not Segmented (And It’s Costing You)

• One big huddle where details are lost and no one feels ownership.
• Crews getting shifted daily to “wherever the problem is,” losing rhythm and pride.
• Only one plan (and no contingencies) that collapses when something changes.
• Foremen are constantly waiting for direction instead of executing with clarity.
• Leadership firefighting instead of enforcing a stable cadence.

When It Fails: The “One Big Electrical Crew” Problem and How Segmentation Fixed It

Jason shares an example that hits home. A large electrical crew was working across the entire project. Productivity was inconsistent. Coordination suffered. Issues in one area stalled others. The team was tired, confused, and constantly reacting.

The fix wasn’t more supervision, it was segmentation. They broke the crew into specialized teams: one for rough-in, one for terminations, one for panels, each owning a defined area. Communication improved instantly. Progress accelerated. Each unit built confidence because their goals were achievable and visible. This change wasn’t about control; it was about clarity. Smaller, aligned units can do what massive, unfocused groups never will flow.

Specialized Crews and Self-Perform: Why Switching Work Types Kills Productivity

Jason emphasizes a simple truth every builder knows but often ignores: when crews switch work types constantly, productivity drops. The mental setup time is real. You don’t gain efficiency by pushing harder you gain it by reducing resets. Segmenting your forces locks in consistency so teams can specialize and improve continuously. This also applies to self-perform teams. When they’re segmented by function and zone, their learning compounds. When they’re shuffled daily, knowledge resets and morale sinks. The system must protect focus.

Scaling Projects and Companies: Teams of Teams, Not One Giant Entity

Segmentation isn’t just a field tactic. It’s an organizational design principle. Jason explains that large, effective companies aren’t massive machines they’re networks of smaller teams aligned by purpose and communication. Each unit has autonomy but operates inside shared standards and rhythms.

The same applies to projects. A general contractor with multiple zones or buildings should run them as “teams of teams.” When leadership tries to manage everything directly, it slows decision-making and overloads the system. The solution isn’t more meetings. It’s clear delegation and visible accountability.

How to Segment Without Creating Chaos

• Define clear goals for each zone or function, with measurable outcomes.
• Give each foreman ownership and authority to execute within their boundaries.
• Create Plan A–F options before problems appear.
• Synchronize through short foreman huddles and daily roadblock reviews.
• Use visual planning (like Takt plans) so teams see the rhythm and handoffs clearly.

Napoleon vs. Clockwork Warfare: How Nimble Units Beat a Perfect Plan

Jason connects this principle to a timeless analogy. Napoleon defeated the world’s most “organized” armies because he fought with adaptable, fast-moving units. His opponents had perfect, centralized plans that crumbled as soon as the field changed. Sound familiar?

Construction projects often repeat that mistake. The perfect schedule, perfect workflow, and perfect control system mean nothing if the project can’t pivot. Segmented teams are like responsive battalions; they adapt, protect momentum, and maintain initiative. Leaders who train for flexibility win the day.

Decentralize Control Without Losing Alignment: Goals, Communication, and Trust

The fear of segmentation is losing control. But real control doesn’t come from proximityit comes from clarity. When goals, communication, and trust are strong, decentralized teams perform better than a centralized command structure ever could.Jason teaches leaders to set boundaries and let go. Give clear direction, hold consistent check-ins, and trust the teams to operate. That’s how you multiply leadership capacity instead of bottlenecking it.

Connect to Mission

At Elevate Construction, the goal is stability — projects that plan, schedule, and flow without burning people out. LeanTakt and Takt planning embody this principle: rhythm-based segmentation, clear zones, and predictable handoffs. Jason Schroeder’s message stays system-first  the system failed them; they didn’t fail the system. Flow is created by design, not by chance. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

Conclusion

Segment your forces. Break the job into parts that can move independently while staying connected to the whole. Build Plan A–F before the pressure hits. Empower foremen to lead their units with clarity and rhythm. That’s how you stay in a position of potential force instead of reaction. Because, as Jason says, “We need to give our units clear goals…then let them accomplish those goals.” Structure creates speed. Clarity creates confidence. On we go.

Frequetlt Asked Question:

What does “segment your forces” mean in construction?
It means dividing the work into smaller, focused teams or zones with clear goals, so each unit can execute efficiently and adapt to changing conditions.

Why is having multiple plans important?
Contingency plans (A–F) let the project respond quickly when problems arise. Options replace panic with progress and keep the schedule stable.

How does segmentation improve flow?
Smaller, empowered teams move faster, communicate more clearly, and recover faster from delays. It decentralizes action while maintaining overall alignment.

How do you prevent chaos when decentralizing?
Use strong communication systems, daily huddles, and visual planning tools like Takt boards to synchronize efforts without micromanaging.

What’s the biggest leadership benefit of segmentation?
It multiplies your leadership capacity. Instead of one person controlling everything, each team leads their part, creating autonomy and accountability.