Good morning Reader,
Let's say you've been reading my last few emails where I've been talking about the importance of putting together a consistent schedule template.
And let's say you recognize that it is important to have a baseline to measure against.
Let's even say you've locked your Superintendents in a room and created the baseline.
Now you may be saying to yourself, "Now, what?!?"
OR - truth be told - you might be saying, "Yeah. That's pie-in-the-sky thinking and there ain't no way my teams will do this after all that hard work!"
Well...hopefully this email will answer that first question you asked yourself (the "Now, what?!?" question).
And -If you're making the second statement (the one where I use "ain't" for emphasis - because I'm a little bit of an English word and I know that ain't ain't a word), I hope you'll keep reading, too.
So - Now What?
Before I begin, I want to let you know that I'm going to keep this short and to the point. I flooded your inbox last week with a reallllllllly long email (thanks to those of you who replied back and said you still read it anyway).
So - here's "what!": You need to start using it.
Yeah. That's it.
I know...groundbreaking - but before you roll your eyes too much, hear me out.
Actually doing something with the schedule template you and your team have created is tougher than it sounds.
The "ain't" statement is, unfortunately, more typical. Home Builders management team often figure it's just not worth the fight - so they throw in the towel after they just got done putting it together.
And they lose the momentum they started. And it sends a message to the Team that they just did some work for no reason.
But I know you're better than most. You recognize that the schedule template (and the work to get there) does mean something. I mean - there were tears (and some cursing) that happened to get there.
So Start...
So just start. Start using it on the very next job.
Like that catchy tune from the Rass Bankin Christmas special, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, "Put one foot in front of the other...." (kids ask your parents - and - in case they don't know, here's a link to the song: ๐๐
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It's going to be messy. It's going to be a pain. But you need to start.
And you need to be ready to get feedback from everyone involved:
- Your Superintendents
- Your Trades
- Your Suppliers
- Your Own Gut
In fact, have a weekly or monthly meeting with the Team and lay out the issues for everyone to discuss and figure out how to move forward better in the future.
Encourage everyone to speak up without fear of retribution (and you better mean it).
And if you find you need help putting the meeting agenda together (or even that schedule template itself), reach out and let me know.
Happy Building!
-Brad
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P.S. Know someone who might like getting some homebuilding emails? I'd love it if you'd forward this to them!