ellisdon.com

Killing Myself (Or, At Least, My Brain Cells)

2012-05-02T00:57:40Z

Looking back at the first four months of 2012, here’s what I did: Answered emails, dealt with problems as they arose, answered emails, prepared for and attended meetings, answered emails.

Here’s what I didn’t do, at all, during one third of an entire year: Think.

One day into a late April holiday, admittedly aided by the latest edition of Fast Company, a book called Imagine, and a few cervezas, I may have actually started to use my brain again. It’s still there (I think).

The problem isn’t the people sending the emails, it’s the person receiving them. Many of them I requested, though mostly not. Here’s the real problem: Why do I rate emails as the most important thing in my life - more important than thinking, for crying out loud? Why do I value all this noise and activity to the exclusion of any reflection at all? (It’s probably, like everything else, an insecurity thing.)

We all know that 3M pioneered the practice, decades ago, of telling their people to spend 15% of their time just thinking and experimenting, and created the world’s most innovative company. Google copied 3M. At EllisDon, we give people lots of freedom, but it’s safe to say we like to see everyone very busy, hard at work (sending and receiving emails). Perhaps EllisDon should learn from the masters and enforce one rule: For at least one hour a day, turn your computers off, unhook the phone, and have a thinking conversation with yourself, or even just let your mind wander around.

I have read more than once that the science is conclusive: Your brain does not get better or bigger by Sudokus or stressed mental activity. It does grow, literally, by meditating, by thinking of nothing. It’s a fact.

So, I guess EllisDon would likely be a far more profitable company if our people spent significantly more time doing ‘nothing’. That is, by spending time with themselves. Thinking, reading, messing around with ideas, mostly just thinking.

Somehow, anyway, I’ve got to turn down the noise. It’s killing my energy, my brain, my affability and my usefulness.

Thanks

Leadership, Mob Mentality & Ron Wilson

2012-03-04T23:39:27Z

I have long admired Brian Burke; Ron Wilson not so much – I’m more the players’ coach type. (I realize that I’ve just contradicted myself, Brian Burke is hardly the ‘players’ coach type’.) Certainly, though, in terms of thinking about leadership, the firing of Leaf’s coach Ron Wilson is worth pondering. Here’s a view with which neither Burke nor many others will likely agree.

I get advised all the time on the power of ‘consensus leadership’. There’s a strong belief that real change – unless you have a ‘consensus’ among the management team and the employees – is doomed from the get go. I’ve never bought that. Wrenching, difficult change is never accepted by most but rather opposed. By the time you get everyone’s agreement, if you are lucky enough to still be pointing generally in the right (or any) direction, you will not be acting nearly boldly enough. You can’t be both a fan of consensus leadership and an admirer of Steve Jobs.

What happened in Toronto went one step further. Certainly, a public consensus formed that Ron Wilson had to go, but when the crowd at the ACC started chanting ‘Fire Wilson’, consensus thinking began to morph into mob mentality, where thinking is suspended. Answer this: If Ron Wilson had been transported into the middle of that chanting crowd, would he have been safe? Or would the chanters, embarrassed at their behavior, have stopped chanting. Either way, it’s evidence of a mob mentality. Burke didn’t lead, he followed (in disagreement, methinks). And he didn’t follow the consensus, he followed the chant.

You may say that they are the paying customer, frustrated by years of failure. I respond that no-one believes that a Stanley Cup team will be built by popularity polls, management by fans, or – in the case of the Leafs – a chanting mob. No-one would ever suggest that shareholders should be able to tell the management team what to do, whom to hire or fire, etc. Sell your shares, stop buying Leaf tickets, but don’t think that you get to run the joint.

I can neither see through Brian Burke’s eyes nor feel his pressure; I’ve never coached. I did not think Wilson’s contract should have been renewed, but when those fans chanted, I thought ‘he sure can’t fire Wilson now’. And then he did. When Burke says he couldn’t put Wilson in front of the ACC fans again, I respectfully disagree – he had to do exactly that. Now, he has ceded at least part of his leadership, and he has whetted their appetite. You can almost hear it ... ’Fire Burke, fire Burke’…

Maybe it was the right decision. But arguably it was made for the wrong reasons and to me, certainly at the wrong moment. At the very least, it was a very interesting and difficult leadership quandary.

Thanks

Steve Jobs Mania Revisited

2012-02-15T19:45:02Z

This Steve Jobs mania is a challenge for me. We are all celebrating not just his genius, but his relentless pursuit of perfection, his refusal to compromise, his unconventionality, his prickly personality, his unforgiving drive. We all want to be more like him (including me). The thing is, we would never hire him, and if we found him in our midst, we would get rid of him.

Look at the way we all conduct and review job interviews, the questions we ask reference checks, the annual performance review forms. Teamwork, interpersonal skills, acceptance of the company mission statement, blah, blah: Steve Jobs didn’t give a rat’s ass for any of those things. We all want to be like Steve Jobs, but if he worked at most companies, he’d probably tell us how stupid we all are, he’d probably be right, and we’d probably fire him before hump day.

It’s not so easy to solve. We all want to surround ourselves with independent thinkers and hard driving visionaries, but if everyone in the company was like that, it would probably explode. We don’t prize big egos at EllisDon, and while we beg and plead for independent thinking and entrepreneurial initiative, we also shut a lot of it down. We insist on mutual respect and reasonable compromise – try to build success without it. A company needs balance and some sharing. Except that Steve Jobs would read that paragraph and just laugh out loud, I think.

So how do you find the optimal state, a company full of independent thinkers and individual leaders who respect one another, will work together, share values and compromise when necessary, without compromising the pursuit of the great accomplishments we all have within us?

Idolize Steve Jobs all you want, that’s the real journey, I think. I have no idea what the answer is. If you know, give me a call, we’d love to have you at EllisDon (as long as you’re not some kind of pushy rebel, of course).

Thanks for reading.

Celebrating The ‘I’ In Team (Part IV of IV)

2012-02-02T18:34:43Z

“The Privilege Of A Life Is Being Who You Are” - Joseph Campbell

I believe that there is a paradox available to us that we are missing.

I am all for effective teamwork, and understand that everyone needs to contribute according to their capabilities (when I go onto a construction site, people worry that I’m going to injure myself, so apparently I have some clear limitations). But all this emphasis on being part of the team, knowing your role, sublimating yourself to the greater good, it all asks people to limit themselves and their thinking and their efforts and can very easily lead people to just be a cog, one piece in a structure where the structure is more important to the individuals. That’s what’s wrong with many companies.

What if instead companies focused on building great individual leadership - at both the personal and professional level – so that absolutely every person in the company doesn’t just feel they are a part of the overall effort, but actually recognize it to be the truth, how powerful would the resulting team be? That’s the paradox: In order to form an outstanding, unstoppable team, focus on supporting and building the individual leadership skills of every single person involved. And recognize that this effort is a full time journey, encompassing every part of one’s life, for the rest of it – it isn’t something that you leave at the office. Among the companies, Boards, and various experts that I have spoken to about leadership, here’s how many I have found that think that way: None. They all focus on teams (cogs) and team leaders, rather than great teams emerging from mature individual leaders from top to bottom.

We have been struggling with this; everyone knows that leadership is such a difficult problem when it’s applied to the few, so how to you develop it among absolutely everyone? Three thoughts:

1: Of everything I have ever read on Leadership, the best ‘ideal’ that I have yet found is Jim Collin’s discussion of ‘Level Five Leaders’ in Good To Great. You can google yourself to a summary of this kind of Leader in about one minute, but it’s a “paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will …. a compelling modesty, self effacing and understated, (but also) fanatically driven, infected with an incurable need to produce sustained results, to do whatever it takes…” (Collins’ words, not mine). Everyone can understand and strive for that.

2: A great leader, to me, is dedicated to creating successful leaders and successful people all around them, inside the company and out. If I had to set out one single criterion for the next CEO of EllisDon, I would look for that dedication. Want to be a great leader? Don’t get out of your people’s way, get solidly behind them (both supporting them firmly and, often, pushing them hard). But focus entirely on their success, not your own.

3. Great individual leadership is about a person’s whole life. Any effort or initiative aimed strictly at the professional side will not succeed.

What if every company was exclusively focused on having every person who works there achieve their fullest individual potential in life. What if that was their sole ‘corporate mission’? How great would these companies be? And how much better could we make each other’s lives?

The Trip Takes Us (III of IV)

2011-12-16T19:52:49Z

"We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip, the trip takes us." - John Steinbeck

These four blogs are striving (OK, struggling) to express what may be wrong with the conventional wisdom around how companies should be managed.

Corporations are all about rationality and control. They set clear goals, clear strategies and tactics, and employ a host of processes and policies so that employees, in servitude to these ends, know exactly what is expected of them. It’s all about shareholder value and predictability.

But there are two reasons why it doesn’t work as well as it should. First, obviously, people don’t want to be in servitude. They want to be a part of something that is meaningful to them. Our intellectual side is far more effective when our passionate side is fully engaged (the ‘half mental/half being mental’ thing). Shareholder value, systems, and top down control don’t exactly cut it. Doing something you love, or something that brings meaning to your life, does. Everyone knows this, but corporate leaders, with their uncompromising focus on structure and the bottom line, mostly refuse to consider it.

The second reason, I believe, is Steinbeck’s insight. The trip takes us. We keep trying to control everything (especially in companies), but things won’t be controlled. Bad stuff happens. Good stuff happens. Pain and joy happen. Shit happens. The other great line is John Lennon’s: ‘Life is what happens while we’re busy making other plans.’ One of the great EllisDon people says that our company motto should be ‘Bob and weave, baby, bob and weave.’

So, what if the objective, measurement oriented rationalists who run the corporate world could ever acknowledge that the poets and the zen types have a point. We aren’t in control; the trip is taking us. What if we figured that out now, ahead of time, instead of after years of struggle? Wouldn’t that change everything? It doesn’t mean we don’t strive (both objectively and passionately), it means we acknowledge that reality in the way we plan, the way we react, the way we treat each other.

Zen adage I just picked up: One must seek his destiny as a man whose hair is on fire seeks a pond. So, with all the passion and meaning and determination we can muster, can we still recognize that to a large extent we are forever seeking, not selecting, our destiny? As companies, and as individual employees who give the company its life? Can a company ever be run that way?

Thanks.

Peace Of Mind (II of IV)

2011-11-07T19:56:21Z

‘People living in competition, all I want is to have my peace of mind.’ - Boston (of course)

Lots of people brag about being ‘Type A’ personalities. I probably did, until I read that the term was coined by a cardiologist who discovered that these personality traits are the leading cause of early coronary disease and premature heart attacks. Constant anxiety and stress will kill you. (I still yell at idiot drivers.)

At the other end is meditation, which beyond any doubt improves both your mental and physical health; you will live longer and be happier. But I can’t do it. It’s just too … I just can’t. (An expert, back when, told me that running, if you really enjoy it, can approximate the same mental state. I missed that clue.)

This is important stuff. (The Boston guitarist knew that.) We are surrounded by competition, immersed in stress and (very seriously) all we want is to have our peace of mind. But if you’re not a rock star or a Buddhist, how to get there? And if you aspire to ‘leadership’ at any level, then it’s not just about you, it’s about everyone else too. How do you all get there together? Three ideas from people way smarter than me:

Jim Collins changed everything for me with four words: ‘First who, then what.’ Spend your life (competitive and non) only with people you respect, admire and love. Don’t worry so much about where you’re going, but be uncompromising about with whom you’re traveling (and you won’t really care that much where you end up). If someone in your life doesn’t qualify under any of those three verbs – respect, admire, love - get them off your bus. I submit that Collins’ four word directive may be the biggest key to both happiness and competitive success, if you’re tough enough to live by it.

Know thyself. (Plato, though for years I thought it was from my Grade 12 ‘World Politics’ teacher). My humble advice on this: When it comes to really knowing yourself, take all the help you can get.

Find what it is in life that you find valuable, what you love doing, and throw yourself into it, gone, gone, gone. Marry your brains to your passion. Don’t separate logic from emotion, fuse them and ramp it up. Every vocation has drudgery and frustration, but you will know you are there when you can lose all track of time and everything else, just doing what you are doing. That’s peace of mind. It’s also value, and high level achievement.

And: This isn’t just about you. If you lead, you have to deliver this to everyone else. You have to get them there. That’s the ultimate ideal for EllisDon: Not merely to get everyone else there, but to get everybody here focused on getting everyone else there.

The whole point of this blog: If measurement, objectivity and pure logic are in service of these things, outstanding. But as soon as they become primary, putting people in servitude to their ends alone, flee the scene immediately.

If you’ve read this far, thanks very much for bearing with me. I’m trying to work it out myself.

Half Mental (I of IV)

2011-11-07T19:55:59Z

‘Half the game is mental, the other half is being mental.’

Jim McKenny, Toronto Maple Leafs Defenceman, 1970-78

What a great quote, even if a bit politically incorrect. It applies to far more than hockey, right? And I’m going to say that it gets right at why so many people hate their jobs. Or, at least, why they find their life’s meaning elsewhere.

Everybody loves sports; they involve thinking, and passion, and courage and risk, and they are intense. It’s all there. Business is all about just thinking - all about being ‘objective’ - and even most of that gets done somewhere else. People don’t like their jobs because most of the original thinking has been eliminated, as have all the passion, courage and (hopefully, many senior managers would say) the risk. Business: Fact based, measurement oriented, analytical, sensible. No place for emotion or feelings (aaah!), which skew analysis. I have scanned my son’s business school textbooks. They make me gag. Don’t think, learn. There isn’t a shred of doubt or reflection or joy in them.

Everyone, of course, has an objective side; people work hard on their logic skills. But they also have a strong ‘subjective’ side: Emotional, chance oriented, sometimes courageous, often afraid, always aspiring. People want their life to have meaning (I certainly do), and they want to be proud of themselves (ditto). Martin Sullivan, EllisDon Hero (ret.), loved the adage ‘Find something you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.’ Love. Whoa. Gimme a hug, dude. Measure that.

And yet businesses still count holiday days and create new forms and refuse to entertain any notion that can’t be objectively measured. How about just a little less ‘If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never get there’ and just a little more ‘I love this group, let’s go for a joyride’? (Or, as Jim Collins wrote: Don’t try to motivate people. Hire self motivated people and try not to demotivate them.).

The corporation that figures out how to marry logic and feeling, the hard facts and the bubbling emotions, the objective and the subjective, and keep that marriage intact through the years, will conquer the world. And their people will never want to retire.

Jim McKenny, philosopher. I wonder where he is now. He should maybe join a few corporate boards.

Thanks for reading.

Freedom Or Control: EllisDon vs … Apple?

2011-11-12T19:11:13Z

We struggle with the right balance between central control versus individual freedom around here. We have, at EllisDon, a very autonomous culture. We strive to maintain a strong core culture (and we don’t mess with financial controls), but we try hard to give everyone here as much freedom as we can, in the offices, on the sites, from top to bottom. We are not perfect at this but we try very hard at it and we trumpet it as a key differentiator at EllisDon, both to our clients and potential employees. We believe it is the foundation of our success.

Our larger, international competitors use a much more centralized, systems focused approach. We know this because we joint venture with them and see how decisions are made. We greatly prefer the EllisDon model of course, but are we just drinking our own bathwater here? We are proud of our accomplishments, but it’s pretty hard to deny the success and profitability of someone five times your size.

And I can be a bit of a hypocrite on this point. I have tried, for example, to be more inclusive on strategic development, but I can’t do it. The discussion always gets too conventional for me, too bogged down in (sometimes very logical) reasons not to do new things. I’m happy to have help, but I’m not able to let it go (which some people find quite frustrating).

And then of course, there’s the legendary, recently deceased Steve Jobs, who by all accounts was a consummate control freak who could be quite difficult to work with. But he seems to have changed the world and made billions, so that seems to have worked pretty well for him, the stakeholders at Apple and most of us.

Finally of course, you can debate the definition of a ‘great company’, which we all want to build. Is it defined by size? By return on investment? By the quality of the lives and careers of the people who spend their careers there? By some algorithmic combination of the three (for the measurement lovers)?

Here’s one thing I AM convinced of: There are way too many construction companies in the world right now; five years from now there will be far fewer. Probably the same can be said for other sectors of our industry; likely for many other industries. Whoever gets this right has a huge head start, I’d say.

Control Freaks: Can Steve Jobs Possibly Be Wrong?

2011-11-12T19:09:53Z

What is the right balance between central control versus individual autonomy in a company? We have, at EllisDon, a very autonomous culture. While striving to maintain a strong culture and financial controls, we try hard to give everyone here as much freedom as we can, in the offices, on the job sites, from top to bottom. We are not perfect at this I know, but we try hard and we certainly trumpet it as a key differentiator at EllisDon, both to our clients and potential employees. We believe it is the foundation of our success.

Our larger, international competitors lean toward a more centralized, systems oriented approach. We know this because we joint venture with them and see how decisions are made. We greatly prefer the EllisDon model of course, but are we just drinking our own bathwater here? We are proud of our accomplishments, but it’s pretty hard to deny the success and profitability of someone five times your size.

And I have to acknowledge that I can be a bit of a hypocrite on this point. I have tried, for example, to be more inclusive on strategic development, but I can’t do it. The discussion always gets too conventional for me, too bogged down in (sometimes very logical) reasons not to do new things. I’m happy to have help, but I’m not able to let it go. Which is not a great thing, I acknowledge.

And then of course, there’s the legendary Steven Jobs, who by all accounts is a consummate control freak and a very difficult personality to work with. But he seems to have changed the world and made billions, so that seems to have worked pretty well for him, the stakeholders at Apple and most of us.

Here’s one thing I AM convinced of: There are way too many construction companies in the world right now, and five years from now there will be far fewer. Probably the same can be said for other sectors of our industry; likely for many other industries. Whoever gets this right has a huge head start, I’d say.

What if Jack Layton Knew All Along?

2011-11-12T19:08:00Z

This blog is not intended in any way to be disrespectful or unsympathetic to Jack Layton. It attempts to go a bit beyond politics - honest, and I doubt Jack would be offended by it.

However, prior to the recent Canadian election campaign, and after Jack’s previous cancer treatments, when his hip ‘spontaneously shattered’ very many people suspected that the NDP Leader’s illness had spread (though he denied it). Now, in retrospect, we know several things. That Jack ran an outstanding, historic campaign that was based on optimism and hope, a constantly positive demeanor and respect for everyone including his opponents, and a straightforward determination to stick to his principles. And that people across the country responded spontaneously and enthusiastically, and very many voted for Jack’s approach as much as anything – not because (and perhaps sometimes unaware or regardless) of his policies. And of course we know that, whatever the timing, Jack Layton’s health issues have broadened gravely.

Layton’s campaign was completely different, contrary to all current wisdom and practice: We all know that while everyone hates ‘attack politics’, nobody wins unless they embrace it without compromise. Every party consistently practices the nasty stuff, federally and provincially, including the NDP.

Except, of course, that’s not what happened here. I watched the debate. I watched Layton stick it to the others, but he wasn’t just factual, respectful and polite about it, he was downright cheerful. (It drove me bananas.)

And so it just occurred to me: Is it possible that the mortal life challenge Jack was facing affected his entire view and his approach? Is it possible that it sapped his anger and negative side, and facilitated (enhanced?) a more positive and optimistic view of everything? And perhaps gave him the complete freedom to live and campaign in a way that was true to that more generous and cheerful outlook, without compromising his beliefs?

It would mean of course that Jack was fibbing about why he needed that cane (now one of the most famous props in Canadian campaign history). But what a huge success, and just perhaps something for the rest of us to think about, regardless of our health, vocation, or competitive circumstance.

No-One Died on Sunday in Augusta

2011-11-12T19:06:02Z

I sort of golf with a couple guys, when we can. One is my cousin, who has selflessly taught me the key fundamentals of a stupid game: six foot gimmes, guilt free mulligans, no single malt before noon (he always has a gallon of Caesars, somewhere). He also teaches Mike the proper emphasis of the key profanities. He is a great tutor, afflicted with stilted students.

I often debate with another great guy whether it’s impossible, given how great a country Canada is, that we aren’t already in heaven. Obviously there are challenges and heartbreak, but isn’t that necessary in order to give context to the colossal beauty and opportunity everywhere around us in this country? Graham gives me context. He adds to my happiness.

In that vein, I was pretty impressed with Rory McIroy’s recent colossal collapse at the Masters. While the world chattered, McIlroy gave the world’s classiest post game interview ever, then went to Haiti for two weeks to help with the relief effort. When asked later what he’d learned from his collapse, he said (and I paraphrase) ‘No-one died on Sunday in Augusta’.

Which brings me to Paul Charette, retired CEO of Bird Construction, fierce adversary of EllisDon, a guy who built a great career and company out of nothing but adversity. Paul is trying to rebuild a trade school in Haiti. The merit of this is obvious: The school needs to be replaced, the kids need to be taken off the street, the skills are needed to help rebuild their future and their country.

Paul is 70% there, but needs more money – about $300,000 more. The charity is Builders Without Borders. Please think for a few minutes about what an impact this school can have. Right now, in the future, for these kids, for the island. Many of us are living in a heaven that lacks only context to allow us to appreciate it. The pictures below provide that context. These people need help right now.

‘Builders Without Borders’. Send me (or Paul Charette at Bird Construction) a cheque for them and we will ensure you get a receipt and that your donation is put immediately to work. If your donation is big enough, my cousin will give you a golf lesson, profanities included.

Do it now. We have so much, but others need help, so that they can do it themselves. Thanks.

Corporations: Killers Of The Human Spirit?

2011-11-12T19:02:56Z

I often read that corporations don’t care, period. By their very nature, they can’t. Their only reason for existence is to maximize shareholder return. It’s inherent in this goal that people must be regulated and controlled, and therefore the human spirit and its creativity get crushed. You are a cog in a heartless machine … (blah blah, then they go on to make some other point about how to fight this).

This is such bullshit that I am forced to use mild profanity. I’ve never once met a corporate leader, or a manager , who thought that killing their team’s creativity and motivation was a good idea, or that getting them to turn off their brains and ‘do what they’re told’ is the best way to serve shareholders.

Those policies and systems that kill our spirit? Guess what, they are created up and down every organization, by well meaning people and teams who are trying to prevent problems in the future, trying to protect their companies, trying to do their best. When problems arise, the question gets asked: How do we make sure this never happens again? Create a policy, initiate a required process, set clear limits. It happens at every level. Set up a cross functional team to solve a problem, and they will create a policy dictating future behavior of employees.

The corporation isn’t to blame – we’re all to blame. Can you imagine being charged by your superior to look at a problem that caused a big loss and coming back with this answer: ‘I’m absolutely confident that everyone learned a searing lesson from this. Everyone grew as a result. Trust me, this will never happen again. The best course is to do absolutely nothing.’

Why are government departments so often mind-numbingly rigid and inefficient? Because every time a bureaucrat makes a significant mistake, the media blow it into a big scandal, polls slide, and governments react by creating more rules, eliminating both any creativity and (hopefully) the possibility of another scandal. Who creates impersonal, inflexible government bureaucracy and the often unhappy people you find there? The voters do. You and I do.

(I’m guilty too, of course. More than once I have asked: ‘Who created that idiotic policy?’ ‘You did, Geoff.’ ‘Oh. Well, kill it anyway.’)

So the next time you read or hear about how companies are inherent killers of the human spirit, get your whole department together and find a big mirror to look into. We’re all guilty.

OK, that was a rant, but isn’t that what blogs are for? Thanks very much anyway.

Lets Kill Innovation

2011-11-12T19:00:14Z

Seriously. It’s such an overused buzzword now that it gets routinely ignored – most importantly by the people closest to the action who know how to improve things.

I love this story: Guy named Herb Barnes from our FM group suddenly appears in my doorway about nine months ago, salutes and says ‘Permission to talk to the boss, sir!’ (It was neither respectful nor disrespectful, Herb’s a happy guy.) ‘What I want to know’ says Herb, ‘is why we aren’t in Newfoundland? There’s lots going on there, including a $400 million hospital in Cornerbrook, resources development, St. John’s is booming, and I grew up there, so I can help. So, like, what gives?’

I gave the honest answer: ‘Beats me.’ So we walked into the Procurement VP’s office, who gave a slightly better response: ‘Good question’. The point: Within two weeks that VP and our Senior Maritimes VP were in Newfoundland scouting out projects and partners. Turns out a senior guy in Public Works there used to work for EllisDon – a great guy who left on good terms, he just wanted to go home. It took us several months, a couple of different approaches and about four bids to land our first job, a $50 million residence at Memorial University which we got by $200,000 by carrying our own formwork price even though we have no tradespeople, equipment or experience on the island.

And the ex-ED senior Public Works guy has rejoined EllisDon as our Area Manager, so now we have local, experienced leadership. And Herb was right, there is a lot of opportunity there: We are optimistic that over a few years, Newfoundland could triple our profits in the Atlantic region.

So I’m guessing that “Let’s go to Newfoundland” wouldn’t earn anyone a graduate degree in innovative studies. But it was a hell of a good idea from a determined fellow who saw that we were missing a big opportunity.

When you preach to most people about innovation, their eyes close. But they have lots of great ideas, and a fair amount of courage, which is what we need. Down with innovation, long live Herb Barnes.

Thanks for reading.

Upside Down Performance Reviews

2011-11-12T18:58:53Z

Why Not Turn Performance Reviews Upside Down?

At EllisDon, we try and focus the process on Career Path Planning – for obvious reasons – but it’s still tricky: People sitting down with their ‘bosses’ to hear about how they are ‘perceived’ to be doing; the good, the bad, sometimes the ugly, and what they need to do to improve.

Everybody needs and wants the feedback, but it’s still difficult. The ‘senior’ person is usually uncomfortable and not necessarily skilled in this kind of conversation. The ‘reviewee’ is often on edge, a bit defensive, and often comes away much less than satisfied with the whole experience.

Which is bad, since the process is supposed to be entirely, completely, 100% for their benefit. Not the company’s. Theirs. If the company benefits, it’s because it’s now being driven by people who have received that significant benefit.

So: Instead of having the company control the process, why don’t we turn it over to the employees, individually? Let’s give each person the tools to conduct their own ‘performance review’ – to ask the questions to find out what they need to know to build their career and their success. We can tell them generally going in the kinds of topics we think they might want to cover. But they would have the opportunity, freedom and individual responsibility to do it themselves.

And instead of training the ‘bosses’ how to run a review, we can coach them in ‘tactful candor’, and how to not get defensive when they themselves get challenged – good leadership lessons for everyone. Coach the employees how to get the most benefit out of it, and leave it to them. There’s no way the good ones would shirk (and who wants the bad ones anyway?); it’s their career and their future. I bet they would come out of it with more relevant knowledge, and greater satisfaction and purpose.

We tell everyone at EllisDon that they must lead; maybe we should let them lead their careers. We might come out of it with more effective leadership and greater skills at every level.

Whose life is it, anyway? I think it’s worth a discussion, maybe a ‘test run’ with some confident and determined people.

Integrity

2011-11-12T18:56:59Z

Recently, the front page lead story in the Toronto Star concerned allegations of kickbacks and hidden charges against a Toronto construction company on a federally funded project. Let me say clearly that I have no idea whatsoever whether or not those allegations have substance.

But let’s all of us acknowledge that these kinds of questionable practices occur in our industry – it is all too common for General Contractors to bid ‘open book’ Construction Management projects at unrealistically low fees, with the intention of earning unacknowledged profits from hidden charges (at best) or taking kickbacks from subcontractors on inflated bids (at worst). We have all seen it; it is disgraceful and taints us all.

So, let’s all agree that it is time to make every effort to get rid of these practices, once and for all. Of course, people who are determined to engage in unethical behavior will do so, and they can be found in every industry. But surely there are concrete steps we can take, as an industry and as individual contractors. I propose here a couple of ideas, but I am sure other people will have better ones – it’s time for substantive, clear progress.

I think we could draw up a General Contractors Code of Ethics, with crystal clear promises. Of course, it is just words, but worded strongly enough, and signed by the CEO of every company, I believe it would be a powerful disincentive. And if every Construction Association insisted on such an undertaking by company CEO’s before membership would be granted, that would only be a good thing.

Secondly, we could embark on an education/advice campaign of all our clients, letting them know how to structure their tender calls so as to minimize the opportunity and incentive to engage in questionable behavior.

Just a couple of ideas, and more suggestions and broader initiative on this issue are desperately needed. We need to do this together. But if the ‘collective’ will cannot be found, then individual leadership can also go a long way to get the job done, and we will undertake that.

Important PS: This message was motivated by a conversation that I had through a chance meeting with one of my equally upset competitors this past week-end. I think that both of the above ideas are his, and would be happy to follow his leadership. (Credit where credit is due.)

The Big ‘Measurement’ Myth

2011-11-12T18:55:04Z

It’s pretty much etched in stone: ‘You can’t manage what you can’t measure.’ And this: ‘If you can’t measure it, it can’t be improved.’

I’d like to enthusiastically suggest that the overriding focus on ‘measurement’ as the key criterion to be considered in business management and leadership is … OK - wrong.

Everyone knows the arguments in favour of this thinking – they rule, in fact. They are repeated all the time, often (just perhaps) without a whole lot of thought. And of course, measurement is of vital importance. Without the accounting, engineering, and lawyering, every company - this company especially - would assuredly be toast.

But let’s keep some perspective. EllisDon would also assuredly have been toast in the ‘nineties without tons of pigheaded determination, a conscious defiance of logic and facts at the most difficult moments, emotion, and even the odd virtuous lie.

How do you measure all that? And which was more important to our survival? (The latter stuff – trust me – we won; measurement lost.) How do you accurately measure the benefit of our HR team? Our Engineering/R&D Department? Our receptionists? (Each vitally important beyond all doubt, but ‘vitally’ is not a measurement.)

Business doesn’t need more measurement, it needs (immeasurably) more wisdom. And individual courage. And raw risk taking passion (as opposed to the buzzword kind).

Here is what I would like to precisely measure: The extent to which people’s actions are driven by emotions (fear, desire, etc.) as opposed to logic and data.

Instead of measuring and analyzing everything, perhaps: Take some time to really consider what makes you, and the people around you, tick. Or take a risk on something that makes you (at least a little) nauseous with fear, that all the sensible people are warning against, and make it work. Or just go out and spread a little joy; give someone a hug. (Yes, we actually run a construction company here.)

And then measure all your success, using any criteria you want.

Geoff Smith (with respectful apologies to Robert Pirsig)

Ten Reasons Why the Construction Industry's Traditional Business Model is Toast

2011-11-12T18:53:00Z

Old Procurement Models Are Finished (for Subs too): And every project has its own. Sometimes it’s price. Other times, expertise and assumption of risk are the keys. Our international competitors often price the M&E themselves, then go to subcontractors for ‘component’ pricing after bid close. Previous relationships are crucial, except when they aren’t.
Money Used To Control, Now It’s Becoming A Commodity: Which is harder to find, a great team of risk taking builders, a great design, or debt financing? You can’t build without money, but both equity and debt want security of return and will gravitate to – even compete for – the supplier of that secure return.
Traditional Roles Are Blurring/ Merging: Engineering firms have become contractors, and General Contractors are controlling more of the design and subcontractor procurement practices, while mechanical subcontractors see projects where they think they should be the General.
Unions Imperiled: Most labour law regimes haven’t changed in decades and are being easily bypassed by new (large, international) players. Unions often prefer decimation to change – see BC, and unrelenting loss of market share everywhere - and firms tied to them will either lose their own market share, go elsewhere, or change their business model.
Prefabbed Everything: Mechanical plants, office tower washrooms, data centres, operating rooms – you name it – will be delivered by truck. This changes everything, for everyone.
Pre-Design Financial Guarantees: Clients now want the whole thing (cost, quality and schedule) guaranteed before they complete their deals with clients. Recently, we had to guarantee price and schedule on a very large project on the basis of sketch drawings and aerial photographs.
Concept Design vs Production Drawings: With the latter being done in ‘factory shops’, on computer, or by the relevant contractor, during construction.
The Merger of Design and Long Term Facility Management: With construction as the bridge between (guarantor of?) the two, but with all three guaranteed by one party.
Speed vs Bureaucracy/Control: Firms relying on systems and structure to maintain control and quality will, arguably, be too slow to survive. Critical decisions are being demanded on the spot, on much less information.
Marketing: Used to be based on the reputation of the company, now it is based on the reputation of the individual across the table (or the shovel). Every single person is a brand, like it or not.

Who will win?

Things are Good, Lets Get Arrogant

2011-11-12T18:47:47Z

I am not sure whether arrogance and complacency are twin brothers or photo negatives of one another. But what amazes me is that they are so hard to recognize in ourselves, and in fact never seem to get identified until after the irreparable harm has been done.

I have sometimes recognized arrogant behavior of my own, but only years after the fact; perhaps sooner if someone punched me in the face (literally or figuratively).

The Good To Great author, Jim Collins recently wrote a book called ‘Why The Mighty Fail’ in which he outlined the five stages of decline in successful companies. Stage One is this: Hubris Born Of Success. But he wasn’t the first to identify it.

My Dad often told people that after decades in business, he finally figured out – retrospectively - that as soon as he started feeling confident and comfortable, things started to fall apart. He said that once he noticed it about himself, he started to see it in others. He expressed it this way: As soon as you think you are doing well, you’re not.

Years later, I read this zen proverb: If you see the Buddha in the middle of the road, kill him. Liberally interpreted, it means that if you think you have found the answer and need to search no longer, you can be certain only of this: That you have made a huge error in your thinking, and need to start all over again. So, I told my father that he was a Buddhist at heart, and didn’t get invited home for Sunday dinner for very many months.

I have seen some recent signs of both complacency and arrogance at EllisDon. I am racking my brain to try to understand where this comes from, whether I fostered it (by my own complacency – remember, it seems identifiable only after the fact), and what to do about it.

But I keep coming back to the teachings of that wise Zen Buddhist – my father: As soon as you think you are doing well, you’re not. He’s 85 and still healthy. Maybe I could get him on a lecture tour around the company.

Up, Down and Sideways: The Mystery of 'Appreciation'

2011-11-12T18:46:08Z

At EllisDon, we suck at showing appreciation. We know that, because in our employee engagement surveys, that’s what we consistently get told. So every year we talk about it, and try to do better – and every year we get the same message.

Actually I think we have improved – I can see people working harder at this kind of positive communication – and every year our ‘appreciation’ mark is still lousy.

Then, at Christmas, I got an email from an ED employee I barely know thanking me for ‘striving to build a great company’ and ending with these words: I love working for & with the great people that are EllisDon! By far, this meant more to me than any appreciation or commendation I might ever get from our Board. Made my whole day.

And then I started thinking admiringly about my dentist, Ian Weir. Honest. At Ian’s office, everyone has fun and there’s a lot of goofing around, even while they are busy drilling and scraping. But every single person there treats every other person with respect and appreciation. ‘Please’ and ‘thanks very much’. ‘Is this OK?’ ‘Yes, absolutely and thanks for asking.’ Regardless of rank or status. Every time I go, it’s the same, and it is clearly sincere. It’s a very impressive workplace.

Without taking the responsibility from senior people for recognizing the great work done by the people reporting to them, I’m wondering if we haven’t been making the wrong assumption about appreciation only flowing one way.

In a company with over a thousand employees, how do we get everyone to more openly express the respect and appreciation I know they feel for ALL of the people they work with? Up, down and sideways.

Get that going, and we move to a different level of experience, thinks I.

Hey, don’t just sit there. Go thank someone. Anyone. And don’t forget to floss.

Do You Hate Your Job?

2011-11-12T18:44:29Z

We are proud at EllisDon to have finished first or second the last four years running in the Hewitt ‘Fifty Best Companies In Canada To Work For’ survey. The results of this effort are hugely important, not because of our standing, but because the study measures ‘engagement’ – how many of our employees really like their jobs at EllisDon (and how many don’t).

Here’s the rub: This year, our employee engagement is 89%, which puts us in second place, and which I think stinks. It means that one out of every ten people at EllisDon is just showing up in order to collect a paycheque – they don’t care enough about their job to actually be engaged in doing it.

Which is a tragedy all around. Ten per cent of our people don’t want to be here, so we are throwing at least $12-15 million out the window (not including the lost productivity), and a whole bunch of people are wasting their careers and a big chunk of their waking lives in a job they don’t like. It makes no sense at all. It drives me crazy.

Guess what else? Of all the companies that took the Hewitt survey, the average ‘engagement per centage’ for the very best fifty of those companies is only 78%. So, in the top rated companies in Canada, just under one-quarter of their employees are merely putting in time. What would it be if you measured every company in Canada? To me, this is extraordinarily depressing. What do you think the number is at your firm?

As an absolute wild guess, I would apportion the blame for this at about two-thirds/one third. I believe our leaders, including the CEO, are responsible for at least 67% of the unhappiness at EllisDon, and we need to treat this failure of leadership as an absolute top priority. I am also guessing that one third of our disengaged employees are either the wrong people, or the right people in the wrong place. So everybody needs to look in the mirror. Our leadership absolutely must improve, but unhappy people must also accept accountability: Make a mature and serious effort to solve the problem (because there are problems everywhere), or get off your butt and go somewhere else, because you aren’t doing anyone any favours - especially yourself - staying where you are.

So at night, lying in bed, when I’m on my left side, I think: We’re the second best company in all of Canada to work for…..aaaah. Then I roll on my right side and think: One in ten EllisDon people I will meet tomorrow hates their job ….Arrrggggh!

Have a great holiday season, everyone. Be engaged at home, too.