How trust yields profit in construction

TL;DR: 

Bringing the bad news early pays off in construction

In the first job that I ran as a project manager in Maryland, I was scared to let the project owner’s rep and engineer know about my concerns or potentially bad news. I feared it would upset them and damage our reputation. I wanted us to be “perfect” in their eyes. In retrospect, they knew that I was not as forthcoming with information as I should have been and thus did not have a lot of confidence in me. The reality is that no contractor is perfect. People will forget what you said but never forget how you made them feel. I was rated as “average” in a post-project survey. This motivated me to level up.

The more work I managed, the more I realized that owners (or the people that are paying you to do the work) value trust above all else. They want to know that they can count on you to do the right thing when they’re not watching you. Trust is earned through communicating difficult news early, doing what you said you would do, working through problems, and looking for the win/win.

Below are some tips I learned from mentors, colleagues, and experience about earning trust as a contractor, and how they lead to better relationships and more profitable work.

1. Trust yields profit. Owner trust is built through consistency and doing what you said you would do.

2. Owners hate surprises. They have bosses too. Worst day in a bureaucrat’s life is when their boss is mad at them.

3. You admitting it when you made a mistake will pay off tenfold.

4. They need to know the bad news, even when it's painful. Don't ever hold back with bad news.

5. Be you and get to know them. There are no awards for keeping things to yourself and not communicating even when it’s uncomfortable.

6. It is your job to know the plans, specs and money better than they do. And if you make their job easier and are easy to deal with, they’ll be happy and you’ll do better on the job.

7. Be ethical always (baseline expectation) and never ask for special treatment.

8. Don't go over someone's head unless you absolutely have to.

9. If there is a clear screw-up where you are blatantly in the wrong, fix it immediately. The longer you wait, the worse it will become.

10. Do not brag, let the work speak for itself.

11. Phone call > text message > email > letter. Pick up the phone before sending a crappy email.

12. Especially at the beginning of a job, it is okay to let some smaller things (gray area changes, problems they created) slide. Make sure they know that you know that you are letting it slide without being too obvious about it. This way they'll see that you're reasonable and willing to work with them. If they feel like you're going to nickel and dime them the whole way from the beginning, they won't like you.

13. Understand that the Contractor has leverage. You need them but they need you too.

14. If it gets nasty (claims, disagreements), don't lose your composure and document well. Use your superior knowledge of the plans, specs and money to win

15. The construction world is small and people talk, owners included.

Let us know what you think, we value your feedback!

Stoic Wisdom Quote

“I've made it a principle not to be over-influenced by minor disappointments.” 

- Marianne Moore

Reflect on this as we embark on another week of bidding and building!

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Warmly,

Tristan

About the Author

Tristan Wilson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Edgevanta. We make software that helps contractors win more work at the right price. He is a 4th Generation Contractor, construction enthusiast, bidding nerd, ultramarathoner, and paving nut. He worked his way up the ladder at Allan Myers in the Mid-Atlantic and his family’s former business Barriere Construction before starting Edgevanta with his Co-Founder Matt in Nashville, where the company is based. Reach out to him at [email protected]