Construction Curiosities #83
Top 5 [MORE] Tips For A PM Wanting A Promotion - From a GC's perspective
Hey! Happy Saturday! Matt here.
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A special warm welcome to the 45 new subscribers this week!
This weekly Newsletter explores the Curiosities of the Construction Industry. It's meant to help Drag the Construction Industry into the 21st Century by making you think, smile, and become motivated to drive innovation in your realm of the industry.
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We won’t hit on each of these topics every week but that’s what is in rotation!
Summary
This week we will look at:
Top 5 [MORE] Tips For A PM Wanting A Promotion
One Video: Win on LinkedIn
One Article: Building a Real-Life Lego Apartment
One Meme: A ChatGPT Fail Successfully
Last week Josh Luebker, hit us with his Top 5 Tips for a PM Wanting A Promotion. I put out a call for anyone who wanted to write a similar article but more specifically for GCs, Subcontractors, Architects, Etc.
Matt Vetter of Schafer Construction answered the call for the GC’s perspective. The offer still stands for anyone who wants to give a different perspective.
Top 5 [MORE] Tips For A PM Wanting To Get A Promotion
by Matt Vetter, President, Schafer Construction | CM Mentors Guest Ep 09
1. Exemplify our Core Values
Our Core Values are the cornerstone of what holds our organization together. We base almost all major decisions on them. We hire by them, fire by them, review/reward/reprimand by them, we use them to analyze potential fits with prospective clients even.
They are crucially important to our culture and to how we do business. 9 times out of 10 you will fit our values at least on the surface before you are ever hired here (in the rare times when we judge wrong up front, those people won’t last long with us) – what can really set a PM, or frankly anyone, apart and set them on a pedestal is how they exemplify our Core Values.
Go above and beyond to show not only me, but also our clients and our Team how important our values are to you.
2. Do the Unrequired
This coincides with a couple of our Core Values – Be the Problem Solver and Have a 100-0 Mindset.
I don’t need Teammates that only operate off of a checklist. Yes, we have lots of checklists and they help to ensure we don’t get complacent and start missing steps, but at the end of the day we want to see people that don’t wait to be asked. People that see a problem and fix that problem.
Do you have an idea for how to make our Client’s experience better? DO it.
Do you have an idea for how to boost efficiency in your department? DO it.
I won’t always agree with what you choose, but I will always look up to those that aren’t afraid to take decisive action even at the risk of failing.
3. Endear Yourself to Our Clients
This goes without saying really. Our Clients are our lifeblood. Without them, we do not exist. What can you do as a PM to make their experience better, easier, more fun, etc.?
We have some secret weapons I’m currently cooking up on the back end of things here, and I can tell you they will all revolve around making the Client experience better.
Anyone can build a building – only the truly elite operators can do so while making the entire process fun and easy for our Clients.
4. Win the Respect of Our Superintendents, our Specialty Contractors, and the rest of our Team
After our Clients, our Team is the next most important factor in what we do. Our culture thrives because of our Team – both internal and external.
As a GC that does not self-perform trade work, we rely even more heavily on our band of Specialty Contractors that we select to bring onto any given project. Even though we are growing rapidly, I still personally keep in touch with most of our tradespeople and as such, I will hear what they think of my staff usually long before anyone else hears it.
Our people deserve the utmost respect of course, but the same mentality with making a project fun for the Client holds true here. We should all be able to joke around and enjoy what we do, while remaining incredibly productive. When a PM solves that riddle and makes that happen for all, it is a beautiful thing to witness.
5. Win.
Above all else, we have to win.
Culture without winning is worthless.
We have to be the absolute best in every game we play. Our mindsets all need to be set to win, and not just by a little. We strive to win every game 100 to Zero. Run the plays, run the score up, dominate the field.
Our PM’s carry our torch once we move into the construction phase and they are tasked with the obligation and duty to win. Will we win them all? Probably not, but those that play to win every day without fail will win far more than they lose – it’s just the law of averages.
Want to be promoted internally quickly? Follow the above tips AND WIN – you’ll be a rising star before you know it.
Thank you for the eagerness to share your wisdom Matt and letting me gif out your work. Y’all should go follow Matt on LinkedIn and check out his Construction Corner Podcast.
Construction Corner Podcast: Apple | Spotify
Do you want to be featured in an Upcoming Newsletter via a Guest Article or a Regular(ish) Contributor in 2024?
Hit me up at matt@constructionyeti.com. And let’s talk about it!
One Video
It’s my opinion that everyone should be on LinkedIn building their personal brand and networking. Especially Construction Company Executives who can leverage the platform for not only business development but also for Talent Acquisition.
I’m not going to regurgitate them but you know the stats and facts on the ever-growing Skilled labor and Construction Management shortage…. The companies who win in the next decade are the ones who can effectively tell their story, values, culture, and set themselves apart from the heard.
If you want to get started and don’t know where to start, this video is really great. So much of what he says jives with my own learnings and experiences on the platform.
A real apartment complex was built like a LEGO set
A new system combining LEGO-like blocks and color-coded building plans could be the future of construction.
It took 11 unskilled workers just 8 weeks to construct each building using interlocking blocks and color-coded instructions.
Hmmm…. is this the future of residential over 3d printed homes?
One Meme
Breaking News…. I upgraded to ChatGPT Plus this week. So I had to ask the Gen Z meme custom GPT bot to make me a meme…. The results are a meme in themselves
Maybe next time they should use a source. #vibing #SourceTrustMeBro
See y’all next week! ✌
