Contributed by Brent Williams

Recently I had the pleasure of networking with a rising leader of one of the largest CSI Chapters in the country. He, like many rising professionals, is trying to juggle the varied elements of a career, family and the responsibilities of leading a group of professionals in an increasingly demanding business world. Just like a lot of the leaders that I speak with, he’s suffering a significant amount of burnout. He wants to succeed at everything, he cares and he’s trying, but he feels like he’s fighting a losing battle. And while he’s a member of my professional association, he could be a member of just about any member-based association in today’s economy.

This particular leader is burning out for a number of reasons. He’s stressed, overworked, and because the team that surrounds him isn’t engaged and involved, he’s trying to do all the heavy lifting himself. Some of his team are on the way out early - they just can’t balance the demands. His team isn’t engaged because the previous leaders weren’t engaged and enrolled in the vision, primarily because leaders before them hadn’t created or clearly defined the long-term plan. Those leaders were likely failed because of the changes that were brought on by the economic downturn, such as fewer training opportunities, less availability from national staff and less guidance from more experienced members, because they, like many of us, struggle with the very same time demand issues.
In offering him some experience sharing, I explained that the two best tool sets that a Chapter leader can deploy are credit reversal and long-term strategy. While these two tools are powerful in an association setting, they also are impactful in business and parenting, where the ability to help others learn to lead is paramount.

Let me explain.

We all, know as leaders, that running a chapter is tough, but not the hardest thing that we’ve ever done. Things can go wrong, but those things are rarely “big and hairy”. Experience comes in really handy here, for newer folks are afraid to take initiative and lead out of the fear that “something might go wrong”. This isn’t just a problem for association groups, businesses are struggling under the weight of younger hires who are terrified to “make a mistake” in the eyes of the boss. There is no single more powerful business leadership technique than the following simple skill.

Contributed by Eric D. Lussier

Two and a half years since the launch of the Let's Fix Construction endeavor, it brings us great joy to announce that we've been nominated for the third time for the Construction Marketing Ideas Best Construction Blog.

In 2019, we are "defending our title", as we brought home the award in 2018 after we ranked fourth in the popular vote, but due to the voting of the three judges, it pushed our blog to the top in the final evaluation.  We were found to be a "a true interdisciplinary blog, and it tackles some sensitive and challenging issues affecting the architectural, engineering and construction community."

As I stated on the Young Architect podcast, “Let’s Fix Construction is not about Cherise and I; it’s about the industry. It’s about taking good pieces of knowledge and information and sharing it with the world.” From day one, we've encouraged the construction community to lend their voice and their knowledge for public consumption so that together we can better the industry and help move it forward.

We'll keep today's New Post Tuesday brief and succinct, with two calls to action:

PLEASE vote for Let's Fix Construction for Best Construction Blog.  You can read the CMI summary and place your vote on their website here. 

Continue to share your voice and your knowledge. We publish a new post every Tuesday and ask for you to step up and share yours in 2019. You may contact us at [email protected] 

Contributed by Eric D. Lussier

​You can never start a conversation early enough in construction. Why is it that we wait so long to have that difficult talk? This isn't the birds and the bees with a pre-teen. This is real world ramifications that can affect many on a project.
 
We' are working on a flooring replacement project that we bid in April of 2018. This project has been on the verge of installation since September. We go over and above to ensure that our proposal is very clear at the time of the bid: What we will do, what we won't do and what is the responsibility of others.
 
It's important to note that any flooring contractor is not the Clark Kent of a renovation project. More importantly, we are not Clark Kent's alter ego, Superman, on a project. Meaning, we don't have x-ray vision. Conditions underneath existing flooring are unknown to all until the existing flooring and adhesive is removed and the base slab is 100% visible. You could have unexpected layers of flooring or adhesives, hazardous materials such as asbestos, mercury or lead, excessive concrete cracking, delaminating patching or high concrete moisture. Since we've seen each and every one of these unforeseen instances in the past, we exclude any and all subfloor preparation.
 
If you are preparing construction documents or readying for a flooring project yourself and you have a certain end result in mind and it needs to be included as part of the base bid contract, you need to be very exact and precise with wording. The end result should be so clear in your documents that a layman can understand the proposed scope of work.
 
On this particular project, the scope of work included flooring removal and to provide the following:

1. Two hundred (200) linear feet of concrete slab repair
2. One hundred and fifty (150) square feet of concrete slab patching
3. Four hundred (400) square feet of concrete slab leveling

 
What's wrong with that scope? From a flooring contractor's perspective, I offer you the following response on each line item.

Contributed by Cherise Lakeside

Once again, it is Women in Construction Week.  We here at Let’s Fix Construction thought this would be a great opportunity to give a shout out to some of the incredible women that we know in the AEC industry.  

As we started our list, we realized that listing each woman would be near impossible without invariably leaving someone out.  So, to ALL women in construction: 

• Thank you for blazing a trail.  
• Thank you for knocking down walls and braving the places where things can still be difficult for women so that you can do work that you love.  
• Thank you for showing those coming behind us that a woman can do anything and nothing is off limits.
• Thank you for creating beautiful spaces and places.
• Thank you for showing that there is as much honor in the trades as there is in any white collar profession. 
• Most of all, we would like to say thank you for not giving up (like my sister had too so many years ago).

Your dedication, passion, perseverance, hard work and craft are helping to set the stage for every woman who wants to do what they have always been told they cannot do. 

No matter what area of construction you are in, each and every one of you is an inspiration and a role model.  Today, we applaud you!

(Editor's Note: The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) is celebrating the annual Women in Construction (WIC) Week from March 3-9, 2019. NAWIC’s mission is to enhance the success of women in the construction industry. Read more at www.nawic.org)