Failure is Not an Option

Contributed by Thad Goodman

This month's post deals with Attitude. Having the right one makes all the difference.
 
The year was 1999.  The company I worked for was involved in a 73-million-dollar capital improvement project.

My position dictated that I would have a part in it, but not until we were past the early stages and in construction.

The initial project team had taken on a theme… 

Failure is NOT an option."

I ​ was a little skeptical of the name at first, as it seemed like a negative connotation.

Shouldn't the mantra have been "WE CAN DO IT!" or "THIS WILL BE GREAT!"?
 
Then I sat in on my first project meeting. 
 
The task presented looked like an insurmountable obstacle.

​It was daunting just to go over it in detail.
 
The lead on the project wrapped up his overview.
 
The room was quiet, everyone letting the scope of the problem sink in. 
 
Then one of the project managers in the back of the room said

Well, Failure is not an Option, so if we start with..."

​The rest of the sentence is not important to this story, but his mindset and the reaction of the team is.

When he said these words, the rest of the project team silently, confidently, nodded their heads.

There was no doubt from anyone in the room they would succeed.  
 
And they did.
 
The project was completed on time with minimal apparent struggles to be seen from those outside the team. 
 
Construction is destructive by its very nature. Construction is not an exact science. Every site is different. We disrupt the Earth. We alter wind patterns as we impede them with large blocks of cement and sticks erected in its path. We change the flow of water and harness electricity to fit our desires. We test gravity with overhangs, cantilevers and roof lines. We should expect nature to fight back, and it does. We challenge time and manpower constantly to get these structures erected and inhabited safely and prepared for the owner’s purpose. 
 
It can be a new year, a new project, a new job or just a new day.
 
One important way to fix construction is to have the right attitude.