The Garrison Report #2004-4

We Need More Trust

For the past two months, The Garrison Report focused on several traits (secrecy, blame, isolation, avoidance, passivity and a feeling of helplessness) that indicate a company or an industry in need of a turnaround. However, the common trait is a lack of trust!

I love to ask owners, “Why do you feel you must bid work?” The usual response is, “It’s the only way I can be sure I’ll get the right price.” I respond, “Well, I can appreciate that perspective. But now that you have the ‘right’ price, are you sure your contractor can deliver?” That comment usually gets some strange looks. After all, it is really better to overpay slightly and get the work done than to underpay and get shoddy work because in the end that will cost more.

The real problem is a lack of trust. I point out in my seminars that one of the definitions of a client is “someone under the protection of.” How long would you keep your attorney if you didn’t think he was protecting you? How long would you keep your accountant? How long would you keep your financial planner? Well, how long should an owner keep a contractor who doesn’t protect her? This question is at the heart of our industry’s problems. Without addressing this issue, contractors will continue to be treated as “used car salespeople” instead of “trusted professionals.”

Whose fault is this situation? Yours! Yes, each of must share in the responsibility for the conditions in our industry. If we are unhappy with the conditions of our industry, then each of us must reach out and attempt to make changes. When I ask seminar attendees, “How do you gain trust?” The usual answer is, “Earn it!” But the question is, “How do you earn it?” You know most people’s immediate reaction to someone asking for trust is to grab their wallets. So asking for trust doesn’t work. Trust must be given. I’m not suggesting you give it blindly, for that would be foolish. But do your homework. Learn which owners, GCs, subs, vendors, architects, engineers and workers have good reputations. Work with them and indicate you trust them.

I often ask, “If you don’t trust someone, why are you doing business with him in the first place? Too many people in the construction industry try to protect themselves by keeping information, including situations and financials, private because they are afraid it will be used against them. The problem is people cannot provide the correct answers or actions if they don’t have all the facts. I understand this is a tough pill to swallow, but work with those you trust and grow other relationships. Of course, you will be burned sometimes, but you’re already being burned by the old system. If you can’t trust a person or organization, then don’t work with it. On the other hand, if you believe a relationship is worth saving, then educate the other party to why his or her actions are disappointing or misguided. Don’t be afraid of trust; the lack of trust is the real enemy.

Trust has remarkable power. A plumbing supplier had several warehouses in remote areas. In these locations there was insufficient demand to have even one person located at the warehouse. The supplier’s solution was to give each contractor his or her own key, providing 24/7 access. All the contractors needed to do was load the trucks and fill out the invoices themselves. For those afraid of this approach, you might be surprised that the supplier has less shrinkage at these self-service locations than it does at its manned locations.

There are three essential elements of trust: competency, candor and concern. While most quality performers focus on competency, they don’t always address the other two. Competency is absolutely critical. If you can’t perform, you won’t survive. If you don’t know what you are doing, that is hard to hide. In the end competency gets you invited to the dance, but it doesn’t necessarily get you invited onto the dance floor. If you want to create a true competitive advantage, start focusing on the other two elements. They will set you apart from your competition and help you build a “professional” relationship with your clients.

 

Candor

Too many people in the industry are afraid to reveal information. Worse, many hide problems because they are afraid the bearer of bad news will be blamed. The result is that many problems get substantially worse before people are forced to address them. If the effort put into positioning yourself and attempting to blame others for problems were spent solving the problem, the end result would be better for everyone. In general, the sooner a problem is addressed, the easier and less costly it is to fix. Therefore, it should be in everyone’s best interest to address problems quickly. This can’t happen when everyone’s major concern is deniability. In reality we all make mistakes, and if everyone worked together to solve all the problems, they could be minimized and the impact on everyone would be minor. If someone contributes way more than his share of problems, then his competency is in question and the others should consider not working with him on future projects.

Oh, I know we have all been burned by people using information against us, but I can rattle off many experiences where giving the other party all the information actually worked to my benefit. Again, it gets back to working with the right people. Stop being paranoid.

 

Concern

Concern is at the heart of the concept “under the protection of.” When we can create this environment with a client, we become the “trusted professional” and have a completely different relationship. When we do this, we begin to bury the hatchets from the adversarial relationships that are so prevalent in the construction industry. Several people have been credited with, As the old saying goes, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” We need to wrap our heads around this concept.

For example, instead of starting project manager meetings by asking for an update on budget and schedule, ask, “What have you done for the customer this week?” This will create a new environment on your projects. Of course, common sense must prevail. However, if you pick the right partners (owners, GCs, subs, design professionals and workers), you will not get taken advantage of.

But unless each of us is willing to step forward to do the right thing, our industry will continue to get mired down in the mud! Let’s start acting like the professionals we are. I know I’m proud of our profession, as I’m sure most of you are, so it’s about time we start acting like it. I trust each of you to do your part!

 

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