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CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

June 10, 2010

Another Black Eye for Engineers
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

If you’ve ever read Catch-22, and you certainly should if you haven’t, you’ll remember Colonel Cathcart and his world view. To Col. Cathcart, every activity led to either a “Black Eye” or a “Feather in his Cap”. I find this concept helpful as I’m considering a course of action. It’s good to think, “Will what I’m planning to do be a black eye or a feather in my cap?”

Unfortunately, engineers have been suffering through some black eyes in recent years. The inability to stop the oil gushing from that hell hole in the Gulf certainly qualifies as one big shiner. When the first cap was being lowered, I blogged about Those Magnificent Engineers in anticipation of how well and quickly they’d solve the difficult problem. Of course the solution was a bust, as has been almost all the other attempts.

Engineers have a unique place in our society. They are trained to solve problems with technical and computational skills. They also have a responsibility not just to their employer but also to society to protect the public interest. It appears the engineers at BP didn’t really analyze the risks of their design. I certainly understand and expect that accidents happen, but it appears in this case that the engineers simply didn’t stand firm in the face of unacceptable risks.

To take a stance in opposition to your boss (who generally wants to hear that things will go smoothly at a low cost), takes tremendous gumption. Many engineers through history have shown that courage. We need to get past this stain on the profession of engineering and redouble our efforts to teach engineering ethics.

By the way, the responsibility to protect the public good doesn’t stop with engineers. Each on of us needs to live that way. We need to refuse to work unsafely, demand quality in our trades and generally act with courage to do the right thing.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

June 7, 2010

Please Don’t Jump
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

I checked one of my favorite websites yesterday, PostSecret.com, and found the following post:

The website shows a new set of cards each week that anonymous people send in with their secrets. The site updates every Sunday morning. Within a few hours of posting, someone had set up a Facebook page called Please Don’t Jump. 24 hours later 18,000 people have joined the page with many writing heartfelt reasons and admonitions not to end that writer’s life. Suicide seems to touch so many people so terribly deeply.

I lost a friend to suicide last week. He was a successful businessman, had a great wife and family and wonderful values. He had everything to live for, yet depression ravaged him from time to time. He actually met with another friend of mine a couple of years ago who was in the hole of deep depression and helped him see that things would get better. I suppose at the crucial moment, he couldn’t give himself that same pep talk.

I’m so sad as I consider my recently deceased friend. I don’t know what lessons to draw, what conclusions to make. No quick advice nuggets work. He lived with the right priorities. He had great family and friend relationships. He loved God all in. Perhaps sadness, not understanding, is the only appropriate response.

If you take a few minutes to visit the Please Don’t Jump Facebook page, you will feel the power of suicide. It’s worth the visit.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

May 18, 2010

Some Wisdom for Moving Forward
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

It’s that time of year when graduates pop out of their cozy educational wombs like slippery watermelon seeds. Typically they get a graduation speech from some suit. I just came across a different kind of commencement address from which we all could benefit. Hope you enjoy it.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzFCkRG–NQ&feature=email

Here are a few chestnuts from the speech:
Worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra problem by chewing bubblegum.
Do one thing a day that terrifies you.
Keep your love letters and throw away your bank statements.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Don’t read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Since my last post got a little religiousy, I thought I’d change it up with this one.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

May 1, 2010

Communicate on the Jobsite
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

I came across a short article that had my favorite ever cartoon (which I think dates back to the 1980s). See if you relate to it.

I’ve remembered that old saw many times as I’ve been talking to people (and to dogs). My old boss, Ed Abel, did a great job of communicating on the jobsite. He’d tell the guy what he wanted done. Then he’d move in closer and tell him again, then he’d take a step back and tell him another time. He’d ask questions to make sure his message was understood. He simply never assumed that just because he said it clearly that the other guy heard it clearly.

Otherwise, as was fond of saying, “You’ve got monkeys screwing a football.” Or words to that effect.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

April 7, 2010

Living a Creative Life
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

I came across a letter that an architect wrote to an aspiring architect about a typical day in challenging economic times. The architect who wrote the letter had worked on many Frank Lloyd Wright projects. The letter was written in 1931, but has some great wisdom that carries forward to today. You can click on the letters to make them more readable or go to LettersOfNote.com for the transcript and some more information.

There was lots I liked about this letter.

  1. A busy, influential architect took the time and effort to write it to a kid.
  2. He mixes the practical and the creative, acknowledging the place of both.
  3. He ties the work to a higher purpose…the requirement to love truth and beauty.
  4. Imagination gets called out as the quality of creativity.
  5. He challenges to live beyond the office, to read Walden.
  6. Efficiency and integrity are foundational.

You may not be an architect, yet your job (and your life) will improve with attention to these concepts. I challenge you to consider and value your imagination. Do things that feed that imagination, building your capacity for creative problem solving. It’s fun and it gets noticed.

Unleashing your creativity won’t only help your work life, your level of happiness will also surge. I recently read an excerpt of The Happiness Project that noted that the things we enjoyed doing at 10 years old will likely still be the things that bring us joy. We tend to forget and we benefit if we try to remember. This Happiness Project Toolbox also had some great insights.

So take some time to re-engage in a hobby, read something out of your norm, focus on living a creative and joyful life.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

March 27, 2010

No Excuses, No Worries
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

I’m not a fan of excuses. When someone shows up late to a meeting and starts to blame circumstances, I think, “Do you know how lame you sound?”

Years ago a friend said, “If you’re going to be more than 2 or 3 minutes late to a meeting, give a courtesy call and let them know your status. Excuses should be avoided, though, because most of the time the reason you’re late is that you didn’t care enough about getting there on time.”

I’d like to hear an honest appraisal, sometime, when someone walks in late to a meeting. “I’m sorry I’m late, but you all just didn’t matter enough to me to put in the effort to be on time.”

Of course, all this leads up to me making an excuse for not posting this week…my internet service (for about 1000 of us in this area) was down almost all week. Sorry.

As I was thinking about excuses, my son Lex sent me this wonderful short video that encourages and motivates. Please take a few minutes to watch it, I think you’ll be glad you did.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBRtjXw296s]

He doesn’t make excuses and he doesn’t waste time worrying. He lives all it.

I’ve got some good posts in me for next week, so check back.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

March 20, 2010

Facebook Revisited
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

A few days ago, I encouraged you to consider opening a Facebook account and connecting with people, including perhaps some client or boss type people. Jeff Gambill commented on the post that he’d never considered doing that, but probably will sign up for Facebook as a possible way to get some more work for his small construction business. Jeff recently discovered ConstructionKnowledge.net and has been a long time fan of learning and improving his skills and understanding of other trades.

As I thought more about Facebook and marketing in general, I remembered an “Ah Ha” moment I had 20 years ago. I was running a General Contracting firm with about 80 people. A past customer started a project with another GC. Our sales guy called on the past customer to find why he hadn’t come back to us. Had we done something wrong that we didn’t know? Had there been problems with the last project that he never told us?

The customer answered, “No, you guys did a great job, but it was a few years ago. When I started thinking about this new project, I just didn’t think about you. I’d been hearing things about this other firm and just gave them a call. Things went from there.”

We need marketing becuase customers forget. They have their busy lives and don’t think about us much. So whether you run a business or your own career (and I’m convinced there isn’t much difference between the two), you need to remind possible clients or bosses of your existence.

Imagine setting up a Facebook account and friending most of the people in your email directory. Only the ones currently on Facebook get notified, and most of them will probably accept your friend request. Now you have some people who see your posts. You may post on your wall that you’ve been calling around for work, never having seen it quite this bad before. Not whining or begging, just commenting on what you are doing and thinking.

A potential customer (or boss) may see that post and be spurred to action. Lots of projects are happening right now because the customers have been thinking about the project for years, but no one expressed much interest in taking them on. Now the call requesting a quote gets promptly answered and the bid given. The starting time becomes as soon as the permit clears.

Besides getting you remembered, marketing motivates customers to take action. Wendy’s doesn’t advertise because they’ve got money to waste. They spend all those dollars on ads because the ads encourage customers to act in ways they wouldn’t have. Adding some offices differs from buying a Frosty, but the advertising works the same.

So, as you manage your career or your business, think about marketing as a way to make customers remember who you are and what you could do for them. Make the time and take the risk.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

March 5, 2010

Movies that Motivate
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

I’ve written a few posts recently admonishing you to reach out and help someone. Not sure why this theme keeps buzzing in my brain. Maybe because I have a bit more time to think (thank you Mr Economy) and I’m counting what’s mattered in my life and what’s been filler. All the time and efforts that I’ve invested in others matters more to me than anything else. Relationships trump everything.

We saw The Blind Side last night and loved it. It’s the story of Michael Orr, offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. As a brief summation, a privileged (and gorgeous) woman takes in a homeless kid. The trailer below gives the flavor of the movie.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1hG_mjQojw]

The movie encourages me to look beyond what I think I see. I’m challenged, as Goethe said, to treat people not as they are, but as they are capable of becoming.

Last week, TBW and I watched Precious, another amazing movie that inspires and illuminates.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5FYahzVU44]

If you get a chance to see these movies, I hope you also are moved to be the best you. The place to start those changes, then, will be in your relationships. I ask you to think deeply about how you could help someone you know. Perhaps it’s a young pipe layer struggling with staying married. Maybe it’s a two time drug loser who’s begging you for one last chance to be the foreman you know he could be.

Those two examples came to mind because two Construction Superintendent pals of mine encountered those exact situations a few years ago and put in the effort to get involved and take a chance. All the lives involved were enriched by their actions. So go ahead, put in the time and take a risk. It’s worth the effort.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

March 3, 2010

Be Cool
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

Bruce Springsteen is one of the coolest guys I’ve ever known. I was a sound roadie on his 1978 Darkness on the Edge of Town tour and got to know him a bit. He treated everyone he met with respect and had fun doing it. The tour was over 100 shows and each one was amazing. He’d play for almost 4 hours, with a unique performance each night. It wasn’t canned, it was him giving everything he had.

Since then, I’ve always wanted to give everything I’ve had, whatever the endeavor. It’s a great way to live. No excuses, no regrets.

I remember one night after his show we were loading the trucks and his tour bus had some mechanical problem, so they couldn’t leave yet. He and the band came piling off the bus as he announced they were all heading up to a strip bar about a block away. Miami Steve VanZandt yelled as they were walking away, “That’s why he’s the Boss!”

Bruce helped others often, sometimes giving, sometimes going onstage and playing with local bands in a bar. He seemed to live in the moment and try to do the right thing as it came up. The video below shows him playing guitar with some kid in Copenhagen. I can imagine him being recognized, the kid asking him to play and someone just catching it on video.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWQV7agBFtE]

If you have a few minutes, watch the video and listen to the words. The story is about a construction worker enduring hard times, financially and emotionally. Does that sound familiar?

Let me challenge you right now. If you are suffering through this economy, take the initiative to get to know yourself better and map out a great future life. My book Joyful Living: Build Yourself a Great Life! can be downloaded free and has some more funny Bruce Springsteen stories in it. Or use some other resource to examine where you are and where you want to go.

On the other hand, if you are prospering through these times, take a clue from The Boss, reach out and help others. Don’t do it in some grand fashion, just pay attention and learn to feel where the spirit moves you. Learn to spot opportunities to do some good without making it a big deal. Sometimes, it becomes a big deal for others.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 24, 2010

Beauty of Biography
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

In 1750, Samuel Johnson noted that almost every person that’s lived could be the subject of a useful biography. I love that idea.  He writes, “We are all prompted by the same motives, all deceived by the same fallacies, all animated by hope, obstructed by danger, entangled by desire and seduced by pleasure.” The fact that we share so much with other humans means we have much to learn from them.

My Dad taught me to try to treat everyone I meet with dignity and respect (though still having a good time with them) because everyone has something to teach me. I’ve failed at this often, but when I succeed I’m generally rewarded.

I’ve taken to reading a short essay every morning from the Oxford Book of Essays. You can read this morning’s essay by Samuel Johnson titled Dignity and Uses of Biography by following the link. Besides the encouragement to learn from those I meet, the essay also prompted me to start reading more biographies.

Johnson writes, “No species of writing seems more worthy of cultivation than biography, since none can be more delightful or more useful.”

Do you ever read biographies? Whatever topic interests you, find a related biography and give it a try. I’ve been so moved by several biographies over the years, gaining insight into a specific person, humanity and myself.

What’s the favorite biography you’ve read? What might you consider reading? Please consider actually answering these questions in the comment section. This blog will be much more fun if we get some dialogue going.

As for me, I was most moved by the Peter the Great biography by Robert Massie. I think I’ll read The Last American Man next.

What about you?

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