#9 Being a Weirdo Isn’t a Detriment, In Fact, It’s Often a Benefit.

Most of corporate America cherishes conformity. People get promoted that belong to the same clubs, have the same interests and don’t clash. The old boys club shows no signs of dying. Government, non-profits and most other industries also tend to support the “Go along to get along” mantra.

Construction, on the other hand, prizes competence above style. If you have two carpenters hanging doors and the guy you like hangs 6 doors a day and the other oddball character hangs 12 doors, you know the friendly guy drains company resources while the productive guy adds company value.

Construction Supervisors also get reputations for being effective (getting the job done on schedule and on budget no matter the obstacles) or not. Most of us in construction, and most Owners, will tolerate a wide range of personality oddity from an effective leader.

One Construction Supervisor may look and act like an outlaw biker, while the next may get up at 3am every day to run a trap line. Construction may be lots of things, but boring ain’t one of them.