Meeting with one of my customers yesterday, he started telling me about the phone app he uses for bike riding. We both previously tried MapMyRide, which created some nice maps and ride info. The newest best thing, he told me, was Strava.com, which does the following:

1. Uses your smartphone GPS to make a map of where you rode or ran.
2. Creates a workout log that shows all your distances, height variations, speeds, etc.
3. Sends that workout report to you and any of your riding buddies.
4. Creates sprint zones where the fastest riders are tracked.
5. Oh, and it’s completely free.

So when will we all be using smartphones to track construction production? Imagine having perfect data from every employee on a job site. The technology exists, we’re just not bothering to use it yet. The upside is huge for the firms that get this right.

If thinking big intrigues you, read this amazing Wired article about A/B testing. Google and Amazon, two of my favorite companies, no longer sit around debating changes. Everything gets live tested with an A option vs a B option. They’ve been A/B Test fanatics for the past decade. What they discover is their best instincts are never nearly as good as what the market data provides.

They deride the old decision making process: HiPPO—”highest-paid person’s opinion.” The HiPPO decisions put ego first instead of data and rarely are great.

Think about all the decisions you’ve seen made in building design, most are fair to poor. I’m not sure how the A/B Test model will help that, but I think there will be a way.

At the very least, start thinking about data and testing in your day to day operations. Don’t let the future get too far ahead of your business.