It’s not magic, but what being organized can do for commercial construction subcontractors is phenomenal. From attracting the best employees to getting better bid opportunities, the foremost contractors are the ones who “have their act together.” That means, quite simply, everything from their minds to their offices is organized.
Being Organized – It’s the Name of the Game!
During the years I’ve spent with leaders in a variety of industries (including construction contractors,) I’ve come to realize that one important quality great leaders achieve is the ability to be well-organized.
Put another way, a solid system of organization is crucial to great leadership.
Getting down to brass tacks – productivity is minimalized when disorganization is maximized.
Productivity is crucial to developing the construction subcontracting company that excellent general contractors are seeking.
Organizing with a Purpose
Being organized allows you to:
Find what you need when you need it
Remain on track with your goals and objectives
Prioritize with increased knowledge and understanding
Focus on important relationships
Increase employee satisfaction
And frankly, being organized gives you a competitive advantage when submitting bids or otherwise seeking jobs.
Organizing Strategies and Tactics
For this entire month, the Schulte and Schulte blog and social media posts will focus on giving construction contractors information and guidance concerning organizing strategies and tactics.
The areas we will talk about organizing are:
Mind
Time
Tech
Space
You do want to be a highly effective leader. Right? Then come along. We’ll get started today by introducing the information concerning organizing your mind.
Get This in Your Head
Back in the 90s, this saying was going around and around to the point of ad nauseam. It was “garbage in, garbage out.” You know the reference was to computers and was a way of saying you can’t expect good solutions if you’re inserting bad information. One online dictionary asserts the saying is “used to express the idea that in computing and other spheres, incorrect or poor quality input will always produce faulty output.”
While you don’t hear the saying being used much today, the sentiment remains. And that part about “other spheres” is important because the best computing machine is your brain.
The latest saying in this brain/computer regard is, “I have too many tabs open in my brain.” Some fun wisecrackers add, “And I have no idea where the music is coming from.” 🔊
You get it, don’t you? You’ve experienced those moments when it seems your coffee cup is overflowing, yet someone is holding the coffeepot above your cup and pouring, pouring, pouring. Heck, there might be three or four coffeepots with their spouts aimed at your cup.
Act like a detective
I recently heard former detective Joe Kenda of the television show Homicide Hunter say that his first action was stopping the chaos when he reached the crime scene. As he explained it, he cleared non-essential people from the scene, cleared his head, and clarified for those remaining what their next steps should be.
Clear non-essential thoughts
In posting on Lifehack, Royale Scuderi wrote an article that suggests three steps to clear non-essential thoughts. Go ahead and look; what she suggests is simple, doable, and important.
Clear your head
From there, it is time to clear your head. That might mean taking control of your emotions, or it could be sustaining your focus.
Although you have little control of how you “feel,” you have complete control of how you will react to the emotion. President of TalentSmart, Travis Bradberry, says, “The key is to identify and label your emotions as you experience them. Associating words with what you are feeling makes the emotion tangible and less mysterious. This helps you to relax, figure out what’s behind your emotion, and move forward.”
Sustaining your focus is aided by turning off distractions. Close the door. Turn off the distraction culprits such as the phone, email, and social media. Hang a sign on your door if needed. Go somewhere else if that is what it takes. And, if you still find your mind wandering, consciously bring your focus back to the task at hand.
Clarify the Next Steps
It is time to reflect and determine which thoughts you’re going to let back into your mind. You may find yourself in a bit of a Catch-22 situation. How do you know what to act upon next when you’ve essentially emptied your mind of all its griminess?
Try using these boundaries to determine what to allow space in your mind.
The old “great idea” is no longer useful because circumstances have changed – toss it.
Worrying over something about which you have no control is of no use – dump it.
Some ideas are okay, but you won’t act on them – give them to someone else to handle.
Some ideas might need consolidation because they are alike or similar.
Realize some ideas are good but not for you.
Assess which ideas are worth pursuing but at a later date.
Don’t worry if you haven’t been (totally) successful in stopping the chaos. You’ve likely made some inroads and, with practice, will get better at organizing your mind.
This has been the first in a four-part series concerned with organizing your construction business. Next time the emphasis will be on organizing your time. Make time for it. 😎
Update: Here is the link, Organizing Time in the Construction World.
Second Update: The third post in the series, found here, is about Organizing Tech.
Third Update: This series's fourth and final post is about Organizing your Office Space.
Ambitious Construction Contractors look to The Profit Constructors to provide advocacy in dealing with:
Clients and customers
Employees and subcontractors
Vendors and service providers
Governmental entities
Working with The Profit Constructors gives Construction Contractors the means to organize their operations in ways that help them:
Remain informed
Avoid hassles
Reduce risks
Be future-ready
Ready for action? Or want to know more? Get in touch today to schedule a complimentary discovery call. 866-629-7735