Lessons Learned
I have spent the last 20 years of my career in construction management, focusing my efforts on the safety of the men and women in the trades. There have been many lessons learned along the way, much more than any book ever could, and I couldn’t be more appreciative of their commitment to building the future one project at a time. What are some of those lessons? I’m glad you asked.
-You can come to the correct conclusion. You can implement it incorrectly.
-When you have the opportunity, craft the narrative; otherwise, it will be crafted for you.
-When you have the chance to lead, consider the type of leader you want to be; one who leads or tells others what to do.
-If you’ve never gotten the opportunity to lead, ask yourself why not. Leaders are needed in every vocation.
-Absent direction, hard work is chaos, accomplishing nothing. In light of direction, hard work is focused on accomplishing anything.
-Give others credit. Take none for yourself.
-Work for employers who value people above any profit, success, or selfish motivation. Success is inevitable when you prioritize people.
-Create relationships with people, not businesses. Have two contacts for every one aspect of work. Resist the urge to develop a third.
-There are doers, and there are conceivers. There are doers who conceive and conceivers who do. However, there seems to be a disproportionate number of conceivers who don’t do. When in doubt, be a doer.
-Set your sights on helping people. You will create relationships that will survive the toughest times.
-Respect is earned. Job titles don’t merit respect. Job titles absent respect work in reverse.
-You cannot move backward in your career or relationships. Remember this.
-Always point out the elephant in the room. Failure to point out the elephant in the room creates a blue whale, not a hamster.
-Be the one to give the bad news. It’s best coming from someone who cares than someone who doesn’t.
I have many more, but I’ve learned the longer the prose, the less it is read. Another philosophy, I suppose. Feel free to share some of yours in the comments below.
