The construction industry is in a bad way. It’s a battered old ship with an ocean of opportunity ahead, but it’s barely keeping afloat. We, the industry’s individuals, man the oars and heave each day desperately trying to cling to an acceptable pace, but we’ve slipped behind. We’re exhausted, and despite our calloused hands, we’re late to almost every port – to no surprise either. Tardiness has become our notoriety.
We plead for those who are able to grab an oar and lighten the hardship. But none do. I guess it doesn’t seem very appealing to work so hard for so little. Are we surprised?
Whether we like it or not, our ship is old and slow. As a colleague once said to me, “this is the life we chose to bear.” Many of us have a lot of love for what we do, but does it have to be so hard? I say it doesn’t, and I have an idea.
In 2013 I was cripplingly ineffective and creating drag, not motion. Since then, through study and regular chipping away, I have learned to be uncommonly effective. This drastic change was not in my knowledge or technical abilities but in the way I deployed them. My oar was still the same, but now I knew how to put it to work, and I could pull like a Viking warrior.
For a while, I thought I was learning to catch up with my peers. Looking around, however, I soon saw I knew a great deal that others did not – even those much more senior. At first, I was surprised until I looked down at my callouses and remembered the heavy burden we all carry. Adding to it with anything that isn’t on the construction program would seem idiotic to most. What I learned changed my life, but were I not in such a dire position at the time, I’m not sure I would have had the motivation.
Today I know things that could make a real difference to a lot of people, and I want to teach them. I can’t build you a better oar, and I don’t know how to fix the boat, but I do know how to pull effectively. And if I can teach you to pull with greater effect, then the task will become easier, not just for you, but for everyone lugging with you day in and day out.
This is my idea, and it’s why I founded The Whole Engineer.
I believe that if everyone could learn to be genuinely effective in their undertakings, everyone’s life would be far easier. Therefore, to as many people as possible, I am going to teach what I found to be life-changing. Read more about my intentions →
Through my blog, I will share ideas and spark discussions about the problems suffered in and by our industry, as well as offer tools and tips that help combat them.
Through mastermind groups, I will connect those who are serious about making a difference and help them implement the steps that’ll take them where they want to go.
Coming soon is a masterclass, through which I’ll teach the best of what I discovered to anyone who wants to learn.
Ideally, those with money would invest in a new boat that would glide from port to port with little more than push. But with our volatile, fragmented market, that won’t happen anytime soon. Until then, let’s focus on what we can influence; ourselves. You take the first step, and I’ll help you take the next.
