Columnists: Craig
It’s time to refocus
Little did I or anyone know how big that inflating egg on the ever-growing high wall actually was or how big a mess it would help create, then foster The Great Recession. All we knew was that the level of new residential expansion was totally unsustainable and that we all better make the best of the situation because if we didn’t someone else would....
Five levels of project management hell
Spend enough time in middle management in the mechanical contracting industry and you'll eventually find yourself in project management hell, something similar to the underworld described by Dante in his "Divine Comedy."...
My economic, industry predictions for 2012
I’m not going to sit here and pretend to have a clue what that or those things might be that will help The Great Recession turn the corner and eventually stabilize not just the economy in general, but our middle-management mechanical contracting employment section in particular....
The please do, please don't of the times
The times we are living in from the perspective of your friend, the mechanical contractor...
What I’ve learn in 13 years as a columnist
On Oct. 1, 1998, I took a step of faith with the publication of my first column in CONTRACTOR, "The 7-1/2 Cardinal Myths of Project Management," and to say my path for the past 13 years since has been interesting would be an understatement...
Specifications are written on paper, not in stone
It’s an old saying in the trades that if you want to really keep a secret, bury it in a copy of some new building’s specifications, that way it’s sure to be ignored even if it’s noticed. We’ve all read into the hundreds if not thousands of pre-bid specs and how many times have we really read them as opposed to reading over them?...
I'm not as smart as they thought
Relationship intelligence is critical to succeed in any aspect of life since all endeavors require positive interaction with other human beings. Without the ability to elicit cooperation and action from others a given plan is doomed from the start. ...
The necessity of sincerely caring
I have always tried to give my employer my 100% best efforts since that’s part of The Golden Rule I follow and it's also who I am at my core....
It's time to shut 'er down boys!
The first thing any company that’s getting ready to shut its doors in 30 to 90 days needs to do is collect all monies due. ...
Building a strong foundation
Editors Note: The following was taken from a recent interview by H. Kent Craig with Les Seigle, P.E., who is a senior-level mechanical project manager, estimator and problem-solver....
Rest in peace old ways, old days
Well, gentlemen and ladies, the battle to preserve what was left of the old ways of the old days is now officially lost, the latest casualty of The Great Recession, and to be honest I'm not sure if this a good thing or a bad thing....
When you are faced with a blank page
While I'm a pretty good writer, as evidenced by the fact that Contractor magazine has kept me around for 12 years now, I know that I'm an even much better project manager/estimator as evidenced by my track record....
Project managers can learn from Hollywood
Did you know that as a project manager you’re the mirror of a Hollywood movie director? Well, if not exactly a director then for certain an executive producer? ...
The shared risk/reward project management paradigm
Step right up ladies and gentlemen, and let me sell you a bottle of the newest incarnation of the shared risk/reward project management paradigm. It's the latest and greatest incarnation being fostered in the mechanical contracting community in general and project management in particular. ...
Good advice from a jobs guru
When Alicia Sisk-Morris began her career with a major construction management executive search firm in the 1990s, an opportunity soon presented itself because of her honesty, work ethic and dedication. She was asked to start, from scratch, the firm's first MEP Desk and from there her career took off, she eventually becoming one of the top recruiters in the country....
An open letter to future architects
I am a second-generation mechanical contractor with unlimited Master's licenses in boilers, air conditioning, heating and plumbing, with extensive project management experience. I'm writing this open letter to you in hopes you'll take these hard-earned wise words from a contractor in the spirit that they're offered, that of not cursing you nor praising you, but encouraging you....
Projects without project managers
Imagine a world in which when you go to see your primary care physician there's a receptionist present to greet and sign you in, and then you're escorted to a room where there's nothing but a series of cameras and high-tech gadgets....
Jobsite chaos: understanding its causes
In project management in particular, I like to say there are similarly two kinds of people: those who seek control by stopping chaos and those who seek control by creating it. Neither behavior is better or worse than the other since they are both equal and opposite sides of the coin of chaos, viz. motivation and control. ...
The importance of a biographical job list
I have to admit to you — my loyal readers — and everyone else that I’ve been unemployed for some months now, and if anything, things are getting tougher and grimmer by the week. The most horrific of business cycles is still a cycle. And yes, things will eventually turn around. ...
Of punchlisting and project management
Aristotle teaches project management
Based on the headline of this column, you’re probably wondering how an old Greek guy who lived a couple thousand years ago could know anything about modern project management. Believe it or not, Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, understood human nature and how to focus on requirements that are essential to completing a project on time and on budget....
Special projects may be the flavor of the day
If every job is unique, then doesn't that make them all "special" and by inference not really all that special? ...
A day in the life of a project manager — Pt. 2
The next day, I arrive on the jobsite early in the morning to find one of the storage trailers broken into. Checking the other trailers, especially the one used for storing copper (it has burglar bars welded to the front), not one of them shows any damage, but that’s beside the point. ...
A day in the life of a project manager
Big breakfast at McDonald’s at 6:00 a.m. Some time to relax and read the newspaper before heading down I-55 to the jobsite office trailer. A lifetime in project management and I’m still not used to getting up so early so I can be there when my guys start coming in. I’m the first one in, the last one out. ...
The difference between management and project management
Common sense will tell you that there are many degrees of responsibility between micromanaging a two-man crew as a working foreman and macromanaging a 2,000 employee company as a corporate president....
Reader Comments