Construction Project Managers Should Act More Like Football Coaches

I have spent years supporting construction companies in the implementation of the best scheduling practices in their businesses. Interestingly, the ones that are most successful have a common thread that might surprise you, even if those successful companies don’t realize it themselves: Contractors and construction managers thrive when project managers act like football coaches. 

Of course, the two professions have major differences. For one thing, construction teams do not have a specific opponent (although the project can sometimes feel like an opponent). Plus, Vegas isn’t setting odds for the on-time completion of a highway contract in Texas (though it does seem like a fun idea). And I’m not aware of any construction managers or project managers who have been asked for their autograph. 

Still, there are some unique parallels between construction companies and football teams. Here is what I have found: 

Tradesmen = Players 

Tradesmen are the people who are actually doing the work, laying pipes, and installing electrical equipment, just as football players are the ones actively competing on the field.  

Project Managers = Coaches

Project managers tell their tradesmen the course of action toward project completion, just as football coaches guide their players on the path to victory. What’s more, they encourage their personnel to overcome any obstacles that stand in the way of winning.

The Job Site = The Stadium

A construction project site is like a football stadium, where the game plan is executed for each endeavor. Of course, there may be expectations of how things will turn out at each venue, but expectations don’t always become reality. 

Bad Weather ≠ Cancellation

Even the most severe weather does not mean that work completely stops on the job site, just as it does not mean that NFL Sunday is canceled. However, bad weather definitely impedes performance on both fronts, which translates to a slowdown in forward movement. 

Job Conditions = Challenging

In both construction and football, there is no guarantee of job security. Both football players and project team members can be let go after poor performance or even factors beyond their control. 

Teamwork = Dreamwork

In both arenas, each member of the team works as a group of interrelated parts and individuals who come together to build something collectively—as a team. 

Responsibility = Necessity

Each team member needs to know who is working around them and what each teammate’s responsibilities are in order to perform efficiently,  productively, and safely. 

Project Schedule = Game Plan 

In both cases, if one part of the system fails to perform its duty in accordance with the game plan or the project schedule, then all other parts will be adversely affected, and the odds of success decrease for all team members and the project (or game).

The Mindset of a Football Coach

Now that we’ve established the similarities between these endeavors, let’s discuss how the approach toward achieving success should be consistent between the two as well.

Anyone who understands football knows that success starts with drafting and signing the best players possible, within the NFL’s salary cap, to form a team. In construction, we call this the bidding process.

In the NFL, it is imperative that you seek out talent, ability, and potential. Rarely do NFL teams just try to seek out the lowest-priced players to save a few dollars. Rather, they max out the salary cap; that is, they will spend up to the limit of what they are allowed by the league. 

From there, the players need to be molded into a cohesive team in training camp. In construction, this is the partnering and pre-construction process. With the season right around the corner, coaches must make their final cuts and solidify their roster. For general contractors and construction managers, this is subcontractor buyout, which includes the selection of the appropriate foremen and crews for the project.

Finally, the season (or project) kicks off, and the teams must be prepared to execute at a high level. In both cases, the key to success on the gridiron and the job site is relentless preparation.

All football coaches in the NFL today are continuously studying their opponents while simultaneously analyzing the performance of their own personnel. The better the coaches and coaching staff are at this very important process, the more successful they are as coaches. This is a very simple and straightforward process, at least conceptually—watch how the team performs, understand their strengths and weaknesses, and correct any obvious problems. 

Coaches are also known for masterfully instituting mid-game adjustments in response to the situation on the ground. By studying where they performed well and where they did not, they are able to make adjustments from minute to minute, quarter to quarter, game to game, and season to season.

The Key Is Technology

So, how do these great coaches prepare, study, analyze, and adjust? Largely by embracing technology: game film, practice film, and data analytics. This is where I see project management teams falling short in construction, fumbling  the ball by resisting technology and failing to study the “game tape.” 

I am not talking about videotaping all facets of a construction site; that would be costly and inefficient. The “game tape” in construction is the project-level and company-wide data.

Collecting, organizing, aggregating, and analyzing this data allows project managers to prepare their teams for the upcoming day, week, month, or project and put them in a better position for success. It has been proven repeatedly that when project managers take the time to study project data, they are more successful and manage their teams better. 

Yet rarely do I see construction companies make efficient and effective performance management a high priority like football coaches do. Can you imagine a football coaching staff deciding to ignore film and statistics on the upcoming week’s opponent, even though it’s readily available? How would they even begin to prepare their team? And how long do you think they would keep their jobs?

With all that in mind, the burning question is: why do construction teams often fail to embrace the importance of technology, data, and performance management at the highest level? Construction is one of the most inefficient, high-risk, and litigious industries on the planet. Billions upon billions of dollars are lost every year in this industry on poor estimates, schedule delays, lost productivity, and budget overruns, eating away the profit margins of every construction company. Yet contractors and construction managers are generally reluctant to watch the game tape, which could be instrumental in turning all of this around. 

Successful coaches embrace technology and rely on it daily to prepare their teams to maximize performance. Leaders in the construction industry, at both project and executive levels, would do well to follow the example of their coaching counterparts.

Improving Your Game Plan (Schedule)

With the number of mobile devices available, plenty of data should be coming from the field, and it should be studied diligently. The age-old excuse that the “field guys won’t do it” is mind-boggling–after all, everyone texts, emails, looks up scores, reads articles, and some even coach their own fantasy teams from the field. These individuals are the ones who should understand the concept behind analyzing statistics better than almost anyone. 

Specific to the construction industry, there are software platforms that can help produce a high-quality, accurate project schedule. Most project managers are aware of these tools and use them liberally. The platforms to analyze these schedules, however, are a bit less familiar; while some progressive companies do use them, there are just as many who don’t even know that they exist. 

Keep in mind: regardless of how well-constructed your schedule might be, it can always be improved. Whether it’s finding missing logic ties, identifying potential delays, or highlighting unachievable milestones, these construction-schedule software programs are worth their weight in gold. This is especially true if you and your project end up in a courtroom over a claim from a subcontractor, project owner, or anyone else connected with the job. 

These revolutionary data collection and analysis software solutions are designed for the automatic conversion of high-level data into performance metrics that help construction leaders intelligently set and adjust their game plans. Few football coaches would consider going into a game without using every technological edge they can muster. As a project manager, you should mirror this mindset. If you do, your chances of victory (success) go up exponentially. 

Michael A. Pink is CEO of SmartPM Technologies, a leading construction data analysis tool designed to enhance schedule quality, assess risk, review performance, and control project outcomes. You can follow him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mapink/.