Top 6 tips for change management in construction

Top 6 traits found in high-performing builders

Growing a construction business is chaotic. What’s the best defense? According to Benji and Paul, the answer is a growth mindset.

Here are the six ways they recommend adopting change management into your business to allow for massive growth:

1. Ask questions

High performing builders ask a ton of questions. They’re constantly inquiring.

What separates the low performers from the high performers is they try to solve problems themselves rather than ask for help. The best builders know that someone else has already solved this particular problem – and it will save so much time to just ask rather than waste time aimlessly searching for a solution.

2. No excuses

There’s a lot of excuse making in construction. Benji and Paul hear excuses from builders like, “the workforce is ruined by millennials” or “I don’t have enough time to learn software” or “my clients are so needy.”

People are naturally hardwired to look for external reasons for why they failed, but the best builders find a way to overcome that. Very little time is spent on making excuses or complaining, and instead they focus on fixing the issue and learning from it. By putting the blame for your failure on something or someone else, you rob yourself of the power to solve that problem and will likely make the same mistake again.

Benji and Paul recommend all construction leaders read “Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win” by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. This book revolutionizes business management and provides powerful instruction on how to lead without making excuses.

3. Ego check

According to Benji and Paul, ego is a hugely limiting factor in growing a construction business.

It’s important to know the difference between confidence and arrogance because when contractors get cocky – they get stuck. By practicing humility, you’ll attract the best subs, clients and team members. No one wants to work with an arrogant contractor, so keep your ego in check and allow yourself to be open to change. Your business will be all the better for it.

4. Give back

Be charitable with your time and knowledge.

The best builders and remodelers wouldn’t be where they’re at today without the guidance of someone who triumphed before them. Someone probably helped you with your business at some point, so pay it forward and help a new entrepreneur get off their feet.

Those builders that don’t want to give away their trade secrets because they’re afraid of creating competition for themselves are stuck in a scarcity mindset. The demand is continually outpacing supply, so by switching to an abundance mindset, you know there’s enough room for everyone. If you’re running your business the right way and you’re seeing success, you don’t need to worry about competition.

Be a giver and share what you know with the people who ask. The industry is moving toward a more collaborative approach which means when one builder succeeds, we all succeed.

5. Culture is king

At Breakthrough Academy and here at Buildertrend, we’re all about strategizing, structure and planning ahead. But in construction, things rarely go as planned.

So rather than focusing on being perfect, work on following your company’s core values. Don’t just choose a few fancy words ­– actually write down full sentences of what you want your business to stand for and lean on those values when things go wrong.

Spend good quality time with your team outside of work and build a bond with each member. Don’t hire just based on skillset alone – hire based on individual values and culture fit. Don’t let employees with bad attitudes who are great at their job bring the whole team down. When the team suffers, the business suffers.

6. Get comfortable with failure

Benji and Paul’s best advice for implementing change management into your business is simple: Try things.

By thinking, “This might work… we don’t what will happen but let’s try it,” you’ll open yourself up to a wide range of possibilities. You’ll fail a lot, but the minute you think you’ve arrived and you’re comfortable – all growth stops.

High performers don’t attach their self-worth to business outcomes. They have a healthy detachment from the business which allows them to pick themselves up a lot faster when they get knocked down.

Most people are scared to look stupid, but the quicker you can get over that and learn from your failures, the better off you – and your business – will be in the long run.

What is Breakthrough Academy?

Breakthrough Academy is a program that helps construction pros evolve by building smart systems into their businesses. They help builders develop the skills and processes needed to be successful.

Schedule a consultation with one of their assessment specialists to learn how you can take your contracting business to the next level.

What are your growth gaps?

What’s holding you back from implementing change management in your construction business?

Are you not asking enough questions? Are you making too many excuses? Can you give back more? Do you need to embrace more failure?

If you’re looking to make a change for the better, we have a way to help you: Buildertrend University.

Join us for a two-day conference where you’ll learn how to use technology to grow your business, meet with dozens of other builders facing the same challenges as you and get one-on-one coaching with the best of our team here at Buildertrend.

Or if you’re not quite ready for in-person training, listen to our podcast, “The Better Way,” to learn how Buildertrend helps construction businesses grow with technology. You can also take advantage of our unlimited support and training materials when you sign up.