Dateline SAN DIEGO, California, November 28 – As the family and friends waddled out to the back porch after the traditional American Thanksgiving gorge-fest, they huddled around the outdoor fire-pit to sip Irish coffee and imbibe in other after-dinner treats. Feeling particularly full, the lethargic group’s consensus was that they had just engaged in one of the 7 Deadly Sins – that being “gluttony”, which was certain to be followed by another Deadly Sin, that being “sloth,” because the thought of getting up to clean the kitchen was a bit overwhelming. But the family could not remember all the other Deadly Sins, which was probably due to the sedative effect the turkey’s tryptophan was having on their brains.
The next day, one of the group members (that being me) wondered what the other Deadly Sins were. After Googling it I realized that, for the most part, the Construction Industry would do right by avoiding these Sins. So, with a touch of creative license, here are the 7 Deadly Sins as applied to the Construction Industry. Engaging in these Sins as a contractor will likely lead to problematic projects, or even worse, financial ruin.
Pride traditionally means the excessive belief in one's own abilities that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. As applied to the construction industry, having too much Pride makes someone believe they are always right, or their methods are always the better way to do things. A person with this mentality often dismisses others’ ideas for job-site problem solving, which undermines the creative team approach to problem-solving. It also can lead to not asking for help when one should, for example, getting someone else’s opinion on how to handle confusing plans.
Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation. If a contractor is always envying others, it leads to a shattering of the contractor’s confidence, having the opposite effect as Pride. With this mentality, a contractor may let the perceived intellect, education or company size of someone else on the project team intimidate him or her. This leads to the contractors letting themselves be walked all over, such as not fighting for valid change orders, or not demanding that they be paid on time. And, at the end of the day, the contractor who is caught up in the sin of Envy is left wondering why they can’t seem to get ahead despite how hard they work.
Anger traditionally is described as being manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury. Someone who embraces Anger lets their emotions spin out of control when minor disagreements come up on a project. They always think that when someone makes a mistake, that person is out to get them, and they will never forgive that person for the mistake. Anger is so prevalent in that person, that it is almost impossible to have a reasonable discussion with them, or reach a compromise, when something goes wrong on a project. If someone simultaneously lets the sin of Anger and the sin of Pride take over, watch out! When a project dispute comes up, this combination is almost always rewarded with a one-way ticket to litigation.
Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires, while Greed is the unchecked desire for material wealth or gain. As related to construction, these two sins can lead to the same fallout. First, these Sins lead to a contractor wanting to secure more and more projects. This is often too easy to do in a good economy, so contractors forge ahead bidding and accepting project after project without the ability to staff them properly with the required skilled workforce. This leads to project delays and the erosion of the contractor-customer relationship. Plus, this also can lead to payrolls that seem to grow exponentially over a short period of time and a significant increase in material purchases. These financial obligations usually must be paid before the payment trickles down from the owner to the prime contractor and then to the subcontractors. When this happens, contractors can find themselves taking money from one project to pay for another, or even worse, opting for ways to finance their immediate payroll and material purchases with expensive debt options such as factoring their accounts receivable or drawing down unsecured lines of credit. In the end, contactors who make decisions based on Gluttony or Greed often find themselves in such a financial bind that bankruptcy is their only salvation.
Sloth is the avoidance of work. In today’s world, we think of it as laziness. This Deadly Sin wreaks havoc for many when engaged in by a prime contractor’s project manager. First, the Sloth PM procrastinates on getting subcontracts out to the subcontractors, which causes a frenzy of activity as everyone tries to negotiate and get the subcontracts signed before the project starts, or at least by the time the first payment is due. Second, the Sloth PM can’t be bothered to submit change orders in a timely fashion, which results in delayed payments for work performed. This can eventually lead to stop payment notices, claims, and liens being filed by subcontractors, which creates a significant amount of bad blood between the owner and the prime contractor and between the prime contractor and its subs. Finally, the Sloth PM keeps horrible records and does not bother to organize and keep current the logs for submittals, RFI’s and change orders. Lack of project document organization usually spells disaster if a dispute ever arises on a project – especially with disputes related to project delays.
Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body. This leads quickly and directly to an employment law nightmare – enough said.
As you fly into the New Year, think seriously about whether or not you are letting any of these Sins creep into your decision making or conduct. And, if they have crept in, think seriously about taking the opposite action in order to run your business, as well as your life, in a financially healthier, and more productive and enjoyable way.
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