I’ve often wondered what someone with a strong technical education background with solid real world construction experience could do with a greater than average understanding of psychology, organizational psychology or sociology could do on a project or within our industry. Don’t get me wrong, I think the foundation for a good and profitable career is in the trenches building things and learning all things construction. I just wonder how much an “ology” degree or background could help. For instance, if projects were profitable based solely on project team technical aptitude and performance, it would be somewhat easier to avoid red projects. It would also be a lot simpler to forensically look back on bad jobs and identify the variables that caused issues with certainty. It’s not that simple though. In addition to managing and leading teams that report to us, we must also manage and leader other project stakeholders who don’t answer to us or aren’t concerned with the same bottom line that we are. Understanding the psychology of how individuals tick and how they might act in certain situations could be profit and even life saving on a job site. Understanding the organizational psychology or sociology of the project team, project supply network and the overall industry could help us organize groups and position them to succeed within the structure of our projects.
A recent, non-construction related, event that got me started thinking about the “ology’s” within construction is the Coronavirus and the response to it via different personal and professional actions like stocking up on food and supplies for the house and adjusting meeting and travel plans at work. A secondary response to the Coronavirus is the market drop of today. People are worried about the economic impacts the virus might have so they make knee jerk reactions and adjust their investment holdings and strategies. As a result, the market had one of the worst days in a long time. To combat this drop, the market even shut down briefly. Some people see this drop and then panic more – either via Coronavirus preparations or by selling or changing the investments and holdings strategies. A vicious cycle ensues. The virus numbers are increasing so people stock up and the markets react. Then because some people stocked up and because the markets reacted, additional stocking up and investment modifications take place which only leads to more negative effects.
I’m not saying a reaction or response is not warranted – just that the right one is the right one. If someone goes down with an injury on a jobsite, rescuers are trained to assess the scene and possible alternatives prior to rendering aid so that the injured person doesn’t get worse and to protect the rescuers from injuries too. Coronavirus and the market drop should be similar. Obviously, both are bad but taking a second to collect information, assess any issues and then taking the right action is best. It will keep us from spinning our wheels for no progress in the short term and will make sure the best long-term results are worked for and attained.
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