Finding Expertise

I’m an enormous fan of the author Michel Lewis (of "Moneyball" and "The Big Short" fame). I first became introduced to his work when I attended the London School of Economics in the early 90s and learned he was not only an alumnus but wrote the book Liars Poker. At the time, it seemed as if it was essentially required reading for anyone looking to go into the financial sector (my dream back then). It was one of those books I read in a single evening. Since then, I have read all of his works and, over the last few years, listened to his “Against the Rules” podcast. You won’t be surprised to learn that I highly recommend it!

About a year ago Lewis released his latest season which focused on expertise. Per the producer’s website, Pushkin Industries, “In Season 3, Michael tackles America’s expert problem. Why is it so hard to figure out who the real experts are? And why, once we’ve found them, are they so rarely the people calling the shots?” (https://omny.fm/shows/against-the-rules-with-michael-lewis) As Lewis details over the next seven episodes, this is a complex and somewhat confounding problem.

As an expert in construction delay, loss of productivity, and damages, I was easily drawn into the material. Although Lewis discusses courtroom experts in S3 E5, it was really S3 E1: “Six Levels Down” that greatly resonated. The premise is that the true experts are not the executives, not middle management, not the consultants, but the person six levels down that truly and fundamentally understands the issues that can help solve the biggest challenges.

It’s a very compelling argument, and one I’ve been exploring at my own organization and on my team since I heard the podcast a year ago. At Aegis Project Controls , I don’t think we need to go down six levels to find this expertise. That number is arbitrary, but I agree that very meaningful problem solving is happening with those people who are doing the day-to-day work. Their insights are invaluable, and it is incumbent upon any organization to try and tap into those skills and insights. I believe Aegis does a very good job at this through numerous initiatives, forums, and retreats but I know firsthand how hard scaling this type of expertise can be.

As I have become more attuned to this challenge, I am currently more focused on our clients’ use of (our) expertise than us internally tapping into ours. Due to the nature of our involvement in the projects we ARE six levels down! Although Lewis argues that the expertise does not typically lie with the consultants, in this case, I respectfully disagree. In our role we become a part of the team. We know the project intimately, oftentimes better than the employees themselves, and almost always better than the executives that run it.

Despite this deep project understanding and wealth of expertise, I have too often witnessed our staff not always being appropriately utilized. There seems to be several reasons as to why this occurs:

·????????Lack of awareness of each skill set and expertise,

·????????The nature of decision-making in large construction organizations,

·????????The way in which construction companies are structured,

·????????Budget constraints, and

·????????Concerns about losing control over the project.

In many cases these are hard hurdles to overcome. However, despite my bias, I believe that many construction companies are not fully leveraging the experts in the industry, including those they have already hired! This is truly a missed opportunity and, as a dispute resolution expert, I believe one that often has huge impacts on time and money. Decision-makers need to be more willing to invest in the type of scheduling and risk avoidance services of companies like Aegis. They also need to be willing to break down silos and ensure that their decision-making is informed by those people with the best available expertise.

By applying these philosophies, teams can identify obstacles and, subsequently, develop solutions in a more effective and cost-efficient manner. This process, as the podcast makes clear and in my professional experience, will always bring about the best possible outcome.