Why Am I Here?

Don't Miss the Live Stream!

Join me on November 9th for a live edition of Thoughts from the Field. I'll be talking about using digital workflows to improve our processes (and our lives) in the field and may have a surprise guest. I have also been testing a new rugged Android tablet that could be an affordable solution for crews in the field. Join live so you can comment and ask questions. Go to https://www.dhirubhai.net/events/thoughtsfromthefield-live7122259556667191296/ to bookmark the event and add it to your calendar.

What are you trying to accomplish on LinkedIn?

?I have been hosting meet-ups of fellow LinkedIn Learning Instructors and this is one of the questions that came up during our introductions. As LIL Instructors, we all share a passion for teaching, but what else are we trying to do on LinkedIn? It’s a good question, and one that made me think. With many recent changes to the platform regarding visibility and the way people interact with the information shown on LinkedIn, what’s the goal?

For me, the easy answer was that I am trying to teach construction management professionals (or aspiring professionals) to be better at what they do. I am trying to keep them informed and up to date as our industry grows and progresses. However, if you add another element of “why”’ to the question, the answer becomes a little more complex.

I have spent my entire adult life (beginning at age 15) in the construction industry in one capacity or another. In some ways its been very good to me. What started out as a way to make money in order to survive while I tried to earn a degree to do something “better”, turned into a lifelong career. It replaced that idea of “something better” as I realized that I really enjoyed the industry. I started in the trades (concrete and reinforcing), I ran crews as a foreman, and moved to things like estimating, project management, and eventually teaching.

In other ways, the industry has not been good to me. It can be a rough industry, and some people in construction seem to excel at exacerbating that problem. Long hours, high stress, and very little recognition for a job well done can all drag down the appeal of this industry. And this is a big problem. The CEO of the Associated General Contractors of America recently pointed out that “When an industry that pays an average of $34/hour can’t find enough qualified people to hire, we clearly need to rethink the way the country prepares future workers.” I think that this statement only scratches the surface. Not being able to find enough people to hire is part of the problem, but burning out the people we do attract is the other side to that coin.

If we have trouble attracting people, and we burn out the one’s we do attract, that means, heads or tails, we lose.

Making the industry more attractive is probably the easier challenge to solve, because in many ways it already is an attractive industry. There are many reasons to choose a career in construction, be it in the trades, in administration, or in management. We just need to get people to notice and acknowledge the industry as one that can lead to a lifelong career. I know we can do that. After going out on numerous location shoots and producing most of my construction management courses on LinkedIn Learning, my Producer made the comment that if she was ever going to do something different, she would be really interested in the construction industry. This was a good feeling.

She also once asked me why I went in a different direction in the industry, and if I missed being out on projects every day. Ironically, that was a day we were filming out on a project where the superintendent was not happy about us being there. Actually, he was not happy about ME being there. When we got to the project and checked in, he and I looked at each other and immediately knew we had a history together. Neither one of us remembered what that history was, but I knew it was not a fun history. Based on that, and that alone, he proceeded to go out of his way to make the day as miserable as possible for me. This was a bad feeling.

Do I miss that (far to common) interaction out in the field? Do I miss the days where someone believes that the world is going to end if I don’t put in 12 hours? Do I miss feeling stressed because I am working inside of a system that has no chance of supporting successful outcomes?

No. I do not.

So…back to the original question:

What am I trying to do here on LinkedIn?

It’s not going to be enough to raise awareness and teach. Because when a parent comes to me and asks if they should encourage their high-school aged child to pursue a career in construction, I need to be able to give an honest answer. That answer can’t be “it will be great for a while but have a Plan B because eventually they are going to burn out.” And I can say with confidence that many people in the industry would silently agree that is currently the answer.

That’s what we need to change, and that’s what I am trying to do here on LinkedIn.

We need to raise the visibility and awareness. We need to attract more people, and we need to make sure they have an environment in which they can thrive and be successful once they are here. That’s the answer that really encompasses everything I am trying to do here.

Our industry really can be a place for a rewarding career if we strive to make that our goal.

Stay Informed

Here are some additional ways to access my tips and advice for professionals in the?#aec?industries (#Architecture,?#Engineering,?#Construction):

1. Visit?The Construction Collaborative?at?www.cmsocial.net?to find ideas, tips and tricks, video tutorials, and to help form a community of construction professionals sharing ideas and solutions.
2. Follow me on LinkedIn, then click the ?? at the top of my profile page to be notified about events and to join in the conversations in my posts.
3. Subscribe to?Thoughts from the Field?to receive this bi-weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox and on LinkedIn, so you don't miss any topics.

Resources for Someone New or Interested in a Career in Construction

If you want to look at where the industry needs to be going in terms of adopting digital workflows to make our lives better, you can watch this playlist I have been producing for Fieldwire by Hilti on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6IfE9gesKFECkYim8JmFju9fyAD0NxST .

Over on LinkedIn for Learning , one of my favorite courses is called Construction Management Foundations. In this course, we talk about the entire AEC industry and how it's organized, and we also talk about where the industry has been and where it's going. It was a great course to create because we pull in many other voices from the industry, all people that I know and have enjoyed working with, and there are some great discussions about some of the negative issues of the past and what we are doing about them. If you have access to LinkedIn Learning (or want to get access), you can watch the course at https://www.dhirubhai.net/learning/construction-management-foundations/welcome, or you can watch below, a couple of my favorite interviews with Lew Laws and Nate Gorrocino . Lew is a former construction manager who, ironically, did have enough and left the industry. Nate is one of my former Construction Management students who has done a great job of making a career in construction, and we need to make sure we keep him.