“Foreman Gone Down” gives you and your team practical tips on how to plan for the inevitable situation of a downed foreman.
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The evidence is overwhelming; it’s laughable to argue against the setting and managing of goals. No matter for personal use only, setting goals for a project, or building goals into your department or company, the proof that setting goals does positively impact results is without question.
So then, why do so many “smart” people not make goal setting part of their natural and professional lives? Briefly, let me share a few that I’ve discovered working with leaders over the years.
Like setting a “New Year’s Resolution,” most well-meaning people may set a goal and then slowly fade away from managing the goal before it finally drops off the radar. But in this article, we’re not talking about losing weight or increasing your road work to run a marathon, as worthwhile as those two effort are. We’re talking about the difference in just working toward achieving some thing “out there,” and being disciplined to develop a very specifically targeted objective, supported with just as specific action steps, in order to achieve or surpass critical company objectives to beat the competition. Trust me, your competitor would love nothing more than for you and your work associates to simply bump along, never really injecting the human capital available to you to win the prize of more volume, more market share, more customer loyalty.
It has been generally accepted that the first use of the SMART acronym was first recorded in November 1981 in Spokane, Washington. Mr. George T. Doran, former Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company, published a paper titled, “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives.
It is generally accepted that the SMART acronym was first written down in November 1981 in Spokane, Washington. George T. Doran, a consultant and former Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company published a paper titled “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives”.
Mr. Doran defined each letter in the following way.
While there have been numerous adaptations for the individual letters and their meaning, most interpretation of S.M.A.R.T. is mostly intact today. So, let’s consider a brief expansion for each letter as it might apply to you.
Specific
The very first and most critical effort to writing a meaningful goal is to define it specifically. To simply write:
“We will improve communication this year,”
is not as specific as writing,
“We will improve clarity and timely updates of customer orders every day at 8:30AM and 4:00PM between the following departments: Purchasing, Production, & Sales.”
Consider that no physician would prescribe any medications without first making the cause of the illness as specific and sure as possible. So too, should any leader take the writing of a goal with the same specificity in mind and practice.
Measureable
It is in the measuring of a goal where the depth of the goal is found. There is an old carpenter’s axiom that states, “Measure twice, cut once.” What is true in building a house or building is true for other industries. Making your goal measureable gives body and substance to what is needed to achieve.
Returning to our example earlier, let’s add some measureable element to the statement.
“We will achieve a 16% increase in customer fulfillment of orders through improving the accuracy of customer requests, our production schedule, and our capacity, for each daily update at 8:30AM and 4:00PM, between the following departments: Purchasing, Production, & Sales.”
You can see in this statement that we have added some “volume” to our statement, turning eyes specifically to a more narrowed measuring of what we will be reaching for each new day. We have identified a measureable in two fashions: A. There is a 16% increase target for customer fulfillment orders, and; B. There is an improvement in accuracy of customer requests, our production schedule, and our capacity. This “B.” measureable is directing those involved to include these elements in their two “updates” each day.
Assignable
This element of the acronym is where some leaders fail in sustaining the potential impact of goal setting. By not assigning key responsibilities to contributors to the success of the goal, there will more often be a breakdown, leading to the decreased activity to reach the goal.
In our ongoing example of goal statement, there actually has been an assignable effort made by pointing out three departments involved with the exchange of more specific communication: Purchasing, Production, and Sales. Now, no names of individuals were included but this would have to be determined by either the leader over each area or pointed out in the action plan that supports the goal. While individual names could be added, I’m not sure that this would be necessary if the departmental leaders stood up to address.
Realistic
The real test for any individual or group in setting goals comes when they must determine a realistic endpoint to accomplish the goal. That is to say, “What do we get when we get there? What will the accomplished goal look like?”
This is a fair but difficult effort for some goals. In our earlier example, what might be the “realistic” portion of the goal? Well, our first realistic test is to reach the 16% increase in customer fulfillment of orders. If we feel that we have the needed resources, the proper coordination, and the commitment to reach this number, then we will lean toward this goal being realistic.
While making our goals “Realistic” doesn’t always require an editing effort to the actual goal statement, the requirement here is for the goal writer to believe that they have the necessary resources to see the goal through. If the individual, or team, do not feel they have the needed resources, then this will undoubtedly dampen the enthusiasm for the effort to achieve the goal.
To summarize this fourth element, if we feel that we have the needed resources to accomplish the goal, then the 16% increase in customer fulfillment of orders is realistic for the people charged with achieving the goal.
Time-Related
The fifth and final element to writing a S.M.A.R.T. Goal is perhaps the “gut check” for those who are creating the goal. Why? Because if a goal is to have any real traction and impact, there must be a time frame that the team feels pressured to achieve. There must be some imposed element to reaching the goal, and setting the goal to the calendar is one sure way of doing this.
From “cramming for a test” in college, to preparing for a new child in nine months, there is something about the scheduling of time that tends to refocus, empower, inspire, and pushes most people to excel beyond their wildest expectations. Recall the effort made by the NASA Engineers when an Apollo Mission to the moon was brilliantly brought to the movie screen. The Engineers were told to use only what was available on the Capsule and that they only had a few hours to solve an energy and oxygen problem.
As we know now, the Engineers did solve a very short term, and life threatening, goal to save three astronauts, and to bring them home alive. They accomplished their goal, each digging deep into their knowledge, experience, and creativity to turn the “most successful failure in NASA history” into an inspiration for science for all time.
Now, having accomplished writing of a S.M.A.R.T. Goal, it is important to put a plan of action to support the achievement and management effort. You will find an Action Plan template that is easy to use. Whether you have your own action plan document or use the attached one for this article, you will discover that without doubt, putting the goal, especially one that impacts and needs the involvement of more than one or two people, can serve the effort nicely. The Action Plan provides a regular check-up, helps to place measurement to smaller steps in the process, and keeps the management of the goal in focus.
With so much at stake for your company’s future success, doesn’t it make sense to commit to the writing of goals, S.M.A.R.T. Goals? Recommit, with more understanding and fire power available, to set your goals more proficiently and clearly before those engaged with achieving the goal.
Be S.M.A.R.T., start developing our goals today!
Brad Humphrey
The Contractor’s Best Friend
Today, the Construction Foreman is one lost soul! For many, it is merely a glorified best worker or leadman position. They really aren’t in charge of anything nor do they really have the authority to execute needed plans on a site. In the worst-case scenario, they are just doers, not paid to think, just execute what their leader orders.
What a complete waste of human potential!
The Construction Foreman, if positioned and supported right, should be one of the most important and critical leaders to achieving success for the construction projects engaged. Let me share with you what good Construction Foremen have demonstrated over the years. See how many match up with your Construction Foremen.
The best Foremen I’ve witnessed over the years are those who regularly ask for their next projects’ file. They want to get a head-start in reviewing plans, locations, job profile information on the customer, surrounding challenges, etc. Receiving the project info on the same day they are to start not only angers the best Foremen I’ve known, but leads to more quality, safety, and morale problems.
The best Foremen I’ve witnessed never fake it. They have learned, some the hard way, that waiting till you are on the job site is not the time to be asking questions that might have changed how you prepared, what equipment you would have brought, or even what workers you would have taken. Briefly, the best Foremen want to study their plans, review their detail list of needed tools, equipment, materials, and to identify early who are the other contractors involved on the project.
The best Foremen I’ve witnessed don’t “experiment” without a prior reason and discussion to do so. “Proven Methods” best represent a company’s Standard Operating Procedures, or SOPs. For the smart contractor who has taken the time and pain to develop written SOPs, the Foremen will find, if they follow them, greater achievement than those sorry “bloats” that have none to follow. FACT: Contractors who have written SOPs, and follow them, increase their productivity, Foremen pay, project quality, and most importantly, make going home every day healthy and unhurt a 100% guarantee.
The best Foremen I’ve witnessed simply keep their leaders updated on a regular basis. They are transparent and realize that their leader, if updated, is better prepared to answer questions from the customer when caught off guard, AND, provide greater insights and consulting back to the Foreman that can help the job process improve. I’ve witnessed the best Foreman calling their leader once a day, twice a day, even every few hours depending on the project and how “risky” the project. The best Foremen I’ve witness do not work in a vacuum…nor do they want to!
The best Foremen I’ve witnessed prepare each new project, and each new day, as if it were the first time they led a project. There is a reason great athletes, and great teams, practice warm-ups and basic drills, daily, prior to entering the more intellectual part of their preparation for their next opponent. The best Foremen I’ve witnessed do this every day. This can include insuring that every truck and trailer is packed with all the needed tools, equipment, components, etc. This moves forward by doing a daily walk-about their job site, upon arrival, to ensure that no safety risks exist, and that overnight “project demons” have not changed or damaged the previous day’s effort.
The best Foremen I’ve witnessed consistently communicate with their crews who is assigned to what action and efforts. They also communicate what the needs of the project are that day…do we need to do some extra housekeeping, do we need to start tearing down, cleaning, and stacking the forms, etc. And, the best Foremen I’ve witnessed always discuss “how much” needs to be accomplished by lunch or the end of the day. This sets daily goals and gives the crew something tangible they can strive to achieve.
The best Foremen I’ve witnessed realize that accountability moves through all workers, including themselves. They do not look for easy passes by their senior leaders, realizing that their senior leader is also held accountable. The best Foremen I’ve witnessed hold their own workers accountable by insuring the timely arrival to work, proper use of time during the day is followed, and that no one quits for the day too early and not before there is some level of housekeeping completed. When the worker fails in their duty, they are spoken to first, reprimanded on a second incident, perhaps disciplined on a third offense, and even terminated on a fourth. Most good and worthy employees get the message after the first or second corrective action taken by the Foreman. For those who don’t connect the dots until the fourth incident, it’s often best to let them go before they infect their form of work ethic into other company employees.
The best Foremen I’ve witnessed have authority, given to them by their senior leaders, to use as needed to get jobs ready, executed, and cleaned-up so they can move to the next project. The best Foremen I’ve witnessed realize that having such authority is precious and should not be squandered by smarting off to their leaders, cussing out their workers, and telling their customers to “take a hike.” It is a privilege to be entrusted with the authority to make a project successful. The best Foremen I’ve witnessed realize this and feel empowered to lead, with pride, their workers to be the beset crew possible in completing work, win the trust of their customers, and continued faith in them by their senior leaders.
It is an honor to be a leader. The best Foremen I’ve witnessed believe this and realize that their work efforts, and results, influence their pay, their level of trust and respect among senior leaders and the owner, and, has the most influence for their own promotion to higher levels of responsibility, if that’s their goal.
What do Foremen really do? I think a lot personally. Show me a great Foreman and I’ll show you a leader who trains their followers, spends more time with new employees and those who are challenging the SOPs or the company’s requirements, and finally, who takes pride in being a leader.
Be the Foreman who strives for excellence. Pay no attention to other Foremen who make fun of your preparation and organizational habits, knowing that you will be rewarded and they may find themselves doing what they do best…for another contractor.
Brad Humphrey
The Contractors’ Best Friend
