Laws Control the Lesser Man

Growing construction businesses need processes and accountability systems the same way society needs laws, police, courts and jails.

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You can also never create enough laws or prisons to correct an underlying lack of strong values and shared mission.

Quote: Laws control the lesser man, right conduct controls the greater one. Mark Twain.

As a contractor starts growing leadership needs to put some processes in place to keep things running smooth.  This is called enabling bureaucracy because it is the standardized set of rules that allow sustainable growth. As a contractor grows past about 150 people or starts to expand geographically there will likely be a point where too much process starts to creep into the business.  This is considered coercive or stifling bureaucracy.  

Leaders must always be working on the balance between aligned mission, culture or behavioral norms, processes and accountability systems.  

If you find yourself and others pulling heavily on the process and accountability lever with diminishing returns the likely problem is lack of balance with people and their behavior. 


Learn More:

Compliance Will Only Take Safety So Far

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Degree of Discretionary Time with Growth in Role Levels and Business Size
The degree of discretionary time that someone has in doing their job grows with their role level - for example from crafts person to VP of Operations. For similar roles, that time decreases with company growth as the job roles become more tightly defined.
Increased Value by Lowering Variability
A construction business is capable of providing a very high return to the owners who have their capital at risk as well as the team members that work there. Contractors with lower variability in profitability are both more valuable and more sustainable.
What Type of Contractor Are You?
How scalable is your organizational structure? Contracting is a very difficult business. Process and technology are absolutely necessary for scalability but it is the right levels of talent that put those things in place ensuring they truly add value.