Rockefeller and Dealing With People

“Hard Skills” including the technical ability to design and build a project are the foundation of the construction industry.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

The “Soft Skills” such as the ability to deal with people is the glue that holds complex projects and contracting businesses together.  

Quote: The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun. John D Rockefeller

These are the skills that connect teams from different companies together effectively for the more collaborative project delivery we are seeing across all sectors of the construction market.  

These are the skills that both hold teams together and attract new people to that team.  This is exceptionally critical considering the shortages of talent in the industry that will continue to get worse.  

Combining soft and hard skills together is what makes effective teachers, coaches and mentors that develop others.  

These “Soft Skills” are purchasable as Rockefeller describes but they can also be developed.  In the current and future construction environment the contractors that master the development of talent will dominate.  


Schedule a call with us to learn more about how we help contractors accelerate talent development




Contractor Organizational Structures and Performance
Effective org structures improve project delivery, accelerate team growth, and enable smooth successions. These five diagrams and insights from our team will help you see your teams and structure differently.
Building a Systems Development Team - Balance
Striking a balance between immediacy and scalability is a constant decision with Systems Development and will be ever-changing in most organizations. The needs of your organization may necessitate erring on one side of that balance or the other.
Plan Ahead, Adjust Early, and Accelerate Recovery
Construction in any given industry sector or geographical area is a cyclical business. There are four major levers a contractor can pull to ensure the business performs well throughout all economic cycles.