Project Planners and Construction Managers  

Our Mission Statement is built on what our clients tell us they need and value most. It represents our vision of what success looks like and we keep listening to our clients to be sure we’re on track. We actively seek client feedback and integrate what we hear into our daily operations. This makes our Mission Statement more than just words on a page. It makes our Mission Statement an action plan.

The 6 Qualities of Excellence are the behaviors that enable us to turn our Mission into action. These qualities are what Excellence looks like and we aspire to them every day. We train our people in how to be excellent and we measure individual performance by our ability to embody these qualities in our work with clients and colleagues.

The Confidence to Take Charge

The Capacity to Anticipate

The Ability to focus on the Details

The Spirit to Collaborate

The Creativity to Innovate

The Knowledge to Problem Solve

Take Charge. It’s an attitude and an action that begins with urgency. It requires you to take initiative, to manage conflict and to be accountable for your results. Taking charge forces you to be prepared, positive and focused on taking the actions that make things happen. Be the one to raise the flag. Jump in with solutions. Be the first to identify potential roadblocks and to blaze a better trail.

Taking Charge is a disciplined exercise in humility and collaboration. It’s easy to take charge when you’re placed in charge. It’s harder to Take Charge when you’re not in charge; when you’re managing clients who have clients of their own. That’s when it’s your job to spark the highest possible level of performance, and to ensure the welfare of your entire team. Listen carefully. Ask the right questions. Make confident, informed decisions. Manage up. Manage down. Do whatever it takes to get the job done.

When you Take Charge, you inspire everyone on your team to give their best effort. You set the standard for superpleasing clients. You manage expectations, anticipate risk and resolve disputes. Our clients need to trust that they are in capable hands. By taking charge, you eliminate their uncertainty. By putting yourself in their shoes, you replace their uncertainty with confidence.

Use your technical skill and your human touch. Take the lead. Respond with urgency and deliver superior performance every time. Be smart. Get things done. Harness the talent of your team. Be the rising tide that lifts all boats.

Anticipate: It’s not about guessing. It’s about expecting. It’s being aware of what’s around the corner before you get there. It’s about seeing beyond the horizon of today in expectation of what might occur tomorrow.

There are two levels of anticipation. The first level is anticipating the bricks and mortar technical problems common in all construction projects. Be the expert in anticipating effects: the effect procurement has on schedule… that weather has on construction…that coordination has on infrastructure and sequence has on the finished product.

The higher level of anticipation comes from truly understanding your client’s environment. Know what’s important to them. Know what puts them at risk… what their objectives are and how best to keep them safe.

Know the consequences of your actions on their world. Use your foresight to envision possible scenarios. Pay attention. Live in their shoes. When you stay focused on your client and think of ways in advance to make the construction process easy for them, you gain an edge over all of our competitors.

Act with urgency. The pace of change is accelerating in today’s marketplace. Be accountable. Client needs are changing. If you adapt too late or too little, you risk losing the client’s confidence…and the client. Turn conflict management into an opportunity to strengthen relationships with your clients and partners. Deliver bad news up front. Anticipate reactions. Make a plan in advance.

The capacity to anticipate is at the heart of survival in construction because it gives you the ability to prepare and to control future outcomes. It’s what CBRM is all about…identifying risk up front. Build projects on paper. Seek out risk. Confront it head-on. Communicate it. Manage it. Put the controls in place and then drive the proper course of action to get the job done. Anticipating risk keeps our clients safe. It requires constant vigilance and the initiative to turn observation into urgent action. Know when to peel back the onion and look more closely. Stay ahead of subcontractors. Give clients a preview of the weekly meeting. Involve the superintendent and listen to him.

The capacity to anticipate requires the intuition to know when a project is about to move into harm’s way and the urgency to find answers before questions are asked. In a world where change is the norm, view change as an opportunity to lead. Make the future for your clients. Don’t wait for it to happen.

Dig in. Roll up your sleeves. Immerse yourself in the details. Study the shop drawings. Scour the contracts. Eliminate the punch list. The ability to focus on the details is about assuming nothing and asking everything. Seeing the big picture is important, but you can’t mess up on the minutia. Construction has zero tolerance for error. The difference is made in the details. And that difference has a direct impact on your client’s satisfaction.

The ability to focus on the details is an exercise in degrees. It’s about knowing how deep to dive and how not to micro-manage. It’s knowing when to dig in and how to pull out. It’s about pursuing all the parts and pieces that make up a project, especially the missing pieces. It’s about making the time and having the desire to understand every facet of a project and every client need. Pay attention to the myriad of every-day details that lead to great client service. Know your client as thoroughly as you know their project. Focus on the details of their experience. Know what they need. Understand what they expect. The trust and confidence of your client isn’t automatic. You earn it through your command of the details.

When you focus on the details, you think with the end result in mind. You make meticulous plans that avoid crisis and build trust. You take charge so outcomes become predictable. You gain the confidence of your client and give them peace of mind. You respond with an urgency that reassures them. You set their projects up right…the first time…and you eliminate surprises. When you focus on the details you don’t take short cuts. You shine a spotlight on uncertainty. You make unknowns known. You keep your clients informed and safe.

When you focus on the details, you lay the foundation for success. You’re able to anticipate problems, avoid surprises, save money, manage expectations and ultimately, make the process easy and the outcome excellent for your clients. Focusing on the details enables you to stay ahead of the curve because you’ve thought things through. When you focus on the details, you make it possible to deliver on all 6 Qualities of Excellence and to earn the respect of your clients.

Collaboration is the foundation for effective teamwork. It starts with respect and trust for each member of the team. It requires a willingness to communicate openly and to accept input from everyone involved in the project. Engage your team! Be sure every member takes responsibility and initiative. Cultivate creativity and innovation. Inspire your team to do the right thing and to take intelligent risks. Empower your clients by giving them options and letting them choose.

Collaboration is fueled by the genuine desire to join forces in pursuit of a great experience and great results. It’s powered by solving problems rather than pointing fingers…by identifying and dealing with risk, rather than just asking questions. Collaboration delivers on our mission to make the construction process easy. It keeps our clients and partners safe, informed and involved.

Make sure your clients know they’re important to you. Be there for them beyond the parameters of the project. Find solutions together. Don’t let team members stick their heads in the sand. Use your skilled leadership to get all the minds at the table to focus on solving problems. The Spirit to Collaborate is an art and a science. It requires you to focus on the common goals, manage the conflicting ones and maintain alignment on the project objectives.

The Spirit to Collaborate requires the discipline and the heart to listen, and a deep understanding of what’s important to all parties. Since a team is only as strong as its weakest member, everyone will benefit from the commitment to a joint effort. And since your clients and partners are integral to your own enduring success, the spirit to collaborate will forge strong relationships that contribute to everyone’s future. Be accessible. Be available. Keep your promises. Deliver on your deadlines. Explain what you’re doing. Communicate in advance.

When the Spirit to Collaboration prevails, individual goals align with project objectives. Teams are cohesive and more productive. Clients are more likely to return and to refer us to others. The Spirit to Collaborate creates a positive energy, a synergy and the true experience of client satisfaction.

Innovation: it takes a bold, creative spirit that challenges tradition and finds the fastest route to what our clients value most. Our environment is changing rapidly…new clients, new competitors, new technologies, new expectations and new economies. They rule out getting comfortable. They rule in the need to reinvent ourselves for each new project. Our challenge is to find fresh ways to deliver practical, radically superior value…the kind of value that delivers on our mission and distinguishes Commodore in the marketplace.

Get uncomfortable. Push the boundaries of conventional thinking. Fend off the familiar. Ask yourself, “What have I done to improve client service?” Be flexible. Ask yourself, “What have I changed?” Be confident. Be willing to adjust your opinion. See the opportunity when things around you don’t work and turn it into a catalyst for innovation. Be resourceful. Ask yourself, “What have I done to advance efficiency?” Keep an open, receptive mind. Be clever. Squeeze the inefficiencies out of the procurement and implementation process. Embrace new technologies. Apply green development techniques. Don’t be afraid to set aggressive benchmarks. Tackle new situations head-on and respond with innovative actions.

If you’re urgent about tearing down the obstacles to success…if you’re passionate about making a difference, innovation will naturally follow. Know what your clients need. Get energized, not paralyzed by taking risks that solve their problems. Don’t rationalize. Never say “It’s good enough” or “It is what it is.” Instead, ask “How can I do it better?” Your clients and partners always compare us with our competitors. To be market leaders, every experience they have with us must be superior. It requires the Creativity to Innovate…to challenge the system, collaborate openly, and to set a new standard of excellence by leaving the status quo behind.

The knowledge to Problem-Solve earns your keep. But, it’s the way you go about solving a client’s problem that determines their confidence in you. Listen carefully. Know the details. Explore multiple options. Involve your clients in the process and let them choose. Problem-solving takes persuasion…not just assertion. It requires reasons…not just conclusions. It’s about responding with urgency…asking the right questions and coming up with practical, innovative solutions your clients value. It’s never throwing problems over the fence, pushing them across the table or looking good at another’s expense. Problem-solving is the perfect blend of vision and action. Think on your feet. Be resilient. Improvise.

The Knowledge to Problem-Solve is the culmination of all the Qualities of Excellence. It takes much more than technical skill. Problem-solving requires you to Take Charge; to exercise your Capacity to Anticipate; to Focus on the Details; to convey the Spirit to Collaborate and to inspire the Creativity to Innovate. The Knowledge to Problem-Solve provides the stage on which you can create the ultimate client experience. Use your imagination and the minds around you.

Construction projects pose great uncertainty and risk for your clients. They’re not construction experts. They’re the teachers who teach in the classrooms you build. They’re the researchers who find cures in the labs you construct. Solve their problems with empathy. Eliminate their anxiety by involving them in decisions so they can appreciate the results. Be cooperative. Put yourself in their shoes. Take the time to understand what’s important to them. See their big picture and your smallest open detail. Be aware of the subtleties of human interaction and the impact that solutions have on everyone involved in your project.

Be a problem-solver driven by the passion to get things done. Scope out the situation and come up with a decisive course of action. Respond to complex situations with speed and with the flexibility to accommodate constant change. If you can’t get to the solution immediately, keep your clients in the loop so they know you’re working on it. Put the parts, the pieces and the people of your projects together in new ways that provide superior value. Approach the problem-solving process with enthusiasm, empathy and confidence, because if there weren’t problems to solve, there wouldn’t be a need for Commodore.

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Kingsley Montessori
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