One Common Flaw of Exec Team Members

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I'm noticing more and more that most construction professionals struggle with strategic thinking.  

I'm not just talking about your project manager or Superintendent, either. There are vice presidents, presidents, and beyond who struggle to really think through the future of their division, department, or business and to make a plan for achieving a better future.  

If I was running a construction company today, I would invest some serious time and energy into developing the strategic thinking ability of my people. And I would do something about it quickly.  

How long is your planning horizon? 

One of the best ways I have found for evaluating an executive's ability to think strategically is to start paying attention to their typical planning horizon. For those who don't know, a planning horizon is the period of time into the future in which you are looking to build your plan. 

For example, most project managers are typically looking into the future somewhere between two and six weeks. They have long lead time items that they know they need to get released, and they take the steps required to be able to meet that six-week time frame.  

Meanwhile, any good executive should be able to think at least three months ahead. I use this number because a) 90 days is a good amount of time to collect data that you can feel confident in, and b) you can get a lot done in a quarter.  

So, as I said, at the very least, you want your executives looking 90 days ahead and answering questions like: 

• What could stand in the way of our ability to accomplish our revenue goals? 

• What could stand in the way of our ability to accomplish our gross profit goals?  

• What could stand in the way of our ability to accomplish our net profit goals?  

• What could erode our culture?  

If your executives ask themselves those questions every 90 days, I guarantee you they will start coming to you with improvement areas required for the business to keep advancing. 

How long should your planning horizon be? 

What really good executives do is think one year + into the future. They have the ability to create a yearly strategic plan for their department, division, or business and put actionable initiatives into place that they will execute throughout the year.  

These executives are especially potent and valuable because they not only recognize hot problems in the business, but also extremely long-term problems that are plaguing you repeatedly. This kind of one-year planning ability truly is rare in the construction industry and can be developed by doing some intensive training and planning.  

Most of the time, good training starts with spending time every quarter learning how to think ahead. Block 4 hours at the end of Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 to do some personal strategic planning. I promise you'll start to get better.  

For the top executives in the industry, they're looking three years or more into the future, and there is even an echelon that is thinking 10 to 25 years ahead. Herb Sargent, the chairman of the Sargent Corporation, once said to me that he is making decisions today that will impact the lives of people who are not yet born. Now that is a long-term planning horizon! And to be honest, that is an extremely clarifying comment. Because it reinforces what our strategy should be today: that we have a long runway in which to make our business better, and we don't need to be in a hurry, period. It doesn't mean that we won't improve rapidly and grow, but it does send a message to the team that we will be thoughtful about the decisions we make—so that we can help people long into the future.  

Again, this type of thinking and this kind of vision is extremely clarifying for an organization, which is why these executives who can think 3, 10, or 25 years into the future are so valuable.  

Sharing the vision 

One of the major responsibilities of your executives, if you want to grow your business, is to continually share the vision for the future of the company. They need to share it all the time because they need to get alignment and buy-in from their teams.  

No company is going to accomplish its vision without every person on their team rowing the boat in the same direction. So, if you're running a construction company, I highly recommend you invest in training your executives on strategic thinking so that they can clearly articulate the future to the rest of your team.  

If that's something you're interested in, let me know. We have some custom programs built exactly for it. 

Spark Notes:

• Most construction leaders—at every level—struggle to think strategically, often focusing only a few weeks ahead instead of envisioning the long-term future of their business.

• Great executives extend their planning horizon to at least 90 days, proactively identifying obstacles to revenue, profit, and culture before they arise.

• Exceptional leaders think one year or more ahead, creating clear, actionable strategic plans and addressing recurring, long-term challenges.

• The most visionary executives plan three to twenty-five years into the future, shaping decisions that impact generations and clarifying a shared, purposeful direction for the entire organization.