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O P I N I O N
Evolving these relationships is a critical and too-often-overlooked key to successful project delivery and retaining satisfied clients. Evolving the trade partner relationship
F uturistic technologies, like drones and augmented reality, are currently an exciting source of innovation in the construction industry as they radically reshape the way projects are built and delivered to clients. And yet, in other ways, the industry is stuck in the stone age. One such dinosaur is the existing template for the general contractor/trade partner dynamic, which too often can be adversarial, not allied.
Michael Blakemore
There are any number of reasons to evolve the contractor/trade partner relationship, beginning with the most basic: trades can’t do what they do without GCs, and vice versa. This symbiotic affiliation behooves all involved to partner for performance and support one another to achieve shared success. Increased profitability is another compelling justification. Simply put, less drama on projects means less time wasted – and time, of course, equals money. Communication and understanding facilitate this. Aligning trade partners with the client’s view of a project’s success greatly improves their ability to deliver that success to the client. When the whole team is aligned on a common set of goals, they are better able to perform.
A more professional, streamlined team atmosphere, where people work alongside one another as equals instead of against each other as obstacles to the other’s advancement, encourages people to bring their best selves to the trailer each day. The ripple effect will positively impact your projects and position you as a preferred GC – not just with trades, but also with clients. Below are six simple strategies for immediately evolving the trade partner dynamic: 1)Start by understanding the trade partner’s wants, needs, and goals for the project. Every stakeholder, the trades included, will have their own definition of success and their own critical
See MICHAEL BLAKEMORE, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER DECEMBER 7, 2020, ISSUE 1370
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