Managing Dependencies and Grow Profitably

As projects and contractors grow in complexity it becomes increasingly more difficult to manage all the dependencies between tasks.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

 It is those connections between tasks and people that are often the culprit of delays rather than the actual speed of task completion itself. 

Quote: Unacknowledged dependencies remain the number one cause for project slippage. John Doerr.
  • When a business or project is simpler it can be easily managed using a task list.  
  • As it grows in complexity tools like Gantt Charts and the Critical Path Method are required for sequencing.
  • Relatively quickly you get to the point where a project or process becomes so complex that not all the dependencies can be seen by the person doing the planning and management.  
  • Even if all those dependencies could be seen by the person managing the overall project or process it is very important for the critical front-line supervisory level to deeply understand these dependencies.  

Additional tools and operating rhythms are required to develop the people that are necessary to develop the project and the company.  

Project:  The Last Planner System

Company:  Objectives & Key Results (OKR)


Learn more about how we help contractors develop the management systems required to grow their businesses profitably.




Governance Structures Enabling Ownership Transitions
Governance structures including the board of directors, policies, information flow, operating rhythm, and decision rights must continually evolve through each stage of growth and ownership transition. The first board is typically driven by a transition.
2024 Contractor 5-Year Growth Rates (ENR Top 400/600 Lists)
"More companies die of indigestion than starvation." - David Packard (Founder of HP). Growth is challenging for all contractors. The decision to grow must be intentional and aligned with strategy and capability. 5-Year growth stats from 2024.
Construction Benchmarks, Trends, Forecasts, and Predictions
Two of the most highly leveraged choices that leaders of contractors make are about market strategy and major resource allocations. Robust information systems about the external market are a critical part of this decision-making process.