Colorado Real Estate Journal - March 16, 2016
“Be quick, but don’t hurry” are profound words by legendary University of California Los Angeles basketball coach John Wooden. Wooden has been identified as the Coach of the (20th) Century by ESPN for his ability to form high-performing teams across wide ranges of the social-economic spectrum and love them into national championships. Between 1964 and 1975, Wooden’s UCLA Bruins won 10 national championships by embracing and excelling at a crucial business practice – speed to market. Wooden didn’t know that he was preaching speed to market, but many a business author has made that connection. Wooden taught discipline, predictability, accountability, agility and class. He brought in the best talent he could find, gave players a clear vision and treated them – all of them – with kindness and respect. Many of his players often referred to the love that Wooden felt for his players as their greatest motivation to perform. So what does coaching basketball have to do with the construction industry? Speed to market in construction is about pro formas, design decisions, budget management, fast-track procurement and permit expediting. And it doesn’t matter the project type –apartments, office developments, schools and health care facilities – all seem to have the goal of “right away.” How does one deliver at speed-to-market pace? Much like coaching, it takes quantifiable and manageable tasks focused on talent, vision, discipline, agility, accountability, kindness and respect. In today’s economy, practically every project being planned for, in design or coming out of the ground has some degree of speed to market. And to achieve speed-to-market success, it takes talent, vision, discipline, agility, accountability, kindness and respect. For argument’s sake, let’s separate these seven traits into two categories: prerequisites for success and differentiators for success. Prerequisites are just that and without them there is failure. In the words of Coach Wooden, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” In the built industry, lacking the prerequisites of talent, vision and a respectful environment is preparing to fail. When assembling project teams, we look for the most talented partners, with the most candid and clear vision, who respect the rest of their teammates. If talent, vision and respect are prerequisites, then the degree to which the remaining traits of discipline, agility, accountability and kindness exist in a team are directly proportional to the ease and grace by which the objective is achieved. Discipline and accountability are traits of team members who meet deadlines without excuses. Agility is the ability to adapt and overcome the guaranteed yet unexpected bumps in the road. Kindness is doing this all with a smile on your face. While the construction market is hot today, we can look to the oil and gas industry in Colorado as an example of a soaring-to-plunging market. The Dow can’t decide what it wants to be when it grows up and interest rates are finally on the rise. Speed to market is drawn on more now than ever across all industries, and my favorite Wooden quote seems to sum up this current market state: “There is never enough time to be sure, and if you are sure, then you’re probably late.” My advice: Follow the traits. Assemble the best team. Give them a clear vision and empower them to act boldly in a respectful manner. Be disciplined and hold yourself accountable as a leader by example. When the things happen and you have to change course, smile, be agile and be thankful for the team you have around you.