Masonry Magazine November 2005 Page. 49
Get back to work. You also bring in an extra crewmember for the next two days. Because you build stuff, you want to keep the momentum going, and you don't want to stop.
WHISTLE! FOUL! PENALTY! YELLOW CARD! YOU'RE OUT!
What you have just done has been repeated by almost every reader of this magazine. (In fact, e-mail me if you have never had this happen to you bet you that I don't get many!) Here is the major transgression you have just committed: you have lost your leverage.
Lost leverage? In sports, it's all about leverage, whether it's pinning someone on the mat, making a block or taking a big swing at the ball. Leverage makes it work. Likewise, in the construction industry, managing change is also about leverage. Leverage for the PM is huge. When your team identifies a changed condition, your obligation is simply to inform your CM or your client. Your obligation, at this point, is not to fix the condition. If it's out of your scope of work then it's not your job - literally.
As contractors and subcontractors, we often find ourselves with little leverage. However, at the point of informing your CM about the change, you are at maximum leverage. Do not forget this. At this instant in time, you stand your best opportunity for fair compensation. As you proceed past this point, you begin to lose leverage, and it falls off quickly.
Why? Because there is really only one thing that the CM wants from us, and it is not our friendship. The CM wants his job done now. And it is the wise PM who recognizes this, and asks his CM in the RFI, "How do you want us to proceed?"
But the PM needs to be willing to stand his or her ground. At the very least, even if the CM disagrees that the work is not in your scope, the CM is obligated to direct you, in writing, to proceed.
And here's what it comes down to, team. Wouldn't you rather know today whether or not the CM is going to pay you? Aren't you tired of wishing and hoping that your change order request is approved? And that's precisely why you can't be silent on these issues. Because being silent can set you up for the downfall. And then life would no longer be so sweet, right?
Gary Micheloni is a project manager, author, consultant and speaker. He can be reached at coachgary@fullcontactPM.com.
Copyright © 2006, Gary Micheloni and Full Contact Project
NOVEMBER PLAYBOOK:
How does Coach Gary write a letter? Go to www.fullcontactPM.com and look for the link to the Playbook. Get "The Perfect Letter," which includes not only the how but also the why. Also in the Play book you'll find a "winning RFI." Take advantage of these tools.
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