[Stonehenge]

I guess one of the possible pitfalls of relinquishing control over some of the day-to-day is, some projects don't get done up to snuff. That happened this week. The guys built 2 boulder walls - fieldstone, 24-36". I could tell when I looked at them that the upper wall was very unstable, the lower had a few weak points.

So I brought everyone out to the jobsite, and demonstrated how I could pull down 3 boulders with my bare hands in one pull. I told them to imagine a small kid's head under those boulders.

Long story short, we tore one wall down to the ground, a few courses of the other, and rebuilt. Partly my fault for not teaching them very well, but they know how now.

Haven't had to tear down a wall to rebuild it in 5 years.

[jwholden]

Jeff,

When 'redirecting' employees on doing things right what is your method? I used to try the pissed off boss method but it seemed to result in pissed off employees which lead to the boss turning it up another notch, not fun.

Lately, thanks to some advice from GTX and industry publications, I've been taking the 'new' guy and showing him how I would like things done and the method I would like him to use (if method is important for that process). When things don't go as planned I find myself reexplaining things and it usally sinks in after 2-3 tries. This works fine for me because the longest I'm off the jobsite is 2-3 hours a day.

One of my 'hurdles' to 'dominating the market' is I'm a control freak. Though I am learning that if I relinquish some contol the results are satisfactory and I can focus my energies on more important parts of the business.

OK, can I ramble a little longer.

On Monday I was cutting a curving sidewalk and had my employee of 3 years with me and his brother who started 2 1/2 weeks ago. I started cutting the long curve and they instinctively started laying the soldier course and placing the edging (I know not a big deal but we're still relatively new to the whole paver thing). When most of the brick was used up BOOM they started orgainizing the leftover pavers neatly to put back on the truck.

I know this is all basic stuff but I was glowing to see my well honed crew in motion and not having to choreograph their every move. I think it's a credit to the older brother telling the younger one what to do but I'll take it. I probably should have given them a sincere 'Nice job guys' - I hear employees like that but somehow it always seems to come out sarcastic.

Anyway, just wanted to add that

[jwholden]

This is the walk.

Moderator, if I'm posting too many photos let me know.

[Nebraska]

Quite honestly to go in with "everyone" and show how you can tear down three boulders with one arm stinks of humiliation for the one of the "everyone" that was to be in charge..

I would be asking myself the following questions:

1. Was the one to be in charge trained properly?

2. If you honestly feel he was trained properly there is obviously some mis-communication that exists between the two of you if not do you believe that he is destined for failure in the work that you assign him to complete.

I am a firm believer that humiliation of an employee in front of his subordinates will only have you placing additional ads to replace that individual in the long run. The larger majority of individuals do not intentionally set themselves up for failure; they are lead down that path by others inadvertently through mis-communication. Maybe bring him to the site alone and show him the instability that exists and through your honest presentation of the problem come to an honest conclusion as to where the problem derives.

[Stonehenge]

Originally posted by Stonehenge
Partly my fault for not teaching them very well

There were different people 'in charge' at different times, so it would've been hard to pull each one aside on the site without the others understanding what was going on. But the two that were not in charge at any point were not there for this demonstration.

Plus, there are times when I think I don't demonstrate the full gravity of the situation (pardon the pun). My pulling down of stones, explaining why they fell, and how to build the wall so they wouldn't fall were all done matter-of-factly, not in a 'look what crappy employees you are' kind of way. They needed to see why the wall was not well constructed, and needed to rebuild it themselves so that they knew how to do it right the next time.

JW, do you see how many pics I post? You have a way to go to catch me. Post as many as you like.

And I think all of us that have a biz are control freaks to some extent. That's one of the major challenges we face, IMO. As for how I handle employees, it depends on the employee. Some are so concerned about doing a good job that you don't have to do more than mention you don't like something. Others are more sure of themselves than they should be and need a more firm approach.

[Stonehenge]

Y'know, I was thinking about this thread when I was out in the field today....

While I did a good deal to make this strictly about how to build a better wall, if those guys felt embarrassed about my being able to tear down sections of the wall with little effort, then good. I'm sure that if a client had a child with a crushed leg or skull because of our flawed work, he'd be none too measured in his response. Knowing the potential for harm from these walls made me feel sick to my stomach, and I'm not sure I shouldn't have injected a bit more passion into my discussion with them, that they also understood the seriousness of what we do. A 400-500# boulder falling 5' could wreck a person's life.

[jwholden]

400-500 lbs.?

This is obviosly not the typical New England Stone wall.

Any pictures?

[Paul]

He's just using little stones

[Stonehenge]

Not yet. Next time we're out there I'll snap off a few. Yeah, my stones may be small, but I bet they get their pictures taken more often. (see The Cabin?)

[scl]

Paul and Jeff comparing stones again LOL. I think you did right to demonstrate and dress down a little. Here comes my little buzz about how I like to be on every job and why I am not pursueing the whole growth thing. But that will have to change. It may seem wierd but I like to "empower" the people who work with me, I just want to make sure they don't ruin my rep in the process.

[Tim]

Sorry, could'nt resist this: He that is without flaw, cast the first stone! Tim

[Nebraska]

I definitely had the wrong impression of how the scenerio panned out....

The work that you do definitely reflects upon who you are.....regardless of intentions. Our hurdle is to find a way to realize these guys potentials and when they have none move on quickly

[Paul]

We had a few problems like that going back quite a few years, you did the right thing, they have to learn and this is part of making good crew leaders. I never correct foremen in front of the other men, I always do it when we do a final walkthru on the job site.

[Tim]

I agree with Paul's method. Lessons taught by humiliation are not absorbed in a proper way. This always seems to come back in some form of retaliation by the employee, or in ridicule by the worker's piers. I tried to take a cause and effect approach with the forepersons, stating the whys and hows of my desired methods. Since I am depending on them to carry out the critical details properly in my absence, they have to be on the same page. One other thing I try to do is stop and consider if I am just being pig headed about certain issues or not. Does it really matter? Better to let some personal preferences shine through from my employees, than to yolk them into unhappy robots. An old saying comes to mind: One should not hesitate to compliment, but deeply contemplate before criticizing. Tim