Simon and Garfunkel recorded the powerful “Sounds of Silence” in 1964. Writing this I learned the group Disturbed did a version of it a few years back.

On a recent hike in Death Valley I experienced a deafening quiet. No noise, just silence. Check out this short video https://youtu.be/aA3iY8vpFdY to see and hear it for yourself while I comment on how valuable such moments are in our increasingly noisy and device filled world.

Leaders must find the time to think. For the past few months, totally in react mode, most of us have been working IN the business but you need to find time to work ON the business. Also need to find time to recharge your batteries. The economy is not likely to recover quickly and even if it does are you ready for it. Your people are worn out. So are you.

Find time to recharge and then to think…..

YIKES

There is no question that people are profoundly affected by the major events that occur in their lifetime. People who lived through the Great Depression have different tendencies than those who did not; those who grew up during the Vietnam War have a different outlook than those born postwar. It is to be expected that modern-day society will be shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Edwin Fisher, a professor of health behavior at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill remarks.

Because it’s ubiquitous, because it’s everywhere, because it hits us 24/7, we tend to lose track of the effects of COVID on our daily lives, mood and consciousness

YIKES

I was talking with a speaker buddy of mine who works in venture capital (he makes a lot more money than I do…) and he remarked that times of chaos are times of opportunity and he is seeing heavy deal flow and activity.

I just read in Construction Dive that 83% of respondents have seen civil projects delayed or halted due to coronavirus-related funding challenges. But 39% have seen projects accelerate. No matter your perspective, backlogs for 2021 are in question and it will be a competitive market.

Is this the time of opportunity for you? Clearly the answer is yes! This is absolutely a time to invest in your business. Not throw money at it..Invest.

How can you improve your use of the tech tools and software you already have? Will you?

How can you improve the capacity of your emerging leaders or your executive team? Will you? Our work coaching people is getting pretty popular. It has a high payoff over the long term and does not take people off line from production. It is not cheap but the ROI is huge.

The battle for market share and the bottom-line must be fought on the process and the people side. Gaining leverage on both sides is important. Yes, I am a people guy but it is people who work the processes.

Start a book club, start a breakfast club, a mentoring program, a new online training program. It need not all be in the same room like the good old days…although there is no substitute for that experience, we can come close. What about small cross-functional process improvement teams to update and refine those processes that, when followed, insure you make money.

This is not the time to sit still and hope for better. Yes, we must all endure these times (and we have no idea how long this will last) but that does not mean do nothing. It means be smart, invest, aggressive when need be and conservative where need be. Nothing wrong with patience. Everything wrong with inaction.

As an essential industry construction has been a bit insulated from the economic carnage. That has been a gift really to get ready for the next year. Too many contractors have been thankful to be able to work, made a few cuts, have a contingency plan to cut a bit more and no plan for improving the business.

Some are making the investments that will payoff huge in the coming years.

Who will you be?

I had some free time and did a bit of hiking…and thinking….check out this short video I created from the lowest point in the western hemisphere where I talk about being negative or positive… https://youtu.be/1mZbhGT1Hfw

and after you watch that, check out the nearly 50 other videos on construction leadership on my You Tube Channel.

Noted construction and materials speaker Randy Goruk invited me to his podcast and we talked for about 30 minutes!

https://lnkd.in/gQ_TyGM here is the link….

enjoy

OK, I know the answer is no….

I traveled this past week and it was a fascinating opportunity to view risk tolerance in action.

Some people have a paper thin mask and it is more a chin strap. Others had a multi-layer mask, AND a face shield and gloves. These would be the people sanitizing their airplane seat before they sat down.

Your employees are the same. They do not have the same tolerance that you do. Some may have more, some less, and you need to be in tune with that. We are finding this to be very important these days.

This is a key element of emotional intelligence that has not gotten a lot of ink.

EQ is about more than empathy.