Learning the Ropes

I was planning on blogging about my all-time favorite basketball shoes this week, but after the last couple days at work I changed my mind. (Sorry mom! I promise I will get you the list of the sweetest kicks soon.). What follows is a blog about how this week has served as a forecast for what my future as a project manager in the construction industry may involve. Basically, I learned that construction is filled with highs and lows that occur on a weekly, daily, and sometimes hourly basis. For example, I was sitting in a meeting the other day and everything had gone well and seemed to be on track. Then all the sudden it was like the roof was caving in on me and one thing after another went wrong—deliveries were late, the building was behind schedule, the owner wasn’t going to pay us for a change order. It was not fun and I walked out of that meeting feeling pretty crappy!

Through out the course of a building project you are going to encounter numerous, and I mean NUMEROUS road bumps/obstacles. I like to call these fire drills because when the problems arise, the people that explain them do it in a manner that makes the issue seem so insurmountable and complex that there is no way it can get fixed. Sometimes these are somewhat minor fire drills despite the way the problem was described. In these cases, I think to myself, “Hey, we can fix this. It is not too big of a deal” and we quickly move on to the next issue. While others are more like “FML, pull my hair out, how can this possibly be happening right now” fire drills. With these particular fire drills it seems that everything is going wrong at the worst possible time. There are no answers or possible solutions within sight and panic begins to take over your sense of logic.

One of the biggest things I am learning to do is manage and prioritize these fire drills. It is clear to me that a successful project manager is a person that can predict and handle crises, juggle and complete multiple tasks, and communicate and facilitate any information that is necessary to get the job done and make money! This may not be too much different from other industries but I’ve only worked in the construction industry at this point. Another key is having confidence and speaking with conviction. A project manager really needs to be able to sell what he/she is saying and get everyone to buy in, even if it may be b.s. Both fortunately and unfortunately, my job as project manager puts me in situations with fire drills all the time; so, I am learning quickly how to successfully overcome these obstacles regardless of their magnitude.

Here is a quick job description for those of you that I don’t talk to on a regular basis or aren’t aware that I have finally finished school and am in the working world. Yes, I completed seven years of college/graduate work and no, I am not a doctor. Don’t tell my dad but I am actually contemplating going back in a few years to get an MBA. What can I say; I am a nerd and love school!

So, I started full-time in August 2009 as a project manager for a mechanical contracting firm that focuses on Heating and Air Conditioning systems. As of Monday, I was the project manager for 1.5 projects. I say 1.5 because I am the full-on PM for a job in LaCrosse and a PM intern for a job in Downtown Madison. They needed an intern to comply with the University’s contract so I get to do the not so fun tasks of updating plans, submittals, RFIs, etc. On my other project, I am responsible for scheduling, budgeting, billing, and basically doing anything to make my field crew’s jobs easier. I act as the bridge between the office and the field. I get to attend weekly progress and construction meetings and interact with other contractors, owners, and design professionals. I also do odds and ends around the office to help out the other project managers. If anything needs to be typed up quickly they usually come to me as they think I am a pretty efficient typer. I have also been coined the resident computer guru and am called into action anytime there is a computer question. Side note: My family members also frequently ask me for help with their computer/technology questions. I am not quite sure where anyone got the idea that I am a computer whiz kid, but hey, I try and sometimes pull something out of my butt and get it fixed.

Overall, it has a great experience, the people and the company I work at are both great. Hopefully, I can keep the fire drills to a minimum and contain the inevitable ones.

Over and Out,

The Bean Spiller