Small Steps to achieving the big picture

As a Superintendent for Optimum, Jesse Eastman is charged with turning renderings into reality. His job daily requires him to play interpreter between the digitized, CAD, perfect-plumb-and-square plans of the architect and the concrete and wood of the subcontractors. The real world is hardly ever plumb, level, or square, and it is routinely suggested to Jesse that,  “This won’t work the way it’s drawn…” Luckily, he isn’t put off by a problem. In fact, he relishes it. 

“No project goes entirely to plan. If it did, this job would get stale! Construction work is problem-solving. Simple as that.” But effective problem solving is one of those things that looks great on a Statement of Values (or in a blog!) but is much messier in the grit of a commercial job site: siding is slow in arriving; a carpenter’s truck broke down; plans change on the fly. 

Jesse talks candidly, “There’s two types of conflict on the job: there’s bitching, and there’s constructive frustration.” To Jesse, the substance of the problem is far less important than the mindset with which the team tackles it. Were he to choose the first path, he knows well where it leads: to bitterness and drudge; to a “YOU’RE IN MY WAY” culture. But Jesse and Optimum have caught on to a better way. When asked what he likes MOST OF ALL about his job, Jesse replies, “My favorite part of the job is getting to sit down with a sub and think creatively about how to solve a problem.” This is a paradigm shift. Embracing problem solving as an inroad to creativity. It takes time. It takes loosening the grip of small agendas to achieve the big picture. It takes a team-first mentality. This applies to everything, a custom home build from the ground up, or a massive fit-up of a commercial space that is changing use.

As his job description dictates, Jesse brings this idea of “team first” out of the clouds and puts flesh to it. In bringing Mike, an eager-to-learn guy with little construction experience into the team, the temptation would be to gripe about the slow-down. At least that’s what typical job site would do. But where others might see an obstacle, Jesse jumped to be inclusive. “That was an opportunity to show him a couple of things and welcome him in. He is a part of what we are doing after all.”

PART of what WE are DOING. That’s Team First.

O.K. that’s all nice and good but Mike is a new team member.. You have to try to love your family, right? What about a difficult sub? What about changes made midway through the build that require undo-ing and re-doing? This is a better test. And it would seem Jesse is up for it. 

Jesse is intent on Leading by Listening, a counter-cultural stance in a world that seems to view conversation as a duel between competing monologues. With subs, this listening takes the form of trust: “I try my best to let the subs lead on providing solutions to any problem. They are the experts after all! Then I am able to add my knowledge of the bigger picture to their expertise in a way that moves us forward.”

With clients, where communication is even more essential, Jesse and Optimum work hard to maintain open lines of plain talk. The CoConstruct feature within the building portal allows clients direct contact to the superintendent on site. No longer is the commercial job site a fortress, the plans etched into stone. Comms allows for works in progress to be adapted to best fit the clients’ needs. Where another company would make an excuse, Optimum is intent on making it work.

There is a palpable gratitude in Jesse’s voice as he talks about this culture of communication and teamwork. That could be the result of where he’s come from. Jesse self-describes as being from the “old-school” tradition building. A tradition of being chewed out for every mistake, of taking every inch possible, cutting a corner perhaps, and viewing fellow contractors as threats instead of teammates. (Imagine living in a home that was built this way) 

He is grateful for the distinctly different way Optimum does things. 

In fact, he describes a regime that is largely the precise opposite of the way he has seen work done elsewhere. “My goal is to train my competition. One of the best things I can do is wish the best for others. If I can teach you a skill in 10 minutes that would take you 3 days to learn on your own, that’s a big win for me.” 

If this sounds upside down, it’s because it is. And its this type of communal work-ethic that differentiates Optimum from other hammer swingers. It seems the company is aligned at a level deeper than the collective pouring of foundations and framing of walls. Surprisingly, it would seem even deeper than a finished product and happy client, though these seem to be natural by -products. 

When asked what success would look like in 5 years time, Jesse replies “I’d like to be more confident and more competent. I want to be able to integrate myself into any project and be helpful.” When pressed if he’d also like to climb the ladder, he replies “I do want to go up the ladder. I just want to have the skills before I climb.”