The virus has some strategies that make it a fearsome competitor. Are any of these strategies useful for our industry?
1) Strike Early. A critical strategy of the coronavirus is its ability to be spread before you even know you are sick.
a. Know your project – Become aware of problems before they cause damage to cost or schedule. Our industry is rife with conditions that go unnoticed and potentially avoidable costs and delays are discovered too late to avoid additional cost and delay.
b. Know the market – be aware of opportunities before other firms and put yourself in a position to compete. This is marketing 101, but 2nd place is equivalent to last place in most cases.
2) Keep your approach fresh - As diseases go, coronavirus mutates easily and takes advantage of multiple methods of spread. Running your job by the numbers, with a consistent workflow, document production and process is important, but so also is taking a walk and seeing what’s on the ground. Not only a walk around the site, but take time to understand the plans, specifications, schedule, and contract documents for upcoming work. Does the schedule have the drywall being installed before the electrician is on site? Did the plumber exclude excavation for his underground work?
3) Coronavirus’s ability to spread depends on the assumption that the people around you are not infectious. Are they? What else do you assume - are your project assumptions valid? It’s worth the effort to validate crucial assumptions before they turn into problems.
4) COVID 19 is a novel virus – the human race is a new market. Find a new market – The first mover in a market can have a tremendous advantage, even in cases where there is only the perception of expertise.
5) The virus spreads through the air, and all humans must inhale that air into their unprotected lungs. Find the most effective attack point to solve problems.