Construct

#Construct 2016 was an incredible learning opportunity

My week at #Construct 2016 was filled with education, friends, culture, and FUN. CSI (Construction Specifications Institute) is a great organization because of the people, staff and members. The show is always a great event. However, the most important reason to go to this educational conference each year is to attend outstanding educational events and meet the leaders of the construction industry.

This year the #Construct Show was held in Austin, Texas. This was my first trip to Austin, a city that has adopted the slogan KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD. The slogan is used to promote local business and inspired by Red Wassenich  in 2000 while giving a pledge to an Austin radio station.

The education sessions this year were exceptional. I attended topics on flashing, virtual reality, 3-D printing, leadership, smart wearables, and pro-bono design. 

The hands-on session that Tiffany Coppock with Owens Corning put on was incredible. Learning how to flash the various holes in our buildings was invaluable. Being able to touch the materials and install the flashing allowed me to have a more comprehensive understanding of systems we specify.

Sixth street was a unique experience filled with locally owned businesses. Maggie Mae’s is a local legend and has the largest rooftop on sixth street. The music was solid, the drinks were cold, and the humidity was off the charts. Sixth street was young, vibrant, and filled with lots of energy.

The signs on sixth street and the business names were creative. From the tattoo shop to the local bars and restaurants, each had a unique personality and decor. 

Gus’s chicken was my favorite hang out in Austin, but not a unique Austin business. The chicken was spicy and fried – a different twist on southern fried.

While sixth street was filled with young energy, Rainey Street was my kind of place. The bars were diverse and food trucks were plentiful. The historic homes that line the street offer shade, small spaces for hanging out, and plenty of culture.

No trip can be complete without a visit to see the bats fly. Each summer night, hundreds of people gather to see 1.5 million bats fly from under the Congress Avenue Bridge.  This is a must see for anyone that appreciates nature’s beauty.

A new friend I made at the show sent the following email to me, I think it sums up the show.

“Thank you for pulling me aside and talking to me during CSI. I’m going to confess that I’ve been bragging about you. Imagine, showing up to a convention, and a STRANGER walks right up as if we are already friends, because a mutual friend said that we should talk. You demonstrated one of the big reasons that CSI is still valuable – you connected with me – in a different city – different region of our country. We had a reason to talk – and we now have a reason to keep up the camaraderie”

This is what the Construction Specifications Institute is about – communication, mentoring, and most important – friendships.

I am at just another boring industry conference this week. You get up early to go to class. You stay out late networking. People email and call from your office wondering why you have not responded faster. You meet the industry leading experts in everything from building science, specifications, concrete, historic preservation… You probably don’t want to attend – nothing to do really.

Except for:

Site Tours

Site Tours

Site Tours

Site Tours

Site Tours

bowling

presentations

keynote

keynote

exploration

art

Frozen Custard

playing

ball pits

And that was just the first two days.

It has been too long since the last Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) national conference. I am looking forward to getting together with many of my friends from across the country to catch up on how they are doing and to learn the latest trends in the industry. Construct is the annual conference, this year held in Chicago. I attend every year and always learn so much and meet so many great resources that help my better serve my clients. Let me know if you are going to be there and if you cannot attend in person, join us through Twitter!

Clay Nelson gave a presentation on Leaders Growing Leaders at Construct 2009 CSI Show in Indianapolis. His position is you have to train your employees to do what you do. This give you the ability to stay on the cutting edge and continue to be the visionary.

So this concept, of growing leaders to advance your vision, grows the diversity and depth of your business. If you constantly answer questions and tell people what to do, you will have no time to do visioning. Clay says as a leader your job is to know what you don’t know. So if you set your goal to be right all the time then you have stopped learning.

Hence you should look for things you don’t know and focus on learning those things. Let your employees do all the things you already know. If they can’t, then you have not done your job of giving them the power. This is the only way to be one of the leaders growing leaders. Your staff will do what you let them do through your actions. If you always give them the answer, or if you tell them they are wrong when they bring you an answer, then you have given them no power to learn and grow themselves. Therefore, as a leader you have to stop telling and start asking questions.

Write down all the things you do for two weeks. As a result this will give you a job description of what you do now. What on the list can you have someone else do? Figure this out and you can start doing things you don’t already know how to do and you can grow.

A leader is only as great as the weakest part of his team. Don’t worry about making mistakes, mistakes = growth. Set an example, be what you want other to be. This will give you the leaders that you need in your firm.

This was a great seminar with a tremendous speaker.