Know Your Opponent

Words: Daniel AbitboulConstruction is a lot like sports. Today's winning sports franchises and best-managed projects succeed because of teamwork. Project Manager teams are not just the PMs from the general contractor (GC) and subcontractors. The PM team also includes PMs from the owner, designer and construction manager (CM).

The designer has documented the owner's vision into plans and specs, then handed the ball off to the constructors. Because a project's PM team is composed of diverse people with different personalities, different backgrounds and different agendas, it often feels like "the opponent" is one of the team members: the designer, the CM, the owner, even a sub.

And while it's true that sometimes we encounter conflict with other strong personalities, we need to keep in mind the other teammates are definitely not the opponent. We're just experiencing a "Shaq-Kobe" moment.

So who's the opponent?

It's the project itself! The project is the thing that sits there lifeless at mobilization. The project presents all the demands and all the constraints ? tight schedule, tight budget, delayed inspections, differing site conditions and burdensome but vital safety procedures. The project wants to take too long. The project wants to duck, dive, turn and throw right past you. It wants to make you look bad and make the team look bad. The project wants to waste the owner's money and the project can be the enemy of cash flow for the subs and GC.

The PM team needs a coach to help draw up plays, adapt to new offenses and defenses the opponent throws at you and to encourage everyone on the team to keep working together to overcome that pesky project every day until victory.

Elevating Masonry: Old Habits, Familiar Tools, and the Real Reason Masonry Contractors Aren’t Making the Switch
May 2026

Ask a masonry contractor how they run their jobsite, and the answer probably sounds familiar: paper logs, a flurry of texts, maybe a shared email thread. It works until it doesn’t. And yet, even as purpose-built field management software has become more a

Erin Koets
MAP Partner
Read More
The Cornerstone of Craftsmanship: Nurturing Masonry Talent Through Competition
May 2026

In the evolving landscape of skilled trades, masonry stands as a testament to enduring craftsmanship and dedication. Yet, the question of how to cultivate and showcase this vital expertise remains paramount. While the bright lights of national competition

Robert Melgaard
Resources
Read More
There’s the Typical Way to Brace a Wall. And Then There’s a Better Way.
May 2026

Wall bracing is one of the most important safety considerations on any masonry jobsite, yet it is often treated as a task that happens after the wall is built. Crews return, equipment is brought in, and time is set aside to secure walls that have already

Abigail Spung
MAP Partner
Read More
Remembering Harry McGraw
May 2026

The masonry industry has lost one of its great teachers and craftsmen with the passing of Harry Edward McGraw, who died April 26, 2026, in Houston, Texas, at the age of 93.

Dan Kamys
Read More