Month: April 2022

Any football fans out there?

Last night kicked off the 2022 NFL draft. The hopes of standout college athletes, and their families, are riding high. The dreams of little boys come true, and the fanbase of every NFL team clamors with the idea that this will finally be their year if they get the silver bullet answer to their team’s missing link. The number one pick will take us to the promised land, right? Not so fast. 

The top 5 number one picks of all time are: 

1. Peyton Manning (1998)
2. John Elway (1983)
3. Bruce Smith (1985)
4. Chuck Bednarik (Go Birds!!! 1949)
5. Terry Bradshaw (1970) 

Maybe you aren’t an NFL fan, but I know you’ve heard of Tom Brady – the best NFL player of all time. What draft pick was Brady? He was the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft.

So, while identifying potential and picking talent is critical to building teams, statistics show that talent alone isn’t enough…in football and life. Would Michael Phelps have won 23 gold medals if it weren’t for Bob Bowman? Would Tom Brady have won seven Super Bowls if it weren’t for Bill Belichick? Potential and talent need to be tapped, developed and maximized by the individual’s work ethic and by the leaders, systems and cultures of the organization they join. 

On Engineering and Construction projects, we are forming new teams all the time. New clients, their team members, new employees, etc. Every day we have the opportunity to take the raw technical talent and experience from our team, and our client teams, to build a Super Bowl project team. Like football, no one team member is the silver bullet, but intentional project leadership will make the difference between a win or a loss for our clients. 

How are you tapping the talent in your organization? I bet you have an interview process, but do you have a development and training process? How are you developing the next generation of Engineers, Architects and Construction Managers? 

Go Birds!!!

BJ Kraemer, President

P.S. – At MCFA, our mission is to Inspire People & Places through Project Leadership. We are always looking for leaders at all levels. Graduation season is in front of us. Are you or do you know someone with Tom Brady potential in the Engineering and Construction Industry but wasn’t a #1 draft pick? Let’s talk. 

“You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
-Admiral James Stockdale

Look before you leap. He who hesitates is lost.

80% plan violently executed…where is your attention to detail?  

Move with a sense of urgency! Patience is a virtue.

From Gandhi to Gates, and JFK to Jobs, leaders have been balancing bringing the right level of urgency, enthusiasm, mentor, manager, teacher, or even tyrant, to what their team, situation and mission need.

But…as much as we study the bios of the best, we have to remind ourselves, as I was reminded yesterday by Jan Tuchman (podcast dropping in May), we are in this role for a reason. Don’t overthink it. Trust your gut. Whatever your role and whatever the situation, we need you to lead!

BJ Kraemer, President