Reflecting on this year, it sure has been one of the more chaotic and challenging years that I can recall in my career. Just this year, the construction industry has battled everything from record-high lumber prices, rapidly changing material price increases, supply chain issues, increase in labor shortages, and many other challenges. The old adage of Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance, or the 5 P’s as they were introduced to me early in life, has been at the foundation of our successes for the year. Ben Franklin said it well “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
Planning is woven into our DNA at The Douglas Company, many of our Associates have been through a form of personal productivity, where we learned to plan for the day, week, and month. In both our preconstruction and operations groups, our main planning tool is our schedule. Our schedules are updated weekly for progress, which is pretty frequent, the main reason for this is it allows us to course-correct and deal with problems when they are small and controllable. When we live the 5 P’s and execute, it allows us to deliver on our brand promise of Development planning/leadership and our core purpose to contribute to the success of our Clients and Associates.
Andrew Rahrig, LEED AP
Vice President, Construction
The Douglas Company
