Takeaways
- Expensive teams don’t guarantee good outcomes
- The regular players aren’t thinking about your bottom line
- Find someone you trust to evaluate for a better way
There was a large, expensive team already in place. There were a lot of meetings, with a lot of people in attendance, but nothing much was happening.
The project was in a high-rise office and hotel complex spanning a city block in the heart of downtown Miami. The client was a top-tier institutional investor relying on consultants, contractors and the local building staff.
I was asked to provide additional support.
We were touring the building and the project areas. The plans called for tying into a structural column that was adjacent to the large, expensive lobby of a marquis tenant. There was a lot of concern expressed about the need to:
- Disrupt this tenant (lost rent for Landlord)
- Demolish their recently completed lobby (all marble and expansive ocean views)
- Incur significant cost to repair and replace the lobby (at Landlord expense)
And yet, everyone just accepted this as fact. Because it was “part of the design”.
We continued the tour. As we were walking, I went from person to person in the group with a simple question: “Has anyone challenged the structural engineer on this?”
Most everyone stared back at me with a blank look. The executive from the construction management firm (a prestigious, national player) said, “Really? Do you think that’s an option?”
At this point in the story, it is worth pausing to state a few things which may already be obvious:
- There is nothing wrong with respectfully challenging any member of the team if potential exists for a better way
- Large, expensive teams do not guarantee good outcomes
- Even teams that are highly qualified on paper will not necessarily think about the impact of their work—or have the experience and insight to see beyond what’s in front of them
We finished the tour and went back to the property management office. I suggested we get the structural engineer on the phone. He was sitting at his desk in New York.
We explained the situation with the large, expensive lobby and how it would be impacted by his initial design. He said, “Oh, I didn’t know. Let me see if we can make our connection at another column location.”
Half an hour later, he called back to confirm an alternate plan. No disruption. No demolition. No needless expense.
I can’t tell you how this project ended. Ultimately I didn’t stepped away without charging a penny. This happens more than I would like.
I was never any good at sitting and collecting fee on a dysfunctional project where there is no desire to change. Or where I can’t make a positive impact.
At least in this case, I made an unseen impact on the bottom line. I don’t think the client (the institutional Landlord) ever knew about this episode—at least I’m sure I never got credit for it.
But the experience is such a perfect window into something that building owners, landlords and developers rarely get to see. And there is value enough in that.
