The Construction Business Blueprint #033 - The Real Reason Your Business Is Still Chaos

Your business didn’t end up like this by accident.

If you’re constantly firefighting, dealing with endless phone calls, making every decision, and feeling like everything runs through you… there’s a reason for it.

And it’s not just the industry, your clients, or your team.

In this episode, we shift away from the usual practical advice and start looking at things from a different angle, the founder.

Because the reality is:

 Your business is a reflection of the decisions, habits and behaviours you’ve repeated over time.

That’s not criticism, it’s control.

Inside this episode, we break down:

• Why your team keeps coming to you for every decision
• How you’ve (unintentionally) trained that behaviour
• The simple question that starts to change everything
• Why trying to fix everything at once keeps you stuck
• How to start redesigning your business immediately

This is the first step in taking back control, not by doing more, but by thinking differently.

If you take one thing from this, let it be this:

 You don’t need to fix everything.

Just pick one pattern and change how you respond to it.

If you’re a construction business owner who wants more time, more profit, and more control, make sure you’re subscribed for weekly videos.

And if something in this hit home, drop a comment below.

What’s the one thing you’re going to change this week?

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction: More time, profit & control

00:15 – Why we’re shifting focus this month (mindset)

00:45 – Your business didn’t end up like this by accident

01:30 – It’s not bad luck… it’s by design

02:20 – The decisions that created your current situation

03:40 – Why your phone never stops ringing

04:30 – The real reason your team keeps asking questions

05:10 – The simple fix: ask this instead

06:00 – How to train your team to think for themselves

07:00 – Why your team avoids making decisions

08:00 – Changing behaviour without cutting people off

09:00 – You created it… which means you can fix it

09:40 – Don’t fix everything at once (this is key)

10:30 – Pick ONE thing and change your response

11:10 – Final message: redesign your business

Transcript

Welcome And Channel Promise

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to the construction business blueprint YouTube channel. The only channel specifically designed for construction business owners to get more time, more profit, more control from their business. It's May and we're going to do things a little different. This month we're going to sort of look at things at a different level or through a different lens. You know, up to now we've been doing a lot of practical stuff. We've been talking about financials and different things. This month we're going to be bringing it back to the founder or sort of like a mindset stuff. So we're going to almost call it like a cheesy catchphrase, like mindset May, but we're going to be looking at things through a different lens. And today I want to talk about something that is coming up a lot with you know new clients that are coming on board or guys who are struggling week on week and just can't seem to get past certain points. So we're going to be talking over the next few episodes this month on how to tackle those things from a personal perspective. And everything starts with you, the founder, your approach, your beliefs, and everything else. Today specifically, I want to talk about the current business that you have and how that business didn't end up like it is, or in the current situation that you're in, whether you're struggling or whether you're just coasting along or whether it's going well. It doesn't always have to be a negative, but that it didn't end up this way by accident. Your business didn't end up the way it is by accident. So good, bad, or indifferent, it was intentional. Let's talk about the general guys here. You're here for help, you're here for guidance, you're here for coaching or mentorship, you're here for advice on how to improve your business, whether that's scale, growth, time, profit, control, whatever. We'll put it in the context of say a new client coming to me. So you're this new guy, you're coming along, you're struggling with business, you know, things are just have been this way for such a long time. You could be in the game a long time, but it's long days, high stress, constant firefighting. But I'm here to tell you that that's kind of it's not just bad luck. Okay, it's it's not just the industry's problem. It's not because things are just busy. There's a reason that it is the way that it is, there's a reason why it looks like this. And once you understand that, and once you get your head around that, everything starts to change. What I want to say categorically is I'm not saying you planned it this way, but it is by design. So you didn't sit down one day when you were planning to start out in business, or you know, at the start of the month you didn't sit down and plan yourself to say, I want to be flat out every day, I want to be stuck in everything with no time, no control, no life outside of the business. That I didn't say you're planning it that way. But what you did do was you made decisions over time. You said yes to projects that you maybe know you shouldn't have. You stepped in to fix problems that let's face it, other people are employed to fix or other people shouldn't be bringing to you. You answered every single question without hesitation instead of you know asking others what they think are you know what to make decisions for themselves essentially. And you became the person that everything runs through. And again, that was due to small things over time, small decisions that were made or actions that happened. That became the design of your business. So the business kind of designed itself through the current actions and behaviors that have led up to this point. And this is where most people look in the wrong place. You know, they'll say, the industry, you know, the current conditions of the industry aren't great, you know, the clients are hard work, there's no good staff, and struggling to get good men or good tradesmen or women. And look, they're all relevant points, they are all difficult challenges in the construction industry, but it's not the full story because there are people in the exact same position in the same industry, the same trade, the same type of business, the same type of work, same challenges, and they've got more control. Like my clients are are a great example of that. So, what's the difference? It's it's not luck, it's not it's not by chance, it's how the business is built. It is by design. So I'll give you I'll just give you a real-world example to put it in a bit more perspective. So the something I hear all the time is my phone never stops ringing. The lads are constantly calling me. But when you actually dig into it, the the the questions that you're being asked, these guys know the answer to. They're not calling because they don't know, they're calling because they want permission. And there's a reason why that's happened. So they're calling, saying things like, you know, what do you think I should do here, or what do you want us to do next, or would you go with this or that? You know, would you too would you use this product or that product, or you know, what should we move on to next? Or I've came across this issue, what what do you want me to do about it? And most of the time, like nine times out of ten, they know the answer to this question, but they're seeking permission, like I said, and you know they know the answer, but what you do instead is you just answer the question without hesitation every single time. Then you get frustrated, why are they always ringing me? But if you look at it from you know a zoomed out perspective, if you look at it through a different lens, by answering the question every single time and not putting anything back on them, you're actually training them to do that. You know, they've got into a sequence now of I come across a challenge, I stop, I ring the boss, I ask the question, I get the answer, and I go back to it. You know, they've removed the thinking out of it completely. You know, they're just going for permission every time and they're being lazy in their approach. So one client came to me actually this week and asked me that same question. What do I do about it? How do I stop that? And the next time they call, just ask this question. Somebody says, What do you think we should do? You say, Well, what do you think we should do? Put that back on them and say, What well, what do you think we should do? And not in a not in an arsey way, not in like a cheeky way, you know, not trying to be smart about it, but genuinely saying, Well, what's your thoughts? What do you think we should do? What would what would you what would your next move be? And then depending on the answer, nine times out of ten, again, like I say, it'll be the answer that you were going to say anyway, and go, Yeah, great, perfect, that's fantastic. That's exactly what I would have done as well. So, look, next time, you know, happy enough for you to make that decision yourself moving forward, you don't need to ask me for permission, you've obviously got it under control. That then flips something in there. Most of the time, they'll actually be like, wow, there'll be a bit of a shock factor there and go, Really? Oh, okay. And they'll come off the phone be a bit lost and confused. But what you've just done there is you've you've put a pattern interrupt in place to say, I trust you to make decisions, you you've made the right decision, you know what you need to do. On the other hand, sometimes when these guys' phones say, What are you asking me that for? You already know what you need to do. Why do you keep asking me these questions? And then everyone's pissed off and everyone's outright. It doesn't actually change anything, it doesn't learn anything. But when you give them that sort of authority, you give them their place, you give them responsibility, that's fine. And even if they give you the wrong answer, I would say, Well, why did you make that decision? You know, constantly asking questions, why did you make that decision? Why do you think that's the best step to take? And then instead of going, no, don't do this, do this, again, you're you're taking any thinking away from them. Get them to think themselves. Well, why did you come up with that theory? You know, why are you taking this approach? Well, what about if we've done this? Do you think that would be a better approach? And then let them say yes or no? Let them feel like they're making the decision, just guide them to the decision because they have to be thinking themselves. You have to get these guys to get the cogs turning. If you just keep thinking for them, you might as well pay them from the neck down. This this part of the body will be completely irrelevant to them, and they'll only do exactly as they are told, and they will wait for instruction every single time. You have to train people to think for themselves. You know, another massive misconception is this thing of I again I hear all the time from clients where these guys should know what they need to do by now. I shouldn't need to keep telling them, but that's the problem. What people know and what people don't know, or you know, just because somebody knows what they need to do doesn't mean that they're prepared to actually take action and do it. Because again, what has what has the previous thing told them? You know, you come in every time and overrule them, you're coming in every time say, Why did you do that? And then there's goals, you know, I'm not making that decision again. I'm just gonna ask the question and be told. Because why would I think for myself if I do make decisions, someone's gonna come in and change it in the last minute, or I'm gonna get scolded for doing something wrong. But you at least have to give these guys the place to think. So what happens is when you give these guys an opportunity to think for themselves, now I'm not saying don't ring me all day again, there's always like a there's always an extreme of one or the other. The other avenue is where we're construction business owners think, and I'm not answering the phone, he needs to answer that question for himself. But at the end of the day, that's wrong too. That's not training somebody, that's just cutting off, and then they're gonna be sitting and they're actually gonna be panicking, then they're gonna be making decisions based on panic, they'll be doubting themselves. So just have the discussion. And over time, what will happen is the phone will ring less because they'll go, do you know what? Like they'll pick up the phone and they'll go, Do you know what? I actually don't need to ring them. Let's just do this, or they'll ring you. What'll happen is they'll ring you and say, I've came across this problem, this is what I'm gonna do. Are you happy enough? And you go, Yeah, perfect, dead on, move on. And then again, that's what happens. That they're gonna ring it up just to let you know, instead of ringing up and going, What should I do? They're ringing up and going, here's the problem, here's what I'm gonna do, are you happy with that? And then you proceed on that basis, and you're just listening, hang on, and that's not a 20-30 minute phone call about this, that, or the other, or you know, and it's it's building relationships, it's building trust, it's building authority, it's building initiative, all those things that we all think that is missing from the guys in construction. But again, that's what I mean by it's it's being designed that way. You didn't mean to create it, but you did, and again, that's just a small example, but it's a great example. That's you know how we're designing guys to not think for themselves, is we're taking the thinking away from them. And then when they do ask questions, we're just giving answers instead of asking them what they think. You know, it's a great tool to just hold the mirror and reflect back and say, Well, what do you think we should do? And like I said, you you know, you have created this situation, unfortunately. And I'm not just saying that to kick you if you're down, you know, but you didn't mean to create it, but you did, and again, it's not blame, and there's actually good news in this because if you created that situation, it means that you can now change it. It's not you know, it's not stuck that way forever. If it's been designed that way, you can also redesign it and do it a different way, and you can start this from the next phone call that you receive and ask that question, and I guarantee a few weeks down the line, it'll completely change. So take something away from this video, and it's this, and it's something that I say every single time. Do not try to fix everything at once. Think of the one thing. What's the one thing that happens every day that completely does your head on? What is the one thing every day that shows up time and time again that you're frustrated with? Is it constant phone calls from site? Is it problems constantly being passed to you? Is it you being constantly dragged into everything? Pick one thing. If it's the phone calls, hit the phone calls first. If it's when you're on site, you're getting pulled into everything, then look at that first and change how you respond to it. So, you know, you have to have what I call the pattern interrupt. You have to change the behaviors by making a stance or putting a boundary in place or asking a question back or or making yourself unavailable. But like I always say, let's not try to fix everything at once. Pick one thing and change how you respond to it because that's where the redesign starts. So, in summary, your business right now is a reflection of the decisions and the habits that you have created over time that have made you or built up to this point. And it's not a criticism, it's just an observation, and that's control. And the first time that you can actually look back and admit that, or look back and see those patterns, and it's called have an awareness. Have an awareness of why these things keep happening time and time again. And look, the the good thing is, as I say, the good news is that because it's been designed this way over time, that it can be redesigned at any time, and it means you can change it. And look, there are several videos in here inside the Blueprint YouTube channel that you can just go through. One great one that I would recommend for everybody to you know conquer this is the Daily Diary, where you're going to review how your days are going and see what the biggest challenges are, the things I keep repeating time and time again. But look, there's a whole library of videos in here and content that is specifically designed for busy, stressed, fire fighting construction business owners who want to scale, grow, get more time, more profit, and more control. So please check it out. Again, these videos drop weekly, so be sure to like and subscribe. That's not just a buzzword that people say. Do this, and you'll be up to date with the latest teachings and coaching, everything that I do with my own private mentees every single day.