By Shaun Ekert
Redefining Objectives
Everyone engaged in the construction industry knows we live and work in a boom and bust cycle. We learn to adapt and change with the seasons and over the years, and our reward is meaningful work we can feel proud of at the end of the day.
It is a tough economy across Canada right now. There are no mega projects happening, and if one were announced today it would still be five or ten years before we would see shovels in the ground. This means smaller jobs are on the go and contractors are busy, but they need to stay positive and not lose sight of what is most important in our industry and in our lives.
Rest assured, there are some great opportunities out there, including a prime opportunity to redefine your purpose and objectives in what comprises meaningful work. It is happening already. With the non-booming economy, I am seeing and feeling a rising sense of respect and pride for and among the craftsmen and women in our trade. Those drawn to the boom as “fringe” tradespeople have gone back to their callings as Real Estate agents, cabinet makers, and small business owners, leaving fewer, more dedicated contractors left to take care of business. In the boom, there were too many around and it diluted the quality and pride we were taking in our work. With smaller projects and fewer numbers of people comes a resurgence of pride, and we must focus on that because it is the new norm, for now.
It’s not a bad thing. It is our chance to pay attention to small details, focus on small projects, and grow from there. That’s what good tradespeople do: they refocus, they take pride in their accomplishments, they endure. And when I say good tradespeople, I mean good construction people, too—coordinators, estimators, project managers. They are all enjoying the breathing room and a smaller, tighter group of peers working from the same page. Engineering is being completed now because there is time to do it. It used to be like an anthill that’s been destroyed and everyone is just racing around building for the sake of building. Now, we can be strategic and calculated.
You can have this conversation with people no matter what sector or business they are in, because the change is happening. It is here. There is a resurgence of the traditional trades—blacksmiths, woodworkers, barbers—it is all coming back. Look at the trend away from box stores and chain restaurants and towards farm to tables, mom and pop stores, and craft brewers or even craft soda pops. People now are looking closer to home and wanting to know where everything came from, how it was made, and how it was distributed. Was everyone aware of the source and implications, and were they ethical about it? Similarly, we all want to know the people working with us and for us and understand our projects well. Let’s do a renaissance of the insulation and sheet metal trades, too. We need to look outside our market, sector, and comfort zone for inspiration and ideas to bring into our businesses.
We have to remember, these are the sort of times that spawned our association. It was times of great respect and pride that initiated the beginning of our group of committed, detail-focused, and loyal to the industry tradespersons that has endured for over five decades. So really, we are coming back to our roots. It is time to acknowledge our successes and opportunities. It is time to treat our trade like a craft, rather than a commodity. It’s time to respect and take pride in what we have so we can clarify our vision and see possibilities for the future. •
