Rule 2 - Often The Answer Is Both

Much of life is a dichotomy, a contradiction and construction life is no different.

When faced with what seem like mutually exclusive and opposing views, often the answer is both. Much of life is a dichotomy, a contradiction and construction life is no different. The skill comes in first realising this, being comfortable with the contradictions and knowing how to find the balance.

Rule 2, is a little bit of an abstract concept. But it is important as it adds context and framing to a lot of the other rules – i.e. a rule may be highlighting an extreme, but it doesn’t mean you should live at the extreme.

The safest way to build something is not to build it at all. But that doesn’t get things built. The answer is you need to do both. It needs to be built and it needs to be built safely.

Should I micro-manage or macro-manage? The answer is you should do both. There are times when you need to focus on the detail to make sure things run smoothly, but you will get to a level of micro where the return on your time does not warrant the focus and you need to execute and step back into the macro so you can first see where you need to adjust and then make the adjustment. The return is in the execution, but if you don’t put enough time into the detail the execution will fail.

Should I be a good cop or a bad cop? The answer is both. You must be able to go to the extremes of being angry and passive and be able to recognise when and how to deploy each of them. But you cannot live life at the extreme of either. You need to be able to defend your ideas, but if you never change your mind people will not approach you with what could be the answer.

When faced with opposing views, often the answer is both.

Check out The Engineering Rule Book for the other rules.