Ep.1479 - Japan Series - Keeping Commitments

"Stop micromanaging" has become the go-to excuse to avoid structure, standards, and accountability. In this episode, Jason flips that script and makes the case that what most people call micromanagement is actually either bad leadership or good training.  In this episode you will learn Why "micromanaging" is often a lazy label for cowboy behavior and resistance to systems? The real problem behind most micromanagement complaints: unclear expectations and bad leadership, not too much leadership. How masters actually teach using the EDGE method: explain, demonstrate, guide, enable? Why nobody calls it micromanagement when a pro like Stephen Curry breaks down your stance, footwork, and follow-through? How different leadership styles (directive, collaborative, consensus, hands-off) are each crucial at different phases of team development? If you've ever wondered where the line is between helpful coaching and "micromanaging," this episode will redraw it in a way that actually serves your people and your projects.   If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).   Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels: · Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg · LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt · LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured · LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

What if your job stopped drowning in pallets, trash, and late trucks, and your logistics yard quietly saved you six figures in waste. In this episode, Jason walks you through a complete Logistics 2.0 system where every delivery is queued, kitted by zone, inspected, and only the value-add material ever touches the building.  In this episode you will learn: Why logistics is one of the most overlooked levers for cost, flow, and sanity on a project? How to design a flat, gridded logistics yard that becomes the single entry point for all materials? The power of using a shop forklift in a dedicated yard instead of abusing telehandlers in the mud. A practical system for binning and kitting materials by zone so crews only receive what they can install today How to onboard not just people but trucks, tools, and materials through a logistics gate with clear standards. How Logistics 2.0 supports lean flow, safer sites, happier trade partners, and work that actually brings people joy. If you want your crews installing instead of hunting, fighting clutter, and babysitting deliveries, this episode will give you the blueprint.   If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).   Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels: · Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg · LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt · LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured · LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

What if your jobsite logistics were so dialed in that workers wanted to show up early for the morning huddle? In this episode, Jason shares his latest "universe revelations" about turning the entry sequence of a project into a powerful culture engine, from parking lot to gate to worker huddle to site.  In this episode you will learn: Why the way workers first enter your site shapes everything that happens for the rest of the day? How the Japanese Masagura and Genkan concepts translate into a modern construction entry gate and holding area? What a real worker queuing area can look like, with heat, shade, coffee, visuals and actual dignity? How to turn the morning worker huddle into a dojo where you teach standards, mock up behaviors and model respect? Simple upgrades to logistics that make neurotypical and neurodivergent brains both want to engage. How a clear two gate system protects flow, raises standards and builds buy in before anyone even picks up a tool? Why Jason believes the morning worker huddle is the most misunderstood and underused lever in construction today? If you are tired of dragging people into change and want them leaning in instead, this episode will change how you design every jobsite from the gate in.   If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).   Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels: · Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg · LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt · LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured · LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

A simple night at the movies turned into chaos for Jason when one well meaning suggestion about popcorn blew up his entire system. In this episode, he uses that funny but painful story to show how small changes in "how we do things" create huge variation, wreck habits and quietly destroy flow on your projects. In this episode you will learn: How one change at the concession stand turned a clean, simple routine into a total mess? What Nicholas Modig's law of the effect of variation actually looks like in real life, not just in a textbook? Why "options" and one off exceptions feel helpful in the moment but multiply waste and stress? How broken standards around simple things create distraction, frustration and unintended consequences everywhere else? The direct link between extra popcorn in a theater and extra chaos on your construction site. Practical ways to protect your team from variation by tightening standards, simplifying choices and sticking to stable routines. If your job often feels like juggling overflowing popcorn buckets while trying not to trip in the dark, this episode will help you see the real problem and what to do about it.   If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).   Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels: · Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg · LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt · LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured · LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Most projects are not falling apart because of bad schedules or bad luck. They are falling apart because people say yes lightly, show up late, or disappear on their commitments. In this episode, Jason digs into the Japanese idea of yakusoku, that a commitment is a moral bond, and shows how honoring your word can transform a job from constant firefighting into reliable, calm production. In this episode you will learn: Why a broken commitment is not a small miss, it is a burden you dump on everyone else? How yakusoku and mewaku reframe promises as honor and "not being a burden"? The difference between casual Western "yes" culture and the precise Japanese approach to time and promises. How missed commitments quietly destroy takt, flow and other trades' productivity? When it is more respectful to say no immediately than to say yes and fail later? Practical ways for trade partners and GCs to tighten up promises, from start times to manpower to deliveries. What to do when you know you cannot keep a commitment, and how to own it without hiding? How to build a team culture where your word actually means something again? If you are tired of chasing no-shows, reshuffling plans and apologizing to everyone on the project, this episode will give you a new standard for how you commit, how you show up and how you respect the people who are counting on you.   If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).   Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels: · Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg · LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt · LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured · LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Most project teams struggle not because they lack skill or effort, but because they lack one core principle that drives every great construction project: real respect for people. In this episode, Jason breaks down why so many job sites feel chaotic, unfocused or disconnected and how one simple shift can transform the entire environment almost overnight. In this episode you'll learn: Why respect equals high expectations, not lower ones? The deal Jason made with 310 workers that instantly changed safety, cleanliness and morale. How bathrooms, lunchrooms and worker huddles become leadership tools? Why zero tolerance for safety and perfect cleanliness is actually the most respectful thing you can do? How disrespect hides in the small things like toilet paper, graffiti, temp cooling and chaotic scheduling? Why workers are equal partners and how treating them that way elevates everything? How the principle of respect for people answers every leadership question on a job site? If you want a project where workers feel valued, where morale rises, safety violations disappear and excellence becomes the norm, this episode will change the way you lead.   If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).   Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels: · Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg · LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt · LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured · LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Most PMs think their job is to protect the team from change. That mindset is quietly killing projects. In this episode, Jason flips the script, breaking down the critical difference between toxic variation owners, RFIs, chaos, overburden and the good kind of change your team must feel, training, reading, growth, new systems, real lean implementation. You will hear: What PMs should absolutely shield their teams from. The kind of change you should never protect them from. Why humans resist change by default and how to lead them through it. How Japan, Toyota and world class builders focus on people, process and quality, not just money and goals. If you are a project manager who wants to stop sympathy voting your team into mediocrity and start leading them into excellence, this episode is your wake up call.   If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).   Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels: · Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg · LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt · LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured · LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

What separates noisy, reactive job sites from clean, flowing, elite ones, A single shift, plan the next day, not the same day, In this fast, high energy episode, Jason breaks down the POND meeting, the proven system top builders use to align trades, remove roadblocks early, and deliver predictable results. In this episode, you'll get to know: The fatal flaw of same day "POD" huddles and why they stall production. The POND cadence that gives foremen time to plan and crews time to prepare. How one site transformed in 24 hours with maps, visuals, and clear handoffs. The full recipe, zoning maps, weekly plan on screen, worker huddle, team Kanban. Why elite projects never let variation creep into the morning. If you want to run construction the way the best in the world do it, start here, This is the meeting rhythm that changes everything.   If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).   Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels: · Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg · LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt · LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured · LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

What if the secret to a remarkable company wasn't systems or strategy - but soul? In this episode, Jason opens the doors to Elevate Construction and LeanTakt, sharing the 27 principles that shape how his teams think, lead, and live every single day.  You'll learn: Why the breath of every great company is positive encouragement, not pressure. The three things every true leader does: clarity, training, and shoulder-to-shoulder support. Why Elevate builds people first, not projects. The power of "stop, call, wait" and "one-piece flow" in fixing chaos before it spreads. How to create a culture that never punishes, never hides problems, and never stops improving. These aren't buzzwords - they're the living rules behind one of the fastest-growing Lean construction movements in the world. Listen now and steal the playbook for building a company that breathes life, not burnout. If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).   Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels: · Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg · LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt · LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured · LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

What if your project failed before the first delivery arrived, In this hard hitting conversation, Jason and Adam Beanie Bean unpack cause number two in the series, not having the right project manager, They show why picking a spreadsheet wizard over a field focused leader wrecks flow, burns people out, and bloats cost, Then they give a clear path to fix it. You will learn: The real job of a PM, align everyone to one destination and protect flow. How to spot a miscast PM in week one, before the damage spreads. The daily ORCA debrief, objective, results, causes, actions, that turns chaos into continuous improvement. Why communication, data tracking, and understanding flow beat technical brilliance alone. Exactly how leaders can be hard on the process, and easy on the people. If you have ever felt your job is busy but not moving, this episode gives you the playbook to reset the role, build alignment, and win the week before you lose the month. Listen now, and learn how the right PM turns planning into performance, and teams into one crew rowing in the same direction. If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).   Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels: · Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg · LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt · LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured · LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw