We Need Breakthrough Thinking in the Construction Industry

Amazon is no stranger to stirring things up, and their newest invention is no exception.

Yesterday, I read an article about their first grocery store in Seattle – a pilot for now, but it’s really happening – with no cashiers and no lines. There’s not even a self-checkout: customers are tracked via technology that senses what they take from the shelves. When they’re done, they just walk out. Payment is processed automatically.

We don’t sell groceries, but we can learn from Amazon. Their efforts are an outstanding example of the type of breakthrough thinking we need in the construction industry. Supermarkets have lines, and beeping registers, and the candy next to the conveyor belt. That’s their paradigm. But what is the one thing we all hate most in the supermarket? Standing in that very line.

Technology advances enabled someone to break that rule. Someone said to themselves, “what is the one best improvement we could make to the customer experience at a supermarket?” Voila. That improvement came not from playing by existing rules, but by changing them completely.

Service providers in the construction industry would be well served to follow this example. Owners are tired of standing in the line. They’re begging for innovation.

As noted in our recent study with CII, “Order Takers Versus Value Creators”, owner organizations are facing immense pressure from the businesses they serve to be more agile. Their organizations need to bring products and services to market faster and less expensively.

So ask yourself: what is my checkout line, the place you’re forced to stand in after a long day at work, watching minutes tick by before your commute home? What is your paradigm shift, the one dramatic change in your service offering that would most positively impact your customer? The answer to that question could unlock serious success.

Companies that think the unthinkable don’t just hold the keys: they make them. Getting there is difficult, but you can do it. We can help.

For more information on how Continuum Advisory Group is helping owners, A/E’s and contractors achieve break-through thinking, contact us today.