(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)

Welcome everybody out to podcast number 1185. In this podcast, I got Kate and Kevin and I'm going to ask them a question. Stay with us.

Let's go. Welcome everyone. I hope you're doing well. 

I got Kevin Rice and Kate Schroeder here. This will be a quick podcast. By the way, I've got a question.

One of you, I think it was Kate or Kevin or it was Kate. I don't know, but it also may have been Kevin. I can't remember, but one of you said if you're doing an integrator visit, right? You should, you, people, half of the people in the room should think you're dangerous.

It was Kevin. It was, are you serious or was it Kate? It was Kevin? Okay, so I need... Was that you, Kevin? It was so wise. That was me. 

Yeah. Okay. So real quick. 

So let me ask you a question. Kevin, can you explain real quick? What is an integrator? An integrator is somebody that we send on site that integrates the TACT production system and IPCS onto a project. And so in like converting this to something that everyone listening might be familiar with, you're, if you're an ops manager, general superintendent, superintendent helping somebody in the company, a consultant or anybody that's coming to the project site to get things done, right? We're going to get things done.

An integrator is like, I'm coming to the job site to integrate these processes with the project team for results. Is that right, Kevin? That's exactly right. Okay. 

So there was a behavior of like playing savior. I'm not trying to like take away your thunder, but like playing savior being too soft. What are some of the behaviors that are like counterproductive for integrator effectiveness? Yeah, some of the ones that you already said, I think that we always need to be respectful and those type of things, right? We always need to respect people.

But respecting people is a tricky thing. If we are just a pushover and we're not able to hold people accountable and we're not able to dig in with teams on very specific processes or systematic things, then we end up not respecting everyone. We end up disrespecting some people and respecting others. 

So an integrator has to be able to hold the line when necessary. They have to be able to dig in and ask the right questions at the right times, even if that means that sometimes it's a subject that might not want to be discussed. They need to be able to interface with the right people at the right times. 

And to that end, that's where that came from a bit was, you know, half the people should think that you're dangerous because you know what you're talking about and you're willing to go and hold the line and hold people accountable for the good of the system and the team. I like that. And I did tell everybody it would be a short podcast, so I don't feel bad if we close here pretty soon, but I did want to highlight a point like you. 

So sometimes, and I love the quote that said, people who do not say what needs to be said for fear of offending others is only thinking of themselves. So a lot of times when people don't speak up when they're saying, well, I want to respect people, sometimes, not all the time, but they're only thinking about their own feelings. And I think what you're saying is, and you're not going to say it disrespectfully, but if you have something that needs to be said that you can say in a respectful way, you're going to avoid playing savior and sympathy voting them because it's better to respect the entire group versus either just yourself or just one person.

What is best for the team? And so you're nodding your head, so it sounds like that's right. And so I want to tie into and see if you have, and by the way, I'm looking for a little bit of a Kevin rant for like 30 seconds or done here, but like, it sounds to me like when we get onto the project site, the people who should think you're a bit dangerous because you know what you're doing and you're not going to tolerate it to not be done right. So the people that will think that an effective integrator is dangerous are the people who are actually disrespecting the team for siloed benefits. 

Is that an accurate statement? That's perfectly said. Yeah, I love that. And so, and so like when I think about it like I think people could say this of me and I could say this of you like when Kevin's showing up to the job site, he's sharp, he's intelligent, he's strong.

That doesn't mean toxic strong, but like a strong individual is going to do what's right, will not walk past something that's wrong, and so that will make people who are trying to hide nervous. So I like that. So if you're doing your integrator job well, you don't have to be toxic, but the people who are disrespecting others should feel that you're a bit dangerous to their little protective siloed dishonest bubble.

So let me give you the last word. Let's do a bit of a Kevin rant. What are you wanting to see? Like, what's the challenge? Like fire us up a little bit.

Yeah, I would say the challenge would be to understand the systems, to dig in when necessary, and to not be afraid to be the person that raises your hand and asks the questions that are necessary for the good of the team. Oftentimes, we see this where, you know, nobody's saying anything. And we're all just going down this path because it's the path we've always gone down, even though everybody knows, hey, this is a problem.

And so be the person that is willing to stand up and do what's right and, you know, raise your hand and ask the hard questions when it when it's needed. And those are the type of people that make the most impact on the job site and bring the most overall respect and overall stability to the project. And that's my rant.

I love that. Okay, Kate, I miss. Oh, you're like, I'm not saying who could who could add to Well, I didn't know who said it.

Okay. All right. Well, I hope everybody's enjoyed this podcast. 

On we go. We really appreciate it. We'll catch you next time on the Elevate Construction Podcast.

(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)