7 - Best Practices
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[00:00:00] Tiffany: Hey everyone. Welcome back to the 12 days of GBA where we're counting down in the order we want because we can. Today is day seven and we're talking about GBA best practices.

[00:00:14] Ryan: And these are some of the most everyday usable resources GBA puts out.

[00:00:19] Tiffany: Okay? Quick confession. That might make me sound unqualified to even have a microphone.

[00:00:26] Ryan: Uh oh. Here we go. This is my favorite genre podcast.

[00:00:30] Tiffany: Where we make fun of me. Okay. Alright. GBA calls these best practices monographs, and I realized I did not actually know what the word monograph meant. I mean, I could guess of course, but I've never heard that word used as standard language.

[00:00:50] Ryan: It does sound like something you'd buy at Ikea, like, yeah, we got the monograph came with three screws left over.

[00:00:57] Tiffany: Exactly, but here's the [00:01:00] translation. A monograph is a short focused guide on one topic, not a textbook, not a thesis. More like, here's what goes wrong and here's what to do instead.

[00:01:12] Ryan: And that's why they're dangerous in a good way. You read one and suddenly you're side eyeing your own emails.

[00:01:19] Tiffany: So if you hear monograph today and your brain starts to leave your body, please stay with us. It's just GBA's fancy word for this will save you from learning it the hard way. Alright, we're gonna keep this tight. We're not reading the whole best practices library, I promise. Instead, I picked two monographs. I wanted to add context on and Ryan's gonna react and keep me honest. But also I found out that one of them, is one of his favorites too.

[00:01:51] Ryan: Yep. And then I'll prove this isn't just a Tiffany Love Spreadsheets episode, even though we all know she does.

[00:01:58] Tiffany: Yes, I do. Alright. [00:02:00] First is change order management. Okay. This one is very me as SME's, director of Project Management, change orders are one of the topics I am weirdly passionate about. Because I see how stressful it is for project managers. I think a lot of us are often uncomfortable with change orders, not necessarily because we're trying to avoid getting paid, of course, but because it can feel confrontational or maybe personal when you're asking for money. But here's the reality, scopes change, especially in geoprofessional work. And if we don't get ahead of it, it becomes a surprise. And surprises are actually where the relationships get weird, not from the change order.

[00:02:44] Ryan: Absolutely subsurface work is basically surprise mechanics. If you don't normalize that early, you're scheduling an awkward phone call for future. You.

[00:02:54] Tiffany: Mm. Yeah. Don't make future you mad. All right, so I have empathy on both sides. I [00:03:00] feel for our project managers, they're managing scope, schedule, budget, staffing, and then there comes a change. But I also fear for the client. Clients aren't upset because they hate change orders. They're upset because they didn't anticipate them. So the key is getting them information quickly, clearly, and early.

[00:03:20] Ryan: Right. People can handle change. They can't handle feeling blindsided though.

[00:03:25] Tiffany: Exactly. My biggest takeaway from this monograph, my new favorite word, don't treat change orders like a weird side quest. Treat them like part of the job well done. And the playbook is simple. Communicate early from the proposal and assumptions to the kickoff meeting. Talk about what might change and what it might do to schedule and budget.

[00:03:48] Ryan: And the earlier you say it, the less weird it is later. But also document changes as they happen because nobody likes learning about changes from the invoice.

[00:03:58] Tiffany: Absolutely. [00:04:00] Alright, switching to my second pick, straight talk about profitability. So I picked this one before realizing that Ryan actually loves this one and recently used it with his team. So we'll get into that in a second. But if the word profitability makes you wanna skip ahead, stay with me. This is not a finance lecture, it's a reality check. My biggest takeaway. It challenges the conforming idea that we, if we just charge more, everything's fine. It basically says profitability is about managing income and expenses, and labor utilization is one of those biggest levers

[00:04:43] Ryan: And it has one of the most brutally honest reminders. Clients don't wake up hoping they get to hire an engineering firm. They want the highway, the building, the permit, the end result. So we have to understand value from their perspective.

[00:04:57] Tiffany: Yes. And this one also [00:05:00] calls out something we see constantly, even when we're on time and materials budgets clients often treat your estimate like it's a guaranteed maximum. So this monograph pushes you to manage with discipline. 'cause that's what protects margin and trust.

[00:05:18] Ryan: And it's sneaky risk management too, because when you manage expectations and deliver reliably, you reduce disputes and you build long-term relationships.

[00:05:29] Tiffany: Exactly. It's not be greedy, it's be intentional.

[00:05:34] Ryan: Okay, I have to say it. You pick two, and they're both basically about money getting paid and staying profitable.

[00:05:41] Tiffany: Fair. I love finding ways to save everyone time and still make a good profit. Money is what takes care of the team. So yeah, it's basically my favorite topic.

[00:05:52] Ryan: That's the thing. GBA best practice are not just money and spreadsheets there are monographs on communication, [00:06:00] mentoring, interviewing, documentation, software validation, the stuff that keeps your projects and people from going sideways.

[00:06:07] Tiffany: love it. And how did you recently use this one with your team?

[00:06:11] Ryan: I love the title, kind of along the lines of what you said about profitability is kind of what keeps the lights on and keeps things going. And so I had everyone read that so we could discuss that later.

[00:06:26] Tiffany: I like it a lot.

[00:06:27] Ryan: Just to prove, this isn't the profitability hour. Here are a few best practices that have nothing to do with money, but will absolutely save you pain: avoiding absolutes because one always in an email can haunt you forever.

[00:06:43] Tiffany: Or one never. Then suddenly you're in a meeting you didn't wanna be in.

[00:06:49] Ryan: Taboo words, same idea. Don't accidentally promise the moon in writing. Mentoring programs because scaling quality requires scaling people.

[00:06:59] Tiffany: [00:07:00] Yeah, and because you cannot senior your staff your way out of this hiring market.

[00:07:06] Ryan: interviewing the right way because most people are untrained interviewers, and that's how you end up hiring chaos. Software validation, because spreadsheets don't get deposed, but you do.

[00:07:18] Tiffany: Hopefully I don't, but that line should be on a mug.

[00:07:22] Ryan: And documentation records retention because future you needs past you to write things down.

[00:07:29] Tiffany: So, so true. Future me would've been so much happier if I had written a couple other things down and emailed them to the client. Confirmations in writing. All right, lightning round. Ryan, you're gonna read the title. I'll say what it saves you from in one sentence. Let's go.

[00:07:51] Ryan: Go, no go Checklist.

[00:07:53] Tiffany: Saves you from taking the job you already know is gonna wreck your week.

[00:07:58] Ryan: Professional [00:08:00] liability, insurance basics.

[00:08:02] Tiffany: Saves you from thinking you're covered until you're not.

[00:08:06] Ryan: E communication, instant messaging.

[00:08:10] Tiffany: Saves you from writing the one message that lives forever.

[00:08:15] Ryan: Project records, retention,

[00:08:18] Tiffany: Saves you from needing a document and realizing it no longer exists or worse exists in 47 places.

[00:08:27] Ryan: presentation, fundamentals.

[00:08:29] Tiffany: Saves you from being technically correct, but painfully confusing.

[00:08:35] Ryan: Facts, witnesses, depositions, dos and don'ts.

[00:08:40] Tiffany: Saves you from learning courtroom etiquette the hard way. Whew. There are a lot of these and that's not all. So here's day seven's takeaway. Pick one, best practice and actually use it this week. Not read it someday, let's actually use it and [00:09:00] then come back to LinkedIn and tell us how you used it.

[00:09:03] Ryan: And start where your pain is, change orders, communication, mentoring, documentation, whatever keeps showing up for you.

[00:09:10] Tiffany: And remember, these are resources your firm already pays for. Download them. Share internally and make one small change this week.

[00:09:22] Ryan: Small changes, big payoff. See you tomorrow.

[00:09:25] Tiffany: Byeeeee