Gymnastics and construction ... it’s all in the balance

In April we discussed whether we were ‘Hunters or Jumpers?’ Describing how a fantastic sport of equestrian can be compared to construction projects and aligning ourselves with the equestrian term ‘Jumpers’ in which obstacles are put in front of us, whether on the project or on the course; and although at the outset we may not know what these are, we formulate risk strategies and plans, to deal with, and progress through them in an pre-determined timescale, trying not to clip a hurdle or deviate from the contract. Recently Qatar hosted the 9th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Series at the Aspire Dome; this world event precedes the Olympic Games 2016 in Brazil and more than 100 gymnasts from 33 countries showcased their unbelievable skills in a fantastic competition. I imagine you are now scratching your heads and thinking, come on … how can … in what way … really … gymnastics and construction … what do they have in common …? After aligning equestrian and construction, surely gymnastics and construction will struggle. Well a construction project needs strong foundations, a contract, leaders and managers with a strong team built around a detailed organisation chart, and of course a strong belief the project will succeed. So too gymnastics — if you ever watch the different disciplines, whether it be on the floor or the apparatus, all gymnasts have a strong, solid foundation to start their routine. The actual start of any routine requires a base to leap or propel into the air or to ensure there run up is in proportion and at the right speed and velocity to provide the correct execution. The same for the project — that base going forward will always determine the right or wrong behaviours for the project.Gymnastics is a sport involving the performance of exercises requiring strength, flexibility, balance and control and as with most sports, there are judges, umpires and referees and for gymnastics the rules and scoring are as rigorous as ever. Whether it is an arm out of place, a step back on dismount or a fall from the pommel horse, scoring can be detrimental if the rules and performance are not perfect. A construction project may not get scores out of 10 for performance or lose points through the project, but the contractor still requires to have great safety records such as no injuries and no Lost Time Injuries (LTI’s), maintain quality control whether it is material ordering or completing correct welds, which means the contractor has to be flexible, have a good understanding of the balance required to deal with their workers, the sequence of work and making sure all stakeholders are engaged with. One of the main areas for a construction project is control and this has to be the area that most construction projects fail on, not that Jon and I are bias in regards to this area, but because many project teams and client are dismayed by the term ‘control’, as they mistakenly equate it with the concept of authority and the spies are watching us.Gymnasts feel the same, the way a gymnast holds his position on the still rings or how she throws their ball or ring into the air, with control and grace before completing the move, shows that control is not about telling people what to do, or dictating actions or thoughts or even trying to force them to behave in a certain way, the term ‘control’ is comparable in certain respects to steering a ship. It is about how a course may be adjusted without losing sight of the main objective. This is the same if the gymnast falls off the balance beam, the routine needs to be adjusted but the objective remains. Hopefully the gymnast completes the routine without falling or having a bad dismount and the same can be said for the project — procurement is delayed, approvals take longer than expected, but hopefully the project will be on time and on cost and above all provide the quality the contractor wants to deliver and what the client expects to have. But above all the objectives and goals remain the same and if the ship has to change direction, controls are in place so adjustments can be made to get back on the right path.