As part of our video interview series with authors, experts, and thought leaders in project controls, project management, leadership, and career growth, I interviewed Wayne Del Pico who is the author of Project Control; Integrating Cost and Schedule in Construction. To learn more about this book and order a copy, please click here.
Download the free audio mp3 podcast of this episode on iTunes.
Wayne is president of W.J. Del Pico, Inc., where he provides construction management and litigation support services for construction-related matters. He has more than 40 years of experience in construction project management, scheduling, and estimating. He has been involved in commercial projects throughout much of the United States.
Wayne is also a nationally recognized lecturer on construction-related topics. He has authored 5 books and created numerous training and education programs and white papers.
Wayne’s success in what he does has been the result of his focus on what he is great at. According to Wayne, when you focus on what you are good at, “it builds confidence in you and it also makes you better at what you do”. Although there are certainly opportunities that could go in a different direction, Wayne suggests that if you feel that it is not in your area of expertise, you have the right to decline.
Following are three things that Wayne advises us to consider if we want to grow our career while staying fulfilled:
Do What You Like
There are plenty of aspects of this industry that you can focus on and even laser focus on but do the part that you like. When you do what you like then you will inevitably succeed better than if you’re doing a task or a discipline in your industry that you don’t like. For instance, estimating is not everybody’s cup of tea. People say it’s boring. So, if you don’t like it don’t do it. There’s a certain satisfaction in being successful at winning work and bringing it into the company.
Remember the Team Effort
You’re not in your success alone. When you think you’re the hero, you probably had a lot of help getting there. So, remember that it’s a team effort. Work with people and learn to contribute.
Pay Back
We’ve all had our mentors in the industry. At some point, it will be your turn to mentor others. As you get older and gain more experience, you need to give back. If you are good at what you do, find somebody, and share what you know with them.
When we talked about the future of the construction industry in general and project controls in particular, Wayne said: “COVID-19 is going to create an incredible amount of changes to our industry productivity or loss of productivity claims. There are going to be mechanisms that you’re going to see in contracts now that are going to provide relief from some of the things that have happened here such as not having sufficient labor resources, not having adequate time.”
Wayne also thinks that we use technology very well. However, we should not use technology in our industry at the loss of thinking. According to Wayne, “It is extremely important that you can diagnose problems and solve them. I don’t think any amount of software is going to do that fight. Yes, the software is going to speed things up but it’s still a thinking person’s game.”
So, “make sure you stay up to date on things. Make sure you know whats going on in your industry”. And make sure to stick to your strengths and focus on what you are good at!
Resources
- Project Control; Integrating Cost and Schedule in Construction by Wayne J. Del Pico
- W.J. Del Pico Inc.at wjdelpico.com
- Project Controls Training Programs
- Project Controls Video Tutorials
About Wayne J. Del Pico
Wayne J. Del Pico is president of W.J. Del Pico, Inc., where he provides construction management and litigation support services for construction-related matters. He provides services to law firms representing clients in construction matters ranging from delay claims to cost matters. Mr. Del Pico has more than 40 years of experience in construction project management, scheduling, and estimating and has been involved in commercial projects throughout much of the United States.
Mr. Del Pico holds a degree in civil engineering from Northeastern University in Boston, where he taught construction-related curricula in cost estimating, project management, and project scheduling as adjunct faculty. He is also a senior affiliate faculty at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, where he currently teaches programs in construction cost analysis, estimating, project control, and construction scheduling. Mr. Del Pico has developed and presented a variety of state building code update and license renewal classes.
Mr. Del Pico is a nationally recognized lecturer on construction-related topics and is the author of Plan Reading and Material Takeoff (1994) and Estimating Building Costs, 1st & 2nd editions (2004 and 2011), Project Control; Integrating Cost and Schedule in Construction, (2013), Electrical Estimating Methods, 4th Edition (2015), and is a co-author of The Practice of Cost Segregation Analysis (2005) as well as numerous training and education programs and white papers.
He is also a Neutral for the American Arbitration Association where he hears construction-related disputes. For more information on Wayne J. Del Pico, please visit his website www.wjdelpico.com.
About the Interviewer, Dr. Kamran Akbarzadeh
Dr. Kamran Akbarzadeh is co-director of Project Control Academy and founder of Dream Achievers Academy. With his Amazon best-selling and international award-winning book, Leadership Soup, Kamran is an internationally recognized leadership and success expert.
With years of experience as a project manager and subject matter expert in big oil and gas companies, and as a successful entrepreneur, Kamran believes that everyone has the potential to achieve what he or she truly wants in life. His desire for adding value to people and helping them grow and achieve their dreams and visions motivated him to establish Dream Achievers Academy and write his second book Get What You Want, which also became an award winner.
Kamran’s vision is to passionately add value to people around the world and inspire them to realize their potential and fulfill their dreams. And his mission is simply to serve.
As an inspiring and motivational speaker, seminar leader, and coach, Kamran equips his audience with profound tools, techniques, and solutions to hone their skills, increase their influence, get what they want, and achieve long-lasting success in their personal and professional lives as a result.
Kamran holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, PMP with Project Management Institute, and Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) with Toastmasters International.
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