I get a specific phone call often. A leader asks a simple question.
“What should I pay a (insert construction professional title) with X years of experience?”
It sounds like a smart question. It sounds like they are doing their homework. They want to be fair.
But it is the wrong question.
It assumes a superintendent is like a bottle of aged whiskey. You look at the label. You see “10 Years.” You assume it must be good.
But time in a barrel does not make whiskey good. It just makes it old. If the ingredients were bad to start with, you just have 10-year-old swill.
This is the Procurement Mindset. It works for steel. It works for lumber. It fails with people because they are dynamic agents. Complex and variable, in other words.
Often when I ask about a company hiring process, the leaders sheepishly talk about how they need to improve the process and list off a bunch of hacks they know they could employ. This is funny because popular hiring “wisdom” suggests if a team isn’t using the latest hacks they are falling behind. Terrible advice.
The Simplicity Trap
Why do leaders fall into this mindset?
It isn’t because they are lazy. They lack awe and knowledge on the topic.
They do not know, understand, or perhaps respect the complexity of the problem. They do not respect the power of a human being who is truly enlisted.
To those who do not understand the problem, the solutions look simple.
If you think the job is just “being a PM” you will think the solution is just “finding a PM.”
But if you understand that the job is a high-stakes battle with and against entropy, weather, budget, clients, architects, subcontractors, owners-reps, materials, logistics, municipalities, and internal dynamics—a battle that requires grit, creativity, and soul—you will know that a simple hire won’t work.
And then when you miss the depth of the problem, you reach for a “Hack.”
The Procurement Diagnosis: Are You Using Hacks?
We can use these “hacks” as a mirror. They are a diagnostic tool. If you are relying on them, it is a sign you might be stuck in the Procurement Mindset.
Here are the symptoms.
1. The Average: You rely on expensive compensation surveys to tell you what to pay. The Reality: You are outsourcing your judgment. You are letting an “average” number dictate the value of a specific solution. You are ignoring Marginal Utility—the specific value of that person to your specific problem. What is the problem costing? What is the solution worth?
2. The Label: You filter resumes by “Years of Experience.” The Reality: You are confusing time with talent. You are hoping the calendar did the work of training the leader. It didn’t.
3. The Robot: You use software to scan resumes for words like “Procore” or “Tilt-up.” The Reality: You are hiring for past exposure, not future capability. You want a match, not a problem solver.
4. The Rolodex: You hire a leader just because they promise to “bring a book of business.” The Reality: You are trying to buy a shortcut to sales. You are treating loyalty like a commodity that can be bought.
5. The Horoscope: You overuse DISC, Myers-Briggs, or some other assessment as a “Go/No-Go” gate. The Reality: You are using a graph to avoid the messiness of human intuition. You want a tool to make the decision for you.
There are other great ways to use assessments.
6. The Magic Wand: You hire an expensive recruiter to “just fix the problem.” You want a magic recruiter to find a magic candidate. The Reality: You are trying to buy a shortcut. No recruiter can solve your problem. They can only tell your story. If you don’t have a clear mission, the recruiter fails. You cannot outsource the soul of the hire. A good recruiter won’t let you abdicate your power and accountability because they know that enlisting the candidate’s heart and will is only something you can do.
The Cost: An Army of Mercenaries
These hacks send a clear message to the candidate: “This is a transaction.”
This creates Mercenaries.
A mercenary works for money. That is it. They do not care about your dream. They do not care about the mission.
This is dangerous because there are choppy waters ahead.
Every company has problems. That is why the job exists. We exist to solve problems. Solving problems takes skill, but it also requires you to absorb stress.
When the storm hits—and it always does—a mercenary will leave. They have no reason to stay and fight.
The Solution Is Not “More HR”
We have to be fair to HR. They are often the victims here.
HR is often put in an impossible spot. Leaders tell them: “Go find great people. Make them stay.” But the leader does not give them the mission or the culture to sell.
So, HR reaches for the hacks to survive. They work REALLY hard. But it’s an impossible fight and causes other downstream issues for which HR can be famous for.
The solution is not for HR to get bigger. It is for Leaders to step up.
You cannot delegate the soul of your company. You have to own the mission. You have to define the culture.
You have to break the “Veneer.” In an interview, everyone is faking it. The candidate is polished. You are polished. It is all “image management.”
To get to the truth, you must practice authentic vulnerability. This is not weakness. It is strength. It means admitting what is hard about your business. It means sharing the real problems.
When you are real, they will be real. That is when you find the fit.
How therefore shall we live?
If you are ready to stop buying mercenaries and start enlisting allies, here is your path forward.
- Get high resolution. Before you hire, you must respect the problem. Define it exactly. The greater the resolution on the problem, the greater the resolution you can extract from the interview process on the fit.
- Put the survey in the drawer. Do not let an average number dictate the value of a specific solution. Pay for the impact, not the title.
- Equip your team. Do not send HR or a recruiter to the store without a list. Give them a mission to sell, not just a job description to post.
- Go first. In your next interview, drop the veneer. Share a real challenge the company is facing. Watch how they react. If they get excited to help, you found a partner.
It is harder. It takes more time. But it is the only way to build something that lasts.
