Care is a Strategy

In 1736, following the Great Waterfront Fire, Benjamin Franklin wrote an essay on fire prevention, urging Philadelphia residents to organize fire brigades and engage in safer building practices: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” But taking preventative measures is easier said than done, and in the early 19th century, Philadelphia experienced the Second Great Waterfront Fire. Complacency finds all of us. 

Every February, I schedule my medical check-ups: dentist, bloodwork, physical, and a full-body skin check. It’s been my routine for close to thirty years, but it would be easy to skip a year or just go every few years. Life is busy, but I’m fine admitting that the Older Me has started defining good health as the absence of illness. Truthfully, I may just be looking for ways to avoid bad news! 

Knowing my own insecurities, I need a disciplined routine. While I can’t guarantee my health, I can manage the process I use to maintain it, and that’s what matters most. One of the ways I define success in my life is doing whatever I can to ensure I’m here for my family, friends, and colleagues as long as possible. Taking reasonable measures to make that happen is my responsibility, just as we tell customers how our Service Technicians can be used to provide preventative maintenance on their systems. 

At U.S. Engineering, leaders use that same standard of care for our work. We focus on good processes for safety, estimating, project management, quality control, forecasting, cash management, risk assessment, and many other critical activities. We anchor those processes in our Core Values, and we cultivate a performance culture that creates space for individuals to leverage their talents while working together to create value for customers. 

Maintaining discipline can be tough because we live and work in an ecosystem that constantly changes. Growth and new opportunities require organizations to pay extra attention to the health of that ecosystem and the pressure it puts on culture. It would be easy to de-prioritize culture initiatives during periods of growth in favor of day-to-day work. However, this is the time to double down on cultural stewardship. It’s preventative care. 

Process matters. Organizations must continuously evaluate what’s working, what needs to improve, and where adjustments are necessary. Clear expectations, opportunities for development, and consistent feedback help people understand how they can grow and contribute over time. 

One of the most important initiatives in any organization is safety. In construction and building services, safety has to be a technical and cultural priority. With teams working across fast-paced, geographically dispersed jobsites, maintaining a strong safety culture requires constant attention. At U.S. Engineering, our culture begins and ends with keeping people safe, healthy, and productive on jobsites, at home, and in the community. 

In 1984, researchers Daniel Yankelovich and John Immerwahr coined the phrase “discretionary effort” to describe the gap between the minimum effort required to get by and the maximum effort a person can deliver. Culture plays an important role when considering someone’s willingness to use discretionary effort. I can leave coffee grounds on the counter or clean them up. I can ignore a potential problem and just follow the directions, or I can take the initiative to develop a safer, more efficient, and creative solution. That decision is up to me. 

Leaders have a responsibility to do whatever we can to create conditions that foster discretionary effort. In periods of growth and expansion, that job becomes even more important. Strong cultures are built by caring about one another, promoting transparency, admitting when we’re wrong, avoiding corporate speak, learning from mistakes, celebrating individuality, and investing in people. Fix it before something goes wrong. 

Benjamin Franklin’s advice is as relevant today as it was almost 300 years ago!