Before we get down to talking about Change Orders today, check this out.
Now, no one loves making up facts up more than we do, but sometimes real facts are even funnier. According to the latest archaeological discoveries, the hammer existed before humankind! How do you like that? Over 3,300,000 years ago, there were hammers on Earth. Humans arrived on the scene a few hundred thousand years later.
Today’s Big Question
So did we invent the hammer, or did the hammer invent us?
One to think about – but not too hard, or your brain will try to escape through your ear, and you need your brain for all sorts of important work on-site. (For those who care, the ‘hammers’ were apparently made by our first cousins, the monkeys.)
But wait now. Here’s a picture of the archaeologists and their so-called hammers:
Now, I don’t know about you, but what these archaeologists call hammers look an awful lot like what – in layman’s terms – would be known as rocks. Actually, even in technical non-layman speak, those lumps of hammer look like rocks. Let’s face it: they arerocks. Who are we kidding here? Archaeologists are a bunch of spoofers. These are not hammers – try to drive a nail with one of those lumpy rocks and the only nail that’ll end up stuck in the wall will be the one that used to be attached to your thumb.
The point is, there’s a good reason why we don’t still use rocks to bang things into other things.
Story Time!
Years and years ago, there was a man by the name of Pat Hamm, who was involved in the building trade, like his father and his father before him. Pat was a smart cookie. He looked around the world and learned things. He looked at his father and his grandfather and he didn’t like what he saw. Why not? Their hands were a bloody mess, that’s why. All their fingers were flattened and twisted, their thumbs were in worse shape, and grandpa was even missing a few digits on the left hand! All their builder friends were the same. It was all because of using lumps of rock to drive nails.
So Pat became a ballerina?
No. Pat did no such thing. One morning, Pat Hamm got up earlier than normal, went out to his toolshed and invented what he called Bang-Lump-on-Stick. (Pat wasn’t so good with catchy names for products.) Other builders saw what Pat had made and asked him to make one for them. The other builders all called their new tools Hamm-ers, after Pat.
Lo and behold, ladies and gentleman, the humble hammer was born. Insurance policies for builder’s fingers disappeared overnight, putting the poor insurance companies out of business.
Yeah, right!
Okay, so insurance companies didn’t go out of business, but you know who did? The builders who stuck with lumps of rock instead of getting these new hammers. Hammers were way faster, more accurate, and left your hands un-crushed. There was no good reason to stick with rocks, but some of these fellas grumbled about how they liked their lump of rock and this and that. They didn’t really have a sound business reason for not adopting the new technology, other than they were used to the old technology. We all have a weakness for nostalgia, for fond stories:
‘God, do you remember that time I nearly fell off the scaffolding…? Only for the claw hammer, I was a goner!’
If that’s the case, the hammer belongs in a trophy cabinet. In business, though, if a new tool helps you do your job faster, better and easier, it’s a no-brainer. In business, you need a nail gun.
Die Hard: Old Habits
We’re all inclined to get attached to things, possessions. Like the knackered-but-reliable mixer, the van, the claw hammer that saved your life. But we also get attached to habits, good and bad. Routines, good and bad. Filing systems, good and by-jesus-that-is-absolutely-terrible-how-can-you-ever-find-anything.
Quiz: Are you addicted to bad habits?
–If you had to put up with dial-up (or even 2G or 3G) if you’re used to faster connection speeds, are you more likely to say:
- ‘Ah, it’s what I used to use years ago. I’ll just be patient here while it take twenty minutes to load the website.’
- ‘F##%ing f$&k of a thing! Jesus! Christ, come on! For f#%k’s sake, what is wrong with the…?!’
–Have you ever had to use your old phone (when your current one gets crushed under a hammer-rock, for example, and is getting repaired)?
- ‘You know, this phone isn’t so bad,’ said nobody ever. ‘Yes, it’s as slow as f*ck, and it keeps freezing, but…’
- ‘F##%ing f$&k of a thing! Jesus! Christ, come on! For f#%k’s sake, what is wrong with the…?!’
If you answered:
Mostly 1’s: Well… Okay. Clearly, the meditation and everything is paying off, so good luck to you.
Mostly 2’s: Yeah, these are the right answers. Once you’ve used newer better faster technology, you don’t ever go back.
What does it all mean?
These days, there are builders out there still using rocks instead of hammers, still using dial-up instead of 4G.
Help, I don’t want mangled fingers.
Well, it’s easy. Don’t be one of them builders. If you’re not already using +ADDJust to manage your change orders, you should be. Spreadsheets, emails, slips of paper, WhatsApps and phonecalls to manage change orders is a recipe for disaster. In the end, you’ll wind up with missing fingers like Pat Hammer’s grandpa. (That’s not a threat; it’s just a metaphor. Honestly, we’re nice people!)
So, use +ADDJust?
Exactly. Apps like +ADDJust cost little and make your life a hell of a lot easier. All things RFI and Change Order in one place – every photo, every record, every document. Email padraig@addjust.ie right now for a free trial.
Remember. Don’t use a rock to drive a nail; use a hammer!
Keep Change Orders in Order… +AddJust