When people think about construction, they see concrete, steel, schedules, and budgets. What they do not always see are the people whose lives are positively impacted by the work. The Operator and their family waiting to open their doors. The team members starting their first job. The community waiting to be served for years to come.
Respect for People is one of the most talked about principles in Lean Construction. It is also one of the most misunderstood. It is not a value posted on a wall or a line item in a kickoff meeting. It is the operating standard behind every business decision, every partner engagement, and every pull plan promise you make on a project.
In this session, Jeff Shaw of Chick-fil-A joins the St. Louis LCI Community of Practice to share how Respect for People drives the way Chick-fil-A does business, collaborates with partners, and executes from the ground up. Jeff brings a rare combination of Lean expertise and real project experience, including the story of a Bridgewater, NJ Chick-fil-A that opened one month ahead of schedule because a team refused to let adversity be the answer. From a circus tent erected over a concrete slab in sub-zero temperatures to a personal letter written to a utility company communicating what was really at stake, this session is built on the kind of stories that make Lean principles impossible to forget.
Jeff will walk through the philosophy, the execution mechanisms, and the leadership practices that connect cost, quality, and schedule to the people doing the work, and share what it looks like when a team stays committed to those principles when it actually costs them something.