Last month, Jon and I wrote about how playing a tennis match can relate to a construction contract and how certain aspects of the match mirrors the commercial aspects of a construction project. Over the coming months Jon and I will continue with a sporting theme for our articles based on the multiple sporting events held in Qatar.
Earlier this year, Qatar played host to the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Golf Tournament at the Doha Golf Club and being golf fans, it was a pleasure to watch the tournament, especially to take in first-hand how immaculate and manicured the course was. This year however the weather wasn’t too kind and the weekend was very windy and colder than usual, however the golf played was at an excellent standard as normal.
Now, you might say how does golf relate to a construction project? In reflection it is actually amazing how most sports and day-to-day activities mirror one another, and golf is no different. Whenever a Project Manager starts a construction project, you make sure you have the right foundations of your team in place, a Contracts Manager, a Planner, a Safety Manager and an Engineer. The same can be said about golf, a professional golfer needs a team around him, a coach, a caddie and an agent. By having a trusted and empowered team this enables the golfer to concentrate purely on the golf and the not so small task of achieving a successful outcome!
A construction project needs a Project Manager but that person cannot do everything and relies on his team. Watching the golfers in the tournament, communicate with their caddies and show trust in what they say, shows how a good aligned team works.
“Understanding the course layout is the same as understanding the scope of a project.”
Understanding the course layout is the same as understanding the scope of a project. If the fairway is tight and has obstacles, caution is needed, club selection is important, do you go for a big drive and risk going out of bounds or take a smaller club and keep the ball in play. If the project involves various risks, do you throw caution to the wind and just go for it, or analyse the risks, quantify them and put controls in place to eliminate or at least reduce the risk. Risk management plays a key role in both sport and construction and shouldn’t be underestimated.
Each hole needs to be completed in sequence, using a planned approach, the same for sequence of works in a project, you don’t use a putter to tee off with, which is the same as you not putting the roof on, without building the walls first. Having a plan and preparing is one of the most important phases of any project, the old saying goes, “Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail.” Similarly teams follow the Six P’s, “Proper Preparation and Planning Prevents Poor Performance.” In watching a golfer, they plant their feet, look at their stance, set themselves up, align themselves with the ball, which is teed precisely, the golfer is preparing for every shot, whether it is a putt or a drive, preparation is key. It can be viewed as repetitive however it is the planned, methodical approach that generally sees the best rewards in Golf and in construction. That being said sometimes a wild shot now and then never hurts anyone but you need to be careful with this in any walk of life and career!
Throughout a project there are milestones, some have monetary value for payment and some are tied to delays for liquidated damages, so throughout the course of the project various milestones need to be completed on time and on budget. In golf, each hole has to be completed just like a milestone when the golfer puts the ball into the hole in as few shots as possible; unless we are playing where we like to get our money’s worth and take a lot of shots. But seriously the higher the shots the worse the score is and even though there are no liquidated damages in golf, there is the shame of carding an eight on a par three, as we well know!
At the end of the day, golf is just a game, whether you swing and miss or go out of bounds, it doesn’t really matter. It is always a fantastic feeling to get a birdie and in our case a scarce par, but it’s fun and as both our wives tell us, it’s a long walk spoilt.
However, every time you play you always want to do better next time and learn from your mistakes. The same thinking is in construction projects were lessons learnt should be adopted every time, so the same mistakes don’t happen again and again, and if the mistakes stopped I wouldn’t have to shout ‘fore’ as often when I take my shot.
“Each hole needs to be completed in sequence, using a planned approach, the same for sequence of works in a project; you don’t use a putter to tee off with, which is the same as you not putting the roof on, without building the walls first”
Jonathan Sanderson and Matthew Schofield, Associate Directors
Jonathan Sanderson and Matthew Schofield are Associate Directors at Quantum Global Solutions (QGS) and members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Chartered Management Institute (CMI) respectively. Collectively, Jon and Matt have over forty years of practical experience working on major local, regional and international construction projects including project management and dispute resolution.