PCCA Journal|3
rd
Quarter 2015
14
case studies and samples of checklists, best practices, plans,
specs, contracts, change orders, etc. Your people won’t be
discussing homebuilding, general construction, or road build-
ing; they’ll be discussing plowing, drilling, fiber to the home,
transmission & distribution lines, and substations.
FMI has many years of experience teaching this program
and admits that the techniques of managing projects are well-
known. Training in scheduling, budgeting, and cost tracking
is available from many sources. But to graduate to the next
level, your project staff must learn to think and act like busi-
ness owners. When projects break down, they have to feel
like they are bleeding their own money. When customers are
dissatisfied, your managers and staff must take it personally.
When jobs are running smoothly, they must remain vigilant.
The three main FMI facilitators at the PCCA PMA—Andy
Patron, Ethan Cowles, and Rick Reese—are very enthusias-
tic and engaging instructors. On the program evaluations,
participants raved about the instructors’ knowledge and
their ability to hold the group’s attention. “Coming from a
hands-on environment to sitting in a classroom for 11 hours
a day, I think all three presenters did a great job of keeping it
a fun and exciting learning experience,” said one participant.
“Thank you!”
The PCCA Project Manager Academy is built around four
core themes:
• Profitable customer relationship development
• Powerful, integrated project teams
• Financial control of projects
• Planning projects for profits and customer satisfaction
During this high-level, immersion experience, your project
delivery people will examine themselves, their organizations,
and their processes. Our goal is to transform talented builders
into true construction entrepreneurs.
An entrepreneur is a self-directed person who corrals and
coordinates diverse talents and resources to service custom-
ers and return profits. While this description may fit many
“managers,” there is a key difference between an entrepre-
neur and a manager. While most managers are capable and
dedicated to their jobs, entrepreneurs will always act as if
they have a personal stake in the success or failure of the
project.
The Journey Begins Now
The goal of this program is fundamental behavioral change.
Stop your PMs from seeing themselves as just another em-
ployee or a witness to project outcomes. Turn them into vir-
tual owners who have a personal stake in project outcomes
and the tools necessary to succeed.
The PCCA Project Manager Academy begins weeks before
attendees arrive, as each participant completes ProScan
and 360
o
personality surveys prior to the PMA and also has
surveys completed by supervisors, co-workers, people who
report to them, vendors, and customers. Once at the PMA,
participants learn about the value of honest feedback, the
qualities of effective feedback, how to best give it, how to
best receive it, and its importance to the success of one’s
company. During the PMA, each participant has an hour-
long, one-on-one session with an FMI facilitator who reviews
the specifics of their personal ProScan and 360
o
reports and
helps them understand how the results relate to their work
and their lives.
PCCA PMA participants have been amazed by the survey
tools’ ability to accurately describe their personality and
appreciative of the assistance provided by the FMI facilita-
tors. The participants’ comments were telling: “Wow! I am
amazed on how dead on this report came out. It is as if
someone had stepped into my life and lived it. To hear who I
am and what to do with my faults and plusses is great! Good
job!”
“Thank you for helping me understand me,” said another
participant. “Great exercise. Very eye-opening. I could have
PCCA Project Manager Academy
Continued from page 13
“I attended the first Project Manager Academy to see what it
was all about and could not have been more impressed. We will
continue sending our people. If they put 25 percent of what they
learned to use on the job, we will get a return on our investment
that is much more than the registration fee.”
– Heath Sellenriek, Sellenriek Construction