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Midway through Q3, our All-in on AI community is talking sidekicks - the automations that give you leverage, clear the noise, and keep progress compounding. Join the conversation.

— Lucas Robinson, Founder & CEO at BudgetMailboxes.com

🎯 This Week’s Strategy:

• Construction Partnering

🛠️ Boardroom Brief:

• Hackensack rescinds PILOTs on three major projects; developers push back
  

Strategy

🎯 Construction Partnering

What it is (and why teams use it)
Construction partnering is a structured collaboration model where the owner, GC, architect/engineer, and key trades commit formally to shared goals, open communication, and joint problem-solving from day one. Instead of managing each contract silo-by-silo, the project team establishes a common charter, clear decision paths, and shared metrics. The payoff: fewer disputes and surprises, faster decisions, stronger cost and schedule control, and a better experience for everyone involved.

Where it shines
Partnering delivers outsized value on projects with schedule pressure, complex interfaces (MEP-heavy, healthcare, education, industrial), tight sites, or many stakeholders. It also complements CMAR, design-build, and lean approaches, but can be layered onto traditional delivery with the right expectations and cadence.

How to implement construction partnering on your next project

✅ Decide the fit and define success
Clarify what “win” means (e.g., GMP certainty, turnover date, safety targets, change-order cap, quality KPIs). If two or more of schedule risk, technical complexity, or stakeholder volume are high, partnering is likely worth it.

✅ Assemble the core team early
Owner rep, GC PM & superintendent, architect/engineer leads, and top trade partners (steel, concrete, MEP). Name decision-makers (and backups) up front.

✅ Run a facilitated kickoff partnering workshop (½–1 day)

• Draft a Partnering Charter with 4–6 measurable goals (schedule, budget, quality, safety, satisfaction).

• Set working norms (response times for RFIs/submittals, meeting cadence, issue escalation).

• Build an initial risk register with owners and mitigation steps.

• Agree on a dispute-resolution ladder (foreman → PM → executives) with time limits at each rung.

✅ Align contracts and incentives
Add a partnering clause and align incentives to outcomes: shared savings, schedule bonuses for key milestones, and transparent contingency use. Keep incentives simple and visible to all parties.

✅ Plan the coordination cadence

• Weekly Big Room (virtual or on-site) for cross-trade coordination.

• Pull planning/Last Planner for look-ahead schedules and reliable commitments.

• Target Value Design (TVD) for cost-informed design decisions.

✅ Stand up a single source of truth
Pick one platform for documents, RFIs, submittals, and field issues (e.g., Procore/Autodesk). Establish naming, version control, and dashboard KPIs so everyone sees the same data.

✅ Measure what matters (and review monthly)
Track a short list: Plan Percent Complete (PPC), RFI cycle time, change-order rate, safety incidents, and milestone adherence. Do a quick plus/∆ (delta) at each monthly review and update the risk register.

✅ Protect the field
Create a “clear the path” routine: every Friday, identify and remove next-week blockers (permits, inspections, long-lead confirmations, access). Partnering only works if decisions arrive before crews do.

✅ Close strong and capture lessons
Hold a closeout partnering session: compare results to the charter, document lessons learned, and agree on improvements to carry to the next project (this is where repeat-work flywheels start).

Why it matters

Partnering replaces adversarial friction with shared ownership. Teams that implement it consistently report fewer claims and change orders, tighter schedules, improved safety and quality, and higher client satisfaction while building relationships that lead to repeat work. In a market defined by margin pressure and labor constraints, construction partnering is a low cost, high impact way to de-risk delivery and finish stronger.

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Boardroom Brief

Hackensack rescinds PILOTs on three major projects; developers push back

Hackensack’s newly seated City Council voted on Aug. 11 to rescind long-term PILOT (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) agreements for three downtown proposals, the former Sears site slated by Russo Development (~300 units), Alfred Sanzari’s One Essex (~250 units; mixed-use), and Enburg Group’s “The Sapphire” at 132–148 Main (~100 units) arguing the deals were rushed through by the prior administration after the May election. Developers counter that the abatements would generate predictable revenue and support some affordable housing, and have signaled potential litigation. For builders and developers, this is a clear signal that incentives are politically fragile: re-run pro formas without abatements, review any “rescission” and termination language, and deepen community benefits/engagement to preserve entitlements in changing councils.

Game

🎉 Fun Finale: Play & Poll

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