The Coffee Break: A Story

Long ago, after graduating from architecture school, I worked at a large contracting firm. I worked there for five years and learned a huge amount about construction, a vast and complicated subject. During my time there, I worked on a variety of tasks and all of those challenges have helped me as I venture off into development.

One of the most important lessons had nothing to do with construction. It was a lesson in life and an indirect look into leadership. Depending on the need from time to time, you would be recalled from your project site to the main office to perform tasks like preconstruction and estimating. As a young construction engineer, I was hungry to be at the work site and getting recalled was discouraging. It took a few days to get over the move and get motivated again about the work. These main office stints usually lasted a few weeks and possibly a couple of months. It was like counting the days until it was over so I could head back to the action of the job site.

One morning at the main office, I head to the break room to grab a nice cup of coffee. I turn the corner into the breakroom and the Division CEO is there making a pot of coffee. That was one of the first small lessons; even the top man is not below making a pot of coffee for the rest of the gang. I wished him a good morning and he returned the greeting and asked what I was working on. As we waited for the coffee he spoke briefly about some of the projects we were chasing and the state of the company in our region. I listened intently trying to learn something. What made this man tick? How do you elevate yourself to run a large corporation?

I continued to listen, then, we both looked at each other as there was a strong smell of coffee in addition to a strange sound of dripping water. It was like time froze for a moment. Simultaneously, we looked at the coffee maker, the empty pot on the counter, and the hot coffee spilling out of the maker onto the counter and floor. “Oh man!” the CEO jolted. He was reaching to shut the coffee maker off as I grabbed the roll of paper towels and we both lunged in for damage control. The CEO was laughing vigorously and making jokes on himself. We cleaned the mess and made another pot of coffee.

While we waited yet again, he said to me “you know son, it is important to understand that in this industry, you are going to make mistakes. It doesn’t matter what level you’re on. For you young guys, we know you are going to make errors out there, we account for it and expect it. Things move fast out there and it is bound to happen.”

The coffee was finished brewing; we filled our cups and went back to our work. In that moment I realized that the person in the lead is still a human being and there was not much separating me from him. He had a vast amount of experience and in time I could gain those skills. Having those experiences provides a working wisdom and you understand how to approach complicated situations with patience and understand where to get the answers needed to move forward.

It is strange that the small moments sometimes provide the same quality of information as a long, drawn out experience. Anytime I thought about having my own company, I always think back to that moment, not as a reflection on the error, but rather the understanding we can all accomplish anything when we are able to attack our challenges, remedy the problems, and get beyond them.