NOVEMBER 2025CONSTRUCTIONBUSINESSREVIEW.COM9openly seek your advice, and ultimately, that means fewer surprises. The following rules have helped me achieve success in my career. Rocky's 10 Commandments of Effective Management of People1. As a manager, you are expected to `work the people instead of just letting them work.' This concept applies to open or closed-shop labor. 2. A part of working with the people is to set expectations upfront around safety, quality and production. To do so, you must understand the work, materials and information available.3. Ask the unreasonable when setting expectations. The people will always have 10 to 20 percent float built into any time frame discussed. Remove the float with a counteroffer.4. Always get or agree to a commitment in time for every task; commitments in time equal results; everything else is just a conversation 5. Always remember, the minimum you accept is the maximum you will achieve. Always expect extraordinary results, don't settle for ordinary, or that is all you will ever achieve. 6. There is never a right way to do the wrong thing. You can be inventive and think out of the box, but never take a short cut to achieve results that should have been planned.7. You have to stay engaged and follow up, follow up, follow up. The people must know you are engaged and checking on the work; when you quit checking, they quit working.8. Trust but verify, never take for granted a task has been completed until you have put your eyes or hands on it. Remember Rule 5, the minimum you accept is the maximum you will achieve. 9. To be successful, no matter what you are doing, you must be able to manage your time and your money. These two things go hand-in-hand, and until you can do both well, you will struggle to be effective in managing both the work and the people.10. You can't criticize a blank sheet of paper. To be committed to your plans, you have to write them down. Having a plan and communicating it to your people is essential for success. Having a plan and communicating it to your people is essential for success.
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