“Okay, you want your project managers to show up early, so they can fix stuff they forgot to coordinate yesterday, but that’s not what you want?” I asked.

“No,” Saul pushed back.  “I want my project managers to show up a week early and figure out what they forgot to coordinate yesterday.  In fact, I want them to show up three weeks early and figure out what they forgot to coordinate.”

Saul stopped.  “I did have one project manager, I gotta tell you.  All my other project managers would have the excuse that we couldn’t start the job today, because the permit didn’t get approved yesterday.  This one project manager, though, would say the same thing, but that we couldn’t start the job three weeks from now because the permit wasn’t approved yesterday.  Three weeks notice for a permit gives us plenty of time to reallocate resources appropriately.”

So, you want your project managers thinking three weeks into the future?” I nodded.

“No, I want my best project managers to think three months into the future,” Saul smiled.  “Now, that would be a schedule I could work with.”