Crewscope reposted this
When Things Go Wrong: As a site leader, you regularly communicate goals to your crew. The best goals are ambitious and achievable. So, what happens when targets are missed? Failing Can Be a Good Thing: Setting ambitious goals means your crew will not hit them every time. Missing about one in five goals (80% goal success rate) can drive better crew performance. Here why: ✅ Keeps rewards meaningful instead of an expectation ✅ Motivates your crew to push harder next time ✅ Maintains the value of achievements when they happen ✅ Provides an excellent opportunity for reflection and learning The Key to Failing Well: When goals aren't met, especially if they're close and your crew worked hard, it can be tempting to round up and call it complete. Don't do it! 'Rounding up' teaches your crew that close enough is good enough, undermines the credibility of your incentive program, and transforms motivational rewards into expected entitlements. Instead, call it like it is and use every missed goal as a learning opportunity. Treat missed goals as valuable data. Discuss with the crew what went wrong and how it can be avoided. Be sure to use "we" language instead of pointing fingers using the formula below: Acknowledge the situation. Instead of: "You guys failed to complete the foundation work." Try: "We reached 80% of our foundation goal this week." Discuss what went wrong. Instead of: "John's team kept falling behind schedule." Try: "There are efficiency opportunities in our rebar installation process." Plan how to adjust for next time. Instead of "We need to work faster next time, " try "We'll adjust our pre-pour checklist to include earlier verification of rebar deliveries." When It's OK to Adjust a Goal (And How to Do it Right) Sometimes, circumstances require adjusting goals mid-week. Goal adjustments should be rare exceptions that could not have been planned for. If you adjust a goal, discuss it with the crew and use it to learn. Try this: "We're modifying the goal because we had site constraints of x, but we also need to manage y better." How this shows up in Crewscope: If a target is missed, mark' goal not achieved.' Points won't be awarded, and there may be some disappointment. Use the opportunity to prompt a discussion. Use check-in notes to document lessons learned. Why this is important Maintain goal integrity—resist the urge to "round up." Handling failures consistently strengthens your crew's belief in the goal-setting process and keeps challenging goals motivating. Using blameless language and focusing on learning encourages your crew to be open about challenges, catch issues early, and propose solutions. Creating a culture of continuous improvement means you don't fear missed goals - you use them as improvement opportunities. This shifts your team's mindset from "avoid failure" to "learn and adapt," which drives long-term performance improvements.