Spec Finish

www.thefis.org 3 Voice of the industry THE SEVEN STORIES WE NEED TO CHANGE THE NARRATIVE. I T is said that all great literature is based on seven stories – it makes you question the time invested in marathon box sets on Netflix, but you’ll recognise the seven basic plots; ‘overcoming the monster’, ‘rags to riches’, ‘the quest’, ‘voyage and return’, ‘comedy’, ‘tragedy’ and ‘rebirth’. This concept popped into my head like a sense of déjà vu when we started talking about shortage of materials and trying to work out how this tale will play out. I fear in construction we are the never-ending story – we make fine and stirring speeches (Lathams, Farmer, Construction 2025 etc), fight epic battles, but when it comes to real change there is seldom that big climatic ending that leaves the audience satisfied. Instead of genuine change – we cycle through the seven plots, rehashing conversations and repeating the mistakes of the past. The trailer we hear for Construction 2021 from Government and the Construction Leadership Council is transformation; ‘re-birth’, is a good story, one in which an event (i.e. the global pandemic and Grenfell) forces the main character (construction) to change their ways and become a better individual. Heart-warming, a story of hope, but… lead times start to lengthen, prices rocket, materials get scarce and we are yanked out of this plot and back into ‘overcoming the monster’. The story now is about defeating the forces of evil which threaten us and our loved ones – a familiar story of adversarial supply chains, blame and throwing risk around like the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune – that much prized golden thread starting to feel more like a golden snitch! Frustratingly, I was really enjoying the ‘rebirth’ story, we were fantasising about collaboration, delivering net zero, better productivity, innovation – conversations were of hope, lessons learned from the COVID story a stirring ‘voyage and return’ tale. But here I am again, sword in hand staring into the eyes of the fire-breathing dragon that is the amended contract and battling with phrases like ‘maintain the programme’, ‘not my problem’ and ‘just get it done’. How we can influence change Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good ‘overcoming the monster’ tale, but I am not ashamed to admit that I shed a tear when Charles Bronson died in the Dirty Dozen, or we lost Iron Man and there is the rub – the whole cast seldom make it through. Instinctively shortages bring out the worst in us – we go into survival mode. Human nature in a time of crisis is another consistent story (remember the toilet rolls?). Listen to Matthew Syed’s new podcast, ‘Sideways’, it is cracking. In one episode he examines the Ik people of Uganda, once labelled the ‘most selfish people on earth’, and described by leading anthropologist, Colin Turnbull, as “devoid of culture, brutal and totally uncaring”. Matthew asks whether mankind is fundamentally rotten and selfish at the core, or if kindness and compassion lies at the heart of human society. In his appraisal Turnbull failed to notice his condemnation was less to do with their fundamental values, but was an example of exceptional behaviour in an exceptional time. The Ik were living in exile and famine and when he studied them, they were facing hardship, the extreme shortage situation made even good people behave badly; instinctively, not empathetically. The uncomfortable truth is we are capable of both, we can be better, but we have to rise above our base instincts. To evolve we have to recognise this pattern, learn from the past and find that collaborative spirit that did provide hope in 2020. Life and work isn’t a fairy tale, but stories help us to understand and process events, to work out who the enemy is and how to prevail. Right now, the enemy is the shortages and the complexity this creates, not one another (I am resisting a Platoon quote here!). We are all a child of these two fathers; instinct and empathy (I couldn’t resist it after all) and to change we all need to be heroes in this story and focus on how we behave, what we can control and how we can influence change. Or to put it simply, unless we recognise we are part of the problem, we are stuck in Groundhog Day – so let’s take a stand, sign the Conflict Avoidance Pledge, start talking about fluctuation clauses, sharing risk and put Punxsutawney Phil back in his box and find a better story! IAIN MCILWEE Chief executive Finishes and Interiors Sector