Construction Site as CEO Battleground

“He knew little about construction or critical paths of building, but he could see what he could see. He would count the bricks that had been laid day to day. If the difference did not seem reasonable, he would question it. The answers were often unacceptable, and before long, Sol would be yelling at the workmen that he could “fucking well do it better myself”. To the annoyance of the construction firm, some workers did what Sol had suggested: they “fucked off”. Others realised that he was right, and in a strange way, it motivated them to do better and work harder. At least he showed a keen interest in what they were doing. And, to Sol’s surprise, some of those workers suggested shortcuts or ideas that would reduce the cost of the project. Working with the men at the coalface became a lifelong habit of Sol’s, and in the years that followed, it surprised many of his backers and partners.”

“For several nights before the nearly 400 guests invaded, Sol hardly slept. Like the Duracell battery in the adverts, he just kept going – and bit by bit, corner by corner, things fell into place. The last thing to do was to tarmac the sloped drive from the road up to the entrance of the building. At 10pm the night before the opening, Gordon and I were astounded to see our boss wielding a rake as he smoothed out the hot, black goo right up to the front door. Finally, at midnight, just hours before opening, the hotel was ready – or, to be precise, the hotel building was ready.”