Everyone hits a point when working in BIM where they want to quit.
BIM offers some the temptation to quit on a weekly basis.
For others, Kenneth, that frequency is daily.
Especially when you aren’t seeing the results you expected.
Especially when you can’t get the program to get with the program.
Especially when what goes into BIM is greater than what comes out.
When that happens, where can you turn?
On Quitting BIM
What we’re talking about here isn’t quitting BIM for good.
BIM isn’t going anywhere, and for those who have hit a wall – there is a way out.
For us users of BIM, the way out is the way through.
Lord knows, not around.
But what about those who find themselves close to quitting time?
Like vote early and vote often, quit BIM fast and often.
In other words, too many users of BIM believe that the obstacles they face are permanent and immovable.
End Task/Force Quit
When, in fact, if they were to take a step back (and a deep breath), they’d see that they’ve just travelled down a dead end.
They’ve wandered off the path and just need to find their way back.
So they, once again resolved, can start up again.
When this happens, just quit the dead end and get back on the path.
But what if it’s just a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing?
Maybe it will never get better, no matter how hard you try.
How can you tell the difference between a temporary obstacle and road closing?
Strategic Quitting for Beginners
On a recent walk, I re-listened to The Dip by Seth Godin, a little book about quitting that came out just around the time when the only thing quitting was the economy.
In many ways, the book accurately describes the predicament we – individuals, teams, firms, profession and industry – find ourselves in today.
The book acknowledges that every new undertaking starts out exciting and fun.
Just like, for example, our initial adoption, implementation and exploration of BIM.
Then it gets harder and less fun.
Until it hits a low point, and – as Godin points out – is not much fun at all.
And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle.
Just as many of us have been asking if BIM is even worth the hassle.
To get to that promised land of benefits, you have to pass through the wilderness of adoption
Josh Oakley, Founder and Principal of ANGL Consulting, identifies this adoption dip as “the J-Curve”, and calls it “the greatest risk to BIM adoption.”
True that. But the wilderness many of us find ourselves in today is well past adoption.
Many of us are deep in the woods – well past the halcyon days of implementation.
We’re in it. Deep. Subscription deep.
Deep, dip, whatever. What do we need to quit to take your work in BIM further?
The Long Slog
We’ve all heard or read about The 10,000-Hour Rule, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers.
The 10,000-Hour Rule is very similar to working through the dip, that period where the gains don’t seem to be coming as quickly as you’d like.
For many of us, i.e. now.
In The Dip, Godin describes “the long slog between starting and mastery” in which those without the determination or will find they’re burning out.
What really sets BIM masters apart from everyone else is the ability to escape (i.e. quit) dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated.
BIM masters quit fast, quit often.
In fact, Godin contends, winners realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it.
And on the other side of the barrier is the ultimate competitive differentiator:
BIM to the higher power.
Godin points out if you can become number one in your niche, you’ll get more than your fair share of profits, glory, and long-term security.
Call on a Sherpa to help you navigate your BIM climb
Sometimes you can’t make it on your own. – U2
Need to get back on track and see some more BIM wins?
You don’t have to go it alone.
Call on a BIM consultant to help you figure out
- if you’re in a dip that’s worthy of your firm’s time, effort, and talents.
- when to quit, and
- when to stick
Try case or ANGL (or, if you provide BIM consulting services to individuals or firms, feel free to put your contact info in the comments below.)
A BIM consultant can help you, your team or firm, identify and quit your dead end situations, in which no amount of work will lead to success.
They will get you back on the path to meet your goals and inspire you to hang tough.
If not, they’ll help you find the courage to quit – so you can be number one at something else.
BIM + Integrated Design 
Randy,
The j-curve is based on a neuroscientific principal of plasticity. The forced stop was an enforced rule in all three of my last practices because we found that if you can’t move through something in a 15 minute span then you had three options. Stop, get help from a peer or get help from a mentor/master. The results of this policy worked to give us great positive results. One: greater peer-to-peer reliance and trust; Two: greater reliance on mentor/masters for more difficult problems and Three: better knowledge transfer between team members, enhancing the corporate memory over time. And Forth, most importantly, greater sense of progress and real productivity gains.
This kind of behavior led to better performance in other group settings we encountered as we moved into integrated project design and delivery. So, sure forced stopping is good. It’s those little pauses that gives our most important and powerful human organ the brain to sort through the loose ends and come up with a solution you probably had never considered before.
Thanks Andrew for putting the forced stop into perspective. More firms would benefit from having a similar rule in place. Glad you mentioned that when we hit an impediment, we can turn to peers, colleagues and mentors as well as the consultants I mention in the post. Your last comment on the “little pauses” reminds me of our need for mindfulness when working collaboratively in BIM. In fact, in all the work we do.