Robert Plank 0:00 A technically successful project can still become a financial disaster when margins quietly erode and cash flow tightens. Now, Marine veteran and project control strategist Percy Williams is here to help us out today. He shows AEC leaders how to spot trouble before it becomes expensive, and he has put it all into this amazing book that we're talking about today, called the AEC Project Controls Playbook: Proven Strategies for AEC Professionals to Safeguard Profitability, Improve Cash Flow, Strengthen Controls, and Deliver Predictable Project Outcomes. So, mr. Percy Williams, good to see you. How are you? Percy Williams 0:40 Well, thank you, thank you for that warm introduction. Robert Plank 0:43 Happy to have you here. Happy to discuss some of the stuff. And so, architecture, engineering, and construction-it seems like a really like serious industry, and you know a lot about it. So, what do you have to tell us about it? Percy Williams 0:56 Sure, sure. So, this the the AEC, as I call it, the architecture construction industry is a a complex industry. It's industry where they what we call engineers do with something called design build or or design bid. So some of the engineering firms are they outsourced the construction portion of the work, so they may engineer the project and then outsource the construction side. And some organizations are we call a one-stop shop, so they'll actually design the the particular project as well as construct the project. So they're A to Z sort of a services that they provide to the clients. Clients can be public public companies or as well as commercial companies. So, but it's it's a fascinating field. I've been in the industry for over 20 years as a project controller, project accountant. I work in small projects, something as small as say you know less than $10,000 to a project over $100 million, so a wide gamut of projects in terms of budgets and revenue. Also, some fascinating projects when I was with the company called Aecom. Aecom is one of the, I guess you would say one of the the big fish out there. They are around I would say 13 $15 billion a year. They're the international firm. We call them a multidisciplinary firm. They do everything. They can do civil. They do structural. They do electrical. They do it all. They're They're a one-stop shop, so they'll design a project as well as help construct the project. They touch multiple arenas in terms of the engineering construction space, and so so yes, cash is critical, right? So you can have a project that looks healthy on paper. However, if you don't maintain those project controls disciplines, as I call it, your your the project will you know you may experience we call profit fade or margin erosion if you have the proper controls in place. And that's the purpose of the book is to put those controls in place so that you protect profits, enhance cash flow. Robert Plank 3:26 Very nice, so you work with all shapes and sizes, and you know all the many ways that things can go wrong. As you say, profit fade, margin erosion, cash flow volatility, chronic PM turnover, and you have some interesting things to say, right? Some interesting frameworks like there's character, competence, courage, and communication, and so you see where things might go wrong. But as far as like where things go right, or you see these projects kind of get ahead of problems, like what do you see or what advice do you have? Percy Williams 3:54 Sure, sure. So, so, so let me back up. So there's a there's a lot of chatter out there in the market about artificial intelligence, right? Absolutely, artificial intelligence is going to make the project managers make companies more efficient in terms of information sharing and how to process large volumes of data. But at the end of the day, you're managing, you're leading other people, I should say. And so, a project a project manager has a has a group of specialists. has he has engineers. He has accounting members on his team. This team is being led by a project manager. So although you have those tools to maybe compress or tons of data, you still need good old fashioned leadership. Another person influencing another person. Artificial intelligence is not going to influence a person's behavior. It's not going to influence a person's character and sound judgment. You need another person to influence another individual in terms of the 11 projects. So, I talked about the importance of the force. Leadership, you know, competence, character, courage, communication, and at the foundation of it is character. You know, when I talk about delivering projects within therapy, I really mean we we may sell a project at a certain profit and margin. It is the project manager delivering that project, you know, based on those those parameters. That's maintaining the integrity of what we said we committed to. So, and also as well as providing those services. So that's again, that's a I would call it a character character plays a key role in terms of the project manager doing the right thing to deliver those projects, the services, whether the you know services or materials, as well as delivering the financial commitments. We said we're going to bring project in a certain profit and margin. Then you know we should honor the integrity of what we committed to do. Robert Plank 5:57 Very good, I like these keywords that you use: character and integrity, because there's a lot built into these, right? There's a lot of like doing the right thing and doing the hard work, even though it might be stressful or it might sometimes there might be like scope creep and things like that. And I wonder if like I know you have your your upbringing with the Marines, and and I know like you know in there it's like you you if you can't deliver, then you you wash out pretty quick. But I'm curious about like what your own kind of like moral ethical character evolution has been like. Even when when you're a kid, did you have good character? Do you have to learn it? Like, what's that journey been like? Percy Williams 6:35 Absolutely, thank you, a terrific question. I so let me back up for a moment. So I I joined the Marines. My my dad didn't play a I guess he played a minor role in my upbringing. So my mom she wore two hats. So she was she was mom and dad, and so I needed that structure. And so I decided to join the Marines to get that structure. I gravitated towards the Marines because of those intangibles, you know, character, integrity, leadership, a lot of those intangible traits that I gravitated towards, and I like the structure and organization of it. Guidelines, right? The the the book is talking about project controls guidelines where the Marines are big on structure and guidelines, laying parameters in place in terms of how to conduct yourself. So those intactical traits are guidelines for personal conduct, and so that definitely plays into who I am today. Absolutely, I often tell my colleagues and peers that I I honor my code, whether it be a professional setting or personal setting. I'm honoring my code, and my code is really I'm talking about my my principles, my values, my ethics, my morals, the things that that guide me in my performance or interaction with other individuals, whether it be in a a business setting or personal setting, Percy's under his code, and so yeah, absolutely. The Marines help to fortify those principles, those codes that I, you know, conduct my business by day to day, yes. Robert Plank 8:15 Yeah, that's great. And guideline and code and things written down. It's solid. It's unchangeable, right? And it's like you might have different moods during the day, or different situations you come across, or different energy levels. But hey, those words that are written down, it doesn't shift as much as your your everyday mindset. So it's good to have that, so that way you know what you believe in, you know what your do's and don'ts are, and then you can revisit. and And sometimes when you're talking about like your own code or leadership or information sharing, like sometimes that's not read or reviewed or renewed. So do you have any thoughts on that? When sometimes, like for example, you have your your amazing book here, right? And you have a lot of great things to say, but sometimes people might not read all of it, or they might read it and forget it. And I'm always looking to tap into that kind of energy of just like not just learning it once, but like sticking with it. So, do you have anything to say along those lines? It's like when when you have your guidelines and your code, you want everyone to get on board. It's important to kind of regularly revisit, isn't it? Percy Williams 9:18 Absolutely, yes, I totally concur. So, so this book could could be used as a reference, right? As a desktop reference guide to refer back to some of these things you just you just talked about, as because as you mentioned, that sometimes things get get stale or overshadowed by other events. So you you need some way to revisit and refresh those, as you mentioned, those those characteristics. So, absolutely, this book can be used as a as a reference guide to periodically go back and revisit some of these principles. It's not something you have to memorize, right? Again, this book is a reference for how to live a project, how to protect profits, you know, enhancing. Cash flow delivering those projects within within tech, so it's a to me it's a reference guide, something that that project manager, project accountant, or project leader can refer back to in terms of managing projects. If they come across certain scenarios, there may be something in the book in terms of the best practice arena that can help deal with that particular issue. So yes, it's it's a reference to refresh, absolutely. Robert Plank 10:27 Very good, and you mentioned AI earlier, and like there's a thing with AI called Drift, where if you're talking in a chat window and it goes for too long, after a while it kind of isn't isn't behaving the same way at the bottom as it was in the top, and sometimes I have to tell it like, okay, let's get back to what the rules are, or can you dump out what you learned, and we'll start a new chat based on the rules, not based on what we've been making up as we go along. And it like it messes with my head, right? Because sometimes we do that in real life. We kind of just go through the day to day, and it's like, well, wait, what? How did how do we get so far off from where we started, and what what did we decide is the the right course of action? And so you say that you've seen so much, right? 20 years, and you like you say $10,000 to $100 million. And on a podcast, stories are really fun and interesting. So what kind of stories do you have to share with us as far as just you know what the book teaches, what you've learned. What do you have to share? Percy Williams 11:23 Sure, sure. So, so there's there's a chapter in there I call lessons learned. Essentially, what not to do, right? Because there's you know I've I've had my what not to do in my 20 years in the industry. Things that you know just part of part of the learning process. A lot of learning is trial and error, right? So, again, the chapter is about lessons learned, things that you shouldn't do. One of them that stands out is fundamental: is setting up a project without a properly executed contract from a from a customer or client, right? That exposes the company to risk, right? And so, sometimes the project managers are a little overzealous to to satisfy a client or customer, and they'll start work without having all the proper documentation in place. That eagerness can also impact again profit, cash flow. You don't have the proper documents in place. You can't properly build a client. The client can push back on some of the scope. You don't have executed document. You don't have legally binding commitment because it's not it's not fully executed by both parties. Plank to push back. So so PMs that act prematurely like that can really put the company at risk. Something small could could escalate into you know millions of dollars. So that's why it's important to have the proper documentation in place to again protect profits. Ensure you build a client when you build you can build a client when the services or materials are provided. Right. So you don't want you don't want to disrupt the the cash flow, but but not having those documents in place, you inadvertently would disrupt the cash flow, and as we know, cash is king, right? So the you know subcontractors and vendors and suppliers they want their money, right? So you know again, you got to keep the cash moving. You know, want to compress the cash flow slightly quickest, you can build a client and collect the money because you because the company has obligations, right? And those suppliers and vendors are not waiting because the project manager failed to properly execute the you know dot the eyes and cross the t's. Robert Plank 13:36 Oh, okay. Well, as we're we're having this conversation, it seems like sometimes there are the there's like the reliable, foundational kind of like like boring aspects that are in place there for a reason, right? And sometimes we have to to fight that temptation to like really wing it and really be a cowboy. Like I mean, you wouldn't be on a on a hot date with your wife and be talking about cash flow and vendors and subcontractors, but for the right person, this thing is exciting. And so I wonder, in all your travels with you know like the military and in business, et cetera, that sometimes it's important to like embrace those like boring, reliable the contracts, the the fine minor details, because that's what gets you to success. Percy Williams 14:21 Sure, sure, sure. So, so again, the book is talks about controls playbook. It's a playbook, and the the three main pillars I keep reiterating is protecting profits, enhancing cash flow, and delivering those projects with integrity. So, the book provides found because you alluding to a foundation. These these are foundations or fundamental principles in order to protect those three pillars I just talked about. So yes, you need a foundation. The foundation from a solid foundation, then you can deviate in other areas. But at least have a foundation in place to ensure success of a project. Again, minor deviation. And foundation, I've seen it can create at we're talking millions of dollars, right? It could be could in some cases it could jeopardize the welfare of the entire organization. So by deviating from the standard protocols, so yes, you need that foundation to protect not only the project manager, but also protect the organization that the project manager is representing. So that's the purpose of the controls: is is to, you know, it's not to lock down the project manager or the project leader, but it's those are parameters, guardrails to protect the the profit on the project as well as the financial welfare of the organization that that project manager represents. Robert Plank 15:46 Very good, that's a great lesson. That it's it's there to protect millions of dollars, to protect that whole organization, your job, the jobs of others. So many things can go wrong, and that it's easily prevented. But it's as long as you kind of learn those basics, those fundamentals, follow those rules and guidelines, and so you've taught us so much so far, and this is an amazing book. And in these final few minutes of our conversation, I want to make sure that we focus on what's important to you, Mister Percy Williams. So, in this conversation we're having, do you think there might be a missing question that I should be asking you? I just don't know to ask you. Percy Williams 16:22 I don't think there's a missing question, but just on a personal note, again, I wrote the book to help project managers, project accountants, project controllers, project leaders in terms of how to protect those profits, enhance cash flow, deliver those projects with integrity. So, at the end of the day, my goal is to educate and empower those project managers and project project control professionals. I call those individuals; they're on the front line. By the time the information gets back to the corporate, to the back office, to corporate, it's too late. So we need to empower those project managers and project controllers on the front line meaning they're directly interfacing with the client, giving them the proper authority to make decisions within the best interests of the project as well as again the organization. Because again, sometimes when it gets back to corporate, it's too late. It gets back to corporate; it's damage control. We need to be project managers need to have the authority so they can be more proactive and empowered to make those decisions based on the guidelines provided, you know, from from the the leadership to to execute the project and make those decisions. And so, I'll go at the end of the day. It's about educating and empowering those PMs to be successful in terms of protecting profits and delivering those projects and safeguarding the company. The project manager, in in essence, is a I call him a business partner for the organization. A lot of companies are not looking at the project manager as a business partner, but the project manager is a business partner for the organization. Again, they're negotiating contracts with customers and clients. They're they're a business partner, so it so the the PMs and and the corporate finance need to be aligned because again, by the time it gets back to the corporate, it's damage control. Robert Plank 18:19 Yeah. Percy Williams 18:19 We want to we want to preempt it. Robert Plank 18:22 I like it, what a great message that we need to empower our frontline leaders and get them to make good decisions and have communication skills and leadership and everything that goes with that. So we've been discussing this book called the AEC Project Controls Playbook: Proven strategies for AEC professionals to safeguard profitability, improve cash flow, strengthen controls, and deliver predictable project outcomes by Percy M. Williams, and his website is pmjmfinancialservicesllc.com. And just to make sure that we're speaking to the right people, who are you trying to attract? Who out there? What kind of what problems should they have where they say I need to get this book right away? Percy Williams 19:04 Sure, sure. So, so the book is intended for, as I mentioned, project managers, project accountants, project controllers, project leaders. I would say particularly for the for those individuals that are green, sort of green in terms of experience, but also for some of these seasoned individuals that need like a refresher or reference, again this this book may also use as a reference guide. So as you mentioned, there's these foundational principles that sometimes go stale, need to be reinvigorated, need to be refreshed, brought to the surface, right? Is these are these fundamentals again? Sticking to these processes is going to set the project manager for success. So it's for again. I also say this book can assist companies that are in business for profit. Meaning, although my intended audience is engineering construction firms. But I think any business that is in business to make money, right for profit, you you want to protect your profits, you want to you want to enhance your cashes coming in the door, you want to survive. So those are things I think are relevant to any business, whether it's a single owner, a partnership, all the way up to a corporation. Those are these things are fundamentals to any organization surviving. You got you got to protect your profits. Cash is king, without cash, the the company becomes insolvent and delivering what you said you're going to deliver integrity, meaning deliver based on your legal commitments, delivered and that's integrity. This is what I committed to legally. This is what we're going to deliver, and so I think the book has applications for any business, be honest with you, so. Robert Plank 20:55 I love it. It's important education to be had to develop these habits and responsibilities. So we've been speaking with Percy Williams, who is a senior project controls and billion leader. He has proven success driving financial performance across high impact projects in architecture, engineering, renewable energy, and life sciences. And you can find that website pmjmfinancialservicesllc.com. But where we really want you to go is to Amazon and check out this book, the AEC Project Controls Playbook by Percy M. Williams. And as we're checking out that book, Mr. Percy Williams, it's time for the scary part of the podcast where I try to stump you. I try to put you on the spot by asking you about a fun or interesting quote or lesson that has served you. So, what comes to mind as far as a fun or interesting quote or lesson? Percy Williams 21:45 Interesting quote, I would say. It's a quote by Tony Robbins. Tony Robbins is a motivational, I guess, guru. But Tony Robbins talks about. He says the road to success is always under construction, and so this book is it can be used for a reference because it's always under construction. Each project is a is a separate entity. You always basically from each project you're starting over, although you may have success with Project Z, you start back over Project A. It's all about you starting over. It's a whole new dynamic, a whole new path. So the road to to success is always under construction. There's always room for continuous improvement. Robert Plank 22:37 I love that, there's a lot built into that. Yeah. So let's embrace that continuous improvement and that road to success always being under construction by checking out the book by Percy M. Williams, the AEC Project Controls Playbook. Get it right now. And thanks, Mr. Percy Williams, for such a wonderful, lovely conversation. I'm glad we did this. So thank you. Percy Williams 22:54 Well, thank you, thank you, thank you so much.