Good morning, Team!  It’s Friday!

In the Architectural, Engineering and Construction (A/E/C) industry, the essence of what we do becomes obvious at the building phase.  Suffice it to say, there is a whole lot of work that goes into any effort well before the general public sees the first yard of dirt moved, the first traffic cone or the first road closed sign.

I took the afternoon for inspiration and went for a spin.  The weather was easy to enjoy but I couldn’t stop … seeing … bridges.  They reminded me of two things;

• a primary infrastructure component that the AEC industry does so well, specifically defined as

and

• leadership.

My good friend, Mel Nelson, wrote a book on leadership using bridges as a complex metaphor.  “Building Bridges; Today’s decisions-Gateway to your future.”  I can’t look at a bridge the same today as his linkage between leadership principles and bridge elements tie the two very well.  You’ll have to read the book to know what I mean … but it’s worth the purchase and the time.

I’ve been made aware that my random conclusions don’t always make sense and today is no exception.  However, I’d like to connect the dots or…bridge the gap, as it were.

We are facing an infrastructure need in this country that should transcend politics.  Check out ASCE’s latest report card on US infrastructure.

The $1 Trillion infrastructure bill still doesn’t scratch the surface.  In my home community, we had a bridge collapse a number of years ago where innocent people died because of a failing bridge.

We (you and me) need to do our part to build bridges of the human kind to build a conversational and diplomatic path from where we are to where we need to be.  What if you were the parent of a school-aged child and they brought home a D+ , would you turn a blind eye or a deaf ear?

Challenge: Contact your political representatives to get the current $1 Trillion bill passed before October, 2020 (my personal guess due to the politicizing of a human safety need) and get on with the remainder of work necessary to improve our aging and failing infrastructure.

Have a blessed weekend!