Setting the Record Straight with Realistic Expectations

I read an article the other day that said humans have a really hard time predicting accurate outcomes. 

There are several reasons why on a psychological level we struggle with this, but two really stuck out to me. One, we’re more optimistic about what we can do than is always accurate. Two, we think we have more control over situations than we really do. 

We tend to overestimate productivity and profit and underestimate the delays and costs. 

The Pole Attachment Process

We’ve experienced this ourselves. If teams are over-optimistic about deadlines and overlook potential pits and miscalculations, they’re unprepared for problems that might pop up. 

Without the margin to tackle these issues, teams have to grind to stay on track or submit change orders to adjust the plan. When this happens multiple times, it erodes trust. So if we’re going to build better relationships, we have to learn to set realistic expectations. 

There are a ton of reasons why this is hard in our industry, but I want to focus on two in particular. 

Getting on the same page 

So often it seems like everything takes longer than we think it should. We’ve sat in meetings that could have been emails, and we’ve had email chains go on for weeks that could’ve been resolved with a quick call. What was supposed to take a day has turned into a weeks-long process of trying to get on the same page or get approval. 

Other times we inadvertently lose calendar days in an effort to be efficient. For example, if a team waits to submit permit applications in batches, it might be more efficient, but it’s less effective when calendar days matter. When we’re trying to stay on top of timelines, we need to prioritize faster deliverables, not easier processes.

Or maybe there was a miscommunication early on and the original plan or workflow doesn’t quite deliver what the client wanted. Teams are scrambling to find a new process to get the right deliverable out the door. 

As calendar days tick by trying to resolve issues, other deadlines get pushed back and readjusted. Sometimes it just takes a big push to get back on track, but other times the scope of work shrinks or dollars end up down the drain while playing the waiting game.

Changing conditions

Even when the planning process goes perfectly, data collection and make ready have a lot of variables. Field techs are working in an uncontrolled environment with constantly changing conditions. A shift in the weather can completely alter what was supposed to be a high-volume day of collection. 

Back office work isn’t safe either. A cluster of messy poles or missing data can complicate work and stump teams. An entire job of difficult poles can interrupt designers’ flow and slow the entire ship down. 

So how do we take into account complications and costs while still being competitive? 

Prepare for reality. 

Assuming everything will go wrong isn’t the best mentality, but pretending everything will be clean, easy, and straightforward isn’t realistic either. There’s a healthy balance between realistic and optimistic. Trust in our industry is often low, and failing to deliver only exacerbates tense relationships.

The article suggests getting objective input from someone less familiar with the project to help point out areas we might overlook. Here are a few other strategies we can use to find that balance: 

• Spend some time early on making sure client expectations are listened to and understood. 

• Check in with your team—have they been sprinting for a long time? Investing in timely feedback and workflow upgrades can help if more throughput is needed but the team is already exhausted. 

• Do you have the flexibility to handle redlines and unexpected circumstances? Creating a margin can keep projects on course even if problems do arise. 

• Leverage workflows and software that you can control and tweak so you can scale quickly.

Underpromise and overdeliver. Manage expectations so you can rise to the occasion and outperform.

Setting realistic expectations that you can exceed is way better than telling your client you don’t have what they need. And in the long run, you deepen trust with others and build up a reputation as a team who consistently delivers. 

Thanks for reading! We don’t think the pole attachments process needs to be a zero-sum game—everyone can win. Katapult Pro helps reduce the unknowns and improve transparency with excellent engineering tools, so you can make accurate estimates and informed decisions that build trust. If you’re passionate about growing relationships and improving the industry, we should talk. Give us a shout at hello@katapultengineering.com!