In construction, our focus usually lands on schedules, budgets, materials, and manpower. However, culture \u2014 how people work together and communicate \u2014 may be the most powerful tool on any jobsite.<\/p>\n
Last year, at the 2024 Lean Construction Institute (LCI) Congress, our team shared how the hit TV show, Ted Lasso,<\/em> helped build a high-performing, deeply connected project team. We called it The Lasso Way <\/em><\/strong>\u2014 a blend of empathetic curiosity, optimism, and Lean principles. It worked! The project was successful and, most importantly, people enjoyed working together! We thought we had “cracked the code” for successful Lean deployment and were ready to duplicate that success.<\/p>\n Then came 2025 and all our enthusiastic Lasso teammates moved to new projects. \u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s ok,\u201d we thought.\u00a0 \u201cWe will just use the Lasso Way with our new teams, and all will be great!\u201d\u00a0 That did not yield the results we expected\u2026<\/p>\n We tried. We failed.\u00a0 The teams were just not interested in Ted Lasso<\/em> or Lean.<\/p>\n Why?\u00a0 We didn’t know why at first, and quite frankly, we got a bit discouraged.\u00a0 So, we went back and rewatched Ted Lasso<\/em> to actively identify the specific strategies Ted used with his new team.<\/p>\n What did we learn? \u00a0We learned our new teams didn\u2019t know about, nor did they want to know about, Ted Lasso<\/em>. It simply wasn\u2019t their thing.\u00a0Regarding the “Lean Bandwagon,” most of the team leaders had been burned by \u201cbad Lean,” in the past, meaning former teams were pushing processes over people.\u00a0\u00a0 Our teams were made up of seasoned builders who had found success with their own methods.\u00a0 They didn’t see a need to change.<\/p>\n We learned some valuable lessons here. First, we had assumed we could start with our new teams where we left off with our previous teams.\u00a0 That simply was not the case. We also learned culture wasn\u2019t a template we could rinse and repeat. Instead, our teams had to have the time and the space to form and storm together, putting in sweat equity, trying things and getting frustrated, working through issues together, etc., to build high-performing teams with their own unique Lean identities.<\/p>\n So, we pivoted. We tried a new approach; one that wasn\u2019t focused on a set of rules or methods used by someone else, but one focused on learning about and empowering new teammates. Reminded by what Ted Lasso posted above his door when he moved into his new office, we recognized we needed to BELIEVE and used it as an acronym to help us remember how Ted Lasso started from scratch to build a new team.\u00a0 B.E.L.I.E.V.E. stands for:<\/p>\n This wasn\u2019t a checklist, but a mindset and a personal reminder to let your team build their culture<\/strong>, not imposing yours on them.<\/p>\n As we observed our teams and how they interacted, we began to make connections between our leaders and the Ted Lasso<\/em> leaders.\u00a0 We found our leaders fitting into these character archetypes:<\/p>\n Each character required a different kind of leadership. The key was recognizing their value as leaders, not just having them fit in their roles.\u00a0 They are talented people who play vital roles in aligning and developing the team.<\/p>\n When you practice B.E.L.I.E.V.E and start to see great results, you will become a BELIEVE-R.\u00a0 By being a BELIEVER and letting each team find their own version of the Lasso Way, we saw:<\/p>\n Lean isn\u2019t about just processes, it\u2019s mostly about people<\/strong>! People don\u2019t follow frameworks; they follow leaders who care.<\/p>\n The real lesson from \u201cLean After Lasso\u201d is this:<\/p>\n Don\u2019t try to transplant team culture in a one-size-fits-all format. Practice the steps of B.E.L.I.E.V.E. and let each team find their own “Lasso Way”.<\/strong><\/p>\n Because when they do, they won\u2019t just follow Lean principles \u2014 they\u2019ll be BELIEVERs.\u00a0 Keep fighting!\u00a0 People in our industry are amazing, talented, and inventive.\u00a0 Most importantly, they all matter!\u00a0 So, in the wise words of Roy Kent, “Don’t you dare settle for fine!”<\/p>\n Special thanks to Brian Chiles, Lean Specialist at JE Dunn Construction; Eric Neill, Sr. Superintendent at JE Dunn Construction; and Chris Koch, Lead Architect at Hollis + Miller Architects for helping me tell this story at Lean Construction Institute’s (LCI’s) Annual Congress in 2025.\u00a0 You are the best “Beards” a guy could ask for!<\/p>\n Would you like to hear this presentation?\u00a0 Stay tuned on our LinkedIn page for when the full LCI presentation will be re-presented during our next Lunch \u2018n Lean event with the KC Lean CoP in January 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In construction, our focus usually lands on schedules, budgets, materials, and manpower. However, culture \u2014 how people work together and communicate \u2014 may be the most powerful tool on any jobsite. Last year, at the 2024 Lean Construction Institute (LCI) Congress, our team shared how the hit TV show, Ted Lasso, helped build a high-performing, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15388,"template":"","meta":{"content-type":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":""},"campaigns":[],"type-of-content_tax":[],"class_list":["post-49003","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","locations_tax-kansas-city","expertise_tax-education"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jedunn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/49003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jedunn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jedunn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jedunn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/49003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49004,"href":"https:\/\/jedunn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/49003\/revisions\/49004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jedunn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jedunn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"campaigns","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jedunn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campaigns?post=49003"},{"taxonomy":"type-of-content_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jedunn.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-of-content_tax?post=49003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u274c The Myth of Top-Down, Transferable Culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\ud83c\udf31 The B.E.L.I.E.V.E. Framework<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\ud83d\udd0d Leadership Isn\u2019t One-Size-Fits-All<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\ud83d\udcc8 The Results<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\ud83d\udcac Final Thought: You Can\u2019t Copy-Paste Culture \u2014 But You Can Foster It<\/strong><\/h2>\n