Imagine a world without unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy. A world in which we were governed by a handful of clearly defined regulations, rather than the plethora of overlapping rules, regulations, statutes, laws and bylaws. A world in which individuals were sufficiently empowered to make decisions without consultations, meetings, meetings about meetings, and without the need for yet another Zoom call.
Imagine how productive and efficient a demolition company could be if they were not hindered at every turn by paperwork and procrastination; if they could devise a plan and be allowed to adhere to it; if they weren’t constantly questioned, quizzed, undermined and interrupted by outside influences. Imagine how much faster demolition and construction projects could be completed if the companies involved were just allowed to do the job for which they were chosen in the first place.
Imagine a world in which innovation was greeted not by suspicion and derision but with reward and applause. A world where people welcomed new ideas instead of trying to poke holes in them and undermine them; a world in which “why should I?” was replaced by “why can’t I?”
Imagine what a trade association might accomplish if it wasn’t so consumed with political manoeuvring and in-fighting; if those in high office were focused upon the good of the industry rather than the good of their public profile; if it made rules, decisions and positive changes to help the many rather than the select few. Imagine what a trade association could achieve if it expended as much time and effort on solving the industry’s problems as it did about choosing the menu for the next luncheon.
If you can imagine any or all these things, then you have a better imagination than me. Because I can’t.
We have surrendered individual responsibility, efficiency and the greater good at the altar of bureaucracy and self-interest.
That is why our Government is rudderless; why our industry grows less efficient with each passing year; and why our trade associations are teetering on the very brink of irrelevance.
It is also why central and local government is awash with pen-pushers and paper shufflers. Why construction companies have as many people handling legal matters and admin as they do actually building. Why nothing can be accomplished without an electronic paper trail so we all know who to blame if and when things go tits up.
Somewhere along the line, we came to a fork in the road. And we – unwisely – chose the path lined with red tape and needless obstacles.
The sheer absurdity of it all is almost laughable. We’ve designed a system so bloated and self-replicating that even minor adjustments require monumental effort. We hold endless meetings to discuss efficiencies that never materialise. We create subcommittees and working parties to investigate problems that have been obvious for decades. And when a solution is finally proposed, it gets buried under another layer of approvals, authorisations, and reports that take years to complete.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the real work is stalling. Projects that should take months drag on for years, held hostage by regulations that serve no real purpose other than to justify someone’s pay-check. Skilled professionals, people who have dedicated their lives to their craft, find themselves shackled by a system that demands more from their pens and computers than their hands. The ones who know how to do the job best are the ones least empowered to make decisions.
And amidst all this, no one is held accountable. When a project goes over budget or falls behind schedule, blame is spread so thin that no one feels its weight. Responsibility is diluted through layers of management, government agencies, and advisory boards, until it disappears altogether. No single entity owns the failure, and so failure becomes routine; a side-effect of doing business in an industry already drowning in a shambles of its own making.
And so, here we are. Wading knee-deep through the treacle of form-filling, compliance checks, and committee approvals, all while pretending this is progress. Every job takes twice as long, costs twice as much, and comes with a side order of frustration so thick you could lay foundations on it.
It’s broken. We all know it is. And yet, nothing changes. Because for every person who wants to tear down the bureaucracy, there are ten more whose entire careers depend upon its existence. Consultants who thrive on complexity. Lawyers who profit from confusion. Auditors who would be redundant in a world that actually made sense. Follow the money and you will see that many people profit from the chaos they helped create and which they now perpetuate.
Try to fight it, and you’ll spend more time battling the system than doing the job you were hired to do. Raise your voice, and you’ll be labelled a troublemaker. Suggest a simpler way, and you’ll be met with blank stares, followed by a 200-page feasibility study conducted at great expense to conclude that, no, nothing should change.
And so, the forms pile up. The inbox overflows. The projects stall. The industry groans under the weight of its own self-inflicted inefficiency. But we don’t rage anymore, do we? We just sigh, sharpen our pencils, and get back to filling out the forms. Because that’s what’s expected. That’s what’s required. That’s the way things are.
And if you think it’ll ever be different, well, you really do have a better imagination than me.
This topic was the subject of an in-depth discussion on today's after show chat. You can listen to the resulting podcast here.