Building the Right Team for Your Next Capital Testing Facility Project

Why Do You Assume You’re the Smartest in the Room

One of my daughters is pretty obsessed with Lin-Manual Miranda’s music from the play Hamilton. To be honest, I’ve jammed out to it a few times myself. The songs are catchy and the lyrics are very thought-provoking. In the song Non-Stop, Aaron Burr asks the question of Hamilton – “Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room”, and in retort Burr adds “soon that attitude may be your doom!”

So, what’s my point? What does the music of Hamilton have to do with capital testing facility projects?

We’ve all gotten that assignment at work and thought to ourselves – I can do this alone; I don’t need any help. Often when you’re asked to execute a capital project, this responsibility is in addition to your “day job”. You are still expected to complete all your daily activities: schedule tasks, complete reports, manage staff, etc… And oh, by the way, also be the project manager for the multi-million-dollar capital project. Here’s where I suggest you heed the warning of the song. You want success for your project, not doom.

Build your team, and surround yourself with experts who understand their trade (it’s their “day job”). As the project manager representing your company you are not expected to know all the answers yourself, but you do need to know where to find them. ACS is equipped to manage large capital infrastructure projects, we understand buildings and construction, test equipment integration, utility sizing, and contract management. We also recognize when we are not the smartest in the room and engage project partners when necessary to complete the team.

As a leader of the project, you don’t have to be the smartest in the room. Instead, gather the right project team and let them guide you through the process. ACS spends our days (and nights), understanding the intricacies of engine and vehicle test, knowing the best test equipment, sizing the proper utilities, and creating an integrated facility. So you can go ahead and concentrate on your “day job”, start planning your operational strategies for the new facility, and let ACS’ team worry about the details. In the end, you’ll look like the smartest person in the room.