Management: Why Experience Isn’t Enough in Construction Anymore

Because your experience is not an argument, and it’s definitely not the universal truth.

Let’s be honest. There’s a particular kind of conversation, usually at work, often in tech or construction, where you come in with real thinking:

Concepts.

Data.

Logic.

A different way of doing things.

And then someone, typically someone older, more senior, more “seasoned”, just says:

“Well, based on my experience…”

And the discussion dies.

No counterpoint. No challenge. No curiosity.

Just the heavy hammer of “I’ve seen things, so I must be right.”

And frankly, I’m tired of it.

Construction Management: Experience ≠ Argument

Let me be clear: experience matters. It’s valuable, grounding, and often practical.

But it is not:

• A trump card.

• A shut-down move.

• A substitute for actual reasoning.

We’re here to debate ideas, not compare scars.

If we reduced every business decision to “what worked before,” we’d still be:

• Pouring concrete with no digital tracking.

• Selling software with PowerPoints, not prototypes.

• Running teams like it’s 1985.

Progress requires friction. It requires challenging the status quo, not worshipping it.

“I’ve Been Doing This for 20 Years”

Cool. That gives your perspective.

But it also means you’ve built habits, and habits are not always best practices.

Sometimes, experience makes people resistant to change, protective of what they know, and narrow in their view.

You’ve seen things? Great.

But have you questioned them?

Have you unlearned anything?

Because if not, you’re not leading, you’re recycling.

Why This Matters

When someone dismisses an idea by leaning only on “experience,” what they’re really saying is:

• “I don’t want to think this through.”

• “I’m not comfortable with new frameworks.”

• “Let’s just do what we did last time.”

And that’s dangerous.

Because if experience always wins, then innovation always loses.

And if new ideas always lose, then we’re just maintaining, not evolving.

If we reduced every business decision to “what worked before,” we’d still be:

• Building walls out of wood and leaves.

• Sending updates by horse instead of email.

• Running teams like it’s 1985, with fear, silos, and top-down orders.

Experience tells us what’s been done.

Vision tells us what’s possible.

We need both. But don’t confuse the past with the path forward.

So Next Time…

If you’re in a meeting and someone says,

“Based on my experience…”

Try asking:

“That’s great. What part of your experience specifically applies here?”

“Do you think that context still holds today?”

“Can we stress-test that against other options?”

And if you’re the one leaning on experience?

That’s fine. Just make sure it’s not your only answer.

Because We Don’t Move Forward by Looking Backward

If all innovation was shut down because it didn’t align with past experience, we’d still be using faxes and filing cabinets.

Experience is a guide, not gospel.

And if we don’t make space for reasoned challenge, we kill growth before it even begins.

So no, I’m not interested in your experience if that’s all you’ve got.

Give me arguments. Give me proof. Give me vision.

Or step aside and let those who build the future keep building.

Let’s create work cultures where debate isn’t an insult: it’s a tool.

Where disagreement isn’t conflict: it’s progress.

And where “experience” doesn’t mean “don’t bother trying something new.”

Want to turn this into a slide deck or a manifesto-style PDF? Just say the word.