Stop Blaming “Bad Luck” – Your Projects Fail Because Your Process Sucks
Executive Brief
The Gist: McKinsey says large projects run 20% late and 80% over budget – but the real scandal is that contractors accept this as “normal.”
- The Trap: Treating delays and overruns as inevitable instead of fixable means you’re leaving money on the table every single job.
- The Play: Stop relying on gut-feel scheduling and start stress-testing your timeline against the seven failure points before you bid.
Why This Matters
Here’s what nobody’s saying: if 80% budget overruns are “typical,” then most contractors are terrible at estimating – or they’re bidding jobs they can’t actually deliver. Either way, you’re the problem.
This article lists seven ways projects fail (faulty scheduling, budget creep, design issues, labor shortages, bottlenecks, disasters, supply chain chaos) – but notice what’s missing? Accountability. The industry has normalized failure so thoroughly that going over budget is now a “feature” of construction. That’s insane.
The real insight here isn’t the list of problems – you already know weather happens and suppliers flake. It’s that your current process can’t handle predictable disruptions. If a single bottleneck kills your schedule for weeks, your plan was never realistic to begin with.
Don’t buy software because an article told you to. Instead, ask: when was the last time you war-gamed your schedule? When did you last model what happens if your concrete supplier ghosts you or your framer quits? If the answer is “never,” start there. Free spreadsheet, whiteboard session, whatever – just stop pretending hope is a strategy.
Contractor FAQ
Q: Is this urgent?
A: Only if you’re currently bidding a job where a 20% delay would bankrupt you – then yes, fix your estimating process today.
Q: Financial impact?
A: Build 10-15% contingency into every bid specifically for schedule compression when (not if) things go sideways, and track where you actually burn it.
Interested in AI-Powered Contractor Management?
We’re developing Rose—an AI assistant specifically built for small contractors. Join the waitlist to be among the first to experience contractor-focused AI automation.
Author: Mike Warner
About the Founder Kore Komfort Solutions is an Army veteran-owned digital platform led by a 30-year veteran of the construction and remodeling trades. After three decades of swinging hammers and managing crews across the United States, I’ve shifted my focus from the job site to the back office. Our New Mission: To help residential contractors move from "chaos" to "profit." We provide honest, field-tested software reviews, operational playbooks, and insights into the AI revolution—empowering the next generation of trade business owners to build companies that last.