Peter Southwell – Stick to what you know

“Stick confidently to what you know well and understand what you don’t…….”

Hello, my name is Peter Southwell. I have spent 37 years in the construction industry working in various project advisory and management roles. I am pleased to be able share my lessons learned.

Specifically I have held the following roles:

Project and construction advisory and management
Project planning and programming
Contract management & administration
Business development
General management

What I’ve learned:

To keep it real – stick confidently to what you know well and understand what you don’t, so that you can call on someone else who does.
To listen more (especially to people who have different views to yours); ask more; say ‘thank you’ more, but otherwise – talk less.
To be open with people, including having difficult conversations when that’s necessary for them and the business.
If you set high morals and standards for yourself, good people will get on the bus with you.
That you never stop learning.
That being able to write well and succinctly is important.
That if you’re not enjoying work, do something else. 35 years is too long and life’s too short to be doing something that you don’t love!