Green Light System

What it is

Communication is really difficult. I have been working on being a good communicator for years and years and years and I still suck. What I think I’m saying is not what you have heard. Case in point: I had a commercial rental next door that’s now a coffee shop. The tenant says, “Hey, as part of the lease agreement, I’d like you to paint the awning.” I was like, “Yeah, no problem.” I sent guys over and they did a paint match on the existing color. He comes back and says, “Dude, when are you going to paint the awning?” I’m like, “I already did.” He’s like, “No you didn’t.” What I heard was paint-match. What he meant was a different color. That’s how bad communication is.

So with contractors, I use three ways to confirm every single time: verbal, written, and media.

Verbal: we walk the job together. I go through the scope of work with them, ask them if they see anything wrong with my plan. They might add something useful. Written: after we walk the job and they agree, I send them the written scope via text. Media: I walk the job on video with them. I literally say things like, “Right here, we’re doing the trim this way, like we talked about. And remember, don’t touch that door over there.” That video goes to them too. Contractors aren’t nefarious. They just forget things. You might forget things. The video gives both sides something to look back at.

Then I ask them to confirm: “I just want to make sure that bid includes all the stuff we talked about.” I need a clear yes from them before we’re locked in.

Why it matters

Most contractor disputes come down to two people remembering the same conversation differently. “Yeah sounds good” from a contractor is not a yes. It’s a vibe. “Yeah sounds good” from you when they propose a change mid-project is not approval. It’s small talk.

The three-method confirmation — verbal, written, media — is what makes the scope ironclad. You don’t write formal contracts (contractors hate that, and you’re never going to sue a sub anyway). You use text, which is a universal app everybody already uses. The text creates a timestamp and a record. When the contractor comes back and says the price doesn’t cover the bathroom tile, you can pull up the scope walkthrough video and the text confirmation and say, “Here’s us talking about the bathroom tile.”

It goes both ways. On that walkthrough video you didn’t say you were going to tile the bathroom? Great. They’re owed more money. Good for them. The system protects you both.

How it shows up

When they give you a bid, you send them the video and written scope and say: “I just want to make sure that’s including all the stuff that we talked about.” They confirm, you’re locked in. When a scope change comes up mid-project, you handle it the same way: confirm in writing, with a clear statement of what’s added and what it costs, before you say yes to anything. A text that says “green light on the subfloor, $450, confirm” is a record. “Yeah sounds good man” is not.

Pair this with the pay schedule approach — you only pay when work is done to the agreed scope — and you’ve got the full system. Clear scope upfront, confirmed in three ways. Clear approval language when things change. Payment only after you’ve inspected. That’s the loop.

Related

confirm loop, relationship capital, scope of work, deadline anchor, change orders, pay schedule