25/05/2026
In 2020, a sketchup model, detailed in layout, camera glasses for site and hardware documentation was enough.
You had your own workflow, consistent, concise, clear, complete, cohesive, and communicable.
So you start scaling, with more projects comes more load. But that's exactly where it took a toll on your health.
Coordination had more mental fatigue, because this time, you aren't only handling models and materials. You had to be extrovert for a few hours each day to handle the tiring part of management - manpower.
Unlike coordination in the site where you talk directly to professionals and the foreman, having a heart to teach gives you the greatest time consuming work of rechecking - mentorship.
Taking in apprentices is to train them to grow so they can fly on their own, with guidance, but not as a school all over again. They are future professionals, so they need to feel the weight of professional liability. Employment allows this to be a first step of accountability. But furthermore, being a future professional means that there's no second chance for design to construction risks.
Let them see that one wrong line costs thousands.
Let them see that one skipped step costs structural miscoordination with engineer.
Let them understand that one signature is 15 years of liability.
But do not let them experiment with your reputation. Take over when it is too much too handle. Let them excel in things they are good at.
The thing about leadership is that it is a lonely path.
You are democratic and surrounded by people, but at the same time, you need to be autocratic to get things done. For whatever action and information they do and receive is an extension of your name.
6 months is enough time for onboarding. 20% learning and 80% output, until they get to find their own workflow, develop critical thinking, establish their standards, and take the path they choose.
For after all, they are spirits and souls with a mind, heart, and body of free will and different personalities.
This allows you to see that mentorship does not only come from 1 person. It comes even from observation and questioning at the site, from hurdles and situations solved, permit processes with lgu, contracts and overcoming temptations with finance, and online learning.
To all those who are applying, i may not accept you all as jr architects, engineers, drafters, designers, foremen, and apprentices - but you see the posts and videos, the layout tutorials to contribute within the ph industry - many are using our sketchup layout tutorials and workflow. In one way or another, that can be of little help for your professional development.
