Information wants to be free. At least that’s what I’m hearing everywhere. But what is the value of this free information? And how does me giving away free information enlarge the pie for everyone?
In my business, construction and construction management, there is no shortage of data, and information. But it takes effort and vision to turn all that into knowledge. I have a previous post on the subject.
To turn data into information, and to turn information into knowledge, I like to toss the former into a what I call a funnel. The funnel massages the data/information into a usable format. What should some of those funnels be so the information can be applied in a knowledgeable way to other problems.?
This takes some thought. And it takes effort. Why would I give that way for free?
But actually, even if I told you that it costs roughly $25 per sqft to demolish a concrete structure, what can you do with this data? You may need more context in order to apply the information, or be somewhat confident that you have something to hang your hat on. And you wouldn’t price a project based only on this post.
What you could do though, is use this information as a data point to apply to your own database of demolition costs. Then if you need a quick price, you have something handy. And once you have the project, tendering the demolition and reviewing it to the budget of $25 per sqft, allows you to then ask some questions.
Why is your price more/less? The act of asking the questions will allow you to gain knowledge and will ensure that the price for the work is more or less the correct price. It’s a win – win. You win because you have the correct price, and the trade wins because someone bothered to check their number.
Adding the demolition tender results, and the context, to your database will provide another data point for your future reference. Before you know it, reviewing the demolition data points, you can come to some rule of thumb about the costs of demolition of that type of structure.
And if you’re feeling generous, you could share that information with the rest of the world. The pie does actually get bigger.
