Build-outs and openings
Clinics, restaurants, offices, lodges and retail spaces: from lease to opening day. See how a clinic opens on time and the restaurant opening as a project.
Salt Lake City
Project management consulting in Salt Lake City and across Utah.
I help owners, startups and growing companies launch, run and rescue projects, with a clear plan, one honest page of reporting each week and a team that can carry on without me. Based in Salt Lake City.
The short version
Most projects do not fail in the work. They fail in the gaps between decisions.
A permit that nobody chased. A scope that grew by one "small favor" at a time. A report that said green until it did not. Project management is the unglamorous craft of closing those gaps: one owner for each task, a date for each decision and a weekly page that tells the truth.
I work as a project manager for the owner, on the owner's side of the table. Utah is growing fast, the Wasatch Front is full of builds, launches and openings, and the 2034 Winter Games are already pulling work forward, as I wrote in the news about Utah's build-out and the UDOT season. More projects mean more chances for the gaps.
What I do
Five ways I work on a project.
Most engagements start in one of these and move into the next.
Launch
A project that is about to start and needs a clear beginning: a business case, a charter, scope in and out, a schedule, a budget with contingency and the people who decide. How to write a charter.
Run
A project that is underway and needs rhythm: a weekly meeting, a one-page status report, a risk and decision log and someone who follows up. The one-page status report.
Rescue
A project that is late, over budget or out of patience: an honest reset of the plan, the scope and the conversation with the people paying for it. Saying no to scope creep.
Represent
A building project where you are the owner and not the builder: I sit on your side of the table for the schedule, the cost, the contract and the handover. What an owner's representative does.
Build the system
A team that keeps starting projects and finishing some of them: templates, a simple way of working and automation where it pays back. The free toolkit.
Which project
Built for the projects Utah owners actually run.
Construction on the owner's side
Schedule, cost, contracts, quality and handover, checked for you. Start with project management in construction and the eight causes of delay.
Startups with a deadline
A 90-day plan with three projects and one scoreboard: the 90-day sprint, and the Utah business series.
Teams that need a system
A way of working that survives the consultant leaving: lightweight governance, RACI charts and AI assistants where they help.
Consultant, full-time hire or do it yourself?
An honest comparison.
Do it yourself
Right when the project is small, you have the time and the stakes are low. Use the free templates, the status report and a weekly review. Many owners need nothing more.
Hire a full-time project manager
Right when there is a steady stream of projects. Ask any candidate how they report bad news, and expect to pay for a year, not just for the weeks you need.
Hire a consultant
Right when the need is bounded and the stakes are high: one build, one launch, one rescue. You get experience at once, for the length of the project, and a plan to leave.
A fair warning: sometimes the best first step is free, such as a Small Business Development Center adviser or a mentor. If that is you, I will say so.
How it works
Four steps, no 80-slide deck.
- 01
A first conversation
Where the project stands, what is at stake and what is stuck. We both learn whether working together makes sense.
- 02
A scope and a baseline
A one-page charter, a schedule and a budget with contingency, agreed with whoever signs.
- 03
The weekly rhythm
A short meeting, a one-page report and a log of risks and decisions. The same hour every week.
- 04
Handover and review
Lessons learned, the templates you keep and a plan for the next project. The goal is that you need me less each month.
Why me
Roads, megaprojects, clinics and a lot of spreadsheets.
14+ years
In project and operations management, in construction, education, healthcare, technology and hospitality.
$115M, $40M and $25M
Contract manager on three large programs with more than 1,800 people.
Four clinics
Delivered on time and within budget in the United States.
Civil engineer
I read drawings, schedules and contracts, which is why owners trust me on the construction side.
The full story is on the About page, and the work is in the portfolio. For the method behind it, read Project Focus on one page.
Questions
Straight answers.
A project management consultant plans, runs or rescues projects on behalf of an owner, and leaves behind a way of working. In practice that means writing the charter and scope, building a schedule and budget baseline, running a weekly rhythm with honest reporting, managing risks and decisions, and handing over a team that can keep going without me.
When the need is bounded: one build-out, one launch, one rescue, or a way of working that your team will keep afterwards. A full-time hire makes sense when there is a steady stream of projects. A consultant brings experience quickly, for the length of the project, and a plan to leave.
Yes. Most of my work is with owners, startups and growing companies that have a real project and no project manager. The tools are the same as on a large program, scaled down: a one-page charter, a clear schedule, three numbers and a weekly meeting that ends on time.
Yes. A rescue starts with an honest look at where the project stands: what is done, what remains, what it will cost and what decision is waiting. Then we reset the plan, name an owner for each risk and report weekly until the project is back under control. Some projects need a smaller scope, not more effort.
I am based in Salt Lake City. Meetings and site visits along the Wasatch Front are possible when they help, and video calls work for the rest. Tell me where the project is and I will tell you how we can work.
It depends on the scope and the time: a short diagnostic conversation is very different from a six-month build-out. I explain the options and the numbers before anything starts. If a free resource, such as a Small Business Development Center adviser or a template from the toolkit, is enough, I will tell you.
Next step
Tell me about the project on your desk.
I will tell you what I would do first, and whether I am the right person to help.