BEWARE THE BOX PEOPLE
Who are the “Box People?” Is it a weird advertising gimmick? Are they aliens from the Box Planet? Is it the latest social media trend? None of the above. We are having a little fun today, but also strangely serious about the red tape of some of our bureaucracies.
Please allow me to explain.
We submit for building and development permits in 5 different jurisdictions. Recently we had a revelation: even though the permit rules vary, and they are independent municipalities, the people are the same! Safety code officers, permit specialists, inspectors—it’s all the same.
You’ve probably met some Box People already; they can also be found at the passport office, the post office, some banks, CRA, etc…. Their job is to literally check boxes on a form (or digitally these days). That’s it, that’s all. It’s like a standard operating procedure with zero tolerance for unique circumstances. This is completely different to the entrepreneur’s mindset: bump into a problem, find a solution, move on, ….
For Box People, if we put one toe outside the box, it’s simple: your project does not pass go, collect $200, or anything else. Worse, it goes to the bottom of the proverbial pile.
But this is liberating!!! Now that we truly understand the job, the mindset, the goals of our government employee colleagues, we can better communicate with them. If their job is to tick boxes, how can we help them do their job, and tick their boxes (most of the time)? How do we get our projects back into the boxes? OR, is there a different set of boxes that suits our project better (ok, sometimes this only happens in a different city, but’s it’s worth a moment of thought).
Now here’s the additional level of challenge. Most Box People are administrative staff, with average education, and average pay. But they have an astonishing level of power. Miss one box, and that million-dollar project (or 10-million-dollar project) does not move forward. All the people who could be employed, all the “productivity” that could be created—stopped by a box. And have you ever tried to contact a Box Person’s supervisor? Good luck!
In defense of well-meaning Box People everywhere, there are some valid and good reasons for the boxes. For example, we all want our new structures to be built to the current Building Codes. Personally, we are grateful that it is someone else’s job to memorize all the minutiae and double check our builds.
All of this means that it is one of our jobs, as builders and real estate investors, to figure out how to help our projects tick all the boxes. Rational or not, we must jump through the prescribed hoops, provide the necessary paperwork, wait for the engineer’s blessing (because every municipality wants to diversify liability these days), etc….
Once you start to recognize Box People, it will help you keep your sanity, and possibly your sense of humour. It’s just their mindset and their job; they’re not messing with your project, nor do they have any negative intentions towards you as a builder or small business owner. Generally we have no choice—we must work with the Box People. And so, we are learning how to put circles, ovals and diamonds into their boxes.
