Project Manager, Business Owner, and Expert Witness Jamil Soucar's Real Life Construction Management Guide A-Z is the ultimate how-to book for both the student and the veteran construction manager. More than a step-by-step guide, the book focuses on the human factors and personalities involved in managing large projects, and how mishandling them can make or break the entire project.
"Being a construction manager is 80% people skills and 20% technical," says author Jamil Soucar. "I've seen litigations go into the millions, which could have been solved in five minutes if the people got along"
Jamil has been on all sides of project management—as an owner's representative, a project manager for contractors, and an expert witness in litigation cases. He has seen it all, and brings what he has learned in over 30 years to his book.
"Jamil Soucar's vast knowledge and personal experience is obvious in each and every chapter. This book should be on the shelf of anyone who wants to sharpen their skills in construction management. Tom Turner, Turner Construction.
The book is unique. "Instead of reading like a college textbook, I talk to you about the real life and human factors that impact how to best run projects," says the author.
His conversational style and easy delivery lend a feeling that you're sitting across the kitchen table from him. He knows his stuff, but his heart lies with the human connection of his work.
"What is most special about this book is the injection of the human factor in these principals," says Soucar. "Framing a wall is easy. Trying to navigate through the egos and personalities of the wide variety of people involved in a project and sail through is the real challenge. I've seen litigation escalate because of personality clashes hiding behind the contractual disputes"
The book is also a practical guide to construction management. In an easy-to-read style, he lays out the steps that managers must take before, during and after construction. There are examples of forms, descriptions of what to expect at each type of meeting, and a detailed description of what each party does. He gives the example of working with architects, contractors and owners.
"Architects figure out their rates by time," he says. "In the middle of a project, an owner may come and ask to move a door a few feet over. It seems like a simple request to the owner. But for the architect, he may then have to move other things around in order to move the door and that could change his whole plan. Now it has cost him a lot of time and he gets upset. If the owner understands what the architects job is up front, he is more likely to finalize everything ahead of time so there aren't so many changes mid-project"
"In his book REAL LIFE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT GUIDE FROM
A-Z he not only shares his extensive knowledge and personal history of being a committed Construction Manager, but he also offers a high-quality treatise on the entire concept of construction"
– Grady Harp, Amazon Hall of Fame Top 100 Reviewer
Jamil received his Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering from American University of Beirut (AUB) while his country was in the middle of a civil war. At the age of 27 he came to the United States, where he earned a Certificate in Project Management from UCLA. He has worked in the field in various roles since 1983. He is a gifted teacher and teaches college classes and seminars, works as an expert witness in court litigation cases involving construction management issues, and mentors project managers. He owns his own company, Arc and Line, LLC.
Jamil has been named "Outstanding Faculty" every year he has taught at Westwood College, and his seminars have been hailed as "more of a therapy session" because of the mediation training and people skills he includes. Now everyone can learn from this gifted instructor. His practical, real life advice makes this book a must-read.
Much praise has been given to Jamil Soucar from former associates including this from Michael Brady, the Deputy Director Maintenance and Operations (Retired) of The Los Angeles Unified School District
"As a lead professional expert Jamil did an outstanding job managing a team of Project Managers, Estimators and Schedulers while personally managing some of our more challenging projects. Jamil's development of a Construction Management Training Program for District staff played a key part in furthering my goals for the Los Angeles School District"
"Attitude, attitude, attitude is the driver," says Jamil. "If you see a benefit of having a smooth project, then do the effort to work on teaming. Be fair, be nice, be honest, be straightforward, and don't play the typical games of finding loopholes to stick it to the other side. Help others to succeed while being very aware of your rights"
Real Life Construction Management Guide A-Z ISBN 978-1-4809-4139-7, 2017 Dorrance Publishing, hardcover, $43.00, 188 pages, available on Amazon or: www.CONSTRUCTION-MANAGEMENT-BOOK.COM View the book trailer here: http://bit.ly/Construction-MGT-trailer
About Jamil Soucar
Jamil Soucar is a construction manager who has worked on both sides of construction projects since 1983, giving him extensive experience from both an owner's and a contractor's point of view.
He earned a Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering from American University of Beirut (AUB) and a Certificate in Project Management from UCLA. Soucar has held a wide variety of positions that give him a well-rounded construction experience from different perspectives and enable him to offer real life guidelines and tips for best practices. He also worked for Turner Construction, one of the largest construction firms in the US. In 2007 he started his own company, Arc and Line LLC, where he oversees construction projects and works as an expert witness in court for construction-related claims.
Soucar is gifted in teaching, has taught several classes and seminars, and was named "Outstanding Faculty" at Westwood College for three years straight. Soucar holds a black belt in Kung-fu. In his free time, he likes to spend time with his family and travel. He lives in California with his wife and two children.
Media Contact: For a review copy of Real Life Construction Management Guide A-Z or to arrange an interview with Jamil Soucar, contact Scott Lorenz of Westwind Communications Book Marketing at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 248-705-2214. Follow Lorenz on twitter @abookpublicist