What truly determines a successful project? It isn’t software, talent, or budget. It’s clarity. A reflection on how clarity eliminates friction, reduces confusion, and quietly holds every great project together.

Architects translate intention into a drawing. Contractors identify what must be built from it. When those lenses collide, meaning can slip. True mastery begins when you learn to read a drawing as both translation and identification.

On a recent site walk, a simple answer revealed a deeper issue. “That’s where it’s shown on the plans.” This piece explores the difference between following instructions and truly seeing the intent behind them and why that difference defines mastery in construction.