Introduction
Mike Grippo, owner and principal of Playbook Management, joins Jack Ossa on The Power of Design Podcast. Playbook is a project management company for office, industrial and adaptive reuse projects, and Mike started it about six years before the conversation.
They talk about the most common mistake when projects go wrong, the steps Mike took to leave a steady career, the emotional ups and downs of owning a business, and where design and construction delivery may be heading.
About the Episode
Mike begins with a practical answer: when a project hits trouble, people rush to fix it. He prefers to stop, analyze, gather the architect, contractor and other teammates, and present the client with options so the whole team agrees on the way forward. Jack adds an architect's view: projects without a project manager often take more work from the design team, because clients may ask the wrong person or solve things themselves.
Mike then traces his path: civil engineering, general contracting in the Baltimore and Washington areas and later in Charlotte, an MBA, and about three and a half years at a contract furniture dealer where he learned about workplace design and change management. He saw that project management combined all of it. He started Playbook in 2014, and his first project came two or three months later. A 50,000 square foot project he landed about eight months in was canceled during a merger, an early lesson in the entrepreneurial roller coaster.
The conversation closes on what Playbook does today, why a seasoned, nimble team helps solve problems quickly, what clients worry about most, and what Mike thinks the future of project delivery could look like.
Key Takeaways
- Do not decide alone: when something goes wrong, gather the team and bring the client several options instead of one rushed answer.
- Transferable skills: managing trades on a construction site is similar to managing consultants, furniture, technology and moves on a client's behalf.
- Tell your story: Mike won early work by sharing why he started the company and what he had accomplished, rather than only listing services.
- Confidence is built: the discussion describes a loop of commitment, courage, capabilities and confidence that grows each time you act.
- Expect volatility: an owner feels the highs and lows of the market far more strongly than an employee with a steady paycheck.
- Experience across disciplines: Playbook's team brings general contracting, workplace furniture and architecture backgrounds, which helps when issues arise.
- Involve the team early: bringing the contractor and furniture dealer in before a design is fixed could speed up and economize delivery.
Highlights from the Conversation
So you don't make a decision in a vacuum.
Mike Grippo
We manage it like a team we all win together we all lose together.
Mike Grippo
You just got to keep grinding and keep put your name out there and manage the unforeseen.
Mike Grippo
Topics Discussed
- Solving project problems as a team
- From general contracting to workplace furniture to project management
- Starting a business and selling services you have not sold before
- The emotional range of entrepreneurship
- The confidence loop and being patient
- Office, industrial, landlord and adaptive reuse work
- Rising construction costs and talent attraction
- Integrated delivery and the future of design and construction
Why This Conversation Matters
Mike's approach shows why design, construction and project management work best when they share a goal from the start. That is how we think about architecture and interior architecture projects, where early coordination protects schedule and budget. Industrial and office work such as First in Flight and adaptive reuse projects like Hedgemore Flex are examples of the kind of projects this conversation applies to.
About the Guest
Mike Grippo is the owner and principal of Playbook Management, which provides project management for office, industrial and adaptive reuse projects. He holds a civil engineering degree from Virginia Military Institute and an MBA, worked for several general contractors, and later spent time at a contract furniture dealer before founding Playbook in 2014. He has lived in Charlotte since the early 2000s.
Connect with Mike Grippo on LinkedIn
Visit Playbook Management's website
