Every complex project reaches a point when the original plan is tested: A cost changes. A schedule tightens. An unforeseen condition surfaces. A decision needs to be made quickly, and there may not always be a perfect answer. In those moments, the foundation of the relationships established before the challenge arose can matter just as much as the processes in place to address it.

In design-build, where owners, designers, contractors, and trade partners work closely throughout the project lifecycle, trust and open communication are practical project tools. They create an environment where teams can raise concerns earlier, have candid conversations about competing priorities, and work toward solutions with a shared understanding of the owner’s goals. That mentality is behind the “R” in ET Design-Build’s RAISE core values: Relationships.

Trust Matters Most When the Answer Isn’t Easy

It is easy to maintain a good working relationship when a project is proceeding according to plan. The real test comes when a team has to deliver difficult news. Owners routinely have to balance cost, schedule, quality, operational needs, and long-term value. Sometimes those priorities compete. A less expensive solution today may create additional costs later. Accelerating a schedule may introduce new risks. A scope decision may affect how a facility operates years after construction is complete.

In these situations, trust gives project teams room to have honest conversations about the tradeoffs involved. The objective should not be to steer the owner toward the easiest answer, but to provide enough transparency for an informed decision. For ET, this is part of what it means to approach a project with an owner-advocate mentality.

Recently, a new client asked ET to evaluate a property being considered for its next project. ET’s evaluation determined that the site would likely require more than $100 million in environmental remediation to address Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) requirements.

The remediation itself could have represented a significant contract for ET. Instead, ET advised the client to pass on the site because moving forward was not in the client’s best financial interest.

For the owner, identifying that risk before committing to the property created an opportunity to change course before significant time and capital were invested. It is also an example of why an owner-advocate mentality sometimes means recommending the path that does not lead to the next project.

Transparency Creates Better Conversations

Transparency is often discussed as a company value, but on a project, it needs to show up in tangible ways. That can mean being clear about cost assumptions, identifying risks before they become urgent, establishing expectations around scope and responsibilities, and communicating when changing conditions could affect the project plan.

The earlier those conversations happen, the more opportunity the project team has to evaluate options. This becomes especially important on complex projects, where a decision in one area can have implications for design, construction, operations, cost, or schedule. Open communication gives a clearer picture before deciding how to proceed.

Client feedback collected by ET reinforces the importance owners place on these qualities. Clients have identified transparency and communication among the company’s strengths and described ET as a trusted partner, not just a contractor.

As one client shared, “ET’s honesty and integrity are outstanding, often a 10 out of 10. The company’s culture is excellent and grounded in the highest level of integrity.” Feedback like this points to an important distinction: transparency is not simply about sharing information; it is about establishing enough trust for candid conversations when the stakes are high.

What Happens After the First Project?

One of the clearest indicators of a successful project relationship is whether the parties choose to work together again. More than 90% of ET’s business comes from repeat clients, with many of those relationships continuing across multiple projects, project types, and stages of a client’s growth.

Over time, the needs of a repeat client rarely stay the same. Their operations may expand, new priorities may emerge, and the complexity or type of work may change. For a project partner, maintaining that relationship means understanding how the client’s business is evolving and being prepared to evolve alongside it.

ET has seen long-standing relationships expand into new types of projects, markets, and delivery methods as clients’ needs have changed. In some cases, ET’s role has evolved as well, extending beyond construction into earlier planning, design-build, and program management responsibilities. 

The lesson extends beyond any single client relationship. Long-term partnerships do not necessarily mean repeating the same type of project over and over. As trust develops, a relationship can evolve alongside changing business needs, new market sectors, geographic boundaries, and increasingly complex challenges.

When Trust Changes How Work Gets Done

A mature project relationship can eventually change not only what teams work on together, but also how they work together. One example is the use of Master Services Agreements (MSAs). Rather than approaching every new opportunity as an entirely new business relationship, an MSA can establish the underlying terms for ongoing work. Project-specific conversations can then focus on the work at hand.

Tactically, an MSA can help speed up contracting by establishing terms and conditions, rates, and fees up front rather than renegotiating them for each new project. That can allow both teams to spend less time revisiting the mechanics of the relationship and more time focused on the specific project ahead.

Strategically, an MSA can also reflect something less tangible: a level of trust and mutual respect developed through working together over time. The agreement itself is not what creates trust. It is what can become possible once that trust has already been established.

Relationships Are Built Before They’re Needed

No contract, process, or project delivery method can eliminate every difficult decision from a construction project. What teams can control is how prepared they are to work through those decisions together.

Strong relationships are built through the smaller interactions that happen long before a major challenge surfaces: sharing information, communicating concerns, following through on commitments, and being candid when priorities conflict.

That is why relationships can be more than a core value. They can be part of the project strategy. When the unexpected happens, the question is not simply whether the team has the technical expertise to solve it. It is whether the people around the table have built enough trust to solve it together.