For all his diplomatic and political accomplishments, the name Donald Rumsfeld will be forever associated with his press statement at the NATO headquarters in 2002: “…there are known “knowns.” There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don’t know. So when we do the best we can and we pull all this information together, and we then say well that’s basically what we see as the situation, that is really only the known knowns and the known unknowns. And each year, we discover a few more of those unknown unknowns…”
At the time he made that speech, the audience scratched its collective head and the media had a field day at Rumsfeld’s expense. But I am starting to know just how he felt.
A key part of the service offered to members of The Builders’ Conference is the collection and collating of construction information. This requires a team of highly-skilled and experienced researchers using a variety of techniques and methods to track down precisely which company has won what contract and from whom.
The clients and individuals that these researchers are required to deal with break loosely into two categories: those that give information freely and in a helpful manner; and those that protect even public domain information like it is a secret dossier on a premiership footballer’s extra-marital activities.
As a result, the conversation between researcher and contract winner generally takes one of two courses: “Yes, we can confirm that we have won Contract A and we’re due to start in two weeks’ time. Oh, by the way, you might also like to know that we have also won Contracts X, Y and Z and here are the details for those”; or “I am sworn to secrecy. May birds peck out my eyes and rabid dogs devour my tongue if I utter a single word on this top secret mission in which we may or may not be involved.”
To the vast majority that fall into the former category, can I say a heartfelt thank you from myself and our team of researchers. And to that small minority that insist on living by the “loose lips sink ships” creed, can I say: “Are you mental?”
That information you’re keeping so close to your chest that it’s causing jogger’s nipple syndrome is already running free. Your company has probably supplied its data to any number of other research organisations; it has divulged it to the Office of National Statistics; and it has probably informed a dozen or more sub-contractors to watch for the green light. Hell, it has probably erected a large, corporate-branded hoarding around the site that screams your company’s presence to everyone within a 20 mile radius.
By comparison, the celebrities and public figures that tried and failed to use super injunctions to keep their extra-curricular activities under wraps were veritable masters of secrecy.
Of course, a cynical person would now question: “So, what are you trying to hide, and why?”
I prefer to take a more sanguine stance. Devised by The Builders’ Conference, a non-political and not-for-profit organisation, the BCLive league table shows – in real time – the league position of more than a thousand of the UK’s leading construction companies. That position is dictated purely by the value of contracts won and disclosed, making it a worthwhile and timely free replacement for the sadly defunct Contract Journal CJ50.
So, in the words of Dirty Harry: “You’ve gotta ask yourself one question”. Do you want your company to be seen as successful, its league position underlining the volume of work you have all worked so hard to win; or would you prefer to languish near the foot of the table, clutching your not-very-secret, secret information to you for comfort?
The answer, at present, is another of those unknown unknowns.
