Say What's Wrong — and Exactly How to Fix It

The problem in one breath

You climbed up and saw it: the drip edge running crooked on the north side, a course of ice-and-water skipped over the eave. Two roads from there, and both dead-end. You bite your tongue to keep the peace, and it happens again next job. Or you get hot — "this looks like hell" — and the guy still has no idea what you actually want done different.

Why it happens

Telling a man his work is off feels like calling him no good, so owners duck it or botch it. Duck it and you're "nice," but the crooked drip edge is now the standard on every roof. Botch it — chew him out with no fix attached — and all he hears is that the boss is mad. Neither one tells the roofer the single thing he needs: what to do differently on the next roof.

The play

Good feedback is boring and specific. Five moves, and it lands.

1. Name the behavior, not the man. Point at the thing on the roof, not his character. "The drip edge on the north run is going in crooked" — not "your work's sloppy." One is a fact he can fix; the other is an insult he'll just carry around.
2. Say the exact fix. This is the part most owners skip, and it's the whole thing. A problem with no fix attached is just an insult — the man can't act on "do better." Tell him what right looks like: "Pull that run and set it to a chalk line." If you're not going to hand him the fix, keep the criticism to yourself; it only stings, it doesn't teach.
3. Say it soon, say it once. The day you see it, not three weeks later at some sit-down. And once — don't grind the same nail all afternoon. Said early and said clean, it lands as help. Said late and on repeat, it's nagging, and he stops hearing any of it.
4. Praise the exact same way — specific and out loud. "The step flashing on that chimney is tight — that's the standard, right there." By name, where the crew can hear it. "Good job, guys" teaches nobody anything. Naming the exact thing a man did right tells the whole crew what right looks like, so you get more of it.
5. Then flip it — ask for your one thing. Close by asking the man for one thing you could do different: "What's one thing I could do that'd make the job run smoother for you?" Then take the answer without arguing (that's the next play). When the crew watches the owner take a hard word and not bite back, giving feedback stops feeling like an ambush and starts feeling like how the shop runs.

Do this this week

Pick the one thing on a job right now that isn't right, and tell that roofer today — the exact behavior, then the exact fix. Then, before you walk off, name one specific thing he did well. Behavior, fix, praise. One man, one time. That's the rep.

The tool

No spreadsheet — the script is the tool, and it's four lines you can run on the tailgate:

- The behavior:  "The drip edge on the north run is going in crooked."
- The fix:       "Pull it and set it to a chalk line."
- The praise:    "Your step flashing on the chimney is tight — that's the standard."
- Your one thing:"What's one thing I could do to make the job run smoother for you?"

Behavior, fix, praise, your one thing. Say it in that order and it lands nearly every time.

If your crew is 1099

With a sub, feedback stays on the delivered work measured against the standard you both signed — not personal coaching. "This valley isn't the spec in our agreement — here's what it needs to be" is one company holding another to a deal, and that's fair. "You need to get better at your flashing" is coaching a man like he's your employee: what was two companies talking is now a boss and a hand. Watch me, then I watch you (M3-04) is the play that lays that whole warning out. Keep it on the work and the spec: what was delivered, what the agreement called for, and what closes the gap. Leave how he trains his own men to him.