The most reliable way to avoid a damaging client relationship is to test alignment before a project is committed: confirm how the client communicates, who can decide, whether the budget reflects current conditions, and whether both sides will invest in preconstruction. Chris Curran, CEO and co-founder of Curran Young Construction (CYC), describes those checks as a practical way to protect the project team and the work itself.
Curran’s comments appeared in John Caulfield’s July 4, 2025, interview for Building Design + Construction. They describe one contractor’s process, not a universal industry standard. The warning signs are prompts for a candid conversation, not proof that a prospective client has bad intentions.
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What a contractor should learn before accepting a client
Client selection is part of project planning. Before pricing is finalized or a construction agreement is signed, a contractor needs enough information to judge whether the proposed working relationship can support the project’s complexity. Curran says CYC looks for four fundamentals: clear communication and decision-making, early engagement in preconstruction, financial transparency with secured or nearly secured capital, and mutual respect for the process.
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- Can the people involved exchange information promptly and understand what has been decided?
- Is there a named person or group with authority to make decisions?
- Will the client participate in planning and design development instead of trying to bypass them?
- Is the money available, and is the proposed price compatible with scope and current market conditions?
If the answers are unclear, the contractor can pause, ask for clarification, or decline. Curran’s position is that selectivity is proactive risk management, not simply a defensive reaction. In his words, “being selective isn’t just a defensive move; it’s a proactive strategy that protects our team, our partners, and the long-term success of every project we take on.”
Four warning signs that deserve a direct conversation
1. Pressure to rush or skip preconstruction
A prospective client who pushes past planning or design development may be signaling that collaboration, transparency, or early coordination is not valued. Preconstruction is where the team tests assumptions, identifies scope gaps, coordinates design information, and checks whether the intended work can be delivered within the available resources. Skipping that work does not automatically mean the client is acting in bad faith. Curran cautions that warning signs “don’t necessarily reflect bad intentions,” but they can reveal potential misalignment.
Ask what the client expects to be decided before construction starts, which drawings and specifications are sufficiently developed, and which unknowns they are willing to resolve during preconstruction. If the client wants a start date before those questions can be addressed, document the remaining uncertainties and explain their consequences for price, schedule, and quality. A willingness to make time for the planning effort is a stronger signal than an optimistic promise to “work it out later.”
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Curran identifies insisting on a price point that cannot support the requested scope, or disregarding current market conditions, as a potential source of conflict. The issue is not that every early budget must be exact. Early estimates are refined as design information improves. The issue is whether the client is willing to reconcile the desired scope with what the available budget can realistically buy.
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Use the first budget discussion to separate fixed requirements from preferences. Show which assumptions drive the estimate and identify decisions that would change cost, such as materials, systems, phasing, allowances, or performance expectations. If the client rejects market information without offering a scope adjustment, the contractor should treat that as a relationship risk rather than merely an estimating disagreement. Agree on a method for updating the budget as design develops, and record who has authority to approve a change in scope.
3. No clear client-side decision maker
Unclear authority can create delays, rework, and confusion during execution. A project may have an owner, architect, development partner, lender, user group, or internal committee, but the construction team still needs to know who can make a binding decision and how that decision is communicated.
During qualification, ask for an organization chart or decision map. Identify who approves scope, design changes, payment applications, substitutions, schedule changes, and claims. Establish whether one person has final authority or whether a committee must vote, and if a committee is involved, set a timetable for reaching decisions. Also clarify how the contractor will receive an instruction that is ready to act on. If two client representatives can issue conflicting directions, resolve that conflict before mobilization.
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Mutual respect is not a matter of being agreeable about every issue. It means recognizing that the project has a sequence, responsibilities, and information requirements. A client who repeatedly bypasses agreed channels, dismisses questions, or treats professional advice as an obstacle may make ordinary coordination harder.
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Explain the proposed process in plain language: what happens in preconstruction, how estimates are updated, how decisions are logged, how changes are priced, and when information is needed. Then observe whether the client engages with that explanation. Respect should run both ways; the contractor must respond clearly, surface problems early, and avoid using process as a reason to withhold useful information.
Use explicit screening criteria instead of intuition alone
CYC’s stated criteria can be turned into a structured conversation. They are not a validated scorecard, and a single concern should not be treated as a definitive diagnosis. Their value is that they make expectations visible before the parties are committed.
| Screening area | What to establish | Evidence or question to use | Proceeding condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communication | How information, questions, and decisions will move between the parties | Who receives notices? What response time is realistic? Where are decisions recorded? | Both sides accept a communication route and respond consistently during qualification. |
| Decision-making | Who has authority for scope, design, money, and schedule | Request named representatives and a written escalation path for unresolved issues. | The contractor can identify a person or defined group able to make timely decisions. |
| Early preconstruction engagement | Whether the client will participate before construction begins | Review the planning and design-development tasks still open and agree on meeting participation. | The client accepts the work needed to reduce uncertainty instead of demanding an immediate start. |
| Financial transparency | Whether funding is secured or nearly secured and the budget is credible | Discuss the source and status of capital, budget assumptions, allowances, and approval gates. | Financial information is sufficiently clear to advance without exposing the team to avoidable uncertainty. |
| Mutual respect for the process | Whether each party recognizes the other’s responsibilities and constraints | Walk through roles, information requirements, change procedures, and expectations for conduct. | The client engages constructively and is willing to follow the agreed process. |
A practical two-to-four-week vetting period
Curran says CYC’s vetting typically takes two to four weeks, depending on project complexity and the responsiveness of everyone involved. That is a company-reported timeframe, not a general benchmark. A small, well-defined project may need less time; a complicated project with several stakeholders may need more.
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- Start with an information exchange. Ask for the current program, drawings or design materials, target schedule, known constraints, budget range, funding status, and names of all decision participants.
- Hold a qualification meeting. Discuss goals, priorities, communication habits, authority, and the client’s expectations for preconstruction. Note unanswered questions rather than relying on memory.
- Test the budget against scope. Explain the assumptions behind the preliminary price. Identify what is fixed, what is optional, and what would have to change if the budget moves.
- Map decisions and approvals. Confirm who can approve design information, cost changes, substitutions, payment matters, and schedule adjustments. Establish how the contractor will receive the final instruction.
- Observe follow-through. During the period, watch whether promised information arrives, meetings begin on time, questions receive answers, and participants respect the agreed communication route.
- Record the outcome. Summarize the open issues, agreed responsibilities, remaining conditions, and the decision to proceed, pause, or decline. Send the summary to every relevant participant.
The duration should flex with complexity and responsiveness. Extending the conversation is preferable to forcing a commitment while critical information is missing, but the contractor should also set a clear point at which the qualification decision will be made.
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Questions that reveal alignment without creating an adversarial interview
Screening works best when it is presented as joint planning. The following questions focus on facts the project will need, rather than trying to catch a client out:
- What outcomes matter most if the budget, schedule, and scope come into conflict?
- Which decisions must be made before design development can advance?
- Who is authorized to make each type of decision, and who must be consulted?
- How will disagreements be escalated and resolved?
- What funding is available now, and what approvals or financing events remain?
- Which assumptions in the current budget are most uncertain?
- What information does the design and construction team need, and by when?
- How should changes be documented, priced, and approved?
- What would cause either party to pause the project?
The answers matter, but the interaction matters too. A client can have legitimate constraints and still demonstrate transparency. Conversely, a polished presentation does not replace evidence that the people involved can make and communicate decisions.
How to respond when a warning sign appears
When the schedule is being forced
Show the tasks that must be completed, the decisions they depend on, and the effect of skipping them. Offer a compressed plan only if the required information and review capacity exist. Do not promise a construction start that the team cannot responsibly support.
When the budget and scope do not meet
Present options rather than a bare rejection: reduce or defer scope, change specifications, adjust phasing, increase funding, or revise the schedule if those changes genuinely affect cost. Record the client’s choice and the assumptions behind the revised figure.
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When authority remains ambiguous
Pause decisions that could create rework until the client confirms the approval path. Ask for a single point of contact or a documented hierarchy. If the client cannot provide one, explain the specific delay and coordination risk that results.
When conduct is disrespectful
Restate the process and the behavior required from both sides. A single tense exchange may be recoverable; a repeated pattern of bypassing, withholding, or dismissing information is a stronger reason to decline. Keep the discussion factual and avoid attributing motives that cannot be established.
Being selective when opportunities are uncertain
Contractors may feel pressure to accept work when the pipeline is thin. Curran’s view is that selection still protects the team, partners, and long-term success of each project. That does not mean taking only effortless jobs or rejecting clients who ask hard questions. It means deciding whether the project’s risks can be managed with the people, information, authority, and capital available.
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A contractor can make that decision consistently by defining its minimum conditions before the next opportunity arrives. For example, the firm can require a named decision maker, a documented communication route, a workable preconstruction plan, and enough financial clarity to advance. Those conditions should be applied to every prospective client, including a highly attractive project, so that urgency does not quietly lower the standard.
What the interview does—and does not—establish
Curran says aligned expectations and collaboration can support smoother communication, budgeting, preservation of design intent, and execution. His comments provide a practitioner’s explanation of why screening may help. They do not provide measured changes in change orders, schedule performance, cost, rework, or client satisfaction, and they should not be presented as proof that a particular screening period guarantees a successful project.
The useful conclusion is narrower and more practical: make alignment testable before commitment. Clarify authority, engage early, reconcile budget and scope, confirm financial readiness, and agree on how the work will be managed. If those conversations expose an issue, resolve it with evidence and a written decision—or decline before the issue becomes a construction problem.
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