The industry knows the barriers. Community opposition. Workforce gaps. Power constraints. Access. Everyone in the room at DICE this week could name them.

But naming barriers isn't the same as being ready to clear them.

In this Field Note, Nick Caravella breaks down what readiness actually requires in data center construction — and why the industry keeps confusing hitting a schedule date with actually being prepared to finish the work.

Readiness isn't a milestone. It's a condition. And until we stop using the schedule as a substitute for that condition, we'll keep handing over buildings that aren't done — we just ran out of time to pretend otherwise.

Three conditions this episode examines:— The schedule problem: why the date gives you somewhere to hide— The workforce problem: people don't fall from the sky— The community problem: they're not an obstacle, they're a condition of completion

Field Notes. No guests. Just what the work is teaching us.