“The contract says do this, but people do that….” - The juxtaposition between behaviours and contracts

Date: Thursday, 15 Oct 2026, 18:30 - 19:30 Location: Desborough Bowls Club, Green Lane, Maidenhead, SL6 1XZ Member cost: £0 (including VAT) Non-member cost: £0 (including VAT)

John Hayes FRICS, FCIOB, MCIArb, RICS accredited mediator, author of the CIOB Code of Practice for Project Management.

Contracts are designed to create certainty, allocate risk and define responsibilities. Yet projects rarely succeed or fail because of the contract alone. Behaviour, communication, leadership, trust and commercial pressure often determine how the contract actually operates in practice.

This presentation is a provocative exploration of the tension between contractual rights and human behaviour - and examines how ‘good’ people can make difficult contracts work, while poor behaviours can undermine even the best-drafted agreements.

“Is a bad contract with a great scope better that a great contract with a bad scope?”.

Through practical construction and commercial examples, attendees will hear how to balance contractual discipline with collaboration, when to rely on the contract, when behaviours need to change, and how early intervention can prevent disagreements becoming disputes.

The presentation challenges the idea that being “contractual” and being “collaborative” are opposites - demonstrating how the right behaviours can make the contract work as intended.

John Hayes is the owner of GMS. A key focus of the business is the development of tailored learning and development services bringing together deep contractual knowledge, practical commercial experience and a clear understanding of how people actually behave on live projects.

GMS works across the construction and infrastructure sectors helping clients, contractors and consultants understand not only what their contracts require, but how those obligations should be managed in practice.. John is also heavily involved in the creation and procurement of complex frameworks for the public and private sectors, and he also offers expert services for disputes related to project management and operational performance matters.