Measure Twice

Measure Twice

When I was forming the teams required to produce a recent project, I used my mental rolodex to call upon Vendors I had a long track record with to help me. Some of these folks I’ve used for 35+ years. They put me in touch with regional representatives and we “did business”.  I had lunch today with one of these reps and we discussed the goings on in his industry, windows. Boring and fascinating all in one.

His parent company got the contract from me because they produced a quality product at a fair price and could get them to me on time. He got the job because he worked for it.  I am one of those folks who buy because of “quality people” not just the stuff they sell.  Last year was 100+/- units.

When I started SDA in the 80’s I had a cool German Banker who was a “big fan” of my work. We worked near each other downtown and would have lunch often. We’d discuss art, politics, and basically “fix the world", one week at a time. He asked me once in his German accent, if I was “CRrrrAZY” to be in the business I am in? “Don’t you know that America is turning into an ALL FOR A DOLLAR Store and you are trying to “do what you do” for an ever shrinking market that could care less and less year after year”?? 
“YIKES, Dieter, you’re freaking me out!!”

Fast forward a couple of years and soon the term “McMansion” is entered into our lexicon. I would visit monster homes that were essentially unfurnished because it was all “on the outside”. These folks were so leveraged that they HAD to eat out with their friends because they were too fearful to have people over to see the shell. When they could finally afford to furnish they had x2 hardships because the monster home was built like crap and the builder had gone belly up because he too was leveraged beyond his capacity to service the warranties. The same thing was happening on the Commercial front with even bigger liabilities.  I built a life fixing others people’s mistakes.

Despite preaching the “gospel” about doing it right the 1^st time, I found that Dieter’s prophesies were becoming more and more true,  with just a few exceptions.  It was these exceptions that fueled my drive and commitment to do it better each time with more creativity and saved my sanity.

The lunch conversation today revolved around “sanity”, with both of us coming from a different perspective. Neither willing to go back to the life of fixing other peoples mistakes but, committed to putting in all the time and energy needed to educate our "clients” to help them make informed choices and do it right the 1^st time.    

Now, I’m the client for our own new projects and we’re “doing it right.” 

Window contracts were let today and I got lunch out of the deal.

It was more than a dollar.