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Friday, June 17, 2011
















Is the glass half full or is it half empty? Boy oh boy, life can throw that question in your face twenty times a day. It can turn you into a cynic or it can hone your character and mold you into the person you want to be. That very thing reared its head to take a bite out of my hide on Wednesday. I'll explain what I'm talking about.


I must say that I am pleasantly surprised to have had such nice weather for the excavation and foundation to this point. As anyone who works in the construction industry in the Pacific Northwest knows, these could have been days spent slogging around in the slop and mud which always slows progress. Which in turn puts all of the ongoing building projects behind and therefore everyone is demanding their concrete at the same time, which leads to understandable delays. So to my delight the project has been progressing well.


The phone rings Wednesday afternoon and the proverbial "Glass 1/2 empty" hit me and began to deflate my balloon. When adversity strikes it does the following. Schedules can be disrupted, anxiety & stress is felt by builders, sub contractors and owners alike. If the weather had not cooperated, this situation would certainly have been worse. The problem was that the dig out was not long enough to accomodate the garage being 10 feet from the house. When I was informed, I called our excavator immediately and Ron, who had taken his equipment to another site, pulled it together, came back that evening and fixed the problem.



Like all human endeavors, when mistakes are made, it is how you approach the remedy that makes all of the difference in your success. I did not want to put off the pour of the footings until Friday. The Friday forcast was for a change in the weather, so it was not an option in my way of thinking. Besides, our clients were excited to see the footings poured and the project moving forward and I did not want to disappoint them. Long story short, Ron was back at the site with his equipment by the end of the day, and resolved the issue so as not to delay the project. The Thursday pour was accomplished. A situation which could have delayed us 2 or 3 days was averted. We instead have finished the footings and as of this morning are stripping them and cleaning up the site.


This is exactly why I like working with people who are committed to our clients needs. Who are not in it just for the paycheck. Who have been reliable partners for many years, and who will place our clients interests ahead of their own. That is a commodity that seems to be missing so often in todays world.


Mission Accomplished - "Glass half full"

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