I need to credit the head of school where my children attend elementary with this notion. At the end-of-year assembly, she described how all our children have learned and grown physically, emotionally, mentally, etc. She described how the success of some experiments, although not “successful” by the children’s analysis, transcended only the one answer for that one experiment. Further, she told the audience how her dad said to her, "Jerri, life is too short for you to make all the mistakes yourself. You need to learn to watch your friends and others to see their mistakes so you can learn from theirs too.”
Agreements
- Always (no matter what) get a signed agreement, whether it is a letter form, memo of understanding, or a full contract
- Always (no matter what) start work after all your terms are met—get that retainer check at the contract signing; don’t release your permit drawings until you have been paid through CDs
- Always (if you haven’t done them, do them now!) establish your own list of “Must Have,” “Nice to Have,” “Don’t Agree To” for your use when evaluating a client and developing a working relationship
—Lisa Stacholy, AIA, NCARB
Comments (1)
My small firm has been practicing off and on for many years, based on reality of "one project...really busy; one less project...no income." Since I have pursued large church projects, I am busy with one for a while, but idle with one less. But I have survived on the basis of a few requirements....
* Get an agreement and a contract,and a retainer before drawing a line.
* Know and love your client first, awards will come later.
* Expect trust by practicing it with excellent design.
* Maintain "good faith" (most important) with clients, engineers, consultants, employees,contractors, code enforcers.
* Work small, beautifully...empty your own waste paper basket and read Ghandi.
* Do the work yourself, responsibly.
* Be complimentary for work done well.
* Be happy!
Posted by Dennis McLaughlin, AIA, NCARB | June 10, 2008 2:04 PM
Posted on June 10, 2008 14:04