discipline

Genesis Evolution
When I was a student, it generally upset me when a class came nowhere close to completing its agenda.  This was especially true in college, but it even reached back into high school, when I'd feel almost cheated that the last five chapters of a 25-chapter textbook fell into some crack at the end of the year, never to be seen or heard from again. I could rationalize it in
The Anxieties of Influence
'I can be quite outspoken,' declared David Tisherman in opening his Details column in the November/December 2001 issue of WaterShapes.  'Here's the unvarnished truth:  No more than a hundred pool builders out there can legitimately call themselves designers, . . . while only a handful design at the very highest level.' 'Almost always, the difference between these top-level designers and
The Educational Imperative
'It's great that more and more people in the watershaping business are interested in becoming custom designers.  The way I see it,' wrote David Tisheman to start his May 2001 Details column, 'the future of the industry rests in the hands of those who strive for creativity and excellence in their work.' 'Unfortunately, however, there are those out there who are brash enough to declare themselves
Communicate and Coordinate
Last month, I began a discussion of things that those of us in the watershaping trades can do to improve our collective profile with the public - not to mention enhance our collective self-image. Education, of course, is a huge factor.  And so is the level of professional courtesy with which we treat both clients and prospects.  But those two points, discussed in detail last time, have less to do with the way we approach the practicalities of our businesses than is the case with another point that bears discussion:  that is, project management and how we