professionalism
Watching the arc of a learning curve can be fascinating - particularly when you're not the one who's going through the process. This is why I take such pleasure in
I don't know if it's because I work in the pool and spa industry or if this is common to other fields, but I know a great many people who run businesses who are ill-prepared to do so. Architects and landscape architects might have taken some classes that introduced them to basic business principles, but their counterparts in the pool and spa trades are far less likely to have taken such classes and tend to run things by the seat of their pants. In my case, I've learned what I know about business through seminars and business-oriented reading. I've made
As a contractor, do you ever wish that you could avoid fussing with clients about design and could instead just get down to the business of building watershapes and getting all the details right? Do you ever think you're wasting the time you spend on design, because you know your prospects might go with another contractor despite the time you've spent drawing pretty pictures? Not every watershape contractor will answer "yes" to the first question, but I'm sure most of you have at least thought "yes" about the second one. That's because most contractors I know don't charge for design, at least not directly. As necessary, you'll hire
Is it honest to say that too few of the swimming pools you find in America's backyards are what one could call well built - and that even fewer of them are well designed? I think so, because so many of the pools I see run like junk and look like junk, and it's way too easy to find installations that lack any apparent relationship to their settings, their homes' architecture, the landscaping or any recognized
For many people in the watershaping trades, client relationships begin with selling and never really advance beyond that stage. For me, however, it's not about selling per se; instead, it's about creating a sense of collaboration and building a foundation of mutual trust and understanding. In fact, the work I do in establishing these creative relationships with my clients may well be the most important "detail" of all. In a sense, watershaping isn't a job to me. It's my passion, which explains why I'm so obsessed with
One of my least favorite activities is testifying as an expert witness in legal disputes over watershaping projects gone awry. As a rule, I try to stay out of courtrooms for any reason, but from time to time, I reluctantly agree to offer my opinion as a witness if I think I can help generate a fair outcome. Despite my best intentions, however, I seldom see it as time well spent. The process is often stressful, and I know deep down, regardless of who's right and who's wrong, that lawsuits are
I'd humbly like to add my own voice to the growing list of those who are encouraging watershapers to seek payment not just for what you do, but also for
Most watershapers and their businesses have been (or at some point will be) exposed to some form of litigation. We do indeed live in a litigious society, and if you have yet to experience this sad reality at close hand, just wait a while: It's the nature of the contracting business, and your turn almost certainly will come. Doing battle in a courtroom has often been described as the world's most expensive indoor sport, one about a half step away from hand-to-hand combat. It's stressful, costly in time and money, incredibly distracting and generally no fun at all. In my own experience, litigation is the ultimate in misery and frustration: Even when you win, you walk away feeling like you've been through some kind of meat grinder. In an effort to stave off the costly, time-consuming, unpredictable and generally unsatisfying outcomes that all-too-often arise through the conventional judicial system, many companies have been turning in recent years to Alternative Dispute Resolution. In fact, this trend has so much momentum and respect that Congress passed the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act and the President signed it into law in October 1998. This legislation mandates that all federal courts must develop and implement ADR programs. I'm not always in support of things our government does, but in this case, I believe strongly that ADR programs and other mediation strategies can help all of us lift the
Before we dive into discussions of plantings or the various components of landscaping work, I think it's important to define roles and talk about relationships among the trades involved in watershaping projects - in other words, to take a basic look at who does what. We can all save time and money by knowing from the beginning of the job who is going to handle each phase and detail as well as who is qualified, trained or licensed to perform the various tasks needed to get the job done. Planning this up front might even result in greater profits, and it definitely will make your job easier. I know it's the goal of this magazine to build a greater "watershaping community" where both landscape professionals and those who
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