To me, enjoying some form of art should be part of life, in balance with everything else we think that is important. It was not that long ago that I met Trés Taylor and his wife Helene, folk artists who paint using tarpaper and acrylics as their medium. I got a chance to work with them on a …
Over the years, I’ve learned this truth: Nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems at first. Most people tend to exaggerate in one direction, especially in the evening. I have also discovered that a few days of waiting on either side of the equation is a good practice. That little bit …
We are in the “final approach” stage of a year-long project that’s set to open before Thanksgiving. It’s fairly substantial, high-profile and covers about 20 acres. As we all know, building this year is full of unknowns. To mention a few, we’ve had delayed packages, electrical panels shipped without interior guts, late refrigeration equipment, along …
Last weekend, I saw a 60 Minutes segment featuring MASS Design Group, a non-profit architecture firm with a focus on communities and wholistic design, who gained international notoriety for their work in Rwanda. Their name is familiar to us, as we have been working with them on the initial planning phase of a new project …
Maintaining the historical integrity of a building will mean extra work, but the results are invaluable. We’ve recently started a new one, The Hardwick, a century old building with deep roots in the heavy steel fabricating industry. We are converting it to a mixed use development of office, restaurants and retail. Because of the new design and use, …
Do you remember that old expression, “The customer is always right?” Sometimes, it’s a hard pill to swallow. In any business, there will be times when you know you are right, but you have to back down a little for the sake of a relationship. It may be that you are quibbling over a detail …
It’s human nature to want to compare ourselves to others. That goes for just about anything, from business to sports, personal accomplishments and even our own happiness. The reality is, someone will always “have it better” than you. We would do well to heed the old adage, “Don’t measure yourself using someone else’s ruler.” Everyone …
We don’t always find the answer or make the right decision inside the “yes” bubble. Let me explain. We’ve all been at a meeting where everyone around the table is an optimist, or perhaps eager to please. There is a lot of head nodding and agreement with the leadership. While the intentions are golden, this …
One of my favorite things about the way our company operates is that we have a healthy mix of one-of-a-kind builds vs repeat relationship customers who we follow across the Southeast, Midwest, Atlantic and western states, and at times, the Northeast. Each of these locations comes with a new set of site conditions, entitlements to …
The first time I wrote a post about archaic parking regulations was ten years ago, and I revisited the topic in 2016. Time has passed, and things have gotten a little better, but we still have a long way to go. I recently read a post from a friend and business associate titled Parking Laws …
All of us, at one time or another, need to take some time for ourselves to reenergize and reconnect. That’s exactly what I did a couple of weeks ago at the Renewal Retreat, hosted by Kanuga in Hendersonville, North Carolina. I found Kanuga to be a special place with more than a century of history. …
One of the things that I have thought about more recently is what makes someone truly happy in their work? We can talk about perks, fellow team members and benefits, and all those things are important, but there is another layer. It’s feeling like your work matters. The key, according to expert David Rock, is …