Firambility - Right the first time

The following quote has been attributed to John Ruskin (1819-1900) and is referred to as The Common Law of Business Balance:

"There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey. It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money -- that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot -- it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better."

I’ve yet to discover a quote that is more applicable for the current environment in today’s design and construction industry. It addresses one of the biggest pitfalls we have in the marketplace given the economic conditions. More decisions than ever are being made based on “low price” by folks ignoring the principals in the above quote. More often than not, the lowest bid of many is usually lacking something you’ll need or plans on cutting corners to accomplish the goal it is being utilized for.

It is important not to assume the contrary of this quote to be automatically true – that the higher bids will necessarily perform better than the low bids. This certainly could be the case but takes more discernment on the part of the purchaser to determine.

The best indicator of whether a project partner will be able to perform to the team’s expectations or not has nothing to do with their price; instead, it has everything to do with their project history and the candid reviews of the folks who have worked on a team with them in the past. Often times, the potential project team member who can perform and wants to be on the team will be open to negotiating to your budgetary needs as long as they’re realistic. With this being the case, why waste your time on an inferior partner for the project just because their price is lower?

Many folks attempting to sell their services and products in our industry on price alone have already been weeded out by this economy. Most folks who remain have at least something to offer beyond price but it may not be what your project needs – just remember “If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better ”.

Here’s looking at 2012 and the promise it holds – we’re excited about becoming part of your processes in selecting team members for your design and construction projects as well as helping you make your own firm’s abilities known to the greater marketplace. Our goal is to improve the overall construction and design industry so that every project can be executed “Right. The First Time.”