Ready Fire Aim

I used to have a printout of a saying I heard by some YPO speaker printed on the wall of my office at Pray Construction Company and it read "Lack of Planning on your Part Does Not Constitute a Crisis on my Part". Since I've moved on in my career, I'm not sure if in fact that is the case.....meaning that the lacking of planning...while I'd like to disclaim responsibility...the result may fall in my lap...I'm sure you get the drift.

If you are anticipating a project that involves construction which inevitably involves a sizable outlay of your capital and which will drag you into the mysterious world of those that "deliver" projects...either architects or contractors....do yourself a favor....create a text document and call it the Program of Requirements. This is essentially what you want to accomplish with your "capital project". Avoid gong down the path of "solutions" at the moment... (solutions are designs or drawings that actually indicate how to accomplish your "program").

Now your program will include things like adjacency's, activities to be accomplished (ok...just say sleeping), finishes, special equipment, any issues with accessibility (please...if you are doing a residence....take it from me, a wheelchair is not out of the question), natural light, acoustic separation, safety, site considerations (i.e. parking/landscaping/irrigation)...the list goes on.

So....once you have put your program together (by the way...how much you want to invest/spend is part of the program as is the time for execution), you will be much better prepared to evaluate the design solutions.

Now...your program will morph as you learn more or more is revealed as your are educated, but you will be on your way to a well executed project. Recall....starting does not necessarily directly correlate to finishing. Know what I mean??? Plan/plan/plan and then execute. This is a strategy and one I utilize on all my projects...trust me...it works but I know....we just want to get started...OK...don't blame me!