Hardwoods and Soft Wills

Note: The image below came from the source of the flooring: Raleigh Reclaimed.

We picked up some hardwood that a friend of ours sold through his shop: Raleigh Reclaimed.

This wood is flooring from the basketball courts at UNC... The Tarheels.

We didn't buy much, but we did buy enough to inlay a small little area in an entry way -should we ever get a transformation candidate in Chapel Hill. In addition, we work with two raging UNC fans, and we will be able to give them a small pice of maple and "blue" for their desk, walls, etc. We already gave some to our contractor, who will use it for some bean bag toss game (called "corn hole" boards) he is building. It is these little touches that separate the wheat from the chaff or the corn from the silk. It also separates us from the majority of "lipstick" renovators that are out there who would rather cover things up, instead of making them right. Our contractor makes things right and understands the transferable value of going the extra step. We continue to work with him because he does a great job.

Too many contractor/renovators are going the cheapest route possible. This not only damages their reputation, but also the reputation of those around them. They fail to see that a proper job and a good reputation is a rare commodity. And, like all rare commodities, the value, and therefore the long term gain, go up. Will we have call backs? Sure. Will some things be wrong and need to be fixed at some point? Yes. And if it is within a reasonable amount of time, we will fix those items. At the end of the day, we would rather have a good reputation than not. How does this help us? We have already received information from insiders on candidates that aren't on the market. We have had people tell us about candidates because they know we aren't fly-by-night operators that are going to do shoddy work. This gives us an advantage. Not-to-mention that we can sleep at night.

Speaking of sleeping at night, we sent a check in for a bill that we received in the mail. Our lawyer tells us we shouldn't have to pay it. She is right, but we want to sleep at night knowing that we don't owe anything on our real estate. And we also don't want to make enemies with the local people who, like us, are doing their job. At the same time, we will not continually be a scapegoat for the mistakes of others. We won't be a soft touch for other people or their numerous problems. However, one has to ask if they are being a soft touch, or if they can soften their will for later gain? That is, are we winning a battle, but losing the war? It does us no good to be obstinate with the people who are executing the work in their office. Pick your battles carefully. Prioritize your strength and be guarded about where you spend that strength. And always remember that long-range views are usually worth more than short-sighted actions. It is okay to have a soft-will on some things... But only to a point. If it goes too far, or if you get backed too far into a corner, than come out swinging and swing hard. 99% of the time, we have found that sleeping at night is worth more than being right. The question becomes, "What is our long range goal?" Follow that up with, "What are we trying to accomplish and how do these actions affect that goal?"

Hardwoods and soft wills.


Stay tuned.