I recently received a phone call from a solicitor friend,  to help a client, who had just completed his multi – million dollar home on a “cost plus agreement” to sort out the final account with his builder. He was happy with the builders work, just not sure what was fair to pay him!!!

The whole agreement was based on a handshake and he wasn’t sure what costs the 15% ( the plus) was meant to apply.

I nearly fell off my chair!!!! and then phoned the client, and slowly we have resolved what was “normal ” practice.

There were so many possibilities as to what the 15% was meant to represent and whether the builder could charge for his time ( one third of the wages bill) and did his rates include the 15% etc. How they had got to this stage after 18 months of building is amazing in itself. (more…)

One of the key things to do when you are embarking on a building, home improvement or renovation project is get clear on what you want first.  No matter how good any builder architect or tradesman appears it pays to get a second independent opinion and review of any plans.

Most people are about to spend a substantial amount of money and often do not know exactly what they are getting and tend to go completely on trust without getting that second opinion. The following story outlines a process I went through with some friends and ensured they received the project they really wanted.

The friends were building a retreat home on the  coast of Australia.

The home had been designed by a draftsman and included the basic requirements of their brief.

During  a dinner one night, the friends showed me the plans and I could immediately see some very basic flaws in the design of this simple square shaped, 2 bedroom home.

They admitted they could not really understand the 2 dimensional plans, and trusted the draftsman knew what he was doing. (more…)

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you
run into a wall, don’t turn around and
give up. Figure out how to climb it,
go through it, or work around it.”
- Michael Jordan

One of the early lessons in project management is to learn that everything is possible.

You sometimes don’t know how you will resolve a problem , however there is always a solution.

Elite Sportsmen like Michael Jordon also know this to be true. Their body or coach or fans or family may tell them many stories which are not inspirational, however they always know in their inner core that they can do whatever they set their mind to do.

Successful businessmen and project managers find the same things on a daily basis. the solutions to any problems are not always directly in front of them and they need to use lateral solutions to navigate around a wall or obstacle.

It is great training for life in general and they become YES people who when required, can make intuitive decisions quickly to keep a multi million dollar project moving.

You too can do this with any building renovation or home improvement project. Overcome a tendency of many people to procrastinate just in case they make a mistake. It is often better to make a mistake and learn from it rather than delaying taking any action.

I was taught at a very early part of my career when you have hundreds of men on a construction site, it is cheaper to make the odd mistake and keep the workforce productive rather than lose momentum and have everyone waiting for a decision. The same applies to a home building project.

Small Commercial projects like a supermarket can be built in months and yet most home building projects take at least a year and sometimes more. Yes there are many reasons for this including money, know how and resources and yet the basic principles of planning and organising a home project can make a significant difference to how a long a project takes.  (more…)

“Always bear in mind that your own
resolution to succeed is more
important than any other one thing.”
- Abraham Lincoln

In planning any project , the success will largely be determined by how you feel about succeeding.

It is important to believe that you will be able to make the right decisions along the way. (more…)