OK! Got It!

It’s amazing how resistant many small businesses are to documentation!  Not the B-I-G stuff, the small stuff!   Most businesspersons are quite comfortable with the “paperwork” of Contracts, Permits, Licensing, Insurance and the likes.  It’s those small pieces of business communication (that keep the project’s ongoing, daily path clean and accountable) that seem to get under the skin, and feel like someone is pushing the envelope too far.
 
We have once or twice previously discussed “hard copy document communication” and its importance, in general.   However, with the progress and escalation in speed-lane innovations of electronic communication, some negative patterns have come along, too.  Some simple “cover-your-butt” procedures are perceived (by some) to be expendable, unnecessary and a waste of time; and, some are.  That is, right up until someone insists they got an email or a text or a voice mail that will prove their argument...if only they could remember if and where they filed it.    (Or, accidentally deleted?)

Like a calm, lighted hallway invites you in, conscientious detail management invites a smooth project path.

Believe it or not, there are still many good reasons and situations where hard copy backup is smart as well as necessary.  It’s another one of those concepts that’s an “and,” not an “either-or” -- especially “in the field” where things develop unexpectedly.
 
OK!  Got it?  Well, that’s no way to authorize or document!  Maybe it’s OK right now, this minute or in this conversation or phone call; but, will you have it when/if you need it later?  And could you prove the authority, content, context and specificity of the matter if you needed to?  Better make a note.
 
Many, many small businesses are completely owner operated and many of those do not have even a one-person assistance staff.   Most owner-operated enterprises are a 24/7 commitment that needs all the help it can get with detail management.  Memory is simply not enough.  Yes—smart phones, laptops and notebooks are nearly indispensable components for today’s competitive markets!  But one needs to be realistic about their discretionary and appropriate roles in the daily flow of an Interior Design project, in the field, in a construction zone, amid the coordination and execution of the installation process itself.
 
All of our business communication tools are important and, together, comprise the record of the path of your Interior Design project.  Let’s take a validating look at what I view as the secondary project communication tools!  And, let’s look at them from the standpoint of no staff person to capture, record and organize all of it, all of the time.
 
Those tools are the ones that, first, are essential, are often created extemporaneously, address unexpected or emergency issues, record important changes to original intent and exist in the minute-by-minute, day-by-day detail management of the project production phase.  These tools are not resting comfortably in your “important documents” or “legal” files, back at the office!  They create themselves on-the-spot.
 
Some of those tools are:  Change Orders, Field Authorizations, Incident Notes, Freight issues that may develop onsite without warning. Meeting Notes for future reference, Phone Logs, etc. etc. etc.    The situations and the instant need for creating a spontaneous “casual record,” may demand your immediate participation, cooperation or signature – not your reluctance!
 
There is something about asking for what may be perceived as “Another signature?  Why?” -- that creates resistance and can stop your Interior Design team – and your project – dead in their tracks.  You sometimes can’t see why your verbal OK won’t suffice!
 
Your professional team simply cannot take a verbal “OK! Got it!” as your authorization, as how you want what you want or as a provable response.  It supports the integrity and quality of your Interior Design Project when you cooperate with “secondary project communication tools!”